114+ Free PECB ISO 45001 Foundation Practice Questions

Prepare for the PECB Certificate Holder in ISO 45001 Foundation exam with instant access — no signup required.

✓ No registration✓ No credit card✓ No hidden fees✓ Start practicing immediately

Not published Pass Rate

114+ Questions

100% Free

Loading practice questions...

Same family resources

Explore More PECB ISO Certifications

Continue into nearby exams from the same family. Each card keeps practice questions, study guides, flashcards, videos, and articles in one place.

2026 Statistics

Key Facts: PECB ISO 45001 Foundation Exam

40 Questions

Official Exam Format

PECB List of Exams (Foundation exams)

60 Minutes

Exam Time Limit

PECB Training Catalog 2026 (Foundation exams: 1 hour)

70%

Passing Score

PECB Certification Rules

Closed Book

Exam Delivery Mode

PECB Exam Rules and Policies

3 Options

Answer Choices per Official PECB Multiple-Choice Question

PECB Foundation Candidate Handbooks

No AMF

Foundation Certificates Require No Maintenance

PECB Certification Maintenance Policy

Clauses 4–10

ISO 45001:2018 Requirements Scope

ISO 45001:2018 Structure

March 2018

ISO 45001 Publication (replaced OHSAS 18001)

ISO 45001:2018

PECB ISO 45001 Foundation is PECB's entry-level credential for occupational health and safety management systems. The official exam consists of 40 closed-book multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes with a 70% passing score, testing OH&S fundamental concepts and the ISO 45001:2018 requirements across Clauses 4–10. PECB's own items carry three options; this free bank uses four-option English MCQs as an independent study aid rather than a simulation of the exam's format.

Sample PECB ISO 45001 Foundation Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your PECB ISO 45001 Foundation exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 114+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1What is the full official title of ISO 45001:2018?

A.Occupational health and safety management systems — Specification

B.Health and safety at work — Code of practice for management systems

C.Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use

D.Occupational health and safety — Guidelines for the evaluation of safety performance

Explanation: ISO 45001:2018 is titled 'Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use'. It is the first ISO management system standard for occupational health and safety and includes both the requirements and guidance on their use in a single document.

2In which year was ISO 45001 first published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)?

A.2018

B.2015

C.2020

D.2013

Explanation: ISO 45001 was published in March 2018. It was the first international management system standard for occupational health and safety issued by ISO, developed by ISO project committee ISO/PC 283.

3Which occupational health and safety specification did ISO 45001 replace?

A.ISO 14001

B.ANSI/AIHA Z10

C.ILO-OSH 2001

D.OHSAS 18001

Explanation: ISO 45001 replaced OHSAS 18001, the widely used occupational health and safety assessment series specification. Organizations certified to OHSAS 18001 migrated to ISO 45001 during a defined transition period, after which OHSAS 18001 was withdrawn.

4What is the intended outcome of an occupational health and safety management system (OH&S MS) based on ISO 45001?

A.To guarantee that no workplace accident can ever occur in a certified organization

B.To provide a framework for managing OH&S risks and opportunities so that the organization can prevent work-related injury and ill health and provide safe and healthy workplaces

C.To transfer legal responsibility for worker safety from the employer to the certification body

D.To demonstrate that the organization meets every national safety regulation in the countries where it operates

Explanation: The purpose of an OH&S MS per ISO 45001 is to provide a framework for managing OH&S risks and opportunities. Its intended outcomes are to prevent work-related injury and ill health to workers and to provide safe and healthy workplaces, continually improving OH&S performance.

5ISO 45001 is built on the Annex SL high-level structure (HLS). What is the main practical benefit of this structure for organizations?

A.It makes ISO 45001 certification mandatory for any organization already certified to ISO 9001

B.It allows organizations to claim OH&S conformity without performing risk assessment

C.It gives ISO 45001 the same overall clause structure, common core text, and shared definitions as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, making integrated management systems easier to build

D.It requires organizations to certify all their management systems at the same time

Explanation: Annex SL defines a common high-level structure, identical core text, and common terms and definitions for ISO management system standards. Because ISO 45001 shares this structure with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, organizations can integrate quality, environmental, and OH&S management into one system more easily.

6Which improvement cycle underpins the OH&S management system approach in ISO 45001?

A.Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)

B.Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC)

C.Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA)

D.Initiate-Plan-Execute-Close (project life cycle)

Explanation: ISO 45001, like other ISO management system standards, is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. Planning covers context, leadership, planning and support; Do covers operation; Check covers performance evaluation; and Act covers improvement.

7Which clauses of ISO 45001:2018 contain the auditable requirements of the OH&S management system?

A.Clauses 1 to 3

B.Clauses 1 to 10

C.Clauses 8 to 10 only

D.Clauses 4 to 10

Explanation: In the Annex SL structure, Clauses 1 (Scope), 2 (Normative references), and 3 (Terms and definitions) are introductory and contain no auditable requirements. The requirements an organization must meet run from Clause 4 (Context of the organization) through Clause 10 (Improvement).

8How does ISO 45001 define a 'hazard'?

A.The combination of the likelihood and severity of a work-related injury

B.A source with a potential to cause injury and ill health

C.Any workplace accident that results in lost working time

D.A legal obligation that the organization has failed to meet

Explanation: ISO 45001 defines a hazard as a source with a potential to cause injury and ill health. Hazards can include sources with the potential to cause physical harm, mental harm, or impairment of health, such as unguarded machinery, toxic chemicals, or excessive workload.

9How does ISO 45001 define 'OH&S risk'?

A.The financial cost of workplace accidents to the organization in a given year

B.The probability that the certification body will find a major nonconformity

C.The combination of the likelihood of occurrence of a work-related hazardous event or exposure and the severity of injury and ill health that can be caused by the event or exposure

D.The number of hazards identified in a workplace multiplied by the number of workers

Explanation: OH&S risk is defined as the combination of the likelihood of occurrence of a work-related hazardous event or exposure and the severity of injury and ill health that the event or exposure can cause. Assessing it requires considering both how likely harm is and how severe it could be.

10A warehouse contains a stack of unstable pallets (the source of potential harm) and a worker walks beneath them daily. Which statement correctly applies ISO 45001 terminology?

A.The unstable pallets are the hazard; the chance that they fall and injure the worker is the risk

B.The unstable pallets are the risk; the possible injury is the hazard

C.Both the pallets and the chance of injury are hazards

D.The situation is an incident because the pallets have not yet fallen

Explanation: The hazard is the source with potential to cause harm — here the unstable pallets. The risk is the combination of likelihood and severity of the hazardous event (the pallets falling and injuring the worker). No incident has occurred because no harm event has happened yet.

About the PECB ISO 45001 Foundation Exam

Entry-level certification validating knowledge of occupational health and safety management systems (OH&S MS) based on ISO 45001:2018, covering fundamental OH&S concepts and definitions, the Annex SL structure and PDCA cycle, and the standard's requirement Clauses 4 through 10 including hazard identification, the hierarchy of controls, worker consultation and participation, emergency preparedness, and continual improvement.

Assessment

Two competency domains: Domain 1, fundamental concepts and principles of occupational health and safety management and OH&S MS; Domain 2, ISO 45001 requirements for an OH&S MS — Clauses 4 to 10. PECB does not publish a per-domain question split for this exam; the published handbooks for PECB Foundation exams that use the same two-domain wording (ISO 9001 and ISO 37301) weight the requirements domain at 72.5%.

Time Limit

60 minutes

Passing Score

70%

Exam Fee

Included with PECB training course (exam and certificate fees included in course price; one free retake within 12 months). Standalone: US$500 Foundation exam plus US$200 certificate application fee (PECB)

PECB ISO 45001 Foundation Exam Content Outline

Foundational concepts (Day 1 of the official course)

Domain 1: Fundamental concepts and principles of occupational health and safety management and OH&S MS

OH&S concepts and definitions, purpose and intended outcomes of ISO 45001:2018, Annex SL structure and PDCA, key terms (hazard, OH&S risk, incident, worker, participation), and success factors

OH&S MS requirements (Day 2 of the official course)

Domain 2: ISO 45001 requirements for an OH&S MS — Clauses 4 to 10

ISO 45001:2018 Clauses 4–10: context and interested parties, leadership and worker participation, hazard identification and risk assessment, legal requirements and objectives, support and documented information, operational control and the hierarchy of controls, emergency preparedness, performance evaluation, and improvement

How to Pass the PECB ISO 45001 Foundation Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 70%
Assessment: Two competency domains: Domain 1, fundamental concepts and principles of occupational health and safety management and OH&S MS; Domain 2, ISO 45001 requirements for an OH&S MS — Clauses 4 to 10. PECB does not publish a per-domain question split for this exam; the published handbooks for PECB Foundation exams that use the same two-domain wording (ISO 9001 and ISO 37301) weight the requirements domain at 72.5%.
Time limit: 60 minutes
Exam fee: Included with PECB training course (exam and certificate fees included in course price; one free retake within 12 months). Standalone: US$500 Foundation exam plus US$200 certificate application fee

Keys to Passing

Complete 500+ practice questions
Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
Focus on highest-weighted sections
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

PECB ISO 45001 Foundation Study Tips from Top Performers

1Memorize the clause map: 4 Context, 5 Leadership, 6 Planning, 7 Support, 8 Operation, 9 Performance evaluation, 10 Improvement — and map them to PDCA (Plan 4-7, Do 8, Check 9, Act 10)

2Know the hierarchy of controls cold: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE — from most to least effective — and be able to classify examples

3Master key definitions: hazard (source with potential to cause injury and ill health), OH&S risk (likelihood plus severity), incident (could or does result in injury and ill health), near miss, and injury and ill health (physical, mental, or cognitive)

4Focus on what makes ISO 45001 distinctive: consultation AND participation of workers (especially non-managerial workers), the right to remove oneself from imminent and serious danger, and human/psychosocial factors in hazard identification

5Remember that outsourced processes stay within the OH&S MS scope, contractors require coordination, and top management holds non-delegable accountability for preventing injury and ill health

6Distinguish correction (treating the immediate problem) from corrective action (eliminating the root cause to prevent recurrence) — Clause 10.2 requires both after an incident

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the PECB ISO 45001 Foundation exam format?

The official PECB ISO 45001 Foundation exam consists of 40 multiple-choice questions completed in 60 minutes. Foundation exams are closed-book, delivered online (proctored) or paper-based through PECB partners, and the passing score is 70%. Each official PECB multiple-choice question offers three options with one correct answer.

What topics are covered on the PECB ISO 45001 Foundation exam?

The exam covers two competency domains: Domain 1, fundamental principles and concepts of an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OH&S MS); and Domain 2, OH&S MS requirements based on ISO 45001:2018 Clauses 4 through 10. PECB does not publish a per-domain question split for this exam.

What is ISO 45001?

ISO 45001:2018, 'Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use', is the first ISO management system standard for occupational health and safety. Published in March 2018, it replaced OHSAS 18001 and provides a framework for managing OH&S risks and opportunities to prevent work-related injury and ill health and provide safe and healthy workplaces.

Are there prerequisites for taking the PECB ISO 45001 Foundation exam?

PECB lists no education or experience prerequisites, and the Foundation credential requires no professional, audit, or project experience. PECB's certificate requirements table for ISO 45001 Foundation names only two conditions: pass the PECB ISO 45001 Foundation exam and sign the PECB Code of Ethics. Unlike some other PECB Foundation schemes, the training course is not listed as a certificate requirement, and PECB states that candidates may take the exam without attending a course — though the 2-day, 14-CPD training course is the usual route and bundles the exam and certificate fees.

How much does the PECB ISO 45001 Foundation exam cost?

Certificate and examination fees are included in the price of the PECB training course, and candidates who fail can retake the exam once for free within 12 months, so the total depends on the partner and delivery format chosen. PECB separately publishes a US$500 Foundation exam fee and a US$200 certificate application fee for candidates buying the exam on its own.

Is this practice test the official PECB exam?

No. OpenExamPrep provides free English multiple-choice practice questions as an independent study aid. It is not affiliated with PECB, does not replace official training materials, and is not the live certificate exam. The official exam uses 40 three-option questions in 60 minutes; this bank uses 114 four-option questions with no time limit, so it is a knowledge study aid rather than a simulation of the exam format.

114+ Free PECB ISO 45001 Foundation Practice Questions

Explore More PECB ISO Certifications

PECB ISO 14001 Lead Auditor (Environmental Management)

PECB ISO 9001 Lead Auditor (Quality Management)

PECB Certified ISO 31000 Risk Manager

PECB ISO 45001 Lead Auditor (OH&S Management)

PECB ISO 22301 Lead Implementer (Business Continuity)

PECB Auditor Behavior Exam