1.2 Experience, Education, Substitutions & Examination Approval
Key Takeaways
- Under 18VAC160-30-100, a year of full-time employment means at least 1,760 hours or at least 220 workdays in a 12-month period, and exceeding either figure in one 12-month period still counts as only one year.
- Table 1 of 18VAC160-30-110 requires, for a high school graduate, three months for Class 6 or Class 5, six months for Class 4, one year for Class 3, two years for Class 2, and three years plus a Class 2 license for Class 1.
- Qualifying experience must be gained under the direct supervision of a licensee in the same category at an equal or higher class facility (18VAC160-30-95 A), and distribution-system experience counts only toward Class 5 or Class 6 waterworks.
- Substitutions may never exceed 50 percent of the total experience required; college credit converts at one month of experience per semester hour (18VAC160-30-130).
- The initial application fee is $100 (18VAC160-30-40), and an applicant who does not pass within 24 months of Board approval must reapply, while a passing score stays valid for 10 years (18VAC160-30-70).
Experience, Education, Substitutions & Examination Approval
Virginia is a pre-approval state: the Board reviews the application first, and only then is the candidate released to the examination vendor. Everything in this section comes from Part II of 18VAC160-30 as amended effective January 16, 2026.
1. What Counts as a Year (18VAC160-30-100)
The chapter defines experience in calendar periods of full-time employment as an operator or operator-in-training at a waterworks or wastewater works in the same category as the license sought.
A year of full-time employment = a minimum of 1,760 hours in a 12-month period, or a minimum of 220 workdays in a 12-month period.
Three rules the exam builds questions around:
- A workday is not defined as eight hours. 18VAC160-30-100 defines a workday as "attendance at a waterworks or wastewater works to the extent required for proper operation." At a Class 5 waterworks visited twice a month, a two-hour visit is a workday.
- You cannot accelerate. "More than 1,760 hours or 220 workdays during a 12-month period will not be considered as more than one year of full-time employment." Doubling up on overtime does not buy a second year.
- Part-time counts proportionally. Partial credit may be given for actual hours worked if the applicant works less than full time.
Worked example
An operator logs 2,900 hours in calendar year 2025 and 1,100 hours in calendar year 2026. Year 2025 is capped at 1.0 year. Year 2026 yields 1,100 / 1,760 = 0.625 year. Total credited experience is 1.625 years, not 4,000 / 1,760 = 2.27 years.
2. Whose Supervision Counts (18VAC160-30-95)
Hours only count if they were earned correctly:
- Direct supervision by a licensee holding a valid license of the same category and a classification equal to or higher than the classification of the facility where the experience was gained.
- Certification on the application by that direct supervisor. If no licensed operator is available to certify, a representative of the facility owner with first-hand knowledge may certify instead.
- Distribution-system experience counts only for Class 5 or Class 6 waterworks applicants. Running a distribution system does not build credit toward a Class 4 or higher waterworks license.
- Nonoperating duties do not count at all - groundskeeping, meter reading, billing, and clerical work are excluded.
- Newly classified wastewater facilities. The Board will accept experience from a previously unclassified wastewater treatment facility that has since been classified as requiring a licensed Class 3 or Class 4 operator, if the DEQ regional office verifies the requirement is new and the owner verifies the experience.
3. Table 1: Experience and Education by Class (18VAC160-30-110)
This is the controlling matrix. Reproduce it accurately - the widely circulated "five years for Class 1" figure is wrong.
| Class | Education | Current license required | Minimum experience | Facility type | Minimum with substitutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 6 (waterworks only) | High school diploma or equivalent | None | 3 months | Class 6 or higher | n/a |
| No high school diploma | None | 6 months | Class 6 or higher | n/a | |
| Class 5 (waterworks only) | High school diploma or equivalent | None | 3 months | Class 5 or higher | n/a |
| No high school diploma | None | 6 months | Class 5 or higher | n/a | |
| Class 4 | High school diploma or equivalent | None | 6 months | Class 4 or higher | n/a |
| No high school diploma | None | 1 year | Class 4 or higher | 6 months | |
| Class 3 | Bachelor's, master's, or associate's degree | None | 6 months | Class 4 or higher | 3 months |
| High school diploma or equivalent | None | 1 year | Class 4 or higher | 6 months | |
| No high school diploma | None | 1.5 years | Class 4 or higher | 9 months | |
| Class 2 | Bachelor's, master's, or associate's degree | None | 1 year | Class 3 or higher | 6 months |
| High school diploma or equivalent | None | 2 years | Class 3 or higher | 1 year | |
| No high school diploma | Class 3 license | 3 years | Class 3 or higher | 1.5 years | |
| Class 1 | Bachelor's, master's, or associate's degree | Class 2 license | 1.5 years | Class 2 or higher | 9 months |
| High school diploma or equivalent | Class 2 license | 3 years | Class 2 or higher | 1.5 years | |
| No high school diploma | Class 2 license | 4 years | Class 2 or higher | 2 years |
Read the table across, not down. The regulation closes with the binding instruction that "the current license held, minimum experience, and the facility type must coincide with the category of license for which the application is being submitted."
Three structural features worth memorizing:
- Class 1 always requires an existing Class 2 license in the same category, regardless of education. Class 1 is never an entry point.
- The facility-type column steps down as the class rises. Class 3 experience must be at a Class 4 or higher facility; Class 2 at a Class 3 or higher; Class 1 at a Class 2 or higher.
- The last column is the floor after substitution, and it is always exactly half of the minimum experience column.
4. Substitutions and Their 50% Ceiling (18VAC160-30-130)
Substitutions may not exceed 50% of the total experience required for licensure (18VAC160-30-130 C). Within that ceiling, three currencies are convertible:
| Substitution source | Conversion rate |
|---|---|
| Experience in the other category (waterworks vs. wastewater works) | Up to 50% of the required experience, if gained at an equivalent or higher class of facility |
| College credit relevant to the category and class sought | 1 month of experience per semester hour |
| Board-approved operator training courses | 1 month of experience per training credit approved by the board |
A special substitution: experience as a licensed alternative onsite sewage system operator before April 1, 2017, or as a master alternative onsite sewage system operator, may substitute for the Class 4 wastewater works operator-in-training experience requirement.
Worked example
A candidate with a high school diploma seeks a Class 3 waterworks license. Table 1 requires 1 year at a Class 4 or higher waterworks. The candidate completes 6 relevant semester hours at an accredited community college. That is 6 months of substitution - exactly the 50% ceiling and exactly the "6 months" shown in the last column. The candidate must still document 6 months of real, supervised operating experience.
Which degrees qualify (18VAC160-30-140)
Only degrees from institutions accredited by an association or agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education count, and the transcript must be submitted. Qualifying degrees are:
- A bachelor's or master's in engineering or engineering technology in a related physical, biological, environmental, or chemical science;
- A bachelor's in a related physical, biological, environmental, or chemical science including at least 32 semester credit hours of science and math combined;
- A master's in such a science plus a bachelor's in any major, where the combined degrees include at least 32 semester credit hours of science and math; or
- An associate's in waterworks, wastewater works, or a related science including at least 16 credit hours of science and math.
Formal education used to satisfy the education requirement for entry cannot also be reused as a training credit for experience substitution (18VAC160-30-140 C).
5. Application, Fees & Examination Approval
| Item | Amount / rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Initial application (per profession, class, and category) | $100 | 18VAC160-30-40 |
| Renewal (per profession, class, and category) | $80 | 18VAC160-30-40 |
| Reinstatement (renewal fee plus $25) | $105 | 18VAC160-30-40 |
| Examination administration fee | Set by the vendor contract, paid to the vendor | 18VAC160-30-50 |
| Minimum age | 18 years | 18VAC160-30-60 B |
Applicants must also disclose all felony convictions within 20 years of application and all misdemeanor convictions involving lying, cheating, or stealing (except marijuana convictions) within three years, and must report any adverse action taken against a license in any jurisdiction (18VAC160-30-60 D and E).
The examination clock (18VAC160-30-70)
- The Board notifies the applicant of eligibility after approving the application.
- An applicant who does not receive a passing score within 24 months of Board approval must submit a new application and meet the entry requirements in effect at that time.
- A passing score is valid for 10 years from the date of the examination for the category and class applied for.
That 24-month window is why the examination vendor describes a "2-year eligibility window" during which failed attempts may be retaken by paying the administration fee directly to the vendor.
An applicant works as an operator-in-training at a Class 3 waterworks and logs 2,400 hours during calendar year 2025 and 880 hours during calendar year 2026. Under 18VAC160-30-100, how much qualifying experience may the Board credit?
A high school graduate holds an active Class 2 wastewater works operator license and wants to apply for a Class 1 wastewater works license. Under Table 1 of 18VAC160-30-110, what minimum experience is required and where must it be gained?
A candidate seeking a Class 2 waterworks license with a high school diploma must document two years of experience at a Class 3 or higher waterworks. The candidate completes 14 relevant semester hours of accredited college coursework. How much experience substitution may be applied?
A candidate is approved by the Board to sit for the Class 4 waterworks examination on March 1, 2026, and fails the first attempt. What does 18VAC160-30-70 establish about the candidate remaining eligibility?