Can anyone do a COSHH assessment?

You don't need any particular qualifications but you must be competent. This means you must have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to do the job properly. You can learn more about COSHH training here.

How long does a COSHH certificate last?

Your COSHH Awareness certificate has no expiry date. However, to ensure knowledge of COSHH is maintained we recommend a renewal period of 2 years. You can learn more about COSHH Training and the importance of it here.

How often should COSHH training be completed?

There is no set requirement for how often COSHH training should take place or when refresher courses should be offered. However, it is useful to re-visit health and safety-related topics every year to two years to ensure employers are constantly refreshed on the importance of COSHH and the risks associated with improper management of hazards in the workplace. You can learn more about COSHH Training and the importance of it here.

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COSHH Training Course

When working with hazardous substances it is very important to follow COSHH regulations to ensure the safety of yourself and others. Employers are legally required to comply with Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations 2002 and the 2004 amendment, ensuring employees complete our online COSHH course is one way of doing this.

This course was reviewed and updated in February 2025

Course Overview

Format

Intermediate
30 - 45 Minutes
Online Study
Self-Printed Certificate

Accreditation

1 CPD Hour
CPD Certified
RoSPA Assured

Course description

Our COSHH training course allows learners to be able to work with hazardous substances safely and effectively in a way that is appropriate to their work. Employees will understand the risks associated with dangerous substances, and the precautions they can take to ensure their safety.

COSHH stands for Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations. This comprehensive set of regulations requires employers to limit and control exposure to hazardous substances. Thousands of people working in industries ranging from cleaning to agriculture fall ill every year as a result of working with hazardous substances. This can include contracting types of cancer, skin diseases such as dermatitis, or lung diseases including asthma.

By completing this COSHH training course, learners will be able to work with hazardous substances safely and effectively in a way that is appropriate to their work. Employees will understand the risks associated with dangerous substances, and the precautions they can take to ensure their safety.

This training material will provide learners with the facts about the COSHH legislation and how important it is for businesses to ensure employee safety. Learners will recognise the responsibilities of employees and employers when it comes to COSHH regulations, and learners will also be able to identify harmful substances in the workplace and their effects.

This COSHH training online course was previously known as An Overview of COSHH.

COSHH Legislation and Regulations

Employers are legally obligated to comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations 2002 and the 2004 amendment.

Any business that uses substances that can be hazardous to health is obligated to control the risk of exposure to employees. This is partly a responsibility given by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, but also The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, which more specifically cover dealing with harmful substances in the workplace.

Regulation EH40/2005 Workplace exposure limits contains documentation that explains the legally defined exposure limits for 31 common and dangerous substances. COSHH is therefore a law and a framework for processes that help ensure that the risk of hazardous substances causing harm to people is reduced.

Such hazardous substances can include the following;

Biological agents
Chemicals
Dusts
Fumes
Gases
Microorganisms
Mists
Vapours

Why take this COSHH training course?

By completing this COSHH training course, learners will be able to work with hazardous substances safely and effectively in a way that is appropriate to their work. Employees will understand the risks associated with dangerous substances, and the precautions they can take to ensure their safety.

The training material in this COSHH training course will provide learners with the facts about COSHH legislation and how important it is for businesses to ensure employee safety and insight on how to maintain their safety.

On completion of this COSHH course learners will also be able to recognise the responsibilities of employees and employers when it comes to COSHH regulations, and learners will also be able to identify harmful substances in the workplace and the effects it can have on them.

What does this COSHH training course cover?

COSHH compliance is essential for businesses and employees need to know exactly what kind of substances they are working with how to do it safely.

Module	What it includes
Introduction and Learning Outcomes	This introduction to the course explains the importance of COSHH, what it stands for and the laws relating to it. It also includes the learning outcomes of the training and a self-assessment to test your knowledge.
COSHH at a Glance	COSHH may sound like an highly technical term but this second section of the course provides a couple of knowledge checks to explain the term in a simple way. It also explains COSHH's importance, when it is applicable, who is responsible and what effects hazardous substances can have on the body.
Understanding Hazardous Substances	Here we look at the hazards and risks you might encounter in the workplace, how hazards can be identified, chemical hazards and COSHH safety symbols.
Responsibilities and Legal Requirements	Both employers and employees have their responsibilities when it comes to COSHH, here we look at who is responsible for what and the consequences of not following your responsibilities through a series of scenarios and interactive challenges.
Risk Assessment and Control Measures	COSHH plays a role in a lot of risk assessments and here we explain how, the importance of safety data sheets, the COSHH hierarchy of control with a variety of knowledge checks and interactive challenges.
A Sensible Approach to Managing Risk	The final part of the course runs through 'the golden rules' you need to follow to help keep you safe in the workplace and ends with three knowledge checks to ensure you are ready for the assessment.

Who should take COSHH training?

This COSHH training course is suitable for anyone who works or comes into contact with hazardous substances or materials in the workplace. Those professions which should undertake COSHH training include:

Agriculture
Beauty and hairdressing
Builders
Catering and baking
Cleaning staff
Decorators
Engineers
Farmers
Mechanics
Offshore oil and gas workers
Painters
Printing
Vehicle repair and painting
Welding
Woodworking

Accreditation

Our COSHH training course is RoSPA Assured and their logo will be included on your certificate.

The content of this COSHH training online course has also been independently certified as conforming to universally accepted Continuous Professional Development (CPD) guidelines.

Duration

This COSHH course should take approximately 30 - 45 minutes to complete. The length of time taken depends entirely on how quickly you can study and absorb the material.

Your progress is automatically saved along the way so you can complete the training at your convenience.

Target Audience

This course is suitable for anyone who works in an environment where they need to know about Control of Substances Hazardous to Health.

Entry Requirements

There are no specific entry requirements for this COSHH training course.

Test and COSHH ceritification

The end of course test consists of 14 multiple choice questions. Learners are required to achieve an 80% pass mark, and you may attempt the test as many times as you like.

Learners will be able to download a digital COSHH certificate assured by RoSPA on completion. This can be printed, and we suggest you keep it for your records.

What other training can I complete?

We offer a wide range of accredited online health and safety courses and packages which will help keep you and your team safe including:

You will learn

The impact of hazardous substances

The dangers of hazardous substances, including hazard symbols. Also identifying risks at work

Who is responsible for what when it comes to COSHH

How to conduct a risk assessment for hazardous substance

Some practical top tips when dealing with hazardous substances

Who is it for?

Roles including:

Anyone who works or comes into contact with hazardous substances or materials is at risk of harm including:

Mechanics

Hairdressers

Cleaners

Farmers

Decorators

Tradespeople

Welders

Bakers/Caterers

Legislation

Legislation covered in this course includes:

Employers are legally obligated to comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations 2002 and the 2004 amendment.

Any business that uses substances that can be hazardous to health is obligated to control the risk of exposure to employees. This is partly a responsibility given by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, but also The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, which more specifically cover dealing with harmful substances in the workplace.

COSHH Training FAQs

Can anyone do a COSHH assessment?

You don't need any particular qualifications but you must be competent. This means you must have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to do the job properly.
You can learn more about COSHH training here.
How long does a COSHH certificate last?

Your COSHH Awareness certificate has no expiry date. However, to ensure knowledge of COSHH is maintained we recommend a renewal period of 2 years.
You can learn more about COSHH Training and the importance of it here.
How often should COSHH training be completed?

There is no set requirement for how often COSHH training should take place or when refresher courses should be offered. However, it is useful to re-visit health and safety-related topics every year to two years to ensure employers are constantly refreshed on the importance of COSHH and the risks associated with improper management of hazards in the workplace.
You can learn more about COSHH Training and the importance of it here.

How the online courses work

Find a course

To begin searching for your online training you can click on the course category section on our website and browse through all of our training categories.
Alternatively if you already know the title of the training you’re looking for you can use the search bar located in the centre of the homepage and go directly to the course you want.
Buy the course

When buying one of our courses, you will need to enter a valid email address which will be used to create your account with our Learning Management System – Enable – where you will take the training. We will also send your purchase receipt to this email address, and any additional courses purchased in future using the same email address will be added to your system account.
Once you have purchased a course, you will be able to send this course to other people using your system account with Enable by entering the new learner’s email address so that they may access the training and set up their own system account with our Learning Management System.
If you are not 100% satisfied with your course then we offer a 30-day, no hassle money-back guarantee. To request a refund, you should email our learner support team with your receipt stating why you would like to be reimbursed. You, or your learners, must not have completed the training in order to make a valid refund claim. Any claim made after the training has been completed will be invalidated.
Take the course

This online course consists of a series of pages in which an instructor will talk learners through the lesson material. Pages may include supporting pictures, graphs, animation or extra sounds to help with the learning where appropriate. Some lessons will include challenges/quizzes to help learners stay engaged and interested in the material. Lessons can be taken in any order and each lesson may be paused and resumed at any stage.
The course is self-paced so learners decide how fast or slow the training goes. There is no deadline for completion but some of our courses have a test at the end to check that learners have understood the material. If the course has a test at the end then learners are required to achieve a 75% pass mark to successfully complete the course. Once learners have passed the test they are awarded a certificate, which can either be downloaded digitally or sent as a physical copy if this option was chosen when purchasing the course.
Your Certificate

Upon completion of any of our courses, learners will be able to download a digital certificate from Virtual College which will include the accrediting bodies logo where applicable, the learner's name, the title of the course and the date of completion.
If you have purchased the posted certificate option, available on selected courses, a high quality, seal embossed, certificate will be sent out the following working week after completion.

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