What the rigger exam covers and how you actually sit it

Last updated 2026-08-20

What is the rigger exam, really?

The rigger exam is a third-party written test plus a hands-on practical that issues a portable rigger credential. OSHA does not administer that exam. OSHA requires a qualified rigger for named hoisting tasks, and employers can qualify you without a card. ^[1][4]

That split is the whole protocol. People mash “qualified” and “certified” into one word. They are not the same.

The exam path most construction travelers talk about is NCCCO Rigger Level I, then Level II. Some contractors use NCCER rigger assessments instead. A handful of cities run their own license exams. New York City is the one you will hear about first. Washington State writes rigger qualifications into the WAC, which is actual code, not a pamphlet. ^[9]

If someone sold you a “national rigger license,” they sold you a myth. There is no federal rigger license number and no single federal seating date.

Treat the exam as optional paper until a contractor, owner, union hall, city, or state tells you it is required on that site. Then it is required. Read the spec. Do not argue with a gate that already printed the rule.

What is a rigger?

A rigger picks slings, hardware, and hitches, then attaches a load so a crane or hoist can move it without dropping it, shocking the gear, or putting people in the fall zone. That is the job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks it as occupation 49-9096, Riggers. ^[8]

The work shows up in steel erection, precast, industrial maintenance, shipyards, oilfield, wind, and plants. Theater and film use the same word for a different craft path. Same word, different paper.

OSHA’s construction crane rule defines the legal term you will see on job specs. 29 CFR 1926.1401 says, “Qualified rigger means a rigger who meets the criteria for a qualified person.” ^[1] A qualified person, in the same section, is someone with a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training, and experience has shown they can solve problems on that subject.

You can be a working rigger with no card. You cannot be a qualified rigger under Subpart CC if you cannot actually solve rigging problems on that lift. A laminated wallet card does not fix a bad hitch.

How you start is boring and correct. Get on a crew that already lifts. Carry hardware. Watch hitch choice. Learn to read a sling tag and a shackle working-load limit before you chase an exam date. The exam is later.

Does OSHA require a rigger certification exam?

No. OSHA does not require a national rigger certification exam. It requires a qualified rigger for specific tasks under 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC. Certification is one way an employer documents that you meet the qualified-person test. It is not the only way. ^[1][4][7]

The rule that created this language is the 2010 cranes and derricks standard, published in the Federal Register on August 9, 2010 (75 FR 47906). ^[7] The agency’s own fact sheet is blunt about when a qualified rigger has to be on the hook. It states that employers “must use qualified riggers during hoisting activities for assembly and disassembly work (1926.1404(r)(1)).” ^[4]

The other trigger is 1926.1425. When workers are in the fall zone hooking, unhooking, or guiding a load, or making the initial connection of a load to a structure, 1926.1425(c)(3) says, “The materials must be rigged by a qualified rigger.” ^[3]

Assembly and disassembly also points you back to the older rigging-gear rule. 1926.251 still governs slings, hardware inspection, and removal criteria on construction sites. ^[5] General industry shops still live with 1910.184 for slings. ^[6] None of those sections name NCCCO, NCCER, or a state board.

So why sit an exam? Owners, GC insurance desks, and traveler contractors want portable proof. A few jurisdictions wrote their own license on top of OSHA. A card is easier to photocopy than a supervisor’s memory of your last three years.

I would not sit a paid exam just to satisfy a rumor. I would sit it when a bid spec, a hall, or a city application asks for it by name.

What is the NCCCO rigger exam?

NCCCO Rigger Level I is the exam most people mean when they say “the rigger exam.” You sit a written test and a practical test. NCCCO’s published Level I program describes a written exam of 60 multiple-choice questions with a 60-minute limit, plus a practical with four scored tasks. ^[11]

Level II is a second written exam and a harder practical. It is for people who plan lifts, turn loads, and work past basic hitching. You generally hold Level I (or sit both) before you chase Level II. Confirm the current stacking rules in the handbook you are handed at application. NCCCO edits those booklets.

NCCCO rigger certification is issued for five years. Recertification is a separate sitting, not an automatic stamp. ^[12]

NCCCO is a third-party certifier. It is not OSHA and it is not a state licensing board. A CCO card is evidence. It is not a government license unless a local rule says it counts as one.

Computer written tests run at approved sites. Practicals run at practical-exam sites with an accredited examiner, real hardware, and a clock. You do not take the practical online. Anyone offering that is selling you a story.

I would apply at nccco.org, download the current candidate handbook for the level you want, and ignore forum recaps of question counts from 2014. The handbook you file under is the one that binds you.

What is on the rigger written exam?

The Level I written exam hits hitch types, sling angles, hardware identification, inspection, load control, and basic math you should already do on a pad. Sixty questions. Sixty minutes. ^[11] That is a minute a question if you use the full clock. You will not get extra time because you almost had it.

Expect photos or drawings of slings, shackles, eyebolts, hoist rings, hooks, and wire-rope clips. Expect questions on the difference between a vertical hitch, a choker, and a basket. Expect D/d and angle factors in simple form. Expect “what do you do when the tag is missing” questions that have only one grown-up answer: take it out of service.

1926.251 and 1910.184 are the federal inspection backbone those items map to. Alloy steel chain, wire rope, synthetic web, and removal criteria live there. ^[5][6] ASME B30 sling and hardware volumes sit underneath a lot of the same items. You do not need to recite clause numbers. You do need the habits those clauses describe.

Level II written work goes further into load turning, center of gravity, more complex hardware, and planning. If you cannot sketch a CG and explain why a load will roll when you pick one end, you are not ready for that booklet.

It is not open book. Leave the phone in the car. Bring whatever ID the current handbook lists. If you need testing accommodations, ask the certifier before you pay, not at the door.

Nobody I trust publishes a clean, current national pass-rate series for the rigger written. Treat social-media percentages as noise.

What happens in the rigger practical exam?

You demonstrate, on real gear, that you can inspect, hitch, connect, and control a load the way the examiner’s sheet scores it. For NCCCO Level I the practical has four tasks. Published Level I materials have long listed pre-use inspection, hitches, connections, and basic knots. ^[11]

You will be timed. You lose points for unsafe acts, wrong hardware, and hitches that do not match the assignment. Talking your way through a bad choke does not restore points.

Level II practical work is a different animal. You are moving and controlling a load through a planned path, more than building a hitch on the ground. If your shop never turns loads, do not schedule Level II because a Facebook group said it looks good.

Show up with the PPE the site lists. Worn-out gloves and a hoodie with strings around rotating gear is how people get cut from a practical before they start.

I would practice the exact task list from the current practical handbook, on the same style of hardware, until you can do it quiet and boring. Fancy knots you learned on a dock in 2009 are not extra credit if they are not on the sheet.

How do you start as a rigger and sit the exam?

You start by getting hired onto a crew that already makes lifts, not by buying a card. Carry shackles. Learn tags. Watch a qualified person build the hitch. Ask why that sling, not a different one. Log what you did. OSHA’s qualified-person test is about demonstrated ability, not a receipt. ^[1]

The paper path is a short stack. Get a job or an indenture. Get documented training on the gear you touch. Have a competent person walk inspections until you can fail a sling without being told. Then decide if you need portable paper.

If a contractor or hall wants NCCCO, create a CCO account, pick Level I, pay the current fee on their schedule (confirm it, do not trust a blog), and schedule written and practical. Study the outline in the handbook you are actually sitting. Sit the written when the hitch math is automatic. Sit the practical when you can build the four tasks clean.

Union paths run through ironworkers, operating engineers, boilermakers, and some millwright halls. Nonunion shops train in-house and then send people to NCCCO or NCCER when a job spec demands a number. Both routes work. The weekend “become a rigger” tent in a hotel ballroom is the path I would skip.

State overlays change the first form you file. California is mostly a crane-operator and contractor-license problem, not a standalone statewide rigger exam. Read how to start rigger work in California and the rigger license in California notes before you mail anything to Sacramento. Colorado’s paper is different again. Start with how to start rigger work in Colorado and the Colorado rigger board path.

If you want a single paper checklist and a lift-plan worksheet in one pile, RiggerPath sells a $149 one-time NCCCO Rigger + Lift-Plan Kit at /start. You do not need it to understand this exam. The official handbook is free.

NCCCO vs NCCER vs a city or state rigger license?

They are not interchangeable, even when a superintendent waves any card past the gate.

NCCCO is a national certification body. You sit CCO written and practical exams. The card is widely recognized on industrial and commercial crane work. Validity is five years, then recertification. ^[11][12]

NCCER is a craft-assessment system used heavily by contractors and some ABC shops. Rigger credentials there are built from module tests plus performance verification. A superintendent who asked for “NCCCO Rigger I” will not always accept an NCCER transcript. Ask before you pay.

City licenses are actual licenses. New York City’s Department of Buildings runs license examinations for rigger classes under its licensing rules, including 1 RCNY 104-01. ^[10] That is not a CCO practical. It is city paper, city experience affidavits, and a city exam calendar. Confirm the current class names and forms on the Buildings site. Do not assume a CCO card substitutes unless the city says it does.

Washington State is the cleanest state-code example. WAC 296-155-53306 sets rigger qualifications in the construction crane rules. ^[9] That is enforceable state text, not a study guide. Other states stay closer to plain OSHA and leave qualification to the employer.

Pick the paper the next six months of work will ask for. Collecting every logo is a hobby. I would not sit three systems in one winter unless three different gates already asked.

For a side-by-side of what you actually sit, use this.

Path	Who runs it	What you sit	What it is
NCCCO Rigger I / II	NCCCO	Written plus practical	Portable national certification, 5-year cycle [11][12]
NCCER rigger	NCCER / accredited sponsor	Module tests plus performance	Contractor craft credential, not a government license
OSHA qualified rigger	Your employer	No OSHA exam	Legal status under 1926.1401, 1404, 1425 [1][2][3]
NYC rigger license	NYC DOB	City license exam plus city forms	Local license, confirm current class on DOB [10]
Washington qualified rigger	Employer under L&I rules	Documented qualification per WAC	State code duty, WAC 296-155-53306 [9]

How much does the rigger exam cost?

Confirm the live fee schedule with the body that will print the card. I am not going to invent a current NCCCO written fee, practical fee, retake fee, or recertification fee. Those numbers move. A blog that still quotes a 2018 price is wasting your Saturday.

Budget for more than the exam invoice. You will pay for travel to a practical site, a day of lost wages, and any site PPE you do not already own. A two-day cram school can cost more than the exam. If you already sling loads every week, I would skip the hotel course and buy the handbook plus a quiet weekend with a pad of paper.

City licenses stack application fees, exam fees, and sometimes investigation or background fees. New York City publishes those on the Buildings licensing pages. Confirm them there. ^[10] Do not use a Facebook quote.

State boards vary. Alabama’s starting paper is not Connecticut’s. If you are actually filing in a state, read that state’s guide, such as how to start rigger work in Alabama or the Connecticut rigger license page, then confirm fees on the board’s own form.

Nobody honest can promise you a processing time. Sit when you are ready. Plan a retake window so a fail does not wreck a mobilization date.

How long is a rigger cert good for, and how do you recertify?

NCCCO rigger certification runs five years, then you recertify. ^[12] That is a sitting, not a birthday card. The recertification handbook tells you whether you need written only, written plus practical, or whether documented work hours change the mix. Read the book for the cycle you are in. Do not trust a coworker who recertified in 2016.

If the card lapses, you are back to new-candidate rules or whatever reinstatement path the certifier currently prints. Work through the lapse on purpose and you will pay twice.

OSHA qualification does not expire on a printed date. It expires when you can no longer demonstrate the ability. A five-year-old card in a truck console does not make you qualified on a new hitch you have never built. ^[1]

City licenses have their own renewal calendars. California crane-adjacent paper is a different stack than a CCO recert. If you actually hold California paper, use Rigger renewal in California and then confirm dates on the board form. Colorado’s license picture sits on the rigger license in Colorado page, again as a map, not a substitute for the board.

Set a reminder at four years, not at four years and eleven months.

What should you study (and what is a waste of money)?

Study the current candidate handbook and the written outline for the exact level you scheduled. Then handle the hardware. Build vertical, choker, and basket hitches until you stop thinking about them. Read every sling tag in the gang box. Walk 1926.251 removal criteria against beat-up gear until rejecting a sling feels normal. ^[5]

Do the angle math on paper. If a two-leg bridle at 30 degrees off horizontal still surprises you, you are not ready. Know what a shouldered eyebolt can do that an unshouldered one cannot. Know why you do not point-load a shackle pin.

Waste of money: a $2,000 “guaranteed pass” weekend if you already rig daily. Waste of money: any online practical. Waste of money: a novelty card from a guy who laminates in a parking lot. Waste of money: three parallel prep courses for three certifiers when only one gate asked.

Useful spend: the official handbook, a used copy of a current rigger reference you will actually open, and a practical day on the same style of slings the examiner uses. If your shop will let you inspect and build hitches on the clock, that beats a hotel ballroom.

I would not memorize ASME clause numbers. I would memorize failure modes.

What if you fail the rigger exam?

You wait the retake interval in the current handbook, pay the retake fee on the live schedule, and sit again. Confirm both the wait and the fee with NCCCO or the city board. I will not invent either number.

A failed written is usually a content hole. Score reports, when they give you domain feedback, tell you whether you died on math, inspection, or hardware ID. Study that hole. Do not resit the next morning on adrenaline.

A failed practical is usually speed, an unsafe act, or a hitch that did not match the assignment. Practice the failed task. Do not argue case law with the examiner in the yard.

Failing does not make you unqualified under OSHA by itself. It also does not make you qualified. Your employer still has to be able to defend the assignment. ^[1][4]

I would not schedule a mobilization two days after a first attempt. Build slack.

Do you need a different exam in California, New York, or Washington?

Sometimes. OSHA is the floor everywhere Subpart CC applies. Local paper sits on top. ^[7]

New York City is the hard yes. If the work is city-jurisdictional rigger work, you are in the DOB license world, not a generic CCO story. Examinations and application rules live in the Buildings licensing package, including 1 RCNY 104-01. ^[10] Confirm the current license class, exam bulletin, and experience affidavit with DOB. No article can promise what a plan examiner will accept next month.

Washington is a code yes. WAC 296-155-53306 is the rigger-qualification section in the state’s crane rules. ^[9] Your contractor still has to document you. A traveler CCO card may help that file. It does not rewrite the WAC.

California does not run a single statewide rigger exam the way people mean NCCCO. Cal/OSHA’s energy goes to crane operator certification and to employer duties. Still read the California rigger license map and how to start in California before you assume a CCO card is the only paper on a refinery job.

Other states look more like plain OSHA plus owner specs. Alaska and Arizona jobs still care about qualification. The first-week paper is just different. Use the state guide if that is actually where you are going, then confirm with the board or the controlling contractor. No approval timeline is honest if a human has not opened your file.

RiggerPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. If you want the checklist kit after you have read the official handbook, it is at /start. The exam rules still come from OSHA, NCCCO, and the board that can fail you.

Frequently asked questions

What is rigger?

A rigger picks slings and hardware and attaches loads to cranes or hoists so the load moves under control. BLS classifies the occupation as 49-9096. OSHA’s legal term on construction crane work is “qualified rigger,” defined in 29 CFR 1926.1401 as a rigger who meets the qualified-person criteria. Theater and film use the same word for a different craft path.

How do you start rigger?

Get on a crew that already makes lifts and learn hitch choice, tags, and inspection under a qualified person. OSHA does not require a national exam first. Sit NCCCO or NCCER only when a contractor, hall, owner, or city asks for that card. Check city licenses (NYC) and state rules (Washington WAC 296-155-53306) before you file. Confirm fees with the body that prints the paper.

Is the rigger exam open book?

NCCCO written rigger exams are not open book. You sit a timed multiple-choice test at an approved site with the ID the current handbook lists. City license exams follow that city’s bulletin, which you confirm with the board. If you need an accommodation, request it from the certifier or board before you pay, not at check-in.

Can I take the rigger exam with no field experience?

NCCCO publishes eligibility in the candidate handbook for the level you want. Some people sit Level I early. That does not make you a qualified rigger under OSHA. 1926.1401 still requires demonstrated ability. A city license often wants sworn experience. I would not sit a practical cold. Confirm current eligibility with the certifier or board, not with a forum recap.

What is the difference between Rigger Level I and Level II?

Level I is basic inspection, hitches, connections, and knots, with a 60-question, 60-minute written test and a four-task practical. Level II is a second written and a harder practical aimed at load turning and more complex control. Hold or sit Level I before you chase Level II unless the current handbook says otherwise. Confirm stacking rules when you apply.

Does OSHA accept NCCCO rigger cards?

OSHA does not accept or issue CCO cards. OSHA requires a qualified rigger for named tasks in 1926.1404 and 1926.1425. A recognized certificate can help an employer show you meet the 1926.1401 qualified-person test. Employers can also qualify you with training and demonstrated ability and no card. Owner specs may still demand NCCCO by name.

How many questions are on the rigger exam?

NCCCO’s published Rigger Level I written exam has 60 multiple-choice questions and a 60-minute limit. Level II is a separate written exam. City exams use their own counts. Confirm the number in the handbook or bulletin for the exact sitting you scheduled, because certifiers do revise outlines.

What score do I need to pass the rigger exam?

NCCCO sets the passing standard and reports pass or fail. Do not trust a raw 70 percent rumor from a job trailer. Practicals use scored tasks, time limits, and automatic fails for unsafe acts. City boards publish their own cut scores in the exam notice. Read the document for your sitting. Nobody serious should promise you a score in advance.

How often do I recertify as a rigger?

NCCCO rigger certification is on a five-year cycle. Recertification is its own application and exam path. OSHA qualification has no printed expiration. It lasts as long as you can still demonstrate the work. City licenses renew on the city’s calendar. Confirm dates on the certifier or board form. Set a reminder at four years.

Is NCCER the same as NCCCO for riggers?

No. NCCCO is a certification exam with written and practical tests and a five-year card. NCCER is a craft assessment system with module tests and performance verification through an accredited sponsor. A spec that names one will not always take the other. Ask the contractor which string of letters they put in the bid. Do not pay for both unless two gates already asked.

Do I need a rigger exam for theater or film work?

Not the NCCCO construction exam, unless that venue’s insurance desk asked for it. Stage and picture work have their own locals, venue rules, and sometimes entertainment rigging credentials. OSHA still cares about falling loads if you are on a construction-like hoist. Match the paper to the venue. A construction Level I card is not automatically a theatrical ticket.

What happens if my rigger card expires?

An expired NCCCO card is not current certification. You follow the certifier’s reinstatement or new-candidate path, which you confirm in the live recertification rules. An expired city license is a city problem with city late fees and possible retesting. OSHA still expects a qualified person on the lift either way. Do not show a lapsed card as if it were live.

Can I take the rigger practical before the written?

Sometimes, depending on the certifier’s current scheduling rules. Order does not change the fact that you need both for the CCO credential. A city license bulletin may lock the sequence. Confirm with the body running your exam. I would sit the written first if the math is the weak part, so you are not paying for a practical trip you are not ready to use.

Sources

1. OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1401 Definitions: Qualified rigger means a rigger who meets the criteria for a qualified person.
2. OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1404 Assembly/Disassembly: Subpart CC requires a qualified rigger during assembly and disassembly hoisting activities.
3. OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1425 Keeping clear of the load: When workers in the fall zone hook, unhook, or guide a load, the materials must be rigged by a qualified rigger (1926.1425(c)(3)).
4. OSHA Qualified Rigger Fact Sheet: Employers must use qualified riggers during hoisting activities for assembly and disassembly work (1926.1404(r)(1)).
5. OSHA 29 CFR 1926.251 Rigging equipment for material handling: Construction rigging gear, inspection, and removal-from-service rules sit in 1926.251.
6. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.184 Slings: General industry sling inspection and use requirements are in 1910.184.
7. Federal Register, Cranes and Derricks in Construction, 75 FR 47906 (Aug. 9, 2010): OSHA published the Subpart CC cranes and derricks in construction rule on August 9, 2010.
8. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, SOC 49-9096 Riggers: The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies Riggers as occupation 49-9096 and publishes employment and wage estimates.
9. Washington WAC 296-155-53306 Rigger qualifications: Washington State sets construction rigger qualifications in WAC 296-155-53306.
10. NYC DOB 1 RCNY 104-01 Licensing examinations and courses: New York City Buildings licensing examinations, including rigger classes, are governed by 1 RCNY 104-01.
11. NCCCO Rigger Level I certification program: NCCCO Rigger Level I uses a written exam of 60 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes plus a four-task practical.
12. NCCCO recertification: NCCCO rigger certification is issued on a five-year cycle and requires recertification.