HomeProducts & ServicesCertificationCCST

CCST

ISA Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST)

ISA's Certified Control Systems Technician Program (CCST) offers third-party recognition of technicians' knowledge and skills in automation and control. Being a CCST can also help you gain respect from management and your peers, advance your career, and earn you credibility. If you are a manager and looking for qualified technicians, or you need to document and verify your current technicians' knowledge and skills, the CCST program can help.

 

Body of Knowledge

Requirements

FAQs

Forms

Apply

Prepare

Take the Exam

Renew


Review, download, and share the CCST brochure or PowerPoint presentation with your colleagues, employees, and supervisors.  

 

 

 

Attention:
The CCST exam is changing July 2013! The application deadline to take the current versions of the exams has been extended to 15 May 2013.

All levels of the CCST exam will be changing on 1 July 2013. That means time is limited to take and pass the current versions of the CCST Levels I, II, and III exams.

If you are planning to take a current CCST Level I, II, or III exam, you must submit your application by 15 January 2013. After that date, all applications received, regardless of the level, will be for the new versions of the CCST exams—written to reflect updates to the content domains and test requirements as outlined by a recent CCST job task analysis study.

Click here to review the performance domains and test specifications and the task lists required for each level for both the current and new versions of the exams.

The last day to pass a current version of a CCST exam is 30 June 2013. To allow approved applicants more time to take the current versions of the exams, we are extending 2013 Testing Window 1 from 1 March 2013 – 28 February 2014 to 16 January 2013 – 28 February 2014. This means if you are approved (or if you have already been approved) to sit for a CCST exam in 2013 Testing Window 1, you now have an additional 44 days to take the current version of that exam.

All first time exams and retests scheduled on or after 1 July 2013 will be for the new exams. On 1 July 2013, the current versions of the exams will no longer be available as they will have been replaced in the testing system with the new versions.

Who is affected?

Individuals in 2012 Testing Window 1 (1 March 2012 – 28 February 2013) are not immediately affected by the exam change, as they must pass their exams by 28 February 2013. If they do not pass their exams by then, they must reapply as first-time applicants. If they submit their applications by 15 May 2013 and are approved to sit for the exam, they will become members of 2013 Testing Window 1 (see below). If they submit their applications after 15 May 2013, if they are approve to sit for the exam, they will be able to take their exam during 2013 Testing Window 3 (see below).

Individuals in 2012 Testing Window 2 (1 July 2012 – 30 June 2013) are not immediately affected by the exam change, as they must pass their exams by 30 June 2013—the current exam version pass deadline. If they do not pass their exams by then, they must reapply as first-time applicants. In this case, the earliest window for which they can qualify is 2013 Testing Window 3 (1 November 2013 – 31 October 2014), which means they must take the new versions of the exams.

Individuals in 2012 Testing Window 3 (1 November 2012 – 31 October 2013) will have until 30 June 2013 to pass the current version of the exams as any first time exams and retests scheduled on or after 1 July 2013 will be for the new versions of the exams. They still have until 31 October 2013 to pass their exam.

Individuals in 2013 Testing Window 1 (Applications received and approved between 16 September 2012 - 15 May 2013) will have until 30 June 2013 to pass the current version of the exams as any first time exams and retests scheduled on or after 1 July 2013 will be for the new versions of the exams. They will have 12 months from their approval date to pass their exam.

2013 Testing Window 2 has been eliminated to accomodate the extension of Testing Window 1 in order to allow more individuals the option and opportunity to take and pass the current versions of the CCST exams, before they change 1 July 2013.  

Individuals in 2013 Testing Window 3 (1 November 2013 – 31 October 2014) or later must take the new versions of the exams.

Individuals taking CCST paper and pencil exams prior to 1 July 2013 will receive the current versions of the exams. All paper and pencil exams administered on or after 1 July 2013 will be the new versions of the exams. 

CCST Performance Domains

There are currently seven major performance domains that account for the examination's content. The new exams will cover four major domains that have been organized based on the findings in a recent CCST job task analysis study. Click here to review the performance domains and test specifications and the task lists required for each level for both the current and new versions of the exams.

Current Domains

  • Calibration
  • Loop Checking
  • Troubleshooting
  • Start-Up
  • Maintenance/Repair
  • Project Organization
  • Administration

New Domains

  • Calibration, Maintenance, Repair, Troubleshooting
  • Project Start-up, Commissioning, Loop-check, Project Organization, Planning
  • Documentation
  • Administration, Supervision, Management

 If you have any questions regarding how this change affects you, please contact ISA customer service at info@isa.org or +1 919-549-8411.

Certified Control Systems Technician and (CCST) are registered trademarks of ISA.