PSM - Professional Safety Manager
For experienced health and safety professionals with significant supervisory, management or safety-programme responsibility.
PSM Professional Certification
PSM is a management-focused professional certification for experienced health and safety professionals who hold meaningful responsibility for people, programmes, systems or organisational safety performance.
Who the certification is for
PSM is intended for professionals whose work goes beyond substantial safety duties into supervision, management responsibility, safety-programme leadership or oversight of organisational health and safety arrangements.
Professional focus
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Health and safety management systems and organisational arrangements.
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Leadership and supervisory responsibility in safety practice.
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Oversight of organisational safety programmes and risk-control activity.
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Management-level judgement, accountability and professional conduct.
Eligibility
Degree route
Relevant Bachelor’s/Master’s degree + minimum 5 years relevant health and safety experience, including at least 2 years with supervisory, management or safety-programme responsibility.
Diploma route
Relevant HSE/safety Diploma + minimum 7 years relevant health and safety experience, including at least 3 years with supervisory or management responsibility.
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Evidence should demonstrate genuine responsibility for safety management systems, teams, organisational safety programmes, risk control or health-and-safety management.
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Minimum age: 18.
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Government-issued photo identification.
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Verifiable qualifications.
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CV / professional history.
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Verifiable employment or occupational experience.
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Job description or duty evidence where required.
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Candidate declaration.
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Acceptance of the Pro Class Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.
Once an applicant is approved as eligible to sit the examination, eligibility remains valid for 12 months.
Application & Certification Process
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Application
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Eligibility Review
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Payment
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Examination Booking
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Examination
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Examination Result
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Certification Decision
Once Pro Class has confirmed your eligibility you pay the examination fee, and you can then book your examination. Payment comes before booking. Payment is an administrative step: it does not approve eligibility, pass the examination or grant certification.
Passing the examination does not itself constitute final certification. Pro Class completes the formal certification decision before the credential becomes active.
PSM Fees
| Application / eligibility review | £50 |
| First examination + certification decision processing | £139 |
| Retake examination | £49.99 |
| Annual maintenance | £10/year |
| Five-year recertification | £99 |
| Replacement digital certificate | £30 |
| Optional printed replacement certificate | £25 + delivery/postage |
Once Pro Class has confirmed your eligibility you pay the examination fee, and you can then book your examination. Payment comes before booking. Payment is an administrative step: it does not approve eligibility, pass the examination or grant certification.
The £139 includes the first examination attempt, certification-decision processing and a digital professional certificate if certification is granted. One payment covers one examination attempt.
Payment does not guarantee certification. A passing examination result alone does not automatically mean certification has been granted.
Certification Validity & Annual Maintenance
| Certification validity | 5 years |
| Annual maintenance | Annual declaration plus £10 annual maintenance fee |
| Professional activity | At least 2 years of relevant professional activity during the five-year certification cycle |
| Continued competence | Evidence of continued professional competence is required |
PSM certificants are expected to remain professionally active in health and safety management or closely related responsibility while completing annual maintenance requirements.
CPD & Continued Professional Competence
| CPD | 100 CPD hours over five years |
| Recommended CPD pace | Around 20 hours per year |
| Ethics / professional conduct | Minimum 2 CPD hours over the five-year cycle |
PSM CPD should support continued competence in management-level health and safety practice. The common requirement is 100 CPD hours across five years, around 20 hours per year recommended, including at least 2 hours in ethics or professional conduct.
Recertification
| Recertification cycle | Every 5 years |
| Recertification fee | £99 |
PSM recertification considers continued management-level professional activity, evidence of ongoing competence, compliance with certification requirements and completion of the applicable CPD requirements.
Recertification requires evidence of continued competence, professional activity, compliance with certification requirements and completion of the applicable CPD requirements. Completing 100 CPD hours alone does not guarantee recertification.
Where continued competence is uncertain, Pro Class may request further supporting evidence, a professional-practice review, interview, targeted assessment or re-examination where justified.
Pro Class may audit submitted CPD records and professional-practice evidence as part of recertification.
Code of Ethics
PSM applicants and certificants must comply with the Pro Class Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.
Read the Code of Ethics →Complaints, Appeals & Reasonable Adjustments
Apply for PSM
If your experience includes substantial safety-management, supervisory or programme responsibility, use the current enquiry route to start a PSM application enquiry.
PSM Examination
| Questions | 100 scored multiple-choice questions (MCQs) |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Pass requirement | 70 correct answers out of 100 — 70% |
| Delivery | Computer-based |
| Reference conditions | Closed-book |
| Language | English |
| Invigilation | Mandatory proctoring / invigilation |
| Delivery arrangements | Approved remote delivery, or an approved physical examination location under controlled invigilation |
Retake Rules
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One examination payment covers one examination attempt.
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A retake requires a new examination booking and a new examination payment.
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Minimum 2-week waiting period before a retake.
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Maximum 3 attempts within 12 months.
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After three failed attempts, the candidate must wait 12 months.
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After that waiting period, a new application is required.
Examination result and certification decision
Passing the PSM examination does not itself constitute certification. Pro Class completes the formal certification decision before the credential becomes active.
Once Pro Class has confirmed your eligibility you pay the examination fee, and you can then book your examination. Payment comes before booking. Payment is an administrative step: it does not approve eligibility, pass the examination or grant certification.
Why Pro Class
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Certification decisions are made by Pro Class and are kept separate from training. An Approved Training Centre may deliver training and support candidates, but cannot approve eligibility or make a certification decision.
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Eligibility is reviewed against published routes and evidence requirements before any examination access is granted.
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Examinations are administered and proctored under Pro Class control, using the same published format for every candidate.
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The examination result and the certification decision are separate steps, so a pass is confirmed through a controlled decision rather than issued automatically.
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Certification status stays under Pro Class control for the whole credential lifecycle, including annual maintenance and five-year recertification.
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Complaints, appeals and reasonable-adjustment routes are published and open to every applicant and certificant.
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A published Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct applies to applicants and certificants, and a published Statement of Impartiality covers how certification decisions are protected.
Security Features
Identity verification
Candidate identity is verified by the proctor / invigilator before the examination session is released and is monitored during the session.
Controlled examination access
An examination can only be booked after Pro Class has confirmed eligibility and the required examination payment is complete. One payment covers one attempt.
Supervised delivery
Every PSM examination is delivered under mandatory proctoring / invigilation, under Pro Class control.
Closed-book conditions
PSM is a closed-book examination. Prohibited assistance and unauthorised material are not permitted during the session.
Examination content control
PSM examination content is controlled by Pro Class and is not published. Candidates receive the published format and syllabus information only.
Reviewed integrity records
Examination incidents are recorded and reviewed by authorised Pro Class personnel. An automated integrity flag does not by itself establish misconduct — material cases require human review and a documented decision.
Certificate status controls
Each credential carries a certificate reference that is used when a certification status is checked. The controlled public certification statuses are:
The public certificate-verification route is published at Track / Verify a Certificate. The production verification connection is not yet enabled, and no sample or invented certification record is shown in the meantime.
Ready to explore PSM certification?
Review the requirements above, then use the current enquiry route when you are ready to take the next step.