The leading credential for industrial hygiene and occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) professionals who anticipate, recognise, evaluate and control workplace health hazards.
BGC (Board for Global EHS Credentialing) · checked 24 Oct 2026
A bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited institution, including 60 semester hours in science, maths, engineering or science-based technology — at least 15 of them at junior, senior or graduate level.
Industrial hygiene coursework: 180 academic hours or 240 continuing-education contact hours, at least half covering IH/OEHS fundamentals, toxicology, measurements and controls.
At least two contact hours of ethics coursework.
Four years (48 months) of professional-level industrial hygiene experience, and active practice at the time you apply. An ABET-accredited IH degree can reduce this by up to one year.
Agree to the BGC Code of Ethics and Ethics Case Procedures.
Keep the credential active with an annual maintenance fee and BGC’s certification maintenance (recertification) process.
Application process
Read the CIH Candidate Handbook in full before you start.
Create an account in the BGC Portal and submit your application: transcripts (unofficial copies are accepted at first), coursework, and a description of your IH experience.
Degrees from outside the U.S. or Canada need a credential evaluation.
Pay the application fee (US$160 at the time of checking).
Once approved, pay the exam fee (US$370 at the time of checking) and schedule at a Pearson VUE test centre.
Exams run in two windows a year — spring (April–May, apply by 1 February) and fall (October–November, apply by 1 August). Approval stays active for four windows (two years).
The exam has 180 multiple-choice questions (150 scored) in two 2.5-hour sections, with an on-screen calculator.
Exam preparation
Study across all the tested areas: air sampling and instrumentation, toxicology, ventilation and engineering controls, noise, radiation, thermal stress, ergonomics, biohazards, biostatistics and epidemiology, and IH program management.
Drill the calculations — ventilation, sampling volumes, noise, radiation and exposure averaging — until they’re fast and reliable.
Practise with the on-screen calculator only; personal calculators aren’t allowed.
Book your exam window early and plan around the 1 February / 1 August deadlines.
iParkar Learning is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by BCSP, BGC or NFPA. ASP®, CSP®, CIH®, QEP, CFPS® and related marks belong to their owners. Requirements and fees change — always confirm on the official site before you apply.
