IRATA L1 Expiry and Re-certification

What happens when your L1 IRATA certificate expires?

What does it mean for your job? For upcoming re-certification training? Or, what if you want to upgrade to a higher level?

Unexpired Level 1 to be re-certified to Level 1 (Re-certification)

Technicians who have an unexpired Level 1 certificate should arrange to re-certify before the 3 year expiry date. To re-certify: 

• You need to attend a minimum of 4 days of L1 training with an IRATA training member company (like Pacific Ropes).
• 1 day assessment by an independent IRATA assessor.
• If re-certification and a successful Level 1 assessment are completed within 180 days prior to the expiry of the current certificate, a new Level 1 certificate will be issued with an expiry date 3 years from the date of expiry of the previous certificate.

Notes on Certifications

• Once your certification expires, you are no longer allowed to practice rope access
• If you fail your re-certification, your certificate is no longer valid, even if it's not expired.
• In very rare circumstances, IRATA may withdraw your certification before the expiry date due to lack of safety, abusing your IRATA certification, or falsifying information.
• Certificates are issued to the name of the Rope Access Technician and not to the employer.

Pacific Ropes Tip

Mark your certification's expiry date on a calendar.  Set a reminder for a date six months prior to the expiration date when you will sign up for re-certification training. 

If you’re currently holding an expired L1 IRATA certification, here are the steps you can take, as detailed in the current Technician Assessment and Certification Scheme (TACS):

Technicians who have allowed their Level 1 certification to expire by 1 day or more should arrange for re-certification training with an IRATA training member company (like Pacific Ropes). Technicians cannot carry out rope access work with an expired certificate.

• A minimum of 4 days of L1 training shall be completed.
• 1 day full assessment by an independent IRATA assessor.
• A new IRATA Level 1 certificate will be issued with an expiry date 3 years from the date of this successful assessment.

At the bottom of this post, we’ve included additional information about planned expiry.

Expired Level 1 wishing to be assessed to a Level 2

Technicians who have allowed their Level 1 certification to expire will need to regain Level 1 certification with an IRATA training member company before upgrading to L2. They must complete the following: 

• Minimum of 4 day Level 1 course.
• 1 day full assessment by an independent IRATA assessor to Level 1. Once the technician has regained a Level 1 certificate they shall complete the following requirements (prior to attending a Level 2 training course).
  
  • Complete a minimum of 150 hours of logged rope access work.
  • Total logged rope access hours shall be in excess of 1150 hours.
• Once you've gain these additional hours, then;
  • A minimum of 4 days Level 2 training shall be completed with an IRATA training member company to cover Level 2 topics.
  • 1 day assessment by an independent IRATA assessor.
  • An IRATA Level 2 certificate will be issued with an expiry date 3 years from the date of successful Level 2 assessment.

Planned Expiry

Rope Access Technicians wishing to re-certify or upgrade who anticipate expiry of their certification due to medical reasons can, prior to expiry, contact an IRATA training member company. We will document the reasons for the planned expiry and ensure there are suitable grounds for in-date certification to be delayed by liaising with the IRATA head office directly. 

Disclaimer: Information here has been taken from IRATA's Certification Requirements. This is not official IRATA documentation. To reference IRATA's certification requirements, please go to irata.org.

Do you have any questions regarding this process? Don't hesitate to call Pacific Ropes @ 604-447-8055

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