Operator Certification and Renewal

Certification Exam Dates and Locations

Fall 2024

 Application Deadline: Postmarked by August 3, 2024

Board Meeting: September 12, 2024

 Applications must include proof of completion or enrollment for required Board Sanctioned Training after two (2) failed exam attempts, where necessary or they will be considered incomplete and denied.
- 0400-49-01-.02-(9)

The examination testing window will begin September 30, 2024 and continue through November 22, 2024.

Location: Computer Based Testing Only

Spring 2025

Application Deadline: Postmarked by March 1, 2025

Board Meeting: April 3, 2025

Applications must include proof of completion or enrollment for required Board Sanctioned Training after two (2) failed exam attempts, where necessary or they will be considered incomplete and denied.
- 0400-49-01-.02-(9)

The examination testing window will begin April 28, 2025 and continue through June 27, 2025

Location: Computer Based Testing Only

Fall 2025

Application Deadline: Postmarked by August 9, 2025

Board Meeting: September 11, 2025

Applications must include proof of completion or enrollment for required Board Sanctioned Training after two (2) failed exam attempts, where necessary or they will be considered incomplete and denied.
- 0400-49-01-.02-(9)

The examination testing window will begin September 29, 2025 and continue through November 21, 2025

Location: Computer Based Testing Only

Electronic Exam Information

 The Water and Wastewater Operator Certification Board only offers computer-based certification examinations.

Exams are administered at one of the Computer Based Test (CBT) Exam Centers owned and operated by PSI. Once an applicant is approved by the Board to take the exam, PSI will notify the applicant directly by e-mail.

You must provide a valid e-mail address on your application to receive notification with instructions on how to schedule your exam.

• View the PSI Test Center Experience Video
  
• View the PSI Candidate Handbook
• View PSI Test Center Closures

Operator Certification Renewal

Each certificate expires on December 31st and is renewed annually.  A renewal application is sent to the operator's mailing address each December.

 Due dates for returning the renewal application and fees are as follows:

Discounted annual renewal fee for each operator certificate

Payment prior to February 1

Standard annual renewal fee for each operator certificate:

$100 - Payment from February 1 through June 30.

FTC Public Portal to pay annual renewal fees online and view your certificate(s) information.

Tennessee's Rules Governing Water and Wastewater Operator Certification

Tennessee offers 14 types of Water and Wastewater Operator Certifications:

Operator Need to Know

• certain experience requirements
• a high school education or equivalent, and
• a score of 70% or higher on the certification examination

Most Recent Revisions:

 0400-49-01-.02

(9)

(a)    Any person seeking to apply to sit for a Grade III or Grade IV examination who failed to achieve a satisfactory score on two previous examinations for the same operator classification for which the person is seeking to apply shall complete 30 hours of Board-sanctioned comprehensive training before the Board will consider the application.

(b)    A person seeking to apply to sit for a Grade I or Grade II examination who failed to achieve a satisfactory score on two previous examinations for the same operator classification for which the person is seeking to apply shall complete 18 hours of Board-sanctioned comprehensive training before the Board will consider the application.

(c)    A person seeking to apply to sit for a Small Water Systems or a Biological/Natural Systems examination who failed to achieve a satisfactory score on two previous examinations for the same operator classification for which the person is seeking to apply shall complete 18 hours of Board-sanctioned comprehensive training before the Board will consider the application.

0400-49-01-.10

(5)     A certified operator shall only receive credit for a continuing education course that is completed in its entirety. A certified operator attending the same continuing education course more than once in two consecutive continuing education periods shall only receive credit for the operator’s first attendance.

Fleming Training Center Public Dataviewers

As part of our effort to assist essential drinking water and wastewater utilities and systems in Tennessee during the COVID-19 pandemic, a current listing of all certified water and wastewater operators is now available through the Fleming Training Center's Dataviewer application.  The listing of Tennessee Certified Water and Wastewater Operators can be filtered and searched to identify individuals from different areas in order to provide additional operator support should a utility or system experience a workforce shortage due to COVID-19.

TDEC manages a variety of critical work through active databases. To promote greater transparency, accountability, and wider access to public information, the department makes interfaces, called dataviewers, available to the public on our website. Dataviewers reflect overnight updates to our agency’s consolidated state databases. Information in this dynamic database is constantly changing as records are updated daily. Any changes made to the database should be available to the dataviewer the next day. TDEC has developed a dataviewer for the Fleming Training Center to help our customers view active and inactive backflow prevention assembly testers, and certified water and wastewater operators.