Based on the official CCOHS WHMIS guidance (GHS-aligned)
About the certification
WHMIS — the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System — is Canada's national system for communicating the hazards of products used, handled, or stored in the workplace. It is required under the federal Hazardous Products Act and each province and territory's occupational health and safety legislation.
Since aligning with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), it's often called WHMIS 2015. The Hazardous Products Regulations were updated in December 2022, and those changes have been fully in force since December 2025 — so this quiz reflects the current rules, including the 10 pictograms, the 6 supplier-label elements, and the 16-section Safety Data Sheet.
There is no single national WHMIS exam. Training is delivered by many providers, and most end with a multiple-choice test of about 20 questions at an 80% pass mark (some use 30–40 questions or a 70–90% threshold). ExamHub's free WHMIS practice quiz has 169 original questions across eight topic areas, written from the official CCOHS WHMIS fact sheets.
What's covered
Try a few
Five questions pulled from the full bank, with the answer shown — use the quiz above for the real timed experience.
Why: WHMIS stands for the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System — Canada's system for communicating health and safety information about hazardous products in the workplace.
Why: WHMIS uses 10 pictograms — one more than standard GHS's 9, because it adds the biohazardous infectious materials pictogram, which is specific to Canada.
Why: A supplier label needs six elements: product identifier, initial supplier identifier, pictogram(s), signal word, hazard statement(s), and precautionary statement(s).
Why: A GHS-aligned SDS has 16 standardized sections. This replaced the old MSDS, which had no fixed format.
Why: Workers have the right to know about hazards, the right to participate in health and safety decisions, and the right to refuse unsafe work. WHMIS directly supports the right to know.
FAQ
It varies by provider — usually 20 to 40 multiple-choice questions, with 20 being the most common.
Most providers require 80% (for example, 16 out of 20). Some use 70% or 90%, so confirm with your trainer or employer.
WHMIS is a federal system, so the core content is the same nationwide and the certificate is widely recognized. Employers remain responsible for workplace-specific training under provincial or territorial OHS law.
There's no single fixed expiry in federal law, but employers and OHS authorities generally expect refresher training every 1–3 years, and whenever new hazardous products are introduced or job duties change.
No. These are original questions written by ExamHub from the official CCOHS WHMIS fact sheets. They cover the same topics but aren't copies of any provider's exam.