epa.ohio.gov • 50 W. Town St., Ste. 700 • P.O. Box 1049 • Columbus, OH 43216-1049 • (614) 644-3020 • (614) 644-2737 (fax)
Division of Drinking and Ground Waters
March 2023
How to Become a Certified Water or
Wastewater Operator
Serve your community by helping to ensure people receive safe drinking water and
wastewater is discharged in an environmentally safe manner.
Eligibility
To become a certified Class A, I, II, III or IV Water
Supply or Wastewater Treatment, or Class I or II
Water Distribution or Wastewater Collection operator
in the State of Ohio, you must apply for and pass an
operator certification exam and document the
appropriate level of hands-on work experience.
To apply for the exam, you must have a high school
diploma or the equivalent, and the amount of
operating experience identified in the table to the
right. If you do not have the operating experience
required to become certified at the Class A, Class I or II
level, you can still be approved to take the exam.
If you pass the exam, you will be designated as an
"operator in training" (OIT) and allowed up to 48
months to fulfill the operating experience
requirement. OIT status is not available for Class III or
IV certification. You should not submit an application
for certification until you have the required operating
experience.
A* 1,040 hours
II* 36 months
IV** 36 months as a Class III, 24 months
management experience at a Class
III or IV facility
Third Party Exams
Ohio EPA offers professional water and wastewater operator certification examinations through our approved third-
party examination provider, Water Professionals International (WPI). To schedule an examination an operator can go
to https://online.goamp.com/CandidateHome/CandidateInformation.aspx and sign up to take an examination. An
operator should select “Water/Wastewater”, “Ohio EPA” and then the level of exam they wish to take.
Once an operator achieves a score of 70 or above and can document the appropriate level of hands-on experience, the
operator can use the Ohio EPA eBusiness center to apply for certification. Instructions for applying for certification can
be found at the following link: Instructions for applying for certification
For any questions regarding WPI examinations, please visit the WPI website for more information:
https://www.gowpi.org/
All operators who submit a third-party application for certification shall pay a $45 non-refundable applicant fee. This does
not include any fees associated with the third-party examination provider.
Classification Operating Experience
I 12 months
III*
60 months, including 12 months as
a Class II operator.
* Reductions available for education and course
completion. Contact Ohio EPA for details.
** More information about the Class IV exam can be found
online at
https://epa.ohio.gov/divisions-and-
offices/drinking-and-ground-waters/certified-
operators/exam-information
How to Become a Certified Water or Wastewater Operator
epa.ohio.gov • 50 W. Town St., Ste. 700 • P.O. Box 1049 • Columbus, OH 43216-1049 • (614) 644-3020 • (614) 644-2737 (fax)
Preparing for the Exam
The operator certification website includes references used to create exam questions, need to know criteria and formulas
that may help you prepare for the exam. Ohio EPA does not require completion of any coursework prior to applying for an
exam. However, many people believe this helps when preparing for an exam. Ohio EPA does not offer exam study courses
or practice exams. However, there are a number of training providers that offer courses.
Operating Experience
The following indicates types of operating experience that can be used toward Ohio EPA’s experience credit
requirement for certification as a professional water or wastewater operator. See OAC Rule 3745-7-01 for the definition
of operating experience. Experience for drinking water related examinations may only be obtained at public water
systems.
Counts
Counts for a maximum of 25 percent of
requirement, if job responsibilities consist
solely of one or more of the following:
Doesn’t Count
•
Daily Plant
Operations/Maintenance.
•
Military experience
(potable
water/wastewater)
(DD214 Form or JST
required).
•
On-site
investigations/inspections
that require coordination
of work with the active
treatment processes,
sewerage or distribution
systems (hours must be
documented).
•
Troubleshooting plant
operations at a public
water system or treatment
works.
•
Industrial wastewater
treatment.
•
Onsite SCADA system monitoring.
•
Sludge handling and sludge hauling, if part of a
public water system or treatment works
•
Laboratory work at the lab of an owner of a
public water system or treatment works.
•
Construction inspection and engineering design
that require coordination of the inspection or
design with the operation of the active treatment
process, sewerage or distribution systems.
•
Distribution or collection experience when
applying for supply or treatment licenses.
•
Source water protection and watershed
management.
•
Pretreatment if part of the treatment works or
sewerage system.
•
Clerical duties.
•
Commercial lab work.
•
Sludge handling and
hauling, if not part of a
treatment works.
•
Investigations/inspections
or construction
inspection/engineering
design that do not require
coordination of work with
the active treatment
processes, collection or
distribution systems.
•
Academic Research.
•
Meter Reading only.
•
Off-site monitoring of
SCADA.
•
Laborers, even at plant, if
only duties are mowing
grass, painting, etc.
•
Septage hauling.
More Information
Visit our website at https://epa.ohio.gov/divisions-and-offices/drinking-and-ground-waters/certified-operators email
the operator certification unit at
[email protected] or call our toll-free hotline at 1-866-411-OPCT (6728).
