Laser safety training: meet your obligations and protect your operators
From informed person to competent person, IREPA LASER covers every level of the CoNSOL framework. Qualifying courses and accredited trainers, delivered in person, remotely or by e-learning, anywhere in Europe.
The CoNSOL framework defines three levels, complemented by specific modules for machine designers and manual applications. Each programme specifies its duration, format, target audience and prerequisites.
Person Informed in Laser Safety
Person Exposed to Laser Risks
Laser Safety for Manual Welding or Cleaning Applications
Person Exposed to Laser Risks – Specific Session for ERP (public venues)
Competent Person in Laser Safety
Laser Safety Officer / Manager
Design and Manufacture of a Laser Machine in Compliance with the Machinery Directive
Laser Safety Facilitator Kit – Training Option
A laser above Class 2 on your premises, and the obligations apply
From laser pointers to Class 4 equipment, protecting your staff is governed by a strict regulatory framework. A Class 3B or 4 beam can cause irreversible eye damage in a fraction of a second – including through indirect reflection. Invisible and painless on impact, laser hazards demand rigorous awareness from operational teams.
A regulatory obligation from Class 3R
As soon as laser systems above Class 2 are used, the French Labour Code (Code du travail) requires specific measures:
- Train all personnel who may be exposed to radiation in laser safety (Level 2).
- Appoint and train an in-house competent person (Level 3) able to carry out the risk assessment and monitor preventive measures.
A training pathway tailored to your needs
Our programmes cover all laser hazard classes and adapt to your uses:
- Awareness (Level 1): for users of Class 1 to 2M equipment.
- Operational training (Level 2): mandatory for all operators exposed to laser hazards.
- Expertise & Risk Management (Level 3): for designated staff in companies operating Class 3R, 3B or 4 lasers.
IREPA LASER's long-standing expertise
Our trainers are certified by Photonics France's Commission Nationale de Sécurité Optique et Laser (CONSOL), and all our training pathways comply with the current national framework. A major player in laser safety since 1990 – when we joined the first European programme for the protection of workers using laser equipment – we bring more than three decades of expertise to the compliance and safety of your installations.
Professionals trained
in 2025
99,2 %
Satisfaction with our safety training in 2025
Tailor-made
Inter-company, in-house and tailor-made
98,9 %
Objectives achieved by our safety learners
Your questions, our answers
As soon as you use lasers above Class 2, the requirements of the French Labour Code apply. The CoNSOL framework defines three levels. Level 1, informed person, covers those who never have access to radiation above the maximum permissible exposure. Level 2, exposed person, covers those who do have such access or who work in a controlled area under a validated procedure, each being responsible for their own safety. Level 3 covers those who handle the beam or supervise, and who take part in the risk assessment and the implementation of protective measures. Tell us about your laser classes and the positions concerned, and we will design the pathway.
CoNSOL is Photonics France's Commission Nationale de Sécurité Optique et Laser, which brings together French experts in the field alongside CEA, CNRS, ONERA, Safran and Thales. It sets the training framework and keeps a national register, available online, of people trained at Levels 2 and 3. There is no legal obligation to use an accredited organisation, but member companies of Photonics France require it, and the aerospace and automotive sectors follow suit. Our SE.2, SE.2R, SE.3R and SE.3+ courses are accredited, as are all our laser safety trainers.
The Laser Safety Officer (Référent Sécurité Laser) manages prevention day to day: they analyse hazardous situations, supervise operators, liaise with manufacturers and the HSE department, and record laser risk in the single risk assessment document. To define protection levels, they rely on third parties. The Competent Person (Personne Compétente) works independently: they calculate exposures, limit values and the nominal ocular hazard distance, classify equipment and determine protective measures on their own. Two days with no prerequisites for the former; three days for the latter, with the Référent course and A-level mathematics as prerequisites.
Yes, and two short formats are designed for this: 3.5 hours for the Level 2 refresher and one day for the Level 3 refresher. The Competent Person refresher is for holders trained less than five years ago, which sets the deadline to keep an eye on. These formats bring you up to date on regulatory and standards developments without repeating the initial course.
Do you have other questions or an industrial laser project ?
Our experts support you from idea through to
implementation, with solutions tailored to your needs and technical constraints.
Our training centre is fully accessible to people with disabilities, including those with reduced mobility.
