How long does SMSTS last? Validity and refresher

How long is an SMSTS or SSSTS certificate valid?

CITB gives five years for both. Check your certificate for your exact expiry date.

If you cannot find your certificate, the scheme documents say a training provider can use the online card checker to confirm it.

Put the expiry date in your diary and in your phone calendar, with a reminder set well ahead of it. Booking early gives you time if a course is full or your work pattern changes.

What are the SMSTS and SSSTS refresher courses?

The SMSTS Refresher is a two-day course of at least 15 hours. It is for existing site managers who passed the five-day SMSTS, or an earlier SMSTS refresher.

It ends with an exam in the same format as the full one: 25 questions, 32 marks, 35 minutes, and an 81% pass mark.

The SSSTS Refresher is a one-day course of 7.5 hours. It is for existing site supervisors who passed the two-day SSSTS, or an earlier refresher.

The exam has 25 questions in 30 minutes, 30 marks, four safety critical questions and an 80% pass mark (24 out of 30). As on the full course, you may use the supervision guide (GE706) in the last ten minutes.

If you are not sure which refresher you need, check which full course you hold, as the SMSTS-R and SSSTS-R are not interchangeable.

Who can take a refresher?

You need a valid certificate from the full course, or from an earlier refresher. You give proof to the training provider. If there is no record of your certificate, you must take the full course.

If you miss part of the SMSTS Refresher, the scheme allows you to make up missed days on another course within 30 days of the last day you attended. For certified illness the limit can extend to 90 days.

The two days normally run back to back, though the scheme lets providers split them on occasion.

What happens if my certificate lapses?

The scheme documents say that if you do not attend the refresher before your certificate expires, you must come back in by taking the full course. For SMSTS that means all five days.

The documents we read do not give a grace period. Some training providers talk about one, but we could not confirm it from CITB, so ask your provider and your employer before you rely on it.

Book your refresher early. Courses can fill up, and leaving it to the last week is a risk.

If you are close to your expiry date, speak to your provider now. The documents we read set no extra time after expiry, so assume the date is firm.

Should I retake the full course or do a refresher?

CITB lists both as ways to renew before expiry. The refresher is shorter, so it suits most people with a valid certificate.

If your certificate has lapsed, the refresher is no longer an option and the full course is the route. That is why the date matters.

The refresher exam is not an easier version. Revise the main topics again: law, risk assessments, health and welfare, general safety and high risk work. Law and guidance can change over five years, so do not rely on what you remember.

Our free practice paper can help you see how much has stuck. It does not replace the approved refresher course.

Refresher or full course, the exam rules for that course apply. Check them with your provider before you go, and ask what proof of your existing certificate they need to see on the day.