| Qualification |
Open Book Exam (OBE) |
Practical |
| National General Certificate | GNC1 – 24 hour exam |
GNC2 – risk assessment |
| International General Certificate | GIC1 – 24 hour exam | GIC2 – risk assessment |
| Certificate in Fire Safety | FSC1 – 24 hour exam | FSC2 – fire risk assessment |
| H&S Management for Construction | NC1 – 48 hour exam | N/A* |
* There is no separate risk assessment required for the Health and Safety Management for Construction qualification, a scenario-based risk assessment activity is included within the OBE.
Grading
Qualification grades are calculated based on the result in an OBE exam (you must also pass the practical for the General and Fire courses to achieve the qualification):
0% - 45% = Refer
45% - 64% = Pass
65% - 74% = Credit
75%+ = Distinction
NEBOSH uses a process called “mark and grade adjustment” to ensure fairness across all learners, regardless of which paper they receive. This means that while the nominal pass mark is usually 45 for NG1 assessments, the actual pass mark may be adjusted slightly up or down depending on the overall difficulty of the exam paper.
Open Book Examinations
OBEs are scenario-based, requiring a student to apply information taught in their course to the scenario. OBEs are not necessarily easier than closed book examinations, and need a different approach to a traditional closed-book exam. Guidance on best practices for OBE exams can be found in your course materials and on the Study Support Hub.
You can check exam dates, prices and book your chosen NEBOSH OBE via the Learning Zone.
Practical Risk Assessments
Practical risk assessments are used to assess your ability to apply your learning in the workplace. You can complete your practical in advance of booking/submitting it. Guidance and the correct template are available in your course materials and on the Study Support Hub.
All assessments for a qualification must be successfully completed within 5 years.
National and International General Certificate (GNC2 / GIC2) – Unit 2 assessment update
Unit 2 (GNC2/GIC2) remains a practical risk assessment, but submission, marking and results are changing to streamline the learner journey and address feedback on marking.
Submission
You will submit Unit 2 via NEBOSH’s online assessment platform (in the same way as Unit 1).
The deadline to submit Unit 2 is 10 working days after your Unit 1 (GNC1/GIC1) 24-hour scenario-based assessment.
Marking
Marking will move from Met/Not Met to a points-based marking system.
You will automatically receive a mark breakdown document showing how your score was awarded.
The pass mark is 60%.
Results
Results for both units will be issued on the same day, 60 working days after the Unit 1 (GNC1/GIC1) assessment.
This means you will receive the outcome of your full qualification at the same time.
Other practical risk assessments (e.g. Fire Certificate)
For qualifications that still use the British Safety Council practical submission process, the practical submission date is 12 working days after that month’s OBE exam date.
You can check submission dates, prices, and book your chosen practical via the Learning Zone.
The date you book is the submission date for your practical. To submit, email your completed practical to [email protected] by 17:00 (UK time) on your submission date. You may submit earlier than the submission date, but you must have booked your submission for it to be sent to NEBOSH for marking.
Please note: when you are enrolled onto a practical by NEBOSH, they may confirm the start of the submission period (the same date as an OBE exam) rather than the submission date set by the British Safety Council.
Results for the practical will be emailed to you by NEBOSH approximately 50 working days after the start of the submission period. If you complete both the exam and practical in the same month, you will receive the results for both together.
Booking deadlines and amendments
NEBOSH assessments must be booked and paid for a minimum of 10 working days before the start of the scheduled exam/practical.
We are unable to amend bookings on assessments once you have been enrolled on an exam or practical by NEBOSH, if you require a change to a booking please contact [email protected].