How to Verify an SST Card Is Real (Workers and Employers)

A card that looks real isn’t proof. The proof is the training record behind it, and whether the school that issued it is a registered NYC DOB provider. Here is how to check both, whether you’re the worker holding the card or the employer about to put someone on a site.

A good-looking card proves nothing

Anyone with a printer can make a plastic rectangle with a photo on it. Fake cards and fake schools exist because plenty of people get hired on the strength of a card nobody looks at twice.

NYC DOB does not print or mail SST cards. Schools do. So a card that came from a school and not from the city is normal. What matters is who the school is and whether your training is on the record.

Check the school first

Ask for the school’s name and its NYC DOB provider number. A real provider can give you both in one breath. Predictive Safety is NYC DOB Course Provider #CP059, at 5400 Fieldston Rd, Bronx, NY 10471.

If the answer is a shrug, a WhatsApp number and “my cousin does it,” you have your answer. Walk away.

Check the record, not the plastic

Schools enter completed training into Training Connect, the NYC DOB system for this. That entry is what backs up the card. A card with no matching record behind it is just a card.

If you can’t match a card to a record, treat it as unverified until the school that issued it confirms it. Don’t wave it through because the photo looks right.

Source: NYC Department of Buildings, Site Safety Training.

Check the date

An SST card expires 5 years from the date it was issued. Find the issue date, add five years, and see where you land. A card past that date is not current, no matter how clean it looks.

Source: NYC Department of Buildings, Site Safety Training.

If you’re not sure which training your job needs in the first place, start with our Local Law 196 training page.

For workers: keep your own proof

Don’t count on a school you’ll never call again to remember you. Hold onto the paperwork yourself.

• The name of the school and its NYC DOB provider number.
• Your course completion certificate or receipt.
• The tracking number, if your card was shipped. Every Predictive Safety card ships with one.
• A photo of the front and back of your card, saved on your phone.

Lose the plastic and you can prove the training. Lose the proof and you’re back to arguing with a super at 6:45 a.m. Read more about the SST Worker card, or see the Worker Wallet card if you want a card that fits where you actually keep things.

For employers and supers: what to ask before someone steps on site

You are the one who signs for who is on your site. Five minutes at the gate beats a stop-work conversation later.

• Ask for the school’s name and NYC DOB provider number.
• Check the issue date and make sure five years haven’t passed.
• Ask the school to confirm the training is on Training Connect.
• Keep a copy of the card and the confirmation in the file.
• Do it for every new hire, including the one who swears he has it somewhere.

Before anyone steps on site, check that their training is current and on the record. If you manage a whole crew, our page for crews and companies covers getting everyone trained and on the record together.

Red flags worth a second look

• No school name anywhere on the card or paperwork.
• A school that won’t give a provider number.
• A card handed over with no course taken, or in a matter of minutes.
• No way to confirm the training with the school after the fact.

Any one of these is enough to stop and verify. Two of them is a fake until proven otherwise.

Next step

Every Predictive Safety card is on Training Connect the day it issues, so check ours first. We process cards immediately once your requirements are clear, typically in hand within 48 hours, with a tracking number on every one. Pick your course on our SST courses page.

Predictive Safety