WHMIS 2025

Anyone who works with or near hazardous products needs WHMIS.

WHMIS has two parts. CCOHS calls the first part education: general knowledge that applies wherever you work, such as how WHMIS works, how to read a label and what an SDS contains. This course covers that part. The second part is training on the products and procedures at your own workplace, which your employer provides.

The course has five chapters: what WHMIS is, hazard identification and product classification, labels, SDSs, and workplace education and training. You learn the hazard groups and pictograms, supplier and workplace labels, what changed in the update, and what employers and workers are each responsible for.

You need 80% on the final exam to pass, and you can repeat the test up to three times. Once you pass, you can download and print a certificate of completion.

WHMIS 2025 refers to WHMIS under the amended Hazardous Products Regulations. Health Canada's amendments came into force on December 15, 2022, and suppliers had until December 14, 2025 to switch over. It is a common name rather than an official one.

Most of the changes show up on supplier labels and safety data sheets (SDSs). You may notice:

• A new physical hazard class: Chemicals Under Pressure
• A new hazard category for non-flammable aerosols
• Flammable Gases Category 1 split into 1A and 1B
• Changes to the SDS physical and chemical properties list: kinematic viscosity and particle characteristics added, odour threshold and evaporation rate removed
• Hazardous ingredients above cut-off levels listed on the SDS, even when they don't affect the product's classification

Your employer adds the site-specific part: where SDSs are kept, how each product is stored and handled, and what to do in an emergency. Alberta OHS notes that a generic course alone won't necessarily meet the requirement, because training must include site-specific information.

There is no fixed expiry date for WHMIS in most jurisdictions. Refreshers are generally needed when new products come in, hazards change or new hazard information becomes available, and employers must review their WHMIS program at least once a year (BC OHS Regulation s. 5.5). If your last course was before the 2022 amendments, CCOHS says employers need to update training to cover the changes.

Other WHMIS options in the catalogue:

• WHMIS 2025 Refresher: about 25 minutes. A shorter review of hazard groups, pictograms, labels and SDSs, plus which materials are exempt from WHMIS.
• GHS and WHMIS 2025: about 90 minutes. Adds WHMIS history, routes of entry, controlling chemical hazards, personal protective equipment (PPE) and WHMIS at home.
• WHMIS/GHS Certification 2025: about 60 minutes. Five chapters, including one on routes of entry and PPE.
• WHMIS/GHS Certification 2025 Train the Trainer: about 2 hours. For people who will teach WHMIS to others. Covers adult learning principles and includes a training kit with a presentation, handouts, tests and answer keys.
• Shipping, receiving or transporting dangerous goods is covered by separate TDG training.