If you had mentioned client the answer would have been straight forward - what their policy states.

Like all matters construction as soon as you have more than one piper then there is more than one dance.

Personally I do not perceive your intended work would necessitate a card but given how relatively cheap they are to obtain whatever suits you - good luck and hopefully at by the end of five years when the replacement is due a worthwhile investment.

Hi Kate,

I was in a similar situation and did what you suggested, I have a proffestionally qualified person CSCS Card and used the CITB Map test App to assist in me passing the touch screen. If yiou are visiting various Site some can be stricter than others and having a card removes any doubt or wasted journeys. Good Luck.

Hm, I've just spotted a couple of things on further investigation of the CSCS website.

The alternative CIC test is evidently not for me after all as "The minimum order for this test is five courses. The test is not suitable for single users or self-employed professionals who have no one to invigilate their exam."

So it will need to be CITB MAP after all.  So my question is no longer which test, but how best to prepare for that one.

Also, interestingly, they have a whole page about how people in various non-construction occupations should not be asked to produce a card to get on site. https://www.cscs.uk.com/applying-for-cards/non-construction-related-occupations/  Evidently this is quite an issue ...

Originally Posted by: Kate

they have a whole page about how people in various non-construction occupations should not be asked to produce a card to get on site. https://www.cscs.uk.com/applying-for-cards/non-construction-related-occupations/  Evidently this is quite an issue ...

This is one of the reasons they dropped the yellow "Visitor Card" as many firms insisted anyone coming to site must be CSCS carded which included for example the cleaners of the welfare facilities even though they never step foot in the active construction area.

Problem is once a construction company gets an idea in its head - 24 years later and still being asked for COSHH sheets for materials despite the withdrawal of CHiP 3!

Thanks Mark, I doubt I will put in quite the level of commitment that you did but based on your account of it I will definitely get the app.

Thanks Mark for that helpful insight.

Highlights two of the many problems with CSCS.

First, if you know that there are only 500 possible questions and the "correct" answers are published, some would simply swot up on THOSE questions and might not even consider why the "correct" answers have been decided on, let alone why some other answer might be equally valid or any of the other H&S issues that somebody going for Card type X may have to deal with in the real world.

Next for many doing the test some of the questiona are going to be entirely irrelevant to what they will be doing for the next 5 years. Only a small fraction of them will be working on or near trunk roads. 

...and even though they may, the rules might vary depending on who the Client is, who the Contractor is (if approrpriate) and the usual speed limit on the road. 

So without trying to second guess what the relevant question amongst the 500 might be, suppose it asks "What clothing is required on or near A roads to ensure that a worker is easily seen?"

The correct answer COULD be:

1. Hi vis jackets or coveralls with full length sleeves to Class 3 fluorescent yellow or fluorescent orange-red + ditto trousers.

2. As above + white safety helmet with chin strap or lanyard.

3. As above + white helmet but with specifying the chin strap or lanyard as those aren't really about making the worker visible but protecting passing traffic from flying helmets!

I'm hoping that they don't expect the candidate to also remember the relevant EN ISO numbers!!!

However the starting point for those answers is "MCHW" which directly applies to those operating and maintaining trunk roads and many A roads are not trunk roads.

So, the items in No 1 are required for work on or near all trunk roads but if a "high speed road" (i.e. usual speed limit of 50 mph or more, then also item in No 2.

In general, other highways authorities usually follow MCHW but unlike e.g. Highways England and its supply chain, they don't have to.

But the person sitting this test might be working for a Client or someone in their supply chain that demands even more stringent standards. May be yellow footwear? [Yes, yellow wellies with steel toe-caps and mid-soles have been put on the market]

.......but then as well such issues, suppose this is a Manager who works on civil engineering projects, they may need to know what is meant by "on or near" a road whereas this is probably irrelevant to the Manager who works on construction sites building blocks of flats, unless they just want to do well in trivia quizzes or portray as the Safety Hero and tell others how to behave.

Ultimately, in effect, CSCS have got themselves to a situation of H&S by rote answer. Is this conducive to constructive (pun intended) thinking about H&S on sites?

Edited by user 07 August 2025 10:36:38(UTC)  | Reason: Tweaks

I would suggest downloading the CITB HSE questions for managers app. Then take the test (which is a bank of 100 questions) as many times as you can and memorise the entire test. The card will be yours! Remember you must get all questions correct.