1.1 About the Level II Exam
Key Takeaways
- Two different organizations sell a Level II credential: Infraspection Institute issues the Certified Infrared Thermographer® (CIT), and the Infrared Training Center (ITC, a Teledyne FLIR company) issues ITC Level II — their rules differ and must never be blended
- Infraspection CIT exam: open book, based on the course content, 80% to pass, certification never expires and carries no renewal fee
- ITC Level II: 32 contact hours over four days, learning objectives and written exam based on ANSI/ASNT CP-105, certification valid five years
- Neither body publishes an item count, a time limit, or domain weightings for the Level II written exam — treat any such figure as a planning assumption, not a fact
- Both paths require Level I first: Infraspection lists Level I certification as the prerequisite, and ITC requires the prerequisite level or a reviewed equivalent from another provider
Why Level II Matters
Level II is the point where infrared thermography stops being "spot the warm blob" and becomes defensible quantitative measurement. Employers, electrical testing programs, predictive-maintenance (PdM) teams, and building consultants expect a Level II thermographer to set camera parameters correctly, correct for emissivity and background, classify severity against published standards, trend findings over time, and review work that Level I technicians collected under supervision.
If you only memorize qualitative color palettes, you will fail scenario items that ask why a reported temperature is wrong when emissivity was left at 0.95 on polished copper, or which action ANSI/NETA Table 100.18 recommends when ΔT versus a similar loaded component is 17 °C. The credential exists to prove you can turn radiometric data into traceable, action-ready recommendations.
Two Organizations, Similar Job Title — Do Not Blend Rules
"Certified Infrared Thermographer Level II" is used loosely in the market, but two distinct organizations stand behind it:
- Infraspection Institute (Burlington, NJ) — owns the registered mark Certified Infrared Thermographer® and has trained and certified thermographers since 1980.
- Infrared Training Center (ITC) — a Teledyne FLIR organization that issues ITC Level I / II / III thermography certifications and delivers courses in dozens of countries.
Their rules are genuinely different, and exam items exploit the difference:
| Topic | Infraspection Institute (CIT) | Infrared Training Center (ITC) |
|---|---|---|
| Course length | Four-day Level II course (approved by InterNACHI for 32 hours of CE) | 32 hours, four days of 8-hour sessions |
| Prerequisite | Level I certification | Prerequisite level completed, or an equivalent external certification submitted for review |
| Exam style | Open book, based on the content of the subject course | Administered electronically at the end of the course |
| Passing score | 80% | Not published as a single figure on ITC's public pages |
| Certification longevity | Does not expire; no renewal fees | Certified for a period of five years; recertify every five years |
| Standards basis | Meets ASNT training requirements; supports SNT-TC-1A employer-based certification | Learning objectives, contact hours, and written exam based on ANSI/ASNT CP-105 (also BINDT CM/GEN App. B and ISO 18436 / 9712 in other regions) |
| Where the exam is taken | Free at West Windsor, NJ open-enrollment classes and at the IR/INFO Conference; a fee applies for proctored video-conference sittings. Exams are not available by mail and cannot be challenged without completing a course | At the end of an ITC course, on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone |
| Retake | Instructors work with students who do not pass | ITC states instructors will work with students who do not pass and allow a retake |
Exam trap: a question that says "Level II certification must be renewed every three years" or "the pass score is 75% worldwide" is blending or inventing. Correct answers name which organization's rule applies.
What Is Not Published — and Why That Matters
Level II candidates routinely see confident-sounding figures for the written exam's item count, time limit, fee, and domain weightings. Neither Infraspection Institute nor ITC publishes those values for the Level II written exam. Infraspection's exam is described only as a written, open-book test based on the course content; ITC's is described only as an electronically administered final exam built to ANSI/ASNT CP-105 objectives.
| Figure you may see quoted | Status |
|---|---|
| "100 multiple-choice questions" | Not published by either body — a planning assumption only |
| "3-hour time limit" | Not published by either body |
| "Exam fee $595" | Not published. Infraspection lists the CIT exam at no charge at its own open-enrollment classes and at IR/INFO, with a fee for video-conference sittings. ITC bundles the certification exam into course tuition |
| "Domain weights of 25 / 20 / 20 / 15 / 10 / 10 percent" | Not published. Neither body publishes a weighted content outline for Level II |
| "Valid three years" | Wrong for both. Infraspection does not expire; ITC is five years |
Use this guide's chapter structure — built from the two published curricula — as your study budget rather than an invented percentage table. When a flashcard or practice item quotes a logistics number, name the body and check it against that body's own page before you memorize it.
The Published Curricula (Your Real Blueprint)
Infraspection Institute Level II curriculum has five parts:
- Thermometry Fundamentals — temperature scales and conversions; absolute and relative temperatures; classes and benefits of contact thermometers; classes and benefits of non-contact thermometers; identifying and reducing errors
- Advanced IR Theory — units for measuring radiant power; relationship between power and temperature; Planck's blackbody curves
- Temperature Measurement Error Sources and Corrections — calibration (how IR sensors are calibrated, how to check calibration, accuracy specifications); reflectance (shielding techniques, direct and reflector methods); emittance (how it varies, default and table values, how to measure it); transmittance (filters, measuring material transmittance); target width/distance ratios
- Traceable Temperature Limits: How Hot Is Too Hot — ΔT classifications (NETA, Mil Spec, and other standards); absolute temperature classifications (ANSI, IEEE, NEMA for electrical systems; correction formula for load and ambient temperature; other standards for mechanical systems); developing limits for your equipment
- Preparing Quantitative Reports — data to gather; report procedures; image processing software capabilities; report generation software capabilities
ITC Level II topical outline adds a heavier science and equipment emphasis:
| ITC topic | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Camera features and specifications | Detector types, IR resolution, optics, sensitivity; lens selection; IFOV and MFOV |
| Thermal science | Temperature, energy units, heat capacity, thermodynamic laws, effects of temperature on materials, states of matter |
| Heat transfer | Direction of heat flow, three modes, conduction variables, steady-state vs transient, conduction/convection patterns, wind-speed effects, evaporation patterns, thermal capacitance |
| Infrared science | Electromagnetic spectrum, IR wavebands, emission and background energy, atmosphere and gases, IR windows and transmission loss |
| Report creation, safety, applications | Inspection report creation; safety practices; condition monitoring, mechanical systems, building inspections |
This guide covers the union of both outlines. Chapters 2–4 and 5 carry the thermometry, thermal science, heat transfer, IR science, and camera-specification material; Chapters 5–7 carry error sources and corrections; Chapter 8 carries traceable temperature limits; Chapters 9–11 carry the applications; and Chapters 12–14 carry trending, supervisory review, and quantitative reporting.
Eligibility Snapshot
- Prerequisite: Level I certification. Infraspection states this plainly; ITC requires the prerequisite level or an external certification reviewed against its own learning objectives.
- Coursework: 32 hours at either body — four days, not a weekend webinar.
- Hands-on: both bodies expect camera work. ITC requires students to bring or rent a thermal camera for labs; Infraspection encourages students to bring their own imager.
- Age/education: neither body publishes a minimum age or degree requirement beyond its course rules.
What Passing Enables (and What It Does Not)
Passing Level II supports roles such as plant PdM thermographer, electrical testing team lead for IR routes, building-envelope IR specialist, and technical reviewer for Level I scanners. The next step is Level III (program design, procedure ownership, written practices).
Passing does not automatically authorize you to:
- Work energized equipment beyond your electrical safety qualification and your employer's lockout/tagout and arc-flash rules
- Issue building code compliance certificates unless you hold the jurisdiction's required credentials
- Present one body's certificate as satisfying a contract that names the other
How to Use This Guide and Practice
- Finish official Level II coursework first — the camera labs matter and neither body certifies by challenge exam.
- Work the chapters in order; they follow the two published curricula rather than an invented weighting.
- Drill timed sets at /practice/itc-ir-level-2, treating any stated question count or clock as practice scaffolding rather than a published exam parameter.
- Whenever a source quotes a pass score, fee, or renewal rule, name the organization before you memorize the number.
Quick Answer: Level II proves quantitative IR competence. Infraspection Institute: 32-hour four-day course, open-book CIT exam, 80% to pass, certification never expires. ITC (Teledyne FLIR): 32-hour four-day course built to ANSI/ASNT CP-105, electronic final exam, certification valid five years. Neither body publishes an item count, time limit, or domain weighting — do not treat those numbers as exam facts.
What score does Infraspection Institute require on the Certified Infrared Thermographer® exam, and how long does that certification last?
How long is an Infrared Training Center (ITC) thermography certification valid?
A study aid states that the Level II written exam is "100 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours with a $595 fee." How should a Level II candidate treat that claim?
Which standard forms the stated basis for ITC course learning objectives, contact hours, and written exams in North America?