CDM 2015 for Principal Contractors - Introductory Course
Seven short modules and a 30-minute exam that explain the principal contractor's role from the appointment letter to the handover, using one invented project throughout. You leave able to say when a principal contractor is needed, what it must do before and during the construction phase, how the health and safety file works, and what happens when it goes wrong.
£154.80 inc VAT (£129 + VAT for business buyers) Not on sale online just now: ask us.
Who it is for
Anyone who needs to understand what a principal contractor is and does under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015: contractors stepping into the role for the first time, site managers and supervisors, clients and their advisers who appoint and work with a principal contractor, principal designers and designers who liaise with one, and people in estates, facilities or project management who want the role explained in plain words. It assumes only a basic idea of what CDM 2015 is; it does not teach how to run a site day to day (that is the Full course).
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course you can:
- Say when a project needs a principal contractor, who appoints it, and what happens on a domestic project or when nobody is appointed.
- Describe the principal contractor's core duty in regulation 13 - plan, manage, monitor and coordinate - and the three site basics it must ensure: induction, security and welfare.
- Explain what must be in place before the site opens: pre-construction information, the client's notification, a construction phase plan written for the site, and welfare before any work starts.
- Recognise the Part 4 site standards and Schedule 2 welfare facilities that every contractor must meet and the principal contractor must coordinate.
- Describe how a principal contractor checks, directs and cooperates with contractors and consults the workforce, and who reports an incident.
- State whose document the health and safety file is, when it is required, the principal contractor's three file duties and what a good handover looks like.
- Outline how CDM 2015 is enforced under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and what inspectors look for on site.
What you leave with
- A Certificate of Achievement in your name ("CDM 2015 for Principal Contractors (Introductory Course) - Certificate of Achievement") once you pass the exam: a PDF with a code anyone can check on our verify page.
- May be recorded as 4 hours of structured CPD (self-declared).
- The certificate is valid for 3 years from the day you pass; your access to the course lasts as long.
- A PDF pack of the course to keep: what you learnt, templates and checklists, and your marked answers.
The modules
- CDM 2015 in one picture about 30 min
- Becoming the Principal Contractor about 30 min
- Before the site opens about 30 min
- Running the site about 30 min
- Site standards, contractors and workers about 30 min
- Finishing: the file and handover about 30 min
- Getting it wrong about 30 min
Modules open in order. Each ends with a short check you pass to move on; retries are unlimited and you can stop and come back at any time.
The exam
20 questions, in one sitting of 30 minutes. The pass mark is 70%. Retakes are immediate and free for as long as you have access to the course (3 years from your pass).
After each attempt you see the right answers with an explanation.
Price and buying
£154.80 inc VAT (£129 + VAT for business buyers), one person, one course, paid once. A VAT invoice comes with every purchase; you can buy for yourself or through your company.
If you buy as a consumer you may cancel within 14 days of payment for a full refund, unless you have started the course; business purchases are not refundable. See refunds and cancellation.
Content checked against HSE guidance on 1 November 2026.
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