Is your NRSWA card about to expire?

If you work on the highways and hold an NRSWA card, you’ll notice it has an expiry date. 

Your street works units will be valid for five years, it’s possible to have more than one unit on your card, and they may expire at different times. 

Excavation and reinstatement 

If you hold the full operative or supervisor course (where it will includes units on excavation and reinstatement) then you’ll need the full NRSWA reassessment course. 

The course can be one or two days long. Typically the one-day course will include the reassessments only. So, it’ll just be a quick unit recap before completing the 45-minute multiple choice test, then moving on to the next unit. 

The two-day course will include more refresher training, better preparing you for the paper. The cost of the course varies by location because of different factors. Although, generally speaking, the two-day course is more expensive. 

If you’re working on the highways regularly, you may not need the refresher training and a one-day course will be ok. However, if you are feeling a little ‘rusty’ or want to be more confident for the assessment, a two-day course to validate your NRSWA card may be a better option for you. 

Signing, lighting and guarding

Now, a lot of delegates hold the signing, lighting and guarding (SLG) unit only. The unit is often called unit 2 or 10, O1 or S1, or Chapter 8. The new certificate codes are O1 for the operative signing, lighting and guarding course and S1 for the Supervisor Signing, Lighting and Guarding course.

If you need to renew just the SLG, then you can complete the one-day course again, or you can attend a half-day reassessment for the one unit only. 

Not all our locations offer the half-day reassessment so it may be easier for you to complete the course again. However, if there’s a course in your area, it is a little cheaper so an ideal option. 

You’ll receive some refresher training in signing, lighting and guarding, then complete the 45-minute multiple choice assessment. 

Watch our video below that explains the NRSWA reassessment process:

NRSWA Card Expiry Date

Once your NRSWA card expires, it’s no longer valid. This means that you can not work on a Street Works site until you have completed your renewal. So it’s well worth attending your reassessment course before your existing card expires. Streetworks cards do take time to get to you (approximately 12-16 weeks). We will provide you with a letter once you have completed and passed, as confirmation to employers that your qualifications are in date. 

Missed your expiry date? Don’t worry. 

You can attend a reassessment course up to 5 years after your expiry date. You just aren’t allowed to be using the out of date card.  

So you don’t have to attend a more expensive full course once your expiry date has passed, unless you leave it 5 years. 

Old Rules

A quick note on the old rules, before 2017 you only had a 6 month grace period to complete the reassessment before you’d have to attend the full course again. So if someone tells you that, they may not be aware the rule changed. 

Booking Your Reassessment

It’s easy to book your reassessment course, if you know the reassessment course you need visit our course page. 

• Full card (excavation units included) 
• Single unit card (signing, lighting and guarding only) 

Use the search bar above the list of dates to find your nearest centre. 

Click ‘add to basket’. Confirm the number of places you need on that course. Then go through our checkout. 

A member of our team will ask you for a photo of your existing card before your course starts, this is so we can arrange the correct paperwork for you on the day of your course. 

If you’re unsure of the course you need, you can use our website chat or call us to speak with someone and discuss our courses in more detail.