October 4, 2023—CCO is reducing the number of exams required for earning CCO Lift Director to make certification more accessible.
Effective January 15, 2024, candidates will have just two exams—a Lift Director Core exam and a Lift Director Specialty exam—to earn certification, so they can earn certification faster and save money.
For instance, Mobile Crane Lift Director candidates will be required to pass only two exams instead of the six required currently; this represents a reduction in testing time from 7.5 hours to 2.5 hours. Similarly, Tower Crane Lift Director candidates will see a reduction in testing time from 4 hours to 2.5 hours. Due to this reduction of exams and length of hours required to test, candidates will have 12 months to complete all certification requirements instead of the 24 months currently allowed.
CCO made these changes only after conducting a psychometrically rigorous job task analysis of the Lift Director occupation in 2022–2023, followed by an industry-wide survey regarding the importance, frequency, and applicability of the task and knowledge areas identified during the job task analysis.
Candidates currently in the process of becoming Lift Director certified will need to complete certification using the current requirements. Going forward, current CCO Lift Directors needing to recertify will only need to take and pass the Lift Director Core exam and the applicable Lift Director Specialty exam. Existing Lift Director certificants will be able to add a specialty simply by taking the applicable Specialty exam.