How to get WHMIS certification
How WHMIS certification works in Canada: who must train you, what an online course costs, how you are tested and whether it expires. Every fact links to CCOHS or the Ontario government.
By the Canada Exam Prep Editorial Team ·
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- Checked October 17, 2026
There is no government WHMIS licence and no national WHMIS exam. When a job posting or an employer asks for "WHMIS certification", they mean proof that you completed WHMIS education, usually a certificate from a training course, together with the training your employer gives you on the products at your own workplace.
This guide walks through how to get that certificate, what it costs, how the test works and when you need to redo it. Each step links to the official page it comes from: the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) and Ontario's WHMIS guide. Workplace rules are set by each province and territory, so check your own jurisdiction if you work outside Ontario.
Step by step
Ask your employer what it requires
WHMIS training is your employer's legal duty. Every Canadian jurisdiction requires employers to run a WHMIS education and training program for workers who work with or may be exposed to hazardous products, so ask what your employer provides before you pay for a course.
Source: CCOHS OSH Answers — WHMIS Education and TrainingComplete the general WHMIS education
The general part covers how WHMIS works: hazard classes, pictograms, labels and safety data sheets. Your employer can deliver it or choose a qualified person or agency, and it is often taken as an online course.
Source: CCOHS OSH Answers — WHMIS Education and TrainingPass the course test
There is no single national test; each course sets its own. The CCOHS online course, for example, ends with a multiple-choice exam, and you can print a certificate of completion once you pass it.
Source: CCOHS — WHMIS for Workers e-courseGet the training for your own workplace
The general course is not enough on its own. Your employer must also train you on the hazardous products at your site and on its procedures for storage, handling, use, disposal, spills and emergencies.
Source: CCOHS OSH Answers — WHMIS Education and TrainingKeep your certificate and expect reviews
Keep a copy of your certificate for future employers. In Ontario the employer must review workers' training at least once a year, and more often when circumstances change, such as a new hazardous product or new hazard information.
Source: Ontario WHMIS guide — WHMIS and the employer
Who can get it
- Every worker who uses, stores, handles or disposes of a hazardous product, or who may be exposed to one through normal work, maintenance or an emergency, must receive WHMIS education and training. Source: CCOHS OSH Answers — WHMIS Education and Training
- Supervisors and managers of those workers, and workers involved in emergency response, must be educated and trained as well. Source: CCOHS OSH Answers — WHMIS Education and Training
- The legislation places the duty to educate and train on the employer, whoever delivers the course. Source: CCOHS OSH Answers — WHMIS Education and Training
What it costs
| Item | Amount | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| CCOHS WHMIS for Workers e-course, one seat (general part only) | $19.95 CAD | Source: CCOHS — WHMIS for Workers e-course |
| Workplace-specific training from your employer | Part of your job: Ontario treats training time as paid work time | Source: Ontario WHMIS guide — WHMIS and the employer |
| Courses from other training providers | Not confirmed by an official source; check with the provider | Source: CCOHS OSH Answers — WHMIS Education and Training |
Fees change. Check the amount on the official page or with the provider before you pay.
Where to take the test
Through your employer, or a qualified person or agency your employer chooses. In Ontario the ministry points to its health and safety association partners for WHMIS courses, and to the generic worker course CCOHS offers online for a small fee. Source: Ontario — Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
What to bring or have ready
- The names of the hazardous products you work with, so your workplace training covers each one: workers exposed to hazardous products must receive product-specific training. Source: CCOHS OSH Answers — WHMIS Education and Training
- Where the safety data sheets are kept: for every product you use you should be able to say what its hazards are, how to protect yourself, what to do in an emergency and where the safety data sheet is. Source: Ontario WHMIS guide — WHMIS and the employer
- For an online course: a computer and internet access, and about an hour to an hour and a half for the CCOHS course. Source: CCOHS — WHMIS for Workers e-course
After you pass
Print your certificate of completion and give a copy to your employer. Then complete the training for your workplace: the CCOHS course itself notes that you also need instruction specific to your job, your worksite and its safety procedures. Source: CCOHS — WHMIS for Workers e-course
Validity and renewal
WHMIS certificates have no national expiry date. Refresher education and training are generally needed when workplace conditions change, new products arrive, a product's hazards change or new hazard information becomes available. If you change employers, the new employer decides whether you redo the general part, but it must always train you for the new workplace. Source: CCOHS OSH Answers — WHMIS Education and Training
Common mistakes
- Paying for a course before asking your employer, who is responsible for your WHMIS training and may already provide it. Source: CCOHS OSH Answers — WHMIS Education and Training
- Treating an online certificate as complete training. It covers the general part only, not your workplace's products and procedures. Source: CCOHS — WHMIS for Workers e-course
- Giving in to cold calls from training companies that say your workplace is not compliant. Employers choose their own provider, and CCOHS warns about high-pressure sales tactics. Source: CCOHS OSH Answers — WHMIS Education and Training
- Memorising pictograms only. The test of good training is whether you can explain each product's hazards, protection, emergency steps and where its safety data sheet is. Source: Ontario WHMIS guide — WHMIS and the employer
Prepare for the test
Free practice written from the official material: full practice tests, a study guide, a printable sheet and a timed mock exam.
- WHMIS practice tests247 original practice questions with explanations
- WHMIS practice test (printable PDF)50 WHMIS quiz questions on pictograms, labels, safety data sheets and worker duties, with a separate answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF. Free, no sign-up.
- WHMIS study guideFree WHMIS study guide: 293 key points from the CCOHS OSH Answers: WHMIS fact sheets in plain words, organised by topic, each topic linked to its practice questions.
- WHMIS Mock Exam 1 – 25 QuestionsUntimed practice · answers explained
- WHMIS exam simulator25 new random questions every time, full screen, no hints
We last checked the official pages on October 17, 2026. Rules and fees can change; the official source always wins.
FAQ
How to get WHMIS certification: common questions
Is there an official WHMIS certificate or exam?
No single official one. The law makes WHMIS education and training the employer's duty, and the employer or a provider it chooses delivers it. The certificate you receive comes from that course provider.
Does WHMIS certification expire?
There is no national expiry date. Retraining is needed when products, hazards or work conditions change, and employers should review their WHMIS education and training program at least once a year.
Can I get WHMIS certified online?
Yes, for the general part. The CCOHS WHMIS for Workers e-course, for example, costs $19.95 for one seat, takes 1 to 1.5 hours, is offered in English and French and ends with a multiple-choice exam. Your employer must still train you for your own workplace.
Who pays for WHMIS training in Ontario?
Training is the employer's duty, and Ontario's labour ministry considers time spent in training sessions to be work time, paid at your regular or premium rate.
Do I have to redo WHMIS when I change jobs?
It is up to the new employer. The general education applies in every workplace, but each employer must give you training specific to its workplace and the work you will do.
Keep practising
- WHMIS practice test (printable PDF)50 WHMIS quiz questions on pictograms, labels, safety data sheets and worker duties, with a separate answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF. Free, no sign-up.
- WHMIS study guide
- WHMIS Mock Exam 1 – 25 QuestionsUntimed practice · answers explained
- WHMIS Mock Exam 2 – 25 QuestionsUntimed practice · answers explained
- WHMIS Practice Test 125 questions with explanations
- WHMIS Practice Test 225 questions with explanations
- WHMIS Practice Test 325 questions with explanations
Practice by topic
- What WHMIS isWhat the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System is, its four main parts, how it lines up with the GHS, what counts as a hazardous product and which products are excluded.
- WHMIS law and enforcementWHMIS 1988, WHMIS 2015 and the December 2022 amendments, the Hazardous Products Act and Regulations, who enforces WHMIS in each jurisdiction and what an inspector checks.
- Supplier, employer and worker dutiesWho counts as a supplier, manufacturer, importer or distributor, what employers must provide, what workers must do, and the role of the health and safety committee.
- WHMIS education and trainingThe difference between education and site-specific training, who must be trained, what it must cover, the four questions every worker should be able to answer, reviews and refreshers.
- Hazard groups, classes and categoriesThe physical and health hazard groups, how classes group similar products, how categories and types show severity, and what changed in the 2022 amendments.
- Physical hazard classesFlammables, oxidizers, gases under pressure, pyrophoric and self-heating products, water-reactives, organic peroxides, corrosive to metals, combustible dusts, simple asphyxiants and chemicals under pressure.
- Health hazard classesAcute toxicity, skin and eye damage, sensitizers, mutagens, carcinogens, reproductive toxicity, target organ toxicity, aspiration hazard and biohazardous infectious materials.
- WHMIS pictogramsThe red-bordered diamond pictograms described in words: flame, flame over circle, gas cylinder, corrosion, exploding bomb, skull and crossbones, health hazard, exclamation mark and the biohazard symbol, plus classes with no pictogram.
- Supplier labelsThe required parts of a supplier label, the two signal words, hazard and precautionary statements, bilingual rules, small-container exemptions and the 180-day update rule.
- Workplace labels and other identificationWhen a workplace label is needed (decanting, products made on site, lost labels), the decanting exceptions, what a workplace label must say, and other means of identification.
- Safety data sheets (16 sections)What an SDS is, the 16 sections in their required order, which sections workers use most, update rules, and the employer's duty to keep SDSs available.
- Safe handling and storageEveryday precautions by pictogram: ventilation, ignition sources, incompatibles, gas cylinders, corrosives, toxic products, storage height, cabinets and controls such as substitution and PPE.
- Emergencies, spills and first aidWhere emergency information is on the SDS, reporting leaks and spills, fire and evacuation basics, eyewash and showers, and standard first-aid steps by route of exposure.
- Ontario WHMIS rules (Regulation 860)How Ontario applies WHMIS through the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulation 860: who is covered, decanted containers, SDS access, annual review of training, exemptions and hazardous waste.