Is Your First Aid Certificate Still Valid? How to Check and What to Do Next
Written by Stephanie Austin – Owner & Lead Trainer, Prima Cura Training | Last reviewed: July 2026 | Next review: July 2027
Is Your First Aid Certificate Still Valid? How to Check and What to Do Next
Most businesses book first aid training, file the certificates, and don’t look at them again until something prompts the question. An audit. An inspection. A near miss. Or, as I’ve seen more than once, the moment someone realises the person who was keeping track of all this has left.
First aid certificates are not self-renewing. They expire. And an expired certificate is not just an administrative inconvenience; it is a gap in your legal compliance under the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. More importantly, it means you have people in your workplace who are listed as trained first aiders and whose knowledge and qualifications may be significantly out of date.
The Two Things That Catch Employers Out Most Often
In over 15 years of delivering first aid training, there are two scenarios I see repeatedly.
The first is the online certificate. An employer books what looks like a first aid course, it is branded, it has a certificate at the end, it is cheap and convenient. The employee does it in an afternoon on their laptop. The certificate goes in the file. Job done.
Except it isn’t. Online-only first aid certificates do not satisfy the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. The HSE is explicit that regulated first aid qualifications require a practical element. A certificate that was earned without anyone practising CPR on a manikin, without anyone being assessed performing the recovery position, is not a valid workplace first aid certificate. It does not matter how professional it looks.
The second is the training matrix that nobody is looking at. I worked with a business that discovered, during a routine internal review, that not a single one of their first aid certificates was current. Everyone had expired. The reason? The office manager who had owned the training matrix had left 18 months earlier. In the handover — or rather, the absence of a proper handover – the training record had fallen off everyone’s radar. Nobody had booked renewals. Nobody had noticed. Until they looked.
Both of these are entirely avoidable. Both are more common than they should be.
| The Legal Baseline Under the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, employers must provide adequate and appropriate first aid equipment, facilities, and personnel. What is ‘adequate and appropriate’ depends on your workplace — the number of employees, the nature of the work, and the level of risk. The HSE’s guidance is clear that first aid at work certificates must come from a regulated provider and must include a practical assessment. Online-only qualifications do not meet this requirement. |
What Counts as a Valid Certificate
Not all first aid certificates are equal. Here is a reference table covering the main qualifications, their validity periods, and the key things to check:
| Certificate Type | Valid For | Renewal | Key Notes |
| First Aid at Work (FAW) | 3 years | Must be renewed before expiry. The HSE strongly recommends annual refresher training within 3 years to maintain competency. | Regulated by awarding organisations. The certificate must come from a regulated provider. |
| Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) | 3 years | Must be renewed before expiry. Annual refresher recommended. | Single-day qualification. Not equivalent to FAW for higher-risk workplaces. |
| Paediatric First Aid | 3 years | Must be renewed before expiry. Required for Ofsted-registered early years settings. Lapsed certificates trigger compliance issues at inspection. | Different content to FAW/EFAW. Not interchangeable. |
| First Aid at Work Requalification | 3 years from requalification date | Requalification must be completed before the existing certificate expires. If it lapses, the full FAW course is required. | Cannot requalify on an already-expired certificate. |
| Online-only first aid certificates | Not valid for workplace compliance | N/A | Online-only certificates do not satisfy the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. They are not recognised by the HSE as a substitute for regulated, practical training. |
Valid vs Not Valid: Quick Reference
If you are auditing your records and need a fast check, use this table:
| Valid for Compliance | Not Valid for Compliance |
| FAW certificate issued by a regulated awarding organisation, within a 3-year expiry period | FAW certificate that expired last month — or last year |
| EFAW certificate within its 3-year period from a recognised provider | Online-only first aid certificate, regardless of how professional it looks |
| Paediatric First Aid certificate within its 3-year period | A general first aid certificate applied to a paediatric setting where a specific qualification is required |
| Requalification completed before the current certificate expired | Requalification is attempted after the certificate has already lapsed; the full course is required. There may be a grace period allowed. |
| A training matrix that is actively maintained and reviewed | A training matrix last updated by a member of staff who left 18 months ago |
How to Audit Your First Aid Cover
A first aid audit does not need to be complicated. It needs to be thorough, and it needs to result in a plan. Work through this checklist:
| 1 | Locate all current first aid certificates | Not just the ones you know about. Check HR files, email inboxes, shared drives, and the training matrix, if you have one. |
| 2 | Record the certificate type, issue date, and expiry date for each | FAW and EFAW both run for 3 years from the date of issue. The expiry date is on the certificate. If it is not, contact the provider. |
| 3 | Check that the provider and qualification are HSE-recognised | Online-only certificates do not count. If you are not sure whether a certificate is valid, check the awarding organisation against the relevant regulated body. |
| 4 | Check that the certificate type matches the role and setting | EFAW is not sufficient for a higher-risk workplace that requires FAW. A standard FAW does not cover a paediatric setting that requires Paediatric First Aid. |
| 5 | Identify gaps and expirations in the next 6 months | Book renewal training now, not when the certificate has already lapsed. If the certificate expires, the requalification route closes — the full course is required. |
| 6 | Check that your first aid needs assessment is current | If your workforce, premises, or activities have changed, your needs assessment needs to reflect that. The number and type of first aiders required may have changed. |
| 7 | Assign ownership of the training matrix | One named person should own the training record. Not ‘the office’ — a name. When that person leaves, handover of the matrix should be part of their exit process. |
What Happens When Certificates Have Already Lapsed
If you discover that certificates have expired, the first thing to know is that you cannot simply requalify on an expired certificate. Requalification, the shorter renewal course, is only available to people whose certificate is still current. Once it has lapsed, the full course is required.
This matters because the difference in time and cost between a requalification and a full FAW course is significant. Staying on top of expiry dates is not just good housekeeping; it is a practical saving.
If you have a gap in first aid cover right now, meaning you have no one with a current valid certificate in your workplace, that needs to be addressed as a priority. Depending on your first aid needs assessment, you may need to consider interim measures while training is arranged.
| A Note on Requalification Timing: The HSE recommends completing requalification training before the existing certificate expires. Waiting until the last week is not ideal – if the course cannot run for any reason, the window closes. We recommend booking requalification at least 6 to 8 weeks before expiry. That gives enough time to rebook if something goes wrong, and enough time to confirm the certificate is still in date when training runs. |
The Training Matrix Problem
The business that discovered all its certificates had expired did not have a malicious compliance gap. They had a process gap. One person owned the information. When that person left, the information effectively left with them.
A training matrix is only useful if someone is actively responsible for it. That means:
- A named individual owns the record – not a job title, a name.
- The matrix is reviewed at least every six months.
- Expiry dates are diarised with a reminder at least 8 weeks out.
- Handover of the training matrix is a formal part of any relevant exit process.
- The record is stored somewhere accessible to more than one person.
If your training record currently lives in one person’s inbox, that is the first thing to fix.
Not Sure Which Certificate Your Workplace Needs?
If your audit raises questions about whether you have the right type of certificate, not just whether it is current, our Workplace First Aid Guide covers how to carry out a first aid needs assessment and what determines whether you need FAW, EFAW, or Paediatric First Aid.
Our FAW vs EFAW guide is a good starting point if you are not sure which qualification applies to your workplace.
| Book First Aid Training or Requalification with Prima Cura. Whether you need a full First Aid at Work course, Emergency First Aid at Work, Paediatric First Aid, or a requalification for certificates that are still current, we can help. We will check your current certificates before you book and advise on the right course. No upselling, just a straight answer about what you actually need. |
Find out more about our Emergency First Aid at Work course, First Aid at Work course, and Paediatric First Aid course. To talk through your current cover, on 0333 999 8783 or at info@primacuratraining.co.uk.
