The NPORS card: who issues it, what the cards show and what the scheme says about requirement

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The pages used are the NPORS website (home, About, the card information page, the traditional card, the CSCS Competent Operator card and the agriculture page) and the CSCS Group alliance members list. NPORS is a plant operator registration scheme. It is not a tree work ticket. The guide on the CSCS card covers the logo scheme it belongs to.

Who runs it

The NPORS About page says the scheme was founded in 1992 to make plant operator training accessible to organisations of any size. It says training and testing are delivered by NPORS Accredited Training Providers, on site or at test centres. The traditional card page says only NPORS Registered Instructors can conduct training that leads to an NPORS test. The CSCS Group members list shows NPORS among the CSCS Alliance schemes. The card information page says training and testing follow published course objectives derived from the National Occupational Standards.

The cards

Card	CSCS logo	Validity the page gives	Who it is issued to, in the scheme's words
NPORS traditional card	No	3 or 5 years, agreed between operator or employer and training provider	Operators in industry sectors other than construction
NPORS CSCS Red Trained Operator card	Yes	2 years	Operators who do not hold the requisite SVQ or NVQ, who must register for and achieve it in that time
NPORS CSCS Blue Competent Operator card	Yes	5 years	Operators who hold the requisite SVQ or NVQ, with a CPD record or operator logbook

The traditional card page says registrations cover several sectors and that an operator can receive a card, a certificate or both. The card information page says the card can be turned around in 24 hours.

What each needs

The card information page says the CSCS card comes after the plant category training and testing with a registered NPORS instructor, together with an NPORS or CITB health, safety and environmental touch screen test taken in the two years before the application. The traditional card page says the same touch screen tests give an HS&E Tested endorsement on a registration. The Competent Operator page says NPORS does not offer NVQs or SVQs. It gives GBP 25 plus VAT (GBP 30.00) as the charge to change a registration to the CSCS Competent route.

Sectors named, including forestry

The agriculture page covers farming, forestry and horticulture. It says operators in that sector are required to complete training to evidence competence, and that completing it gives the NPORS Operator Card, valid for 3 or 5 years depending on the training. The page names the Health and Safety at Work Act, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations as the legislation the training is set against. It lists courses that include chainsaw, wood chipper, excavator and telescopic handler. The NPORS home page says its training categories number 100+.

What the scheme says about requirement

The traditional card page says that for construction, "it is the mandatory requirement for an operator card to bear the CSCS logo". That is NPORS speaking, and the page cites no law. The card information page says the traditional card does not bear the CSCS logo because non-construction sectors "do not have the same requirements as the construction sector". The pages read make no other statement that any NPORS card is required by law.