Become A Certified Crane Operator

In order to become a certified crane operator crane operator you must meet several requirements.

1. You must be at least 18 years old

2. You must pass a drug test and an ASME ANSI B30.5 physical examination,  D.O.T. and D.M.V medicals are also accepted

3. You must pass a written and practical exam administered by an accredited entity on the specific type crane you will operate.
For  telescopic boom mobile cranes the term “specific type crane” is separated into 2 categories small telescopic boom cranes and large telescopic boom cranes. Tonnage use to be the distinguishing factor between the cranes. However they are now distinguished differently the small telescopic boom crane is referred to as" fixed cab" and the large telescopic boom crane is referred to as the "swing cab." The cranes Tonnage is no longer the distinguishing factor.

As far as the written exams you will be taking 3 separate exams.
The first written exam is the core. This exam consists of a 90 question which is all multiple choice and you are given 90 minutes to complete it.
You will also be given 2, 26 question specialty exams, one on the large telescopic boom crane and one on the small telescopic boom crane these exams are also multiple choice within these exams there will be several load chart questions which you will have to calculate Net Capacities, Gross capacities, as well as some specific questions pertaining to the load charts you are given 55 minutes to complete each of these exams.

Once you have met these criteria, you are now become a nationally certified crane operator.

Many organizations do not consider you to be a fully certified crane operator until you have a crane operator certification card in your pocket. Keep in mind even after you have passed all of your crane operator certification tests it takes International Assessment Institute (IAI) the national crane operator certification testing company 2-3 weeks to mail you the results of the written tests and about 3-4 weeks to mail you the results of the national crane operator certification practical (hands on) tests. As a result of this delay your crane certification card might not come in for about 1 month after you have completed all of your national crane operator certification tests.

If you become a certified crane operator the state of Washington has some minimum hour requirements for different types of cranes.