NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety

The NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety is the UK's most widely held health and safety qualification, and the one employers name most often when recruiting into health and safety roles. It is made up of two units, takes real study time rather than a few days, and once you hold it, it never expires.

Structure2 unitsGNC1 theory assessment and GNC2 practical risk assessment

LevelSCQF Level 611 credit points, comparable to RQF Level 3

CertificateNever expiresNo refresher and no renewal requirement

Results60 working daysBoth units issued together, from your GNC1 date

The two units

GNC1 — Management of Health and Safety

The theory unit, assessed by a 24-hour scenario-based open book assessment taken through the NEBOSH Assessment Platform, followed by a closing interview to confirm the work is your own.

You are given a realistic workplace scenario and answer tasks against it. Open book does not make it easy: the questions test whether you can apply the syllabus to a situation rather than recall it, and answers that simply repeat course notes score poorly.

GNC2 — Risk Assessment

The practical unit. You carry out a full risk assessment in a real workplace and produce an action plan with prioritised, justified controls.

It is submitted through the same platform within 10 working days of your GNC1 assessment, and marked on a points system with a pass mark of 60%. You receive a mark breakdown showing where the points came from.

Who the certificate is for

This qualification suits you if

You are moving into health and safety as a career rather than as part of another job
A job advert or role specification has named the NEBOSH General Certificate
You manage or advise on safety and need proper depth rather than an outline
You have outgrown a short course such as IOSH Managing Safely

Before you commit

There are no formal entry requirements, but this is a substantial qualification
Both units are assessed in writing, so a good standard of written English matters
You need access to a real workplace for the GNC2 risk assessment
Expect significant private study on top of taught hours

Line up your workplace before you start

GNC2 is where most people come unstuck, and almost never because the syllabus was too hard. It has to be based on a real workplace you can properly access — a process, a department or a site — and the deadline is only 10 working days after your GNC1 assessment. Decide what you are assessing before day one, not after the exam. If you are between roles, raise it with the Learning Partner at booking rather than at submission.

How you can study it

Classroom

Delivered as a block or as day release. Best for tutor contact, a cohort to work alongside, and a fixed structure that keeps you moving.

Live online

The same tutor-led teaching in a virtual classroom, without the travel or overnight stays. Popular with people fitting study around a job.

Self-paced e-learning

The cheapest and most flexible route, and the one that demands the most self-discipline. Same assessments, same certificate.

Assessment and results

Both units are submitted digitally through the NEBOSH Assessment Platform. GNC2 must be uploaded within 10 working days of your GNC1 assessment date, and results for both units are released together 60 working days after that GNC1 date, so you learn the outcome of the whole qualification at once. The printed certificate follows separately. The qualification is accredited and credit rated by Qualifications Scotland at SCQF Level 6 with 11 SCQF credit points, comparable to RQF Level 3 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and it carries no expiry date.

Common questions

Does the NEBOSH General Certificate expire?

No. There is no expiry date and no refresher requirement, which sets it apart from the CITB Site Safety Plus certificates that lapse after five years. Some employers ask for evidence of continuing professional development alongside it for practitioner roles, but the certificate itself remains valid indefinitely.

Is it still called NG1 and NG2?

No. The units were renamed GNC1 and GNC2 in February 2026, and the final assessments under the old codes took place in early August 2026, so everyone studying now is on the current specification. The unit titles are unchanged, and anyone holding a certificate under the old codes holds exactly the same qualification. If your CV says NG1 and NG2, there is nothing to update and nothing to retake.

What level is the General Certificate?

It sits at SCQF Level 6 with 11 credit points, comparable to RQF Level 3 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which is broadly A-level standard. That is the same level as the Fire Certificate, one level below the Construction Certificate, and three below the Level 6 Diploma. Level is about depth and demand, not about how respected a qualification is: the General Certificate remains the one employers name most.

Should I take NEBOSH or IOSH Managing Safely?

They answer different questions. IOSH Managing Safely is a three-day course for managers who need working knowledge of risk as part of a wider job. The NEBOSH General Certificate is a far longer qualification for people whose role is health and safety itself. If you are recruiting into a safety post, employers will name NEBOSH; if you are a manager who needs to handle safety competently, IOSH is usually enough.

How hard is the practical risk assessment?

The syllabus is not the difficulty. Access is. GNC2 must be based on a real workplace, and the submission deadline is 10 working days after GNC1, so there is no time to go looking for a site afterwards. Since 2026 it is marked against published criteria with a 60% pass mark, and you get a breakdown showing exactly where points were awarded, which makes a resubmission far easier to target than the old met or not met result.

Is the e-learning version the same qualification?

Yes. Classroom, live online and self-paced e-learning all lead to the same NEBOSH National General Certificate. The assessments are identical and are taken through the NEBOSH Assessment Platform regardless of how you studied. What differs is the support around you, which is worth weighing honestly against your own discipline.

What comes after the General Certificate?

For most people, nothing — it is the qualification employers ask for at practitioner level. If you are heading towards chartered status, the NEBOSH National Diploma at Level 6 is the next step. If you are specialising by sector, the Construction Certificate and Fire Certificate apply the same approach to those risks.

Compare NEBOSH General Certificate dates and formats below

Envico lists scheduled dates from NEBOSH Learning Partners across the UK, including classroom, live online and self-paced e-learning, so you can compare format, start date and price in one place. Working overseas? The International General Certificate covers the same ground against international standards rather than UK law. Putting a team through it? The group travel cost calculator and on-site training options are worth a look.

NEBOSH General Certificate (E-learning) 6 courses

NEBOSH General Certificate Online (Instructor-led) 12 courses

Buckinghamshire (NGC) 1 course

Cambridgeshire (NGC) 1 course

Cheshire (NGC) 3 courses

Devon (NGC) 2 courses

Essex (NGC) 1 course

Gloucestershire (NGC) 2 courses

Greater Manchester (NGC) 4 courses

Hampshire (NGC) 2 courses

Kent (NGC) 3 courses

Lancashire (NGC) 1 course

Leicestershire (NGC) 1 course

London (NGC) 5 courses

Nottinghamshire (NGC) 1 course

Scotland (NGC) 3 courses

South Yorkshire (NGC) 2 courses

Staffordshire (NGC) 1 course

Suffolk (NGC) 1 course

Teesside (NGC) 1 course

Tyne & Wear (NGC) 2 courses

Wales (NGC) 2 courses

Warwickshire (NGC) 1 course

West Midlands (NGC) 3 courses

West Yorkshire (NGC) 2 courses

Wiltshire (NGC) 3 courses

Worcestershire (NGC) 1 course

NEBOSH General Certificate Courses by Location

The 2026 Specification Change

What changed, and does it affect you?

NEBOSH reviewed the General Certificate and confirmed the syllabus itself was largely fit for purpose, so content changes were minor. The substantive changes were administrative:

Units renamed — NG1 became GNC1, NG2 became GNC2. The unit titles did not change.
Unit 2 submission moved onto the NEBOSH Assessment Platform, in line with Unit 1.
Unit 2 marking moved from a met / not met outcome to points-based marking with a published mark scheme and a 60% pass mark.
Results for both units are now released together, 60 working days after the GNC1 assessment date.

Teaching of the revised specification began on 2 February 2026, with the first assessments on 4 March. The final assessments under the old 2018 specification took place in early August 2026, so that route is now closed and all current learners study GNC1 and GNC2.

If your CV or training records refer to NG1 and NG2, they describe the same qualification. There is nothing to retake, and holders of the older certificate are not disadvantaged in any way.

Why the marking change matters

Under the old arrangement the practical unit was marked met or not met against its criteria, so missing a single element — even a minor one — could result in a referral with little indication of what went wrong.

Points-based marking replaces that with a score out of 100 and an automatic mark breakdown showing where points were awarded. A resubmission can now be targeted at the weak areas rather than rewritten wholesale.

About NEBOSH

The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health is an independent awarding body founded in 1979. It sets the syllabus and the assessments and approves the Learning Partners who deliver the training, but does not run courses itself.

The General Certificate is accredited and credit rated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Browse all NEBOSH courses.

Where the General Certificate Fits

The General Certificate is the middle rung of a fairly clear progression:

IOSH Managing Safely — three days, for managers who need working knowledge of risk as part of a wider role. Not a health and safety qualification as such.
NEBOSH General Certificate — the practitioner entry point, and the qualification employers name when recruiting for health and safety roles.
NEBOSH National Diploma — Level 6, for those pursuing chartered status and senior practitioner roles.

Working in a specific sector? The NEBOSH Construction Certificate and the NEBOSH Fire Certificate apply the same approach to construction and fire risk. For roles based overseas, the International General Certificate covers the same ground against international standards rather than UK law.

Working in construction?

NEBOSH and the CITB Site Safety Plus schemes serve different purposes and neither replaces the other. NEBOSH demonstrates depth of health and safety knowledge; SMSTS and SSSTS are what principal contractors require to run or supervise a site, and they expire after five years.

Not sure which construction course your role calls for? Our free Site Safety Plus course finder works it out in three questions.

Keeping track of what you hold

The NEBOSH General Certificate never expires, but most other safety qualifications do, and the dates rarely line up. The free Certificate Expiry Checker covers 65 qualifications and works out when each one runs out and what renews it.

More free planning tools are in our templates and tools range.

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