If you need help studying for the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) exam or just want some more information about what the exam is like, you’ve come to the right place.
Click below to take a free CSP practice test!
CSP Exam Eligibility
Before you can begin the registration process, you’ll need to have at least a bachelor’s degree, and you’ll need to rack up at least four years of professional safety experience.
Once you meet those requirements, you’ll need to ensure you’ve obtained a BCSP qualified credential before you register for the exam.
What’s on the Exam?
First, let’s talk about the questions on the exam. There are 200 multiple-choice questions total, but only 176 of the questions will count toward your score. Why is that?
The 24 unscored questions on the CSP exam are called “beta” questions. These are added to the exam to determine if they’re good enough questions to add to future versions of the test.
The trick is that you won’t have any way of knowing which questions are scored and which ones are beta. They will appear just like the scored questions throughout the test.
The time limit for the exam is 5.5 hours. There aren’t any scheduled breaks, but you’re free to take restroom breaks as needed.
Let’s take a closer look at the different sections of the CSP exam.
1. ADVANCED SCIENCES AND MATH
9.95% of the exam
- Anatomy and physiology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Statistics for interpreting data
- Core research methodology
- Microbiology
- Calculating required containment volumes and hazardous materials storage requirements
- Calculating statistics from data
2. MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
13.34% of the exam
- Benchmarks and performance standards
- Elements of business continuity and contingency plans
- Budgeting, finance, and economic analysis techniques and principles
- Project management concepts and techniques
- Types of leading and lagging safety, health, environmental, and security performance indicators
- Incident investigation techniques and analysis
- Applicable requirements for plans, systems, and policies
- Management leadership techniques
- Performing gap analyses
- Conducting casual factors analyses
- Demonstrating business need via financial calculations
- Evaluating and analyzing survey data
3. RISK MANAGEMENT
14.49% of the exam
- The risk management process
- Insurance/risk transfer process
- Risk analysis and evaluation
- Costs and benefits of risk assessment processes
- Conducting hazard analysis and risk assessment
- Explaining risk management options and concepts
- Applying risk-based decision-making tools for prioritizing risk management options
4. ADVANCED APPLICATION OF KEY SAFETY CONCEPTS
14.69% of the exam
- Principles of safety through design
- Hazardous materials management
- Human performance
- Common workplace hazards
- Chemical process safety management
- Materials handling
- Administrative controls
- Engineering controls
- PPE
- Redundancy systems
- Calibrating, using, and maintaining data logging, monitoring, and measuring equipment
- Interpreting plans and process flow diagrams
5. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, FIRE PREVENTION, AND SECURITY
10.59% of the exam
- Fire prevention, protection, and suppression systems
- Workplace violence and prevention techniques
- Emergency response planning
- Transporting and securing hazardous materials
- Managing active ingredients
6. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND ERGONOMICS
12.05% of the exam
- Evaluating occupational exposures
- Controlling occupational exposures
- Occupational exposure limits
- Advanced toxicology principles
- Carcinogens
- Epidemiology
- Using sampling equipment
- Interpreting data from exposure evaluations
7. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
7.38% of the exam
- Sustainability principles
- REACH and RoHS
- Waste water treatment plants and public water systems
- Environmental protection and pollution prevention methods
- Using waste management practices
8. TRAINING/EDUCATION
10.18% of the exam
- Education and training methods and techniques
- Determining the effectiveness of training programs
- Effective presentation techniques
- Developing training assessment instruments
- Assessing training competency
- Developing training programs and materials
- Conducting training
9. LAW AND ETHICS
7.33% of the exam
- Legal issues
- BCSP Code of Ethics
- Ethics related to conducting professional practice
- Standards development processes
- Interpreting laws, regulations, and consensus codes and standards
- The relationships between management and labor
- Protection of confidential information
How to Register
To get started with the registration process, you’ll need to submit an application via the BCSP website. This application includes a $160 application fee.
Once your application is approved, you’ll be given the necessary information to register for the exam. The registration process includes a $350 exam fee.
CSP Study Guide and Flashcards
Get practice questions, detailed study lessons, and complex subjects broken down into easily understandable concepts.
Exam Scores
The exam is scored using two methods: the modified Angoff method and the bookmark standard setting method.
This method relies on a group of subject matter experts to evaluate each question on the exam and determine its overall difficulty. Once a rating is agreed upon for each question, they establish a cut score, which indicates how many questions you need to answer correctly to be at the minimum level of competency.
Bookmark Standard Setting Method
This method relies on a group of subject matter experts to evaluate each question on the exam one at a time. The goal is to find a single question that represents the minimum level of knowledge/ability required to be a competent CSP (in some cases, they may decide there are multiple “bookmark” questions).
To pass the exam, you’ll need to answer at least 140 questions correctly.
Retaking the Exam
If you didn’t get a passing score on your first try, that’s okay! You can retake the test as many times as you’d like. Just note that there’s a mandatory six-week waiting period between attempts.
FAQs
How many questions are on the CSP exam?
The exam contains 200 questions.
How long is the CSP exam?
The exam is timed at 5.5 hours.
What is the passing score for the CSP exam?
You’ll need to answer at least 140 questions correctly to pass the exam.
How much does the CSP exam cost?
The application fee is $160, and the exam fee is an additional $350.