Candidates must pass a written exam and a practical exam in the category they wish to be certified in.  Candidates have 12 months after they pass their first exam (written or practical) in which to take the corresponding written or practical exam in the same category.  Candidates may take their exams in any order.  For example, a candidate passing the written Tower Crane exam has 12 months to pass the Tower Crane practical exam.

Candidates who do not take and pass both he written and practical exams within a 12 month timeframe will be required to start the certification process again from the beginning.

If a candidate subsequently becomes certified in additional categories, the five-year certification period for additional categories begins at the same time as he/she was originally certified, i.e., all categories expire on the same date regardless of when in the five-year certification period the candidate passed them.