If you need help studying for the Certified Safety Professional (ASP) exam or just want some more information about what the examis like, you’ve come to the right place.
Click below to take a free ASP practice test!
ASP Exam Eligibility
Before you can begin the registration process, you’ll need to have at least a bachelor’s degree, and you’ll need at least one year of safety experience.
Once you meet those requirements, you’re all set to start the registration process!
What’s on the Exam?
First, let’s talk about the questions on the exam. There are 200 multiple-choice questions total, but only 176 of the questions will count toward your score. Why is that?
The 24 unscored questions on the ASP exam are called “beta” questions. These are added to the exam to determine if they’re good enough questions to add to future versions of the test.
The trick is that you won’t have any way of knowing which questions are scored and which ones are beta. They will appear just like the scored questions throughout the test.
The time limit for the exam is 5 hours. There aren’t any scheduled breaks, but you’re free to take restroom breaks as needed.
Let’s take a closer look at the different sections of the ASPexam.
1. ADVANCED SCIENCES AND MATH
11.55% of the exam
- General chemistry
- Principles of electricity
- Principles of radioactivity
- General physics concepts
- Financial principles
- Descriptive statistics
- Lagging and leading indicators
- Storage capacity calculations
- Rigging and load calculations
- Ventilation and system design
- Noise hazards
- Climate and environmental conditions
- Fall protection calculations
2. SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
17.22% of the exam
- Hierarchy of hazard controls
- Process safety management
- Fleet safety principles
- Hazard Communication and Globally Harmonized System
- Control of hazardous energy
- Excavation, trenching, and shoring
- Machine guarding
- Powered industrial vehicles
- Risk transfer
- Management of change
- Hazard and risk analysis methods
- Scaffolding
- Confined space
- Fall protection
- Physical security
- Hazard identification methods
- Assessing and analyzing risks
- Providing financial justification of hazard controls
- Implementing hazard controls
- Monitoring and reevaluating hazard controls
- Conducting incident investigations
- Conducting inspections and audits
- Evaluating cost, schedule, performance, and project risk
3. ERGONOMICS
9% of the exam
- Fitness for duty
- Stressors
- Qualitative and quantitative analysis methods
- Work design
- Material handling
- Work practice controls
- Risk factors
4. FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION
10.66% of the exam
- Detection systems
- Suppression systems, fire extinguishers, sprinkler types
- Chemical
- Electrical
- Combustible dust
- Fire science
- Segregation and separation
- Housekeeping
- Hot work
5. EMERGENCY RESPONSE MANAGEMENT (ERM)
9.57% of the exam
- Emergency, crisis, and disaster response planning
- Workplace violence
6. INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
12.59% of the exam
- Sources of biological hazards
- Protocol for bloodborne pathogen control
- Mutagens, teratogens, and carcinogens
- Chemical hazards
- Exposure limits
- Routes of entry
- Acute and chronic exposures
- Noise
- Radiation
- Heat and cold stress
- Exposure assessments
7. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
8.68% of the exam
- Environmental hazards awareness
- Air
- Water
- Environmental management system standards
- Waste removal, treatment, and disposal
- Land and conservation
- Hierarchy of conservation
8. TRAINING, EDUCATION, AND COMMUNICATION
12.35% of the exam
- Safety culture/climate
- Assessing competency
- Adult learning theory and techniques
- Data collection, needs analysis, gap analysis, and feedback
- Presentation tools
9. LAW AND ETHICS
8.38% of the exam
- Ethical behavior
- Dealing with unethical situations
- Reading and interpreting regulations
- Protection of worker privacy
- Determining appropriate actions based on knowledge limitations
- Legal liability
How to Register
To get started with the registration process, you’ll need to submit an application via the BCSP website. This application includes a $160 application fee.
Once your application is approved, you’ll be given the necessary information to register for the exam. The registration process includes a $350 exam fee.
ASP Safety Fundamentals Study Guide and Flashcards
Get practice questions, detailed study lessons, and complex subjects broken down into easily understandable concepts.
Exam Scores
The exam is scored using two methods: the modified Angoff method and the bookmark standard setting method.
This method relies on a group of subject matter experts to evaluate each question on the exam and determine its overall difficulty. Once a rating is agreed upon for each question, they establish a cut score, which indicates how many questions you need to answer correctly to be at the minimum level of competency.
Bookmark Standard Setting Method
This method relies on a group of subject matter experts to evaluate each question on the exam one at a time. The goal is to find a single question that represents the minimum level of knowledge/ability required to be a competent ASP (in some cases, they may decide there are multiple “bookmark” questions).
To pass the exam, you’ll need to answer at least 140 questions correctly.
Retaking the Exam
If you didn’t get a passing score on your first try, that’s okay! You can retake the test as many times as you’d like. Just note that there’s a mandatory six-week waiting period between attempts.
FAQs
How hard is the ASP exam?
It’s a pretty difficult exam, with the current pass rate being about 50%.
How many questions are on the ASP exam?
The exam contains 200 questions,.
What is the time limit for the ASP exam?
The exam is timed at 5 hours.
What is the passing score for the ASP exam?
You’ll need to answer at least 61% of the questions correctly to pass the exam.
How much does the ASP exam cost?
The combined application and testing fee is $510.