Can you fail a First Aid course?
Yes, it is possible to fail a first aid course.
A Canadian Red Cross certificate confirms that you can demonstrate the required skills and knowledge to the expected standard. Simply attending the class does not guarantee certification.
However, most people who participate, practise and accept feedback are successful. You do not need medical experience, perfect English or exceptional physical fitness. A good instructor will teach each skill, give you time to practise and help you correct problems before making a final decision on whether you meet the requirements for certification.
At Emergency Edge, we are invested in seeing you pass the course - so invested that if you fail a portion of your assessment, we'll let you reattempt the required segment within 30 days free of charge.
We are not here to catch you out. That said, our goal isn't to simply pass everyone who attends. Our goal is to help you leave the course feeling able to respond safely and confidently when someone needs you.
What do you need to do to pass?
The exact requirements depend on the course. For Canadian Red Cross Basic (AKA, Emergency First Aid or OFA 1) and Intermediate (AKA, Standard First Aid or OFA 2) First Aid, you must:
Attend and enthusiastically participate in 100% of the course (this means that tardiness can result in you failing the course)
Successfully demonstrate the required practical skills and critical steps at the expected standard (your instructor will evaluate you based on your performance across the entire duration of the course, so you have opportunity to improve areas of weakness).
Achieve at least 75% on the written knowledge evaluation (a multiple choice, 25 or 30 question evaluation)
Follow the Canadian Red Cross Fundamental Principles and act accordingly
These requirements apply to both classroom and blended courses. In a blended course, the online component must also be completed before you may attend the classroom session.
The certificate is evidence that you met the standard. An instructor cannot issue one based only on attendance, effort or an employer’s need for the qualification.
Is the written test difficult?
The knowledge evaluation is a closed-book, multiple-choice test based on material covered during the course.
For Basic First Aid, Intermediate First Aid, CPR, childcare first aid and most remote or wilderness first aid courses, the passing mark is 75%.
You will not be tested on obscure medical terms or information that was never taught. The questions focus on checking whether you understand the important decisions a first aider must make, such as:
When to call 911
How to recognize a life-threatening emergency
When to begin CPR
How to control severe bleeding
How to respond to choking
How to protect yourself and the person receiving care
When a person needs further medical attention
Reading the questions carefully is often more important than memorizing every sentence in the manual. The most common reason people do not achieve the passing grade on their first attempt is because they misread some of the questions, not because they didn't know the correct answer.
What happens if you do not get 75%?
Not reaching 75% on your first attempt does not necessarily mean you have failed the whole course.
For Canadian Red Cross First Aid and CPR, Child Care First Aid, and Remote and Wilderness First Aid courses, an unsuccessful learner may review their incorrect answers with the instructor and demonstrate that they now understand the material. There is no mandatory waiting period before this remediation. This gives the instructor an opportunity to identify whether the problem was a misunderstood question, unfamiliar wording or an important gap in the learner’s knowledge.
It is at the instructors discretion, but most instructors will immediately give you an opportunity to revise your answers. If you are unsuccessful at remediation, or if the instructor determines that the problem is an important or significant gap in your knowledge, then you may have to resit some, or all of the course to achieve certification. All remediation must be completed within 30 days of the initial course, otherwise the course must be completely retaken.
More advanced professional-responder programs have different rules. First Responder, Emergency Medical Responder, Advanced First Aid, Marine Advanced First Aid and Wilderness First Responder learners generally have to wait at least 24 hours before attempting a different version of the evaluation.
What practical skills must you demonstrate?
A first aid course is not only a written test. You must also demonstrate the skills required for your course.
Depending on the program, these may include:
Checking whether a person is responsive and breathing
Calling for appropriate help
Performing CPR
Using an AED
Responding to choking
Placing someone in the recovery position
Controlling severe bleeding
Using an epinephrine auto-injector
Assisting with naloxone
Completing a head-to-toe assessment
Applying bandages, dressings or splints
Participating in first aid scenarios
Skills are assessed using established Canadian Red Cross criteria. Some steps are considered critical because missing them could make the care ineffective or unsafe.
You do not have to perform every practice perfectly on your first attempt. Practice is where mistakes are supposed to happen. Your instructor can demonstrate the skill again, offer feedback and give you another opportunity to improve.
To receive certification, however, you must eventually demonstrate all required critical steps successfully.
Can you fail CPR because you are not strong enough?
CPR is physically demanding. Effective compressions require enough force to compress the chest to the required depth while maintaining an appropriate rate and allowing the chest to recoil.
Instructors can change how a skill is taught or demonstrated when an accommodation is appropriate. For example, a learner who cannot kneel comfortably may be allowed to perform CPR with the manikin on a firm table rather than on the floor.
The required performance standard cannot be removed. If a learner cannot compress the manikin deeply enough to meet the critical skill criteria, the instructor cannot mark the skill as successful.
This is not a judgement about the learner’s effort, intelligence or value. It means the certification standard has not yet been demonstrated.
A learner who attends the full course but cannot demonstrate every required skill may be issued a Course Participation Letter. This is not a first aid certificate and cannot be used to fill a position requiring certified first aid personnel. However, it recognizes that the learner completed the training and gained knowledge that may help them prevent injuries, recognise emergencies, call for help, retrieve equipment and support a capable responder. Someone does not have to be physically able to perform every intervention to become safer and more useful in an emergency.
What if you have dyslexia, anxiety or difficulty with written English?
Please tell your instructor as early as possible if something could affect your learning or assessment. Emergency Edge provides an opportunity to disclose this type of information and request accommodation confidentially in the course registration process.
An accommodation changes how you learn or demonstrate your knowledge without changing what you are required to know.
Possible accommodations may include:
Having the knowledge evaluation administered verbally and individually
Having questions read aloud
Receiving clearer verbal instructions
Practising in a quieter part of the room
Taking an appropriate break before the evaluation
Using a firm raised surface for CPR if kneeling is difficult
Being shown a skill again before another attempt
Receiving written course information in advance
The Canadian Red Cross specifically permits individual verbal evaluation for learners whose disability affects reading or writing. It also recognizes adaptations such as practising CPR on a raised, firm surface.
Accommodations cannot remove an essential skill, allow learners to complete an individual test as a group or lower the required standard. They should give you a fair opportunity to meet that standard.
Usually your instructor will let you know when they explain the knowledge evaluation, that you are able to call on them to rephrase a question or explain the definition of a word you are unfamiliar with as you complete your evaluation, so do not struggle in silence if you have difficulty interpreting the questions - the instructor is there to support you.
Can you fail because of anxiety?
Feeling nervous does not mean you are going to fail.
Many learners arrive worried about performing CPR in front of other people, answering questions incorrectly or being judged by the instructor. Some have not taken a course or written a test in many years.
Tell your instructor if anxiety is making it difficult to participate. A supportive instructor may be able to give you more practice, explain a skill in a different way or assess you with fewer people watching.
What matters is whether you can demonstrate the required knowledge and skills by the end of the course, not whether you looked confident when you first walked through the door.
Can you fail for missing part of the course?
Yes. Canadian Red Cross certification courses require 100% attendance and participation.
Arriving significantly late, leaving early, taking excessive time out during class time, returning late from breaks or missing part of a multi-day course may prevent certification.
This is not because the instructor is being unnecessarily strict. Course content and minimum teaching times may be connected to workplace legislation, national program standards and the skills listed on your certificate.
If you know you will be late or may need to leave early, contact the training provider before the course. It may be safer to move your registration to another date.
What can prevent someone from passing?
The most common problems are avoidable.
A learner may be unsuccessful if they:
Miss part of the course
Do not complete the online component before a blended class
Decline to participate in required activities
Cannot demonstrate one or more critical practical skills
Do not achieve the required knowledge-evaluation mark after remediation
Use unsafe techniques after repeated instruction and feedback
Disrupt the course or behave in a way that makes the learning environment unsafe
Refuse reasonable direction from the instructor
Attend while too unwell, exhausted or impaired to participate safely
Behave in a manner that does not reflect the fundamental principles.
If you are struggling, say something before the end of the course. Instructors have more options when they know about a problem early.
How can you improve your chance of passing?
You do not need to study for weeks, but a little preparation can make the day easier.
Complete any online learning well before the deadline
Tell the instructor about accommodation needs in advance
Wear comfortable clothing suitable for long periods of kneeling, laying down and physical practice
Bring any required glasses, hearing aids or medications
Ask questions when something is unclear
Take part in all activities and scenarios
Practice skills and scenarios as you would complete them in reality and avoid cutting corners
Accept corrections without treating them as criticism
Let the instructor know if pain, fatigue or anxiety is affecting you
Get as much rest as you reasonably can before the course
First aid is best learned by doing. The more you participate, the more natural the skills will feel.
At Emergency Edge, we expect students to engage enthusiastically with all practical activities and scenarios and practice skills as if this were a real incident. If you try to take shortcuts, sit out parts of the course or demonstrate skills without an appropriate level of commitment, your instructor will call you out and ask you to demonstrate the skill again.
What happens if you do not pass at Emergency Edge?
Emergency Edge maintains high course-completion rates because we teach skills in practical stages, provide individual feedback and give learners opportunities to correct problems during the course.
We also recognize that people can have a difficult day. Pain, illness, anxiety, language barriers or a single stubborn skill can interfere with an otherwise capable learner’s performance.
If you attend and participate in the full course but cannot meet all certification requirements, Emergency Edge offers you the opportunity to attend another scheduled course and repeat the unsuccessful components without paying the course tuition again.
Certification can only be issued once every required component has been completed successfully. Course availability and any applicable Canadian Red Cross or regulatory time limits still apply.
The free return opportunity is not a guaranteed pass. It is another genuine opportunity to learn, practise and meet the standard.
A certificate should mean something
Failing a first aid course is possible, but it should not come as a surprise.
A responsible instructor will give you clear directions, observe your progress, correct problems and tell you when a required skill has not yet reached the standard. You should have opportunities to ask questions and improve.
Maintaining meaningful certification standards protects everyone. Employers need to know that a certificate represents real ability. More importantly, an injured or ill person needs a first aider who can recognize the emergency and provide effective care.
Emergency Edge courses are designed to be supportive, practical and accessible. We want you to pass—but we also want your certificate to mean that you are actually prepared and ready to help.
Frequently asked questions
Do most people pass first aid courses?
Yes. Most learners who attend the entire course, participate in practice and respond to feedback successfully complete their certification.
Do I need previous medical knowledge?
No. Basic and Intermediate First Aid have no medical-training prerequisites. The required information and skills are taught during the course.
Is the test open book?
No. The final Canadian Red Cross knowledge evaluation is completed individually and is closed book.
What mark do I need?
Most Canadian Red Cross First Aid and CPR certification courses require a minimum mark of 75%.
Can the instructor help me during the test?
The instructor cannot tell you which answers to choose. If you are unsuccessful, eligible courses allow the instructor to review incorrect responses and remediate the relevant knowledge afterward.
Can I take the test verbally?
An individual verbal knowledge evaluation may be available as an accommodation when a disability affects your ability to complete a written evaluation. You should always contact the training provider before the course to request this accommodation as it can be challenging to facilitate this with little notice, particularly if there are other students in the class requiring accommodations.
Can my employer make the instructor pass me?
No. A training provider must follow the certification requirements regardless of who paid for the course. Emergency Edge will never push students through to certification at the request of an employer. Maintaining fair, safe and consistent standards is more important to us than client retention.
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