How Long Does a First Aid Certificate Last?

This is the question we are asked most often, usually by someone who has just found an expiry date on a certificate and is not sure how much time they have. Here is the straight answer, what to do if the date has already passed, and how to stop it happening again.

Validity and renewal at a glance

Note the last row. This catches people out in both directions: they assume a food hygiene certificate expires like a first aid one (it does not have a statutory expiry), or they assume a first aid certificate lasts indefinitely because their food hygiene one seemed to (it does not).

How long is a first aid certificate valid?

Three years. That applies to both workplace qualifications:

• First Aid at Work (FAW) — the three-day qualification for higher-hazard workplaces
• Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) — the one-day qualification for lower-hazard workplaces

The clock starts on the date of the course, not the date the certificate arrives or the date you booked it. HSE guidance puts it plainly: “Before their certificates expire, first-aiders will need to undertake a requalification course as appropriate, to obtain another three-year certificate.”

What happens when a certificate expires?

The person stops counting as a workplace first aider. HSE’s wording is unambiguous: “once certificates have expired the first aider is no longer considered to be competent to act as a workplace first aider.”

Three consequences follow, and they matter in different ways:

1. Your provision is no longer what your assessment said it should be. If your needs assessment concluded you need two qualified first aiders and one has quietly lapsed, you have one. That is a compliance gap, not a paperwork one.
2. You cannot evidence your arrangements. If something goes wrong and you are asked to demonstrate adequate and appropriate provision, an expired certificate demonstrates the opposite.
3. It costs more to fix. The two-day FAW requalification route is designed for people renewing a current certificate. Once it has lapsed, whether the shorter route is still appropriate becomes a judgement for the individual, the training provider and the employer — and in many cases the answer is the full three-day course again.

One missed diary entry can turn two days into three, per person.

What if it has already expired?

Do not panic, and do not assume the worst automatically. What happens next depends on how long ago it lapsed and on the person’s role and experience.

• Recently lapsed, experienced first aider: some providers and awarding organisations will still accept them onto requalification. It is a judgement call, made between the individual, the provider and the employer.
• Long lapsed, or limited practical experience since: the full course is normally the right answer, and honestly the better one — skills genuinely fade.
• Either way: until they requalify, that person does not count towards your first aid provision. If they were one of only two first aiders, address the gap now rather than at the next incident.

Send us the certificate date and the course type and we will tell you which route applies rather than just selling you the longer one.

When should we book the renewal?

Our advice to employers is to start about three months out. That gives you room to find a date that works around shifts and holidays, and a buffer if someone is off sick on the day.

The system that works is the boring one: a shared spreadsheet or calendar with every first aider’s name, course type, certificate date and expiry date, and a reminder set 90 days before. If you have more than a handful of first aiders, this is the single most useful thing you can do about first aid compliance.

Renew a certificate

Deals

First Aid at Work Courses

Not sure which one you need? Call us on 0845 838 4643 with the certificate in front of you and we will tell you.

Is annual refresher training compulsory?

No — and if a provider tells you otherwise, they are selling rather than advising. HSE strongly recommends annual refresher training to help first aiders keep their skills current between requalifications, but confirms it is not a requirement.

It is still a good idea, for a reason that is easy to underrate. Skills practised once every three years fade badly, and the specific things that fade are the ones that matter most under pressure: compression depth, the willingness to actually fetch the defibrillator, and the confidence to act at all rather than wait. A short annual session costs far less than the consequence of hesitating.

Treat it as good practice, not as law — and be sceptical of anyone who presents it the other way round.

When guidance changes mid-certificate

A certificate stays valid for its three years even when the underlying guidance is updated. Resuscitation Council UK published its 2025 Guidelines, superseding the 2021 set, and some of what changed is practical — calling 999 earlier, for instance.

Your certificates did not become invalid. But someone trained under older guidance will be doing something slightly different from someone trained last month, and a refresher is exactly the mechanism for closing that. See what is current in UK resuscitation guidance.

Does this apply to other certificates?

• Paediatric First Aid — also three years. Early years settings in England have additional requirements set out in the Department for Education’s EYFS statutory framework, which is what you should check rather than the workplace regulations.
• Mental Health First Aid — certification periods are set by the awarding body rather than by first aid law, because MHFA is not covered by the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981. See is mental health first aid a legal requirement?
• Health and safety and food safety qualifications — generally no statutory expiry. What the law requires is that training remains adequate, so refresh it when roles, equipment or risks change. Many employers adopt a three-year cycle as policy, and inspectors often expect to see something like it. See health and safety training.

Who is responsible for keeping certificates current?

The employer. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 place the duty to provide adequate and appropriate first aid provision on the employer, and provision that has quietly expired is not adequate.

In practice this means somebody named needs to own the tracker. It is nobody’s favourite job, and it is invariably the thing that gets dropped when that person changes role — which is exactly when a batch of certificates lapses unnoticed.

Worth knowing: HSE stopped approving first aid training providers in October 2013. It is now for the employer to satisfy themselves that a provider is competent — trainer qualifications, the awarding organisation behind the certificate, and the provider’s quality assurance arrangements. See how to choose a first aid training provider.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a first aid at work certificate last?

Three years from the date of the course. This applies to both First Aid at Work (FAW) and Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW), and to Paediatric First Aid.

What happens if my first aid certificate has expired?

HSE states that once a certificate has expired, the holder is no longer considered competent to act as a workplace first aider. Whether they can still take the shorter requalification course or need to repeat the full course is a decision for the individual, the training provider and the employer, based on how long it has lapsed and their experience.

How long is the FAW requalification course?

Two days, compared with three days for the full First Aid at Work course. It must be completed before the existing certificate expires.

How do I renew an EFAW certificate?

By repeating the one-day Emergency First Aid at Work course. There is no shorter requalification route for EFAW because the original course is already a single day.

Is annual refresher training a legal requirement?

No. HSE strongly recommends annual refresher training so that first aiders keep their skills current and stay up to date with changes in procedure, but it is a recommendation rather than a legal requirement. The three-yearly requalification is what keeps the certificate valid.

How far in advance should we book requalification?

We suggest around three months before the expiry date. That leaves room to find a date that fits around shifts and leave, and a buffer if the person is unable to attend on the day.

Who is responsible for tracking certificate expiry dates?

The employer. The duty to make adequate and appropriate first aid provision sits with the employer under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, and that includes keeping the provision in date.

Does a first aid certificate transfer to a new employer?

The qualification belongs to the individual and remains valid for its three years regardless of who they work for. Whether it satisfies the new employer depends on that employer’s own needs assessment — an EFAW certificate may be enough in one workplace and not in another.

Do food hygiene and health and safety certificates expire too?

Not in the same way. Those qualifications have no statutory expiry date; the legal requirement is that training remains adequate for the work being done. Many businesses adopt a three-year refresher cycle as policy, and it is what inspectors generally expect to see.

Book a requalification course

Send us the expiry date and the certificate type and we will tell you which course is needed and when we can run it. Call 0845 838 4643 or use the enquiry form on this page.