CSCS card colours: what each card means and how long it lasts

A skills card records evidence for an occupation or training route. Holding a card is not a legal requirement in itself. Many contractors require an appropriate card for construction work, and the contractor sets the site’s access rules. The card contributes to competence checks; it does not by itself prove every skill, behaviour or experience the task needs.

The main card colours

• Green — Labourer. For general labouring duties. The applicant needs an accepted entry-level safety qualification or course and the required test pass. A person working in a skilled occupation should use that occupation’s route.
• Red — Apprentice. Records registration on a recognised apprenticeship. Access remains subject to the site’s checks, with induction and supervision suited to the apprentice and task.
• Blue — Skilled Worker. For someone holding a relevant Level 2 vocational qualification (NVQ or SVQ) for their own occupation. Some occupations use another CSCS Alliance scheme; check the route for the actual job rather than choosing a card by colour alone.
• Gold — Supervisory or advanced skilled work. These are separate routes with qualifications appropriate to the role.
• Black — Manager. For the relevant management qualification route. The gold Supervisory card serves a different role; neither colour is permission to undertake every construction task.

Validity and renewal

A Blue Skilled Worker card lasts five years. A first Labourer card lasts two years; someone continuing in a labouring role can renew for five years when the renewal requirements are met, including evidence of that work. Other routes have their own validity periods.

Check the current qualification, test and renewal requirements for the card. For renewal of an initial two-year Labourer card, acceptance of the original safety test is extended to three years. Do not assume every renewal needs a new test or that every card lasts five years.

An expired card does not show current status and does not renew automatically. Arrange the correct renewal or next route and check site requirements before arriving. Never lend a card or present another person’s card as your own.

The My CSCS app holds your digital card and supports applications and renewals. Site teams use CSCS Smart Check to verify the scheme record. They must also match its identity details to the person presenting it and check that the card suits the work.

What a card does not do

A card is evidence of training and role suitability. It does not exempt you from the site induction or the site rules, it does not prove you are insured to operate plant, it does not make you an employee of the principal contractor, and it does not remove anyone’s duty to manage safety, supervise work or provide welfare facilities. The site still decides access and the controls needed for the work.

Temporary and other cards

• The Apprentice card lasts four years and six months and is not renewable. The Experienced Worker card lasts one year and is also not renewable.
• The Trainee routes differ: the five-year card for someone registered on an accepted qualification is not renewable. A separate initial two-year card is available after an approved occupation-related non-competence qualification; registration on an accepted next qualification can support a further three-year card.
• The Provisional card lasts six months, is not renewable and is available only once to someone who has not held a CSCS card before. It supports specified first-entry situations such as probation or a short placement, with progression to the appropriate qualification and card route.
• A trainee's card shows competence is still developing, so supervision is still needed.
• The gold Skilled Worker card is for an NVQ or SVQ at Level 3 or an approved apprenticeship; the gold Supervisory card is a separate route.
• The Academically Qualified Person route covers accepted construction-related academic qualifications, including relevant degrees, HNCs and HNDs. The Professionally Qualified Person route needs the required assessed membership grade of an approved professional body.
• A card covers the occupation it was issued for, not every trade: gas work, for example, needs its own registration and competence.
• Arriving without your card, and unable to show it in the app, can mean security refuses you access until it is confirmed.
• Applying for or renewing a card normally needs a pass in the safety test within the previous two years, which shows your knowledge is still current.