NEBOSH International General Certificate: 2025 Specification Practice Test and Exam Guide
Six element-by-element knowledge-check and command-word drill sets for the NEBOSH IGC 2025 specification.
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The exam in brief
- Questions
- No multiple-choice questions in either unit
- Time allowed
- GIC1 is a 24-hour open-book assessment, about 4 hours of work
- Pass standard
- GIC1 at 45%, GIC2 at 60%
- Current edition
- 2025 specification, units GIC1 and GIC2
- Delivery
- Open-book scenario paper plus a practical risk assessment
At a glance
- GIC1 is a 24-hour open-book scenario-based written assessment, with about four hours of actual work, about 3,000 words, and 100 marks.
- GIC1 is passed at 45%.
- GIC2 is a practical workplace risk assessment completed on a NEBOSH template and passed at 60%.
- Both units must be passed and the certificate does not expire.
- The 2025 specification was taught from February 2, 2026 and first assessed March 4, 2026.
What does the NEBOSH International General Certificate: 2025 Specification assessment cover?
The preparation material covers the documented assessment facts listed below. The question bank reinforces those facts without presenting a practice product as an official exam or reproducing assessment content.
- GIC1 is a 24-hour open-book scenario-based written assessment, with about four hours of actual work, about 3,000 words, and 100 marks.
- GIC1 is passed at 45%.
- GIC2 is a practical workplace risk assessment completed on a NEBOSH template and passed at 60%.
- Both units must be passed and the certificate does not expire.
- The 2025 specification was taught from February 2, 2026 and first assessed March 4, 2026.
Which domains should you study?
Use these supplied brief-backed domains as the study map. They are coverage areas, not invented percentage predictions.
| Domain | Preparation focus |
|---|---|
| GIC1 elements | Review explanations after related questions and record the specific gap. |
| GIC2 practical risk assessment | Review explanations after related questions and record the specific gap. |
| Command words | Review explanations after related questions and record the specific gap. |
| ILO framework and general duties | Review explanations after related questions and record the specific gap. |
| Risk control and applied judgement | Review explanations after related questions and record the specific gap. |
How should you use these knowledge checks and revision drills?
Start with the Test 1 sample, then use domain labels and explanations to choose what to review. Retake missed questions after studying the underlying objective, and reserve the final test for timed practice where the brief provides assessment timing.
- Take the sample without looking up answers.
- Group misses by domain, not just by score.
- Review each explanation and the governing study material.
- Repeat under documented assessment conditions when available.
What is a practical NEBOSH International General Certificate: 2025 Specification study plan?
- Phase 1: work through the GIC1 elements one at a time with knowledge checks, confirming the underlying recall is solid before attempting any scenario work.
- Phase 2: drill command-word discipline until the difference between identify, outline, describe, explain and give is second nature, since this is where most marks are lost.
- Phase 3: study the ILO framework and the general duties it places on employers and workers, rather than UK regulations, because the International certificate is not built on UK law.
- Phase 4: practise the GIC2 risk assessment on the NEBOSH template itself, since the practical is half the qualification and is marked against that structure.
NEBOSH International General Certificate: 2025 Specification FAQ
Does the NEBOSH International General Certificate have multiple-choice questions?
No. The IGC contains no multiple-choice questions at all. It is assessed by an open-book scenario paper and a practical risk assessment, so anything sold as a mock exam for this qualification misrepresents the assessment.
What is GIC1?
A 24-hour open-book scenario-based written assessment of roughly 3,000 words carrying 100 marks. It represents about four hours of actual work, is marked by NEBOSH examiners, and is passed at 45%.
What is GIC2?
A practical workplace risk assessment completed on a NEBOSH template, carrying 100 points and passed at 60%.
Does the NEBOSH IGC expire?
No. Both units must be passed, and the certificate itself does not expire.
What changed in the 2025 specification?
The 2025 specification was taught from 2 February 2026 and first assessed on 4 March 2026, with the unit codes renamed GIC1 and GIC2. The older 2018 specification ran in parallel until early August 2026.
Is the International General Certificate based on UK law?
No. The IGC works from the ILO framework, principally Convention C155 and Recommendation R164, together with ILO-OSH 2001 and ISO 45001 where a management-system reference is needed. UK regulations are not the governing requirements, which is where material written for the UK NGC falls down.
What do the NEBOSH command words mean?
Identify wants a short list with no elaboration, outline wants key features with a brief indication of each, describe wants a detailed word picture, explain wants reasons answering why, and give wants a straightforward statement.
Why does misreading a command word cost so many marks?
Command-word discipline is the commonest reason candidates lose marks. An answer can be technically correct and still score poorly if it is written to the wrong command word, because the marks available are tied to what the command word asked for.