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How Long is My EM 385-1-1 Certification Good For? 

The general rule of thumb in regards to EM 385-1-1 certifications is that they do not normally expire. Once you have successfully completed a EM 385-1-1 course, the only requirement to keep it updated and valid is to take the 8-hour refresher course at least once a year. However, your employer can require you to retake the original course in order to keep your certification valid for their company as a safety precaution. 

What is EM 385-1-1?

EM 385-1-1 is the code for the Safety and Health Requirements Manual that was published by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The USACE also consistently updates it when changes are made. 

EM 385-1-1 training is made to educate military and government employees about the safety guidelines that have been established by the USACE. These safety rules will help the employees better comply with the safety & health requirements for military and government contract work or projects. 

Accident Prevention Plans

An Accident Prevention Plan (APP) is a safety and health program document that should be contract- or job-specific. This document plays a big role in the planning and prevention process. Each document should contain the following sections: 


The Courses: 8, 16, 24, & 40-Hour 

Each EM 385-1-1 safety course covers the required topics in accordance with the USACE safety guidelines. In this section, we will explore each different course and what topics will be covered in each one. 

40-Hour Course: This course provides military personnel and government employees with a detailed exploration of the EM 385-1-1 safety guidelines. The 40-hour course topics include, but are not limited to:


24-Hour Course: You can expect to find the following topics in a 24-hour course:


16-Hour Course: This specific EM 385-1-1 course is considered a starter course, and it discusses the requirements and standards from the EM 385-1-1 safety guidelines. The 16-hour course topics include: 


8-Hour Course: The 8-hour EM 385-1-1 training course was designed to be a refresher course that met all the refresher training requirements for government and military employees. The topics you can expect in this course are:


Who Should Take the EM 385-1-1 Safety Courses?

Site Safety Health Officers (SSHO), managers, supervisors, and construction personnel who are working on a military contract are all required to take and complete the 40-hour EM 385-1-1 course. 

Most contractors and military or government employees who are responsible for enforcing EM 385-1-1 standards are required to to take the 24-hour course. 

General military employees and laborers, along with some contractors (depending on their contract and project), will be required to take the 16-hour EM 385-1-1 training course.

As stated earlier, the 8-hour course was designed to be a refresher course and is only required to be take once a year to keep your EM 385-1-1 certification up-to-date.  

Who is Required to Comply With EM 385-1-1?

It is important to note that, despite your job title or job tasks, alignment with the EM 385-1-1 is required by everyone who works for the military or the Department of Defense (DoD). In these cases, EM 385-1-1 takes precedence over OSHA regulations and standards. This is because the EM 385-1-1 safety guidelines are more detailed than the regulations set in place by OSHA. 

Fall Protection Training According to EM 385-1-1

The EM 385-1-1 safety guidelines specifically state that the requirements for the training of all personnel involved in the fall protection program should conform to the standards laid out by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). 

The ANSI standard for fall protection training is found in the ANSI/ASSE Z490 standard, which is all about safety, health, and environmental training programs. 

Each fall protection safety training course must address fall protection, fall restraint systems, and how to identify and mitigate hazards. They also must cover fall protection equipment and systems for:


How Long Does Fall Protection Training Last?

The EM 385-1-1 also leaves this up to ANSI standards. ANSI recommends retraining for fall protection every two years. However, it is ultimately up to the employers whether to shorten or lengthen the time between refresher trainings. 

Our Safety Training

Here at Hard Hat Training, our goal is to make safety training courses fun, engaging, and affordable. All of our courses comply with safety standards (in this case the EM 385-1-1 standards) and are updated whenever formal changes are made and required. 

Our course catalog presents you with over 200 training topics for you to choose from. Each of our courses are fully narrated and designed to teach the students in a way that will be easy for them to follow and catch on to the information. Our courses only give you the information you need, nothing extra. We are straight, to the point, and teach you all the information you will need in order to pass the final exam, which comes with all of our courses. 

We offer the EM 385-1-1 USACE 8-hour and EM 385-1-1 USACE 16-hour safety courses. Both of these comply with the EM 385-1-1 guidelines and cover every topic that is required by the USACE.