Taking Lead Training
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If you wish to become
certified to do lead-related construction work in California, you must
take training from one of the Department of Health Service's (CDHS)
accredited training providers. To find out where you can take the this
training, go to this link to see the list of approved lead-related construction courses and the training providers who are approved to offer them.
List of Approved Lead-Related Construction Courses
If you take courses from a training provider that has not been accredited
by CDHS, you will not be eligible for certification. To obtain a schedule of courses or to sign up for a course, contact the training provider directly at the phone numbers given
on the list.
Getting a New Certificate?
The type of training you should take depends on which lead certificate you want to apply for.
Before you spend money on a course:
- Make sure you know which certificate is right for the kind of work you want to do.
- Make sure you are eligible for the type of certificate you want to get.
- Look at the table below to see which training is required for the certificate you want to get.
| Type of Certificate |
Required Training |
| Inspector/Assessor |
Inspection/Assessment (40 hours); or
Certified Industrial Hygienist Course (24 hours - CIHs only) |
| Project Monitor |
Supervision & Project Monitoring (40 hours); or
Work (24 hours) +
Supplemental Supervision & Project Monitoring (16 hours); or
Certified Industrial Hygienist Course (24 hours - CIHs only) |
| Project Designer |
Supervision & Project Monitoring (40 hours) +
Project Design (16 hours); or
Work (24 hours) +
Supplemental Supervision & Project Monitoring (16 hours) +
Project Design (16 hours); or
Currently Certified Lead Supervisors and Project Monitors may take only the 16 hour Project Design course. |
| Supervisor |
Supervision & Project Monitoring (40 hours); or
Work (24 hours) +
Supplemental Supervision & Project Monitoring (16 hours) |
| Worker |
Work (24 hours) |
Refreshing old Training?
If you are applying for a new certificate and it has been more than 1 year since you completed
your CDHS-approved training, you must "refresh" that training by taking
CDHS-approved Continuing Education before applying for certification. The
type of continuing education you should take depends on which lead certificate(s)
you want to get. See the chart below.
Note: You must apply for certification within 3 years of completing your training. If it has been more than 3 years since you completed your CDHS-approved training, you must retake that training from a CDHS-approved training provider before applying for certification.
| Type of Certificate |
Required "Refresher" Continuing Education |
Inspector/Assessor
Project Monitor
Project Designer |
General Continuing Education (7 hours) |
| Supervisor |
General Continuing Education (7 hours); or
Worker Continuing Education (7 hours) |
| Worker |
Worker Continuing Education (7 hours) |
IMPORTANT
-
If you want to get a Worker certificate and an Inspector/Assessor, Project Monitor or Project Designer certificate, you must complete BOTH a General and Worker continuing education (7 hours each).
-
If you want to get a Worker certificate
and a Supervisor certificate, you should take a Worker continuing education
course (7 hours) to satisfy the continuing education requirement for those
certificates.
-
If you want to get a Supervisor certificate
and an Inspector/Assessor, Project Monitor or Project Designer certificate,
you should take a General continuing education course (7 hours) to satisfy
the continuing education requirement for those certificates.
- You can take your continuing education class in English or Spanish, regardless of the language in which you took the original training. Initial training is offered in Spanish for the Work and Supervisor/Project Monitor courses. Continuing education is offered in Spanish for Worker Continuing Education only.
Renewing an Existing Certificate?
If you are renewing your certificate(s), you may have to take continuing education. The type
of continuing education you should take depends on which lead certificate(s)
you have. See the chart above.
-
Continuing education must be taken every other time you apply for renewal.
- Your continuing education cannot be more than two years old when you apply for renewal.
Training Costs
CDHS does not keep information on prices. Prices vary depending upon the type of course and training provider. Contact training providers directly for prices and to compare costs.
Recommendations
CDHS does not recommend one training provider over another. The Training Providers listed
here meet CDHS’s minimum requirements for accreditation. To ensure
that a training provider will be able to meet your needs, you may wish
to contact several training providers and ask each for three references
who are in a field of work similar to yours.
For example, if you are a painting contractor, ask for the names of three other painting contractors who have taken training from that training provider. Contact the references and ask if they were satisfied with the training provider and the course.
Applying for Certification
After you finish your course, you must apply to CDHS separately for certification. You do not become
automatically certified when you complete a CDHS-approved course. The course “certificate” that your training provider may give you is not the same as a CDHS certificate. If you have not done so already, get the Application Forms and Instructions to apply for or renew your certificate.
Your Comments
CDHS is always interested in hearing what you thought of your lead-related construction training
and continuing education. If you have comments about a CDHS-accredited
training provider or a CDHS-approved course, call the Lead-Related Construction
Information Line at 1-800-597-LEAD (outside California: 510-620-5694), or write to:
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch
850 Marina Bay Parkway
Building P, Third Floor, Box A
Richmond, CA 94804-6403
