Levels of the Habilitation Électrique: Understanding Symbols B0, H0, BS, BR, B1, B2 and BC

B0, H0V, BS, BR, B1V, B2V, BC, BE measurement… The symbols of the habilitation électrique (France’s electrical work authorisation) look like an obscure code, and getting the choice wrong is no small matter: an employee authorised below their actual activity is operating unlawfully, while one authorised above it wastes days of unnecessary training. Here is how to read the symbols defined by standard NF C 18-510 — and above all how to pick the right level from the actual activity.

The grammar of the symbols: three characters that say it all

An authorisation symbol reads as a two- or three-character code:

Position	Values	Meaning
1st letter	B / H	Voltage domain: low voltage / high voltage
2nd character	0, 1, 2, R, S, C, E	Role: non-electrical work, electrician operative, works supervisor, general intervention, elementary intervention, isolation (lock-off) officer, specific operations
Optional extra letter	V, T, N, X	Attribute: work in the vicinity of live parts, live working, live cleaning, special operation

Thus a B1V is an electrician operative in low voltage allowed to work in the vicinity of exposed live parts; an H0 is a person carrying out non-electrical work in a high-voltage environment.

Symbols for non-electricians: B0, H0 and BS

B0 / H0 / H0V — working near electricity without touching it

These symbols cover staff performing non-electrical work in an electrical environment: a painter in a plant room, a mason near a switchboard, a cleaner in a substation. The holder performs no operation on the installations; the training focuses on recognising danger zones and keeping the required distances.

BS — elementary interventions

BS (elementary-intervention role) is the typical symbol for building caretakers, multi-skilled maintenance staff or technical employees: it covers simple operations, carried out with the power off and like-for-like — replacing a lamp, a fuse, a socket or a switch, or making a simple connection to a waiting circuit. As soon as the job goes beyond that narrow scope (fault-finding, measurement, modification), BS is no longer enough.

Symbols for electricians: B1, B2, BR, BC

B1 / B1V — the electrician operative

A B1 performs de-energised electrical works, on instruction and under the direction of a works supervisor. The V attribute allows work in the vicinity of exposed live parts.

B2 / B2V — the works supervisor

A B2 directs de-energised electrical works: they organise the worksite, allocate tasks and ensure prevention measures are applied. It is the symbol of the team leader or electrical site supervisor.

BR — the general-intervention role

BR covers fault-finding, replacement, measurement and testing in low voltage. A notable feature: a BR holder can carry out isolations for their own work. It is the flagship symbol of industrial and building maintenance.

BC — the isolation officer

A BC performs the isolation operations (disconnection, lock-off…) that allow others to work de-energised in safety. They act upstream of the works, in coordination with the works supervisor.

BE / HE — specific operations

The BE and HE symbols cover specific operations stated on the title: testing, verification, measurement or switching. A technician from an inspection body would typically hold BE verification.

Choosing the right symbol: start from the activity, never from the catalogue

The standard is clear on the method: it is the analysis of the actual activity that determines the symbol, and the employer leads that analysis — with the training provider’s help if needed. Three questions usually suffice:

1. Does the employee touch the electrical installations, or only work near them? (proximity only → B0/H0)
2. If they intervene, is it elementary like-for-like work with the power off, or genuine fault-finding and works? (elementary → BS; fault-finding → BR; worksite → B1/B2)
3. Who isolates, and for whom? (isolation for others → BC)

This targeting is not just a compliance exercise: the analysis of 255 fatal electrocutions in construction by Chi, Yang and Chen, published in 2009 in the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, shows that deaths overwhelmingly strike situations where the task performed did not match the applicable safety rules — equipment not isolated, safety distances ignored, unsuitable procedures (see the study). An authorisation title aligned with the actual activity is precisely the tool that materialises the boundary between what an employee can do safely and what they must not do.

An important reminder: whatever the symbol, it is the employer who issues the authorisation title, in view of the opinion provided by the training body. And every symbol should be refreshed periodically, with a benchmark of around three years.

Two neighbouring scopes not to confuse

Two adjacent cases fall wholly or partly outside this grid. Operations on electric and hybrid vehicles and machinery (car workshops, fleets, mobile plant) come under a dedicated standard, NF C 18-550, with its own symbols: do not mechanically apply a “building” authorisation to a workshop. And photovoltaic worksites are covered by specific provisions of NF C 18-510, including a symbol dedicated to installing the panels: a roofer fitting panels is neither a mere B0 nor a BR electrician.

How much training per symbol?

Durations are not fixed by regulation; in practice, initial courses range from about one day for B0/H0 to two days for BS and three days or more for BR or B2, depending on trainees’ starting level — refresher courses being shorter. What matters is not the duration but meeting the standard’s learning objectives for each symbol, assessed in both theory and practice.

For a training provider, structuring the offer symbol by symbol — with distinct programmes, assessments and post-training opinions — is both a mark of seriousness towards employers and a requirement of pedagogical consistency under the Qualiopi indicators when the courses are funded.

Take action

The right symbol is the one that matches the actual activity — no more, no less. Our NF C 18-510 electrical authorisation page recaps the full scheme, from choosing symbols to issuing the title, with a free guide to frame your approach on both the employer and the training-provider side.