Health & safety certificates don't last forever — and letting one lapse can quietly leave your workplace non-compliant. Here's how the timings work across our three courses, and how to make sure a renewal never catches you out.
The 3-year rule
All three of our courses certify you for 3 years from the date of completion:
- Level 2 Fire Safety — valid 3 years
- Level 3 First Aid at Work — valid 3 years
- Level 2 Food Safety for Manufacturing — valid 3 years
Your certificate shows the issue date, so the expiry is simply three years later.
Requalification windows
For First Aid at Work, instead of repeating the full 3-day course every time, you can take the shorter 2-day requalification — provided you do it before your current certificate expires. The HSE recommends booking your requalification in good time; don't leave it to the last week in case dates are full.
Tip: book your requalification 2–3 months before expiry so there's always a confident first aider on site, even allowing for holidays and full courses.
What if it lapses?
If a First Aid at Work certificate is allowed to expire, you may no longer be eligible for the shorter requalification and could need to sit the full course again. There's a short grace period in some circumstances, but it's risk-free to simply renew on time. For fire and food safety, an expired certificate means it's time to refresh your training to stay current and compliant.
Never miss a renewal
Because these certificates expire on a predictable 3-year cycle, renewals are easy to forget — until an audit or incident makes it urgent. That's why we offer free renewal reminders: train with us and we'll get in touch before your certificate expires, so you can rebook in good time.
Coming up for renewal now? Browse dates or ask us to check your eligibility for requalification.