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Technician Certification Program



This is part of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s effort to ensure quality control and quality assurance for the construction of transportation facilities.

People in a classroom

This program is designed to develop and maintain a pool of well-trained technicians to perform material field tests for both quality assurance and quality control purposes.

All technician certification programs must be approved by the Certification Advisory Committee.

ODOT’s Quality Assurance Program requires all personnel and laboratories performing materials testing to be certified. This requirement applies to project personnel working as a technician for the state, contractors or consultants on such projects.

Certification Database

ODOT is a member of the Western Alliance for Quality Transportation Construction. WAQTC consists of 9 western states and the Western and Central Federal Lands Highway Division (WFLHD and CFLHD) of the Federal Highway Administration. The WAQTC organization is dedicated to improving the quality of the transportation products and services through membership collaboration and innovative training techniques. WAQTC has developed a technician training program designed to educate and train material testing technicians on the measurement of construction material properties. Instructional and student modules are used to train material field-tested procedures and processes. ODOT has adopted most of the WAQTC training program, except for ODOT-specific certifications or requirements such as:

  • Certified Asphalt Technician, Level II (ACP Troubleshooting)
  • Concrete Control Technician, Concrete Mix Design (ACI 211)
  • Concrete Mix Design Technician, ACP Mix Design (Superpave)
  • Quality Control Technician, Addition to ACI Grade Level I Certification

For more information on the Technician Certification Program or test procedures used in Oregon, refer to the Manual of Field Test Procedures.

Technicians must pass a written and/or a practical test to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of how to perform the specific tests and the specifications that apply to the material being tested for the desired certification. All tests are administered and assessed by evaluators approved by the Certification Advisory Committee Chair, or their designated representative.

Attend Training

You may register for training through the approved training service provider. Links to register are listed at the bottom of this page under Technician Certifications. The exam will be administered as part of the class, or you may submit an application to challenge the exam.

If you fail an exam (phase one - WAQTC written exam, phase two - the ODOT written exam, or phase three - combined ODOT and WAQTC performance exam) from the training class, you will be allowed to retake the failed element as outlined in the Manual of Field Test Procedures, Section 2, under the Technician Certification Program. If you do not pass the second time, you must retake training before you will be allowed to retake the exam element(s).

Challenge Exams

Applications to challenge an exam will be submitted through the approved training program to facilitate scheduling. See Technician Certifications at the bottom of this page with the training program for specific certifications.

Appropriate fees will be charged for the challenge exams to cover scheduling, overhead and facility use. Applicants will be scheduled for examination through a cooperative effort between ODOT and the appropriate training program service provider.

If you do not pass a challenge exam, and have never been certified in the desired certification discipline, you must attend training before you will be allowed to attempt the exam process again.

As a technician, you must recertify prior to the expiration date of an existing certification in order to maintain your credential. Recertification is obtained by passing the written and/or practical test required for a given certification.

You are responsible for scheduling your own recertification exam.

Should you fail to successfully complete a certification renewal in a specialty area, you will be considered disqualified in that area until the requirements for certification renewal have been successfully met.

All certifications shall be contingent upon the technician signing a rights and responsibilities agreement.

This agreement details the expectations for technician conduct along with the consequences of the abuse and or neglect of these responsibilities. Signed agreements are due at the time a technician takes the certification exam and are required for each certification discipline.

The following language is a typical Rights and Responsibilities document that must be signed by the technician.


Certification carries inherent rights and responsibilities. These rights include being exclusively sanctioned along with others so Qualified by TTQP to perform sampling, testing, and reporting of test results for quality control and quality assurance programs. These responsibilities include performing and reporting tests with the accuracy and precision expected of the Technician in accordance with the required test procedures. By signing this document the Technician agrees to abide by all of the terms of the TTQP included in the Registration, Policies, & Information Handbook and as set forth by the contracting Agency.

Findings of negligence or abuse of these rights and responsibilities will be penalized by recommendation of the Certification Advisory Committee (CAC) and any appeal to the CAC Chair. Penalties, as prescribed herein, may be assessed for Technician abuse or negligence. Negligence is defined as unintentional deviations from approved procedures which may or may not cause erroneous results. The first finding of negligence will result in a letter of reprimand being sent to both the employee and the employer; the second will result in a thirty (30) day suspension of certification; the third, in a one hundred eighty (180) day suspension of certification; and the fourth in permanent suspension of certification. Abuse is defined as intentional deviations from approved procedures. The first finding of abuse will result in a minimum one (1) year suspension and up to permanent revocation of an individual's certification. Any subsequent finding of abuse will result in permanent revocation of certification. Revocation or suspension of one certification will be considered revocation or suspension of all certifications held by the Technician. Permanent revocation of certification will result in that person being ineligible for any TTQP certification. The penalties are guidelines and the CAC may impose harsher penalties if warranted for findings of abuse or negligence.

The Technician should also be aware that both State and Federal laws may govern construction projects, including Title 18, United States Code, Section 1020 that in brief states that anyone making falsifications on Federal-aid projects, "Shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."


I, ____________________, have read, understand and agree to abide by the rights, responsibilities and penalties associated with receipt of this certification.


Signature) ______________________________
(Date) _____________________ 

Upon the successful completion of certification exam process, the technician will be added to the official registry of certified technicians for the appropriate certification. The official registry is maintained by ODOT.

Transportation Curriculum Coordination Council (TC3)​

Quality Assurance Series​ - Free to ODOT employees using PROMO Code: D5X3-B3D9-52CB-4XCX (must use government email address in order for promo code to activate). 

Customers external to ODOT may pay full rate to access the training.



Contact the Construction Section

800 Airport Road SE
Salem, Oregon 97301
Information Line: 503-986-4336

Program Contacts

For general program questions:
Phone: 503-986-6631
Cell: 503-710-2562
 
For certification database questions:
Cell: 503-437-4523
 



Technician Certifications

IMPORTANT - FOR ODOT EMPLOYEES: Please review REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS before enrolling in a training course.