How long is the NCSO exam?
You have up to 2 hours to complete the NCSO exam, and it is written online. This is stated in ACSA’s NCSO Information Booklet (February 2025). ACSA does not publish a fixed question count, so plan by time rather than by questions per minute.
What ACSA publishes
| Time allowed | Up to 2 hours |
| Delivery | Online |
| Pass mark | 75% overall |
| Question count | Not published |
| Initial fee | $65 CAD |
| Rewrite fee | $80 CAD |
How to pace two hours
Because the question count is not published, pace by proportion rather than by a clock target per question. A workable approach:
- First pass, roughly 70% of your time. Answer everything you know without hesitating. Flag anything that makes you pause rather than burning time on it.
- Second pass, roughly 20%. Return to flagged questions. Most will be easier now that the pressure of the unknown is gone.
- Final 10%. Review only the ones you genuinely guessed. Do not re-read answers you were confident about — second-guessing costs more marks than it saves.
Why timing matters more than people expect
Candidates rarely fail because two hours is too short. They fail because they have never rehearsed working under a clock, so they spend twelve minutes on one confined-space question and rush the last twenty. Sitting at least two full timed practice exams fixes this more reliably than additional reading.
Questions people ask
How long is the NCSO exam?
Up to 2 hours, written online, per ACSA’s NCSO Information Booklet (February 2025).
How many questions are on the NCSO exam?
ACSA does not publish a fixed question count. The booklet states only that the exam includes various question formats.
What score do you need to pass?
An overall score of 75%.
Last updated 9 August 2026.
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Sources
Exam facts on this page come from the certifying body's own published material. Last verified 9 August 2026.
- ACSA, NCSO Information Booklet (February 2025) — 75% pass mark, up to 2 hours, $65 initial / $80 rewrite, 3-month deferral, 11 compulsory + 2 elective courses, 3 years (6,000 hours) field experience within 10 years.
- Alberta Construction Safety Association — NCSO program
- Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations
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