Ontario CPO-approved training — based on the Working at Heights Training Program Standard & O. Reg. 213/91
About the training
Working at Heights training is mandatory in Ontario. Under O. Reg. 297/13 s.6, an employer must ensure that any worker on a construction project who may use a travel restraint system, a fall restricting system, a fall arrest system, a safety net, a work belt or a safety belt has completed an approved program first.
“Approved” means two things at once: the program must be approved by Ontario’s Chief Prevention Officer against the Working at Heights Training Program Standard, and the provider must be separately CPO-approved. Training from an unapproved provider does not satisfy the law.
The program has two modules. Basic Theory (minimum 3 hours) covers roles and rights, hazard recognition, the hierarchy of controls, warning methods and barriers, and ladders. Practical (minimum 3.5 hours) covers fall protection systems, personal equipment, anchor points, work access equipment and rescue planning. Basic Theory must be completed first, and the maximum class ratio is 12 learners to 1 instructor.
Assessment is a written test with a minimum pass mark of 75%, plus four skills you must physically demonstrate. The evaluator has to review every incorrect answer with you before the program counts as complete. Successful completion is valid for three years; the refresher is the Practical module on its own.
This free practice quiz covers the written portion, with 183 original questions across the standard’s ten learning-outcome areas — written from the Program Standard, O. Reg. 213/91 and O. Reg. 297/13. It is study practice, not a substitute for approved training.
What’s covered
The ten categories below map one-to-one onto sections 9.1.1 through 9.2.5 of the Working at Heights Training Program Standard, so the bank covers the same ground an approved program has to.
Try a few
Five questions pulled from the full bank, with the answer shown — use the quiz above for the real timed experience.
Why: Section 26.1(2) ranks them travel restraint → fall restricting → fall arrest → safety net, and the worker must be protected by the highest ranked method that is practicable. A guardrail under s.26.1(1) outranks all four.
Why: Section 26.7(2) sets 8 kN for fall arrest, dropping to 6 kN when a shock absorber is used, 6 kN for fall restricting and 2 kN for travel restraint. The 5,000 lb (22.2 kN) figure is US OSHA and does not apply here.
Why: A lot of study material gets this wrong. The 0.6 m free fall limit belongs to fall restricting systems (s.26.5). For fall arrest, Ontario caps peak arrest force at 8 kN (s.26.6(5)) and requires the system be arranged so the worker cannot hit the ground, an object or a level below (s.26.6(3)).
Why: Section 81(2) words this as a proportion of the ladder's length: not less than one-quarter and not more than one-third, measured from the point directly below the top of the ladder.
Why: Section 26.3(4) sets the range at 0.9 m to 1.1 m. American material often quotes a single 42-inch figure — close to the middle of Ontario's range, but the range is what gets enforced here.
Numbers worth memorising
Most of what a Working at Heights written test can ask about is anchored to a specific number in O. Reg. 213/91. These are the ones worth knowing cold — and several of them differ from the American figures that show up in a lot of online study material.
FAQ
There is no separately named exam. It is the written test inside an approved Working at Heights training program — a program approved by Ontario's Chief Prevention Officer (CPO) against the Working at Heights Training Program Standard, delivered by a CPO-approved provider. The program has two modules, Basic Theory and Practical, and the written test can sit at the end of each module or at the end of the whole program.
The Program Standard sets the pass mark at a minimum of 75% (section 10.1). It deliberately does not fix a question count — each approved provider writes its own test, so the number varies. ExamHub's Test Me mode draws 25 questions from the 183-question bank, which makes 19/25 (76%) the lowest passing score.
No. O. Reg. 297/13 requires the training to come from a CPO-approved provider, and the Practical module includes four skills you have to physically demonstrate: calculating total fall distance, inspecting equipment for deficiencies, correctly donning and doffing a harness, and maintaining tie-off when changing anchor points. None of that can be done online. This is free study practice for the written portion.
Under O. Reg. 297/13 s.6, employers must ensure it for any construction-project worker who may use a travel restraint system, a fall restricting system, a fall arrest system, a safety net, a work belt or a safety belt. It is on top of — not instead of — the s.26.2 requirement for adequate oral and written instruction from a competent person.
Three years from the date of successful completion (O. Reg. 297/13 s.8). Refresher training is the Practical module on its own, and completing it re-validates your training for another three years. You must have already completed both modules to be eligible for the refresher route.
No. eLearning is acceptable for the Basic Theory module only, and only if it includes provisions for interactivity with a qualified instructor. The Practical module cannot be delivered by eLearning or distance learning at all — it needs hands-on work with real harnesses, lanyards, lifelines, fall arresters and anchors.
The bank was written from primary sources: the Working at Heights Training Program Standard (ontario.ca, updated December 2025), O. Reg. 213/91 ss.26–26.9 and 78–84, and O. Reg. 297/13 ss.6–8, all read directly from Ontario's e-Laws rather than copied from other practice sites. Every explanation names the section it comes from so you can check it yourself.