Key Takeaways
- The CHST is a respected, technician-level certification that demonstrates specialized construction safety knowledge and builds credibility on the job site.
- Earning it requires three years of construction safety experience and passing a computer-based, multiple-choice exam covering hazard control, safety program development, leadership, and emergency preparedness.
- The exam costs $300, on top of a $140 application fee, and it’s delivered at a Pearson testing center.
- Keeping the credential means paying a $145 annual renewal fee and earning 20 recertification points every five years.
- For most safety techs and coordinators, the CHST improves both earning potential and hireability.
What Is the CHST Certification?
Construction is among the most dangerous industries to work in, accounting for about one in five worker deaths on the job each year. That risk is exactly why a credential built around construction safety carries weight, both for the workers it protects and for the companies trying to avoid the delays and costs that come with an incident.
The Construction Health and Safety Technician certification is a credential from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals that proves you can manage safety on a job site. It’s a nationally accredited, technician-level certification that commands respect from management and subcontractors alike, and it’s often the first real credential a safety professional earns on the way to bigger roles.
This guide covers who it’s for, what it takes to qualify, what’s on the exam, and how much it costs. For what the credential signals to a hiring manager and how it changes the day-to-day work, check our companion piece on what CHST means on a job site.
Who Should Pursue the CHST?
The CHST is usually pursued by entry level safety technicians, safety coordinators, and superintendents moving into a starting environmental health and safety (EHS) role. Compared with BCSP’s other credentials, its requirements are the most attainable, which makes it a natural starting point. Here’s how it stacks up against the Associate Safety Professional (ASP) and Certified Safety Professional:
- CHST: a high school diploma and three years of construction safety experience. It’s the entry point, aimed at professionals early in their careers.
- ASP: an associate or bachelor’s degree in a safety-related or general field, plus at least one year of professional safety experience. It suits mid-level professionals continuing their growth.
- CSP: a bachelor’s degree, at least four years of safety experience, and a qualifying credential such as the ASP. It’s built for senior safety professionals.
CHST Eligibility Requirements
The CHST certification focuses on field construction safety. To qualify for the exam, a candidate must:
- Hold a high school diploma or equivalent.
- Have at least three years of construction safety experience.
That experience has a catch: at least 35% of your job tasks over those three years must be directly in construction safety. That means hands-on work aimed at preventing injuries, illnesses, and hazards, such as hazard identification, safety program implementation, safety training, and incident investigation. If you’re working in another field like manufacturing, you should look at the Occupational Health and Safety Technologist, which is the industry equivalent (and also offered by the BCSP).
The Application
Once you meet the requirements, you apply through BCSP’s My Profile portal. The application asks for:
- Personal and educational information: legal name, contact details, and proof of education.
- Work experience: a detailed employment history.
- Safety duties breakdown: the percentage of your daily tasks spent on safety, showing that at least 35% of your work over the past three years was active health and safety practice.
- Payment: the application fee is $140.
BCSP reviews the application after you submit it. Once approved, you have one year to take the exam. Miss that window and a one-time eligibility extension runs $100.
CHST Exam: Content, Format, and Difficulty
The CHST is a computer-based, multiple-choice exam of about 200 questions, delivered at a Pearson testing center. You get four hours to complete it, and the exam fee is $300.
BCSP sets the passing score through a standard psychometric process rather than a fixed percentage, so there’s no simple “70% and you’re in” threshold. Official results appear as soon as you submit. Most candidates find it moderately difficult: it rewards real field experience, a working grasp of the hierarchy of controls, and familiarity with OSHA construction standards.
The Exam Blueprint: Four Domains
BCSP organizes the CHST exam into four domains, weighted roughly like this:
- Hazard and Risk Identification and Control (about 37%): by far the largest domain, covering the hazards and controls you deal with on a site every day.
- Safety Program Development, Implementation, and Sustainment (about 23%): standards, site-specific plans, inspections, and recordkeeping.
- Leadership, Communication, and Training (about 21%): training delivery, communication strategy, and safety leadership.
- Emergency Preparedness, Incident Investigation, and Response (about 20%): emergency planning, incident causation, and response.
Candidates often stumble on the specifics of OSHA standards and industrial hygiene metrics, and on questions that call for a leadership perspective rather than a field-tech one. If those areas (or any others) feel shaky to you, spend some extra time studying before taking the test.
Retakes
Fail the exam and you’ll wait at least six weeks before trying again. A retake costs another $300 and has to happen within your original one-year eligibility window.
Put your results to work before you rebook. If you don’t pass, your score report shows how you did by domain, so the categories where you came up short are the clearest place to focus your studying the second time around.
How to Prepare for the CHST Exam
A few strategies put you in a strong position:
- Start with the blueprint. Review BCSP’s exam blueprint, find your weak areas, and spend your study time there. BCSP’s examCORE course or another reputable study guide can help.
- Review the OSHA 1926 construction standards. Hazard identification and control is the largest slice of the exam, so it earns the most attention.
- Practice under time pressure. Timed practice exams get you ready for the four-hour format.
CHST Cost and Renewal
Beyond the application and exam fees, BCSP charges a $145 annual renewal fee to keep the credential active, with late fees if you miss the deadline. You also need 20 recertification points every five years, earned through continuing education and training, professional practice, teaching or publishing, or earning additional credentials.
Career Payoff: What CHST-Certified Professionals Do Day to Day
A CHST does more than dress up a résumé. The credential builds the credibility that gives a safety professional real authority on site, whether they’re running hazard assessments, reviewing pre-task plans, or walking a subcontractor’s work area. It’s often the difference between attending safety meetings and leading them.
Day to day, a CHST-certified professional is typically qualified to:
- Lead safety huddles, crew briefings, and toolbox talks.
- Perform site walks and inspect equipment and materials.
- Confirm workers are in the right personal protective equipment (PPE).
- Verify that work complies with OSHA regulations and the site safety plan.
- Correct unsafe behavior and field questions or concerns from the crew.
- Document incidents and near-misses.
- Brief management on jobsite risk levels.
- Prepare safety plans for the coming workdays.
- Work with tools like Safety Mojo’s My Day Dashboard to track it all.
Becoming a More Hireable Professional
CHST certification can move a résumé toward the top of the stack. Many construction firms require or prefer it for safety roles, and it often tips the decision between two candidates. It can lift earning potential too. BCSP’s Safety Salary Calculator shows how credentials like the CHST factor into compensation for safety professionals.
Keep Building Your Safety Knowledge
If you’re working toward the CHST, the best next step is to keep learning. The Safety Mojo blog has more on construction safety, certifications, and what the day-to-day work looks like once you’re certified.
CHST FAQs
Is the CHST exam difficult?
Most candidates find it moderately difficult. It’s a computer-based, multiple-choice exam of about 200 questions with a four-hour limit, and it rewards field experience alongside a solid grasp of OSHA standards and the hierarchy of controls.
How do you get a CHST certification?
Meet the eligibility requirements (a high school diploma and three years of construction safety experience, with at least 35% of your tasks in safety), apply through BCSP, pay the application and exam fees, and pass the exam.
How much does the CHST cost?
The exam is $300, on top of a $140 application fee. After you’re certified, a $145 annual renewal fee keeps the credential active.
