Short version: GIC1 gives you a 24-hour window to access, complete and submit a scenario-based exam — that's an access window, not 24 hours of continuous work. Most candidates spend somewhere around 4 to 6 hours actually writing. You'll get a realistic workplace scenario, a set of tasks tied to it, and possibly supporting documents like emails or incident reports to work from. "Open book" means you can use your notes, textbooks and the internet — it does not mean you can get help from another person or copy text directly.

The 24 hours, explained

NEBOSH built in a generous window deliberately, so candidates across different time zones, with work and family commitments, aren't disadvantaged by when the exam happens to open. You're not expected to work the full 24 hours straight — most candidates report spending around 4 to 6 hours actually reading, planning and writing, spread across however many sessions suit their schedule. The real risk isn't running out of hours; it's treating the long window as an excuse to start late and rushing the final tasks as the deadline closes in.

What you'll actually see when it opens

The exam opens with a scenario: a realistic organisation or workplace, described with its normal operations, followed by a developing situation — often an incident, a near miss, or a safety intervention that's gone wrong. You'll usually be asked to imagine yourself in a specific role, such as a safety advisor brought in to respond. From there, you work through a series of tasks that all tie back to that same scenario. GIC1 can also include supporting documents alongside the main scenario text — things like emails, incident reports, or extracts from a risk register — which you're expected to read and reference directly in your answers, not treat as background noise.

What "open book" actually means

You're allowed your notes, your course materials, textbooks, and general internet research. What you're not allowed is help from another person — a tutor, a colleague, a fellow candidate — and you're not allowed to copy text directly from any source, including your own notes, without reworking it into your own words and applying it specifically to the scenario in front of you. NEBOSH runs submissions through plagiarism-detection software, and being caught copying, even from your own study material, risks disqualification. The practical takeaway for prep: practising with mock scenarios matters more than memorising model answers, because a memorised answer that isn't reworked for the actual scenario won't score well even when the underlying content is correct.

Marks and pass mark

GIC1 is marked point by point against a scheme tied to the scenario — roughly one mark per distinct, relevant point you make. That's why vague or generic answers tend to underperform even when they're not technically wrong: examiners are crediting specific, scenario-linked points, not general understanding. The pass mark has traditionally sat around 45%. Total answer length across all tasks typically comes out around 3,000 words, though that's a guide rather than a target — the content needs to be there, not the word count.

Key takeaway: "open book" is not "open collaboration." Every answer needs to point back to specific details in the scenario in front of you, in your own words — that's what separates a passing answer from a technically-correct-but-generic one.

The closing interview

Some candidates are invited to a short closing interview after submitting GIC1, typically well under half an hour. This isn't a second exam and doesn't add marks — it exists to confirm the submission is genuinely your own work and that you understand what you wrote. If you're invited, the best preparation is simple: know your own submitted answers well enough to talk through your reasoning, since that's exactly what's being checked.

A short prep checklist

  • Practice against realistic mock scenarios with supporting documents, not just standalone questions — that's the actual exam format now.
  • Build the habit of referencing specific details from the scenario in every answer, not general theory recited from memory.
  • Time yourself on a handful of practice tasks to get a feel for your realistic writing pace, so you know your actual time budget going in.
  • Know your own submitted answers well enough to discuss them, in case you're invited to a closing interview.

If the part that worries you most is not knowing what a real scenario-and-attachments task actually feels like until exam day itself, that's precisely what a proper mock run is for — walking through the format once, under realistic conditions, before it counts.

Practice the actual GIC1 format, not just the content

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