Traffic Marshal or Banksman: What the Job Is and What Ticket You Need

A traffic marshal keeps vehicles and people apart on a working site. On most sites the same person is called a banksman. You guide reversing lorries, run deliveries at the gate and stop any movement that isn't safe. Plenty of people search for it as "traffic marshall", with two Ls. It's the same job.

The ticket is where most people get stuck. There's no traffic marshal licence in UK law, so the site decides what proof it accepts. Here's the job, the law, the cards and the pay.

What is a traffic marshal?

A traffic marshal controls how vehicles and plant move around a site, and keeps people on foot out of their way. Most of the work is on construction sites, but warehouses, yards and events use marshals too.

In 2025/26, HSE's provisional figures show 24 workers in Great Britain were killed by a moving vehicle. Only falls from height killed more.

You answer to site management, which appoints you. HSE says people who direct vehicle movements must be trained and authorised. You're not just handed a vest.

A typical shift looks like this:

• Walk the traffic routes first, checking barriers, signs, stop blocks and tipping areas.
• Set up a restricted zone for each loading or unloading job.
• Guide vehicles forwards and in reverse through blind spots.
• Make sure the driver stops the moment you lose sight of each other.
• Keep pedestrians out of vehicle routes and report near misses.

Traffic marshal or banksman: the same job?

On most sites, yes. Banksman, traffic marshal, vehicle marshal and signaller all describe the person directing vehicles. HSE's guide HSG144 defines a signaller as someone "commonly known as a banksman".

Some sites split the work. Banksman then means guiding one manoeuvre, like a lorry reversing into a bay. Traffic marshal means running the wider traffic plan.

The card schemes call the construction role "plant and vehicle marshaller". CITB's training standard even lists "traffic marshal roles" as something different, without defining them.

A slinger signaller directs crane lifts, which needs a different card. Traffic control on a public road is a separate job too, outside the marshaller's role under CITB's standard.

What ticket or qualification do you actually need?

What the law says

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 never use the words traffic marshal, banksman or signaller. Nor do the Workplace Regulations 1992. They set duties instead.

• Regulation 27 of CDM 2015 says a site must be organised so people and vehicles can move safely, with enough separation, as far as reasonably practicable.
• Regulation 28 says that when a driver can't see fully and someone is directing them, anyone at risk must be warned. The duty falls on the driver, "the person providing directions", or both.
• Regulation 15 says contractors can only use people who have, or are getting, the skills, training and experience for the task.

The Workplace Regulations set the same separation rule for warehouses and yards. They don't apply to sites doing only construction work.

The nearest thing to a named role is the "signalman", the person giving hand signals under the Safety Signs and Signals Regulations 1996. Their only duties are directing the manoeuvre and keeping nearby workers safe.

HSE's guidance names no course either. Its main guide, HSG144, is the 2009 second edition, and HSE says it's under review.

The cards and certificates on offer

There isn't one national ticket, and CITB doesn't issue any of them.

Ticket	Issued by	How long it lasts	What it tells a site
CPCS A73 Plant and Vehicle Marshaller, red card	CPCS (NOCN Group)	2 years, then upgrade by NVQ	Passed a theory and practical test. CSCS logo
CPCS A73, blue card	CPCS (NOCN Group)	5 years, renewable	Also holds the NVQ. Can work unsupervised
NPORS plant and vehicle marshaller, red or blue card	NPORS	Red 2 years, blue 5 years	Same idea as CPCS. CSCS logo
NPORS traditional card	NPORS	3 or 5 years	Same standard, no CSCS logo. For work outside construction
CPD-accredited certificate	An accredited training provider, including us	Commonly three years	Trained in the role. Accepted where a site does not require a scheme card

Card details are taken from the schemes' own published information, accurate as of September 2026.

For a big construction site, a CSCS-logo scheme card is the safer bet.

NPORS lists its course built to CITB's standard as C133, plant and vehicle marshaller. Its 2023 category list also has N403, vehicle marshal. If an advert quotes a code, ask which card it means.

A CPD-accredited certificate shows an independent body has checked the course's quality. It won't stand in for a CPCS or NPORS card where a site asks for one.

What sites ask to see

No national rule says which of these a site must accept. That's the murky bit.

On construction sites the evidence points one way. CITB only funds marshaller training that ends in a CSCS-logo card. NPORS says construction needs operator cards with that logo. So bigger sites are likely to ask for a scheme card.

Outside construction, no scheme applies. For a warehouse, yard or event, a CPD certificate plus the site's own induction may be enough.

Where the CSCS card fits

On a construction site you'll almost certainly need a CSCS card, since CSCS says all construction workers should hold one.

A CPCS or NPORS marshaller card carries the CSCS logo, so it does that job itself. You'll need a health, safety and environment test pass from the last two years. The CITB HS&E test counts for both schemes.

With only a CPD certificate, you'll usually need the CSCS Green Labourer card as well. Our CSCS Green Card package covers the Level 1 course, the test booking and the application.

One catch. CSCS says the Labourer card is for unskilled workers. A site that treats marshalling as a skilled plant role may want the scheme card instead. In a warehouse or yard, CSCS doesn't come into it.

Is there a CITB traffic marshal course? Is there a free one?

There's no CITB traffic marshal card. A "CITB course" usually means training to CITB's plant and vehicle marshaller standard, ending in a CPCS or NPORS card. CITB-registered employers can claim a grant towards it, levy-paying or not.

As far as we can find, there's no free course that leads to a recognised card. The free help is an employer's CITB grant, and the A73 theory test questions the scheme publishes online.

How to get a traffic marshal ticket, step by step

1. Ask the agency or site manager which ticket they accept.
2. For construction work, you'll need the HS&E test either way. Practise with our free CITB mock tests, then book it.
3. Pick training that matches what the site asked for. A scheme card is earned in person and takes at least 10 hours for a novice. Where a CPD certificate is enough, our online traffic marshal and banksman course takes 1 to 2 hours, with a same-day CPD e-certificate valid for three years and an ID card posted within 3 to 5 working days.
4. Pass the traffic marshal test. For CPCS, that's a theory test, then a practical test within six months. Both must fall within two years of your HS&E test.
5. Complete the NVQ within two years to move a scheme card from red to blue. Both schemes offer extensions.

What does a traffic marshal earn?

There's no official pay figure for traffic marshals. ONS reports earnings by broader occupation groups, not this job alone.

So we looked at 20 hourly-paid traffic marshal and banksman adverts on one UK job board, posted between 19 August and 24 September 2026. Rates ran from £13 to £20 an hour, with the middle at about £17.80. All 20 came through recruitment agencies, half from one agency. Treat it as a guide, not official data.

The National Living Wage for over-21s is £12.71 an hour from April 2026. The typical advert paid about £5 an hour more.

Where the role can lead

• Move into lifting. Slinger signaller is a separate card, and our online slinger signaller course is a first step, not the card itself.
• Move into management. Our NVQ Level 6 in Construction Site Management is the qualification behind the Black card.

Our construction courses list others that sit well alongside a marshal ticket.

The ticket that counts is the one your site accepts. Check that first, then book the training that matches.

Frequently asked questions