Orgma guides · Training records

Offshore and wind training: how long BOSIET, FOET, GWO and medicals last

A practical reference for planning and record keeping. Confirm current scheme and employer requirements before booking training or authorising work.

Offshore tickets run on different cycles, and each has its own renewal window. Get the timing right and you keep your dates. Get it wrong and someone either loses months of validity or ends up back on a full course. Here's how the main OPITO, GWO and medical rules work.

At a glance

Ticket	How long it lasts	Renew with	Window that keeps your date
OPITO BOSIET (with CA-EBS)	4 years	FOET	Last 3 months before expiry
OPITO FOET (with CA-EBS)	4 years	FOET again	Last 3 months before expiry
OPITO HUET (with CA-EBS)	4 years	HUET	90 days before expiry
OPITO MIST	4 years	MIST Further	Last 3 months before expiry
OPITO shoulder breadth measurement	4 years	New measurement	n/a
GWO Basic Safety Training modules	24 months each	Refresher for each module	Last 2 months before expiry
OEUK offshore medical	Up to 2 years	New medical	n/a
Wind turbine worker medical (EI 3583)	Usually every 2 years (the doctor can set a shorter period)	New medical	n/a

OPITO: BOSIET and FOET

BOSIET with CA-EBS (OPITO code 5750) is for people new to offshore oil and gas, or coming back to it. It lasts four years. You keep it going with FOET with CA-EBS (code 5850). FOET is 8 guided learning hours, and each pass gives you another four years.

The three-month forward-dating window

If you pass FOET in the three months before your current certificate expires, OPITO dates the new certificate from your old expiry date, so you lose nothing. Do it earlier and the new four years start from the course date, which means you give up the time you had left. Duty holders and operators can set their own rules, so check theirs too.

If it has already expired

You can only book FOET with an in-date BOSIET or FOET. There's no automatic grace period. Under OEUK's dispensation process, a Responsible Person nominated by the duty holder (normally the OIM or a senior onshore manager) can extend a certificate by up to three months. That's only in unforeseen circumstances, such as illness or abnormal work demands, and only if a dispensation request is approved. It's only open to people who work offshore regularly and have already done at least one refresher, so it can't be used for a first BOSIET. Without an approved dispensation, it's the full BOSIET again.

HUET, CA-EBS, MIST and shoulder measurement

HUET with CA-EBS (code 5295) lasts four years. Since July 2024, OPITO-approved centres can offer HUET as a standalone course, even if they don't run the full BOSIET.
Dry CA-EBS initial deployment training (code 5904) needs a valid BOSIET, FOET or HUET. OPITO changed its validity to four years in January 2026.
MIST (Minimum Industry Safety Training, code 5301) lasts four years and is renewed through MIST Further (code 5311).
Shoulder breadth measurement is needed for helicopter travel offshore in the UK, and it lasts four years. OPITO took over the measurement process in November 2025, and records are held in Vantage.

Checking OPITO certificates

OPITO runs an open Certification Validation Checker at thehubopito.com/public/validate. It needs no login and can check several certificates at once. Workers can see their own records in VantagePOB or OPITO's free TRAIN-R app.

GWO: Basic Safety Training

GWO's current standard is BST V20, which came into effect on 10 March 2026 and replaced BST V19 and the separate refresher standard. It has five modules: First Aid, Manual Handling, Fire Awareness, Working at Height and Sea Survival. Each module lasts 24 months, and each is renewed with its own refresher.

The two-month window

A refresher taken up to two months before expiry keeps your original certification date.
Take it earlier and your date resets. GWO's own example: a certificate due to expire on 15 October 2026, refreshed on 15 July 2026, gets a new WINDA date of 15 July 2026.
A refresher finished on the expiry day still counts.
You need a valid WINDA record for the module to join a refresher. There's no grace period. Once a record expires, you must take the full module again.

WINDA: how to check GWO training

WINDA is GWO's global training records database. Training providers upload each course to it. To check someone's training:

Register your organisation in WINDA. You'll need a company email address, as Gmail and similar aren't accepted.
Ask the technician for their WINDA ID.
Search. You can check up to 100 WINDA IDs at once.

A printed WINDA record isn't valid as a certificate on its own. Training done before 17 October 2016 isn't in WINDA, so for older training ask for the provider's certificate.

Offshore medicals

OEUK medical (oil and gas)

The OEUK medical (OEUK was formerly Oil & Gas UK) is an assessment of fitness to work offshore, carried out by an OEUK-registered doctor. A standard certificate lasts up to two years. Doctors follow OEUK's Medical Guidelines, which are currently Issue 8.2 from August 2026.

To check a certificate, use OEUK's published register to confirm the doctor is registered and listed at the clinic named on the certificate. OEUK says no other check should be treated as authoritative.

The 124 kg Safe Weight Limit (from 1 November 2026)

From 1 November 2026, OEUK's Safe Weight Limit is mandatory for travel to oil and gas installations:

The limit is 124 kg clothed, including a 0.7 kg margin.
Anyone over the limit at heliport check-in can't travel, whatever certificate they hold.
For UK work, OEUK medical examiners won't issue a certificate to anyone over the limit.
People close to the limit get shorter certificates: up to six months between 115 and 120 kg, and up to three months between 120.1 and 124 kg. OEUK's guidance lets the doctor give a longer certificate (up to two years) in some cases, such as an athletic build or consistent weight control.
There are no exemptions or dispensations to the 124 kg limit.

The policy doesn't directly cover offshore wind. OEUK says it applies to oil and gas installations, not wind turbines, SOVs or vessels, but that wind operators are applying it case by case. Check with the wind operator before mobilising.

Wind turbine worker medicals

Wind has its own guidance: the Energy Institute's EI 3583, Medical fitness assessment for wind turbine workers (first edition, March 2025). Under it, workers usually have a medical every two years, but the doctor can set a shorter period, and some employers and clients ask for one more often. Check the certificate's expiry date and your client's rules. OEUK publishes a technical note that helps its registered doctors carry out these assessments.

What this means for your training matrix

Offshore people carry a lot of separate dates, so track each one on its own line, not "offshore tickets: OK":

BOSIET/FOET, HUET, CA-EBS and MIST, each with its own expiry date
each GWO module separately, since First Aid and Sea Survival might fall due months apart
the medical (OEUK or wind) and the shoulder breadth measurement

Set reminders three months before OPITO tickets and two months before GWO modules, so the refresher lands inside the window that keeps the date. For medicals, six to eight weeks ahead is sensible. Record WINDA IDs and OPITO learner details so checks take seconds.

Prefer a spreadsheet for now? Get our free training matrix template.

Common questions

How long is a BOSIET valid? Four years. You renew it with FOET, ideally in the three months before it expires so you keep your date.

Can I do FOET if my BOSIET has expired? No. FOET needs an in-date BOSIET or FOET, so if your first BOSIET has lapsed it's the full BOSIET again. Regular offshore workers who have already done at least one refresher may get a dispensation of up to three months, approved through the duty holder, in unforeseen circumstances such as illness.

How long is GWO training valid? Each Basic Safety Training module lasts 24 months. A refresher in the last two months before expiry keeps your original date.

Is there a grace period for GWO? No. If a WINDA record expires, you have to take the full module again.

How long does an OEUK medical last? Up to two years. People close to the 124 kg Safe Weight Limit may get a shorter certificate.

Last checked against official sources: October 2026. Operators and duty holders can set their own requirements, so always check theirs as well.