If you are a site manager, quantity surveyor or civil engineer heading towards a CSCS card, the health and safety test you need is not the same one operatives sit — it is the Managers and Professionals (MAP) test, and it is markedly harder. Here is exactly what it covers and how it differs from the operatives version.
- Format 50 questions in 45 minutes
- Pass mark 90% — at least 45 correct
- Needed for CSCS Manager (black) card; accepted for Academically Qualified Person card
- Last updated June 2023, wider and not role-specific
Which CSCS card needs MAP
CSCS requires a MAP pass for the Manager (black) card, and accepts it — or the CIC Health and Safety Test as an alternative — for the Academically Qualified Person card. The Supervisor card uses a different test entirely, the Specialist Supervisory version, not MAP. Before you book anything, check the CSCS Card Finder to confirm which test your specific occupation and card need — booking the wrong test wastes both time and the fee.
Format and pass mark
MAP is 50 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, sat at a Pearson VUE test centre. The pass mark is 90% — you need at least 45 correct answers, notably higher than most other CITB HS&E tests. CITB updated MAP in June 2023 and describes its content as wider than earlier versions and not role-specific — meaning you should expect questions outside your day-to-day specialism, not just the topics your particular role touches most often.
The five sections
- A — Legal and management: the Health and Safety at Work Act, CDM 2015 duty holders and the construction phase plan, risk assessment, method statements, RIDDOR reporting and accident investigation.
- B — Occupational health, wellbeing and welfare: noise and vibration action values, dust and silica, dermatitis, health surveillance, stress and mental health, welfare facilities, manual handling and PPE.
- C — General safety: fire risk assessment and extinguishers, safety signs, electrical safety and buried services, site transport, lifting operations under LOLER, work equipment and COSHH.
- D — High-risk activities: working at height, scaffold inspection, excavations, confined spaces, demolition and asbestos.
- E — Environment: the waste duty of care, water pollution, noise and dust nuisance, protected species and invasive plants.
Practise all five sections at manager level. PassNova's MAP bank is 142 free questions across 11 topics, with a clear explanation on every answer — no sign-up.
MAP vs the operatives test
Both the MAP test and the standard operatives HS&E test share the same format — 50 questions, 45 minutes, 45 needed to pass — but the content sits at different levels:
- Operatives test — site-level basics: recognising hazards, using PPE correctly, safe working practices day to day.
- MAP test — management-level knowledge: legal duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act and CDM 2015, RIDDOR reporting obligations, inspection regimes, occupational health exposure thresholds, and environmental law.
If you have already passed the operatives test in a previous role, do not assume it transfers any real preparation to MAP — the level of detail expected is substantially different.
How to revise
- Learn who is responsible, what must be in place, and when. MAP rewards precise knowledge of inspection intervals, reporting deadlines and exposure action values more than general site awareness.
- Work each section in study mode before attempting full mocks — the 90% pass mark leaves very little room for guessing, so build genuine familiarity with all five sections rather than concentrating on your own specialism.
- Use CITB's free sample test alongside topic practice to get a feel for the real question style before you sit timed 50-question mocks.
- Keep sitting timed mocks until you consistently score 45 or more, not just once — a single pass in practice can still mean a fail on the day if it was close to the line.
Frequently asked questions
What pass mark do I need for the MAP test?
90% — at least 45 correct out of 50 questions in 45 minutes.
Do I need MAP for the Supervisor CSCS card?
No. The Supervisor card uses CITB's Specialist Supervisory test, not MAP. Use the CSCS Card Finder to confirm the correct test for your specific occupation.
How long is a MAP test pass valid for?
Two years, for the purpose of applying for a CSCS card. If more time than that passes before you apply, you will need to sit the test again.
One point of clarity: PassNova is a practice and revision site, not CITB or CSCS — book the real test through CITB's own booking page. Details here were checked against CITB and CSCS in September 2026.