Validity and recertification

Validity and recertification

Validity

Each certificate is issued for a period of 5 years commencing with the date of the qualifying examination that the candidate has passed. If your certificate was issued immediately after a qualifying examination, it can be renewed after 5 years. After a further 5-year period recertification will then be necessary.

Renewal
After 5 years has elapsed, in each case, since the initial certification or the recertification exam, the person’s certification may be renewed without any training or examination for a further 5-year period of validity. All the candidate has to do for this purpose is submit an application for certification. (Download hier) In the application, the employer must confirm:

• That a medical examination showing that the candidate’s eyesight is satisfactory has been carried out and that the medical certificate issued is not older than 12 months.

• And that the candidate has satisfactorily pursued an occupation using the certified method without any major interruption (DIN EN 473, subsection 3.27).

Recertification
After 10 years has elapsed since the initial certification or the recertification exam, the candidate has to take a fresh qualifying examination. In addition, the candidate
must furnish proof of having satisfactory eyesight (visual acuity test) and of having pursued an occupation using the certified method without any major interruption (DIN EN 473, subsection 3.27). The last two points have to be confirmed by the candidate’s employer.

• Level 1 or 2 certification? The candidate has to pass a practical examination conducted in an examination centre according to a simplified procedure or a practical examination in the candidate’s company. At Level 2 the candidate has to additionally draft a set of test instructions. The execution of the examination in the candidate’s company has to be separately agreed with SECTOR Cert (DIN EN 473, subsection 3.27).

• Level 3 certification? The candidate can choose between taking part in an examination or taking part in a structured credit system (DIN EN 473 Section 10).

Making an application

Your application for renewal or recertification has to be submitted to your certification authority no later than 6 months before the validity of your certificate expires. If you make your application more than 12 months after the validity of your certificate expires, the following rules will apply:

• If you are renewing a certificate, you will have to follow the procedure for recertification.

• In the event of recertification, you will have to take a complete examination (Level 1 or 2) or an examination in the main test method (Level 3).