State Eligibility and Licensing Requirements for Wastewater and Water Treatment Operation

1. Examination Eligibility
   To be eligible for operator licensing examinations, the applicant must meet the following criteria as per the Florida Department of Environmental Protection:
   • Have a high-school diploma or its equivalent. (important information)
   • Have successfully completed an approved required training course for the classification and level of the examination to be taken no more than five years before the examination.

   Operators from other states must meet the requirements. These requirements may be found in Rule 62‑602.360(1)(a)-(d), F.A.C.

2. Examination Application
   You must complete an examination application for either Treatment Plant Operator Examination or Distribution System Operator Examination and submit it to the department for approval. In addition to this form you must provide the department with:
   • The applicable fee
   • Documentation of training course completion
   • One photograph of the applicant’s face and head (size 2 inches by 2 inches) not more than 6 months old. Any photograph that is not identifiable will be returned to the applicant and will delay the processing of the application
   • Copy of your high-school diploma (if a copy is not currently on file)
3. Schedule Your Examination

   You may schedule your examination only after your application has been approved by the Operator Certification Program staff. You must submit our Examination Scheduling Request Form. An approval letter will be mailed to you.

4. Examination Fees
   Applicants for all certification examinations shall submit the following fees along with their application. All application fees are non-refundable. Examination Fee: $100
5. Examination Deadlines

   There are no longer any deadlines established for submitting your application. You may submit it at any time. However, if you are an applicant who is retaking an examination you previously failed, you must wait at least sixty (60) days from the date you last took the examination before you may schedule your next exam.

    
6. Examination Formula Sheets

   Each examination contains many math questions. In order to help you prepare for these math questions, you may use the attached formula sheets to become familiar with the different types of math questions you may encounter on the exam. These same formula sheets will also be provided to you at the examination site for use during your examination.

Licensing Process

To be licensed, you must have the correct number of hours of actual work experience required and pass the appropriate type and class examination. For Class C or Level 3 - 2,080 hours of documented work experience is required. Once you have passed the examination you must complete the licensure application.

This application will document actual treatment plant experience. The sections of the application for current and past employment can ONLY be verified by a Florida DEP licensed Water or Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator or licensed Distribution System Operator in the appropriate field.

A letter from your human resources office does verify your employment; however, it is not verification of actual plant experience. A peer reference letter may be used if you do not have the Employment Experience Verification page from the FDEP licensure application.

For further information, please visit the Florida Department of Environmental Protection at: https://floridadep.gov/water/certification-restoration/content/examination-application-overview.  

Licensure Fee: $100