When, Where, and How Can I Take the NABCEP PV Installation Professional Certification Exam?

As you may have heard, the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) has changed the options for taking their PV Installation Professional certification exam. In past years, the exam was offered twice a year (April and October) at various testing locations around the United States. A computer-based option was not offered.

This year, NABCEP will offer a computer-based exam at any of the almost 600 Castle Worldwide testing locations in the U.S. and Canada.

The exam will be offered during four windows of time during 2018:

• January 1 – February 8, 2018
• April 1-15, 2018
• July 1-16, 2018
• October 1-16, 2018

Unlike the paper and pencil exam, the computer-based exam does not have an application deadline months before the exam date.

NABCEP is also still offering the option to take a paper and pencil exam at one of various testing locations around the U.S. The spring paper and pencil exam will be administered on April 22, 2018, and the application deadline to sit for that exam is February 2, 2018. The fall paper and pencil exam will be administered on October 20, 2018, and the application deadline is August 3, 2018.

NABCEP has stated that they plan to phase out the paper and pencil exam option in the future. 2018 may be the final year it is offered, but there’s a chance it will not be phased out until after 2019.

HELPFUL RESOURCES

• NABCEP’s calendar page has all of these dates listed to help you keep them straight.
• The PV Installation Professional page on the NABCEP website lays out everything that is required to apply to sit for the PV Installation Professional certification exam.
• Castle Worldwide has an online listing of all their testing sites in the world. For this exam, you can choose any site in the U.S. or Canada.

To find out the locations for the 2018 paper and pencil exam, you can contact NABCEP directly by emailing them at info@nabcep.org or calling (800) 654-0021.

If you’re looking for training to prepare you for the notoriously difficult PV Installation Professional certification exam, HeatSpring’s 40-Hour Advanced Solar PV Installer Training, taught by Dr. Sean White, is specifically designed to get participants all the information they need to pass.