How Long is an IOSH Certificate Valid for?

This blog was updated in March 2024 to reflect the latest course changes and updates.

Completing an IOSH Certificate is a great achievement. IOSH is widely respected as one of the world’s leading membership-based organisations of health and safety professionals. 

You or your staff will have developed essential health and safety skills that will benefit how effectively everybody works and the company’s performance.

However, many people worry about how long their IOSH Certificate, particularly the IOSH Managing Safely will be valid for and whether they will have to re-sit the course on a regular basis. Managers need to understand how best to keep their staff updated on health and safety best practices, to ensure they are working effectively and safely.

So let's address these concerns head on!

How Long Does IOSH and IOSH Managing Safely Last?

As a rule, once you have successfully completed any IOSH Certificate, it will never expire and will be valid indefinitely from the date of issue. 

This applies to the range of IOSH courses, from entry level IOSH Working Safely, to the industry specific certificates such as IOSH Managing Safely in Airports and Aviation.

What does expire is access to the course itself. From the moment you enrol, your access to the course begins. Learners have six months access to the course and must ensure they complete the course within that time period. 

Keeping Your Safety Knowledge Updated

Even though IOSH Certificates never expire, IOSH strongly recommends that a training course should be refreshed at least every 3 years.

This allows employers to be confident that their workforce’s safety knowledge is refreshed and they are motivated to use it day to day. 

Providing training on a regular basis is a legal requirement and means that, should any legislative changes, new systems or working conditions come into force, employees can be briefed on the latest regulations and best practice to ensure that their knowledge is current.

We recommend that learners who have passed the IOSH Managing Safely course should invest in the IOSH Managing Safely Refresher. The course amplifies the understanding from the Managing Safely course and expands upon, all whilst refreshing learners on any theory changes. 

The Investment of Maintaining Best Practices in Safety

For companies who have already invested in IOSH Managing Safely training, it's clear the importance of businesses updating their staff knowledge and skills.

If employees hold an IOSH Managing Safely Certificate, only a a light tune up is needed as they already understand the key concepts of health and safety in the workplace. The task of retraining becomes far easier, with the short dedicated IOSH Managing Safely Refresher course purposely created to remind people of the practical management basics of health and safety. 

What is the IOSH Managing Safely Refresher?

The IOSH Managing Safely Refresher course has been designed to update existing knowledge learnt on the full IOSH Managing Safely course. The Refresher provides a much quicker and more cost effective option that re-taking the whole course.

The course is available Online and as a In-Company course. The main advantage of the Online course is its flexibility. Learners can access the course anytime and from anywhere in the world. With just 2 to 6 hours required to complete the course and with a simple short answer quiz assessment, less working time is lost.

IOSH training allows employees to remain up-to-date on their health and safety responsibilities and become effective managers. Businesses benefit by enhancing their reputation, which is invaluable, no matter your industry. 

Refresh Employee Awareness With IOSH Working Safely

Invest in your staff's safety training and ensure your employees work with the greatest health and safety standards. Improve your organisation and significantly reduce the risk of costly accidents with the IOSH Working Safely course.

Whether your workforce has taken the IOSH Working Safely Course within the past few years and require a refresher, or new recruits need to be trained in line with best practices, the course is available online. A convenient, engaging and cost-effective solution for you and your staff's needs.

If you're deciding which IOSH qualification to undertake, we have a full selection of IOSH courses linked below developed by industry leading health and safety experts. Each of our product pages has access to demos and course guides that help to inform you about what course your enrolling on, the subjects it covers and what your learning experience will look like.

In addition to this, you also have the option to enrol on your IOSH Managing Safely Refresher with us below to tune up your heath and safety expertise.