Petroleum inspector certification programme

TIC Council

Petroleum inspector certification programme

TIC Council has operated a Petroleum Inspector Certification Programme since 1998 (formerly under IFIA), with two sets of test questions reflecting differing practices and standards in the USA & Canada, and in the rest of the world. In 2016 the examination questions were standardized, so that there is now one examination taken by all petroleum inspectors worldwide.

To become a Certified Inspector of Petroleum, candidates must be employed by, or contracted to, an TIC Council member company, or to a company which has completed the required registration process (see below). Candidates must complete a specified set of training tasks as defined in the Training Requirements List and pass an examination. A requirement for a recent field audit was introduced at the beginning of October 2017.

Successful candidates will receive a certificate to document their achievement. Certificates are valid for a period of five years, following which it is necessary for inspectors to be re-examined. Expiration dates are indicated on the certificates.

For inquiries on the validity of a certificate or certified inspector, please contact exams@tic-council.org

All examinations are now computer-based, and can be taken at a local test centre, selected by the inspection agency.

Test Question Books are provided for free download for training and examination preparation. Versions of the examination test questions in English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish are available. Inspectors may sit the examination in any of the available languages.
The choice of examination language must be made when a candidate application is made to TIC Council.

EXAMINATION SCHEDULES

Examinations in Africa, Asia and Europe, and in Central and South America and the Caribbean will take place on a rolling programme, with examinations being offered in each country every six months. Please follow the link to the examination schedule page to see when examinations will be offered in your region, and also to see when applications must be submitted to TIC Council for approval.
Examinations in the US, US Territories and Canada take place throughout the year, and applications can be submitted at any time.

Examination Schedule

APPLICATION PROCESS FOR TIC COUNCIL MEMBERS

Application process for TIC Council members

APPLICATION PROCESS FOR NON-TIC COUNCIL MEMBERS

Application process for non-TIC Council members

FEES

Companies will be charged for each candidate registered with TIC Council to take the examination. Fees are currently EUR 150 per candidate for TIC Council members, and EUR 450 per candidate for non-TIC Council members.  A registration fee of EUR 30 is charged for each branch registering to submit candidates for on-line examinations. This will be a one off fee and will not be repeated unless branch details are changed. Fees for the US and Canada are EUR 150 for existing TIC Council members, EUR 450  for non-members and EUR 30 for branch registration.

All fees worldwide are charged in Euros (EUR).

These are:

TIC Council member candidates: €150
non-TIC Council member candidates €450
Branch registration €30
Certificate replacement €50

Non-member registration fee: €650 (non-refundable) 

TRAINING RECORDS

As noted above, training is a key part of the certification process. An attestation that all of the specified training tasks have been completed is included on the application form. In addition to this attestation companies will be asked to submit copies of internal training records for review. This will be on a random basis for TIC Council members and will apply to all first-time candidates from non-TIC Council member organisations. These records should, as a minimum, show clearly that each training task on the International Training Requirements List (available below) has been completed with a corresponding date and signature (trainer or manager). A Training Record Book which may be used to maintain these records is available for download from the link below. All training records for review by TIC Council must be provided in English.

FIELD AUDIT

As from the beginning of October 2017 all candidates must have been assessed in a field audit within 18 months of their application. Basic information must be included on the Application for Certification Form. An Audit Summary form must be sent to exams@tic-council.org for all candidates from non-TIC Council member companies and, if requested, for TIC Council member candidates.

Details and the Audit Summary Form, together with an TIC Council Model Audit Form can be downloaded in MS Excel format from the link below.

RESULTS AND CERTIFICATES

Examination scores, and certificates for successful participants, are issued electronically to the branch contact or scheduler by TIC Council during the month following the examination.
A list of certified Petroleum Inspectors in the US, US Territories and Canada is available online via the following link.
Certified inspectors US, US Territories and Canada only
For other confirmations or clarifications, please contact exams@tic-council.org

DOCUMENTS

Training and Audit

Inspector Training Record Book
This book may be used as part of an in house training record and contains all of the training tasks required for IFIA certification.
Training Requirements List
This lists mandatory Training Tasks which must be completed by all candidates prior to taking the certification examination.
Inspector Field Audit Guide
This document includes three worksheets: - Introduction - Audit Summary (IFIA may request this for any candidate) - Audit Form (Guidance for a typical inspector field audit)

Test Questions

The Test Question Books contain the question bank from which examination questions will be taken, and can be downloaded for examination preparation and training. The correct answers are marked by an asterisk. These latest editions are marked February 2024. The examination will also contain 8 scenario-based test questions that are not made available. These questions are designed to simulate real-life situations encountered in the field, assessing candidates' ability to determine the most appropriate course of action.

For examinations taking place BEFORE 4 March 2024, please download the 2020 test questions here: English (2020) French (2020) Russian (2020) Spanish (2020) Portuguese (2020)

For additional information on all examination issues, please contact exams@tic-council.org Tel: +351 912 484 735

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