CAT Training

What CAT Training Actually Involves

CAT training refers to the structured curriculum behind the Certified Accessibility and Private Residence Lift Technician credential, owned and administered by the National Association of Elevator Contractors (NAEC) Certification Board in Conyers, Georgia. Introduced in late 2003 as the accessibility and private residence lift counterpart to NAEC's CET program, CAT training was built specifically for technicians who install, service, and inspect vertical platform lifts, inclined platform lifts, inclined stairway chairlifts, and private residence elevators - not general elevator mechanics work.

Unlike open-enrollment certificate programs, CAT training is tied directly to an employer. Candidates work through coursework while logging supervised, documented on-the-job hours, and the final exam is taken at the candidate's own workplace rather than a testing center. If you're still deciding whether this path fits your career goals, What Is CAT Certification? and CAT Certification both cover the credential's purpose in more depth before you commit to the training sequence.

The Two Qualification Pathways

NAEC recognizes two distinct routes into CAT certification, and understanding which one applies to you shapes your entire training plan.

Education Pathway (Active Route)

This is the pathway open to new candidates today. It follows the full two-year, five-course CAT curriculum and culminates in a 150-question final exam requiring 75 percent correct within a three-hour window. Application fees are $105 for employees of NAEC member companies and $160 for non-members. Beyond passing the exam, candidates must also log at least 4,200 documented on-the-job training hours after candidate approval and complete all required skills verifications before certification is issued.

Legacy Experience Pathway

This route was reserved for technicians who had already accrued 6,000 documented on-the-job hours (three years) by December 31, 2014. It uses a 160-question exam drawn randomly from a question bank with no unscored trial items, requiring a scaled score of 80 to pass. Costs are $735 for members or $1,180 for non-members. Because the qualifying cutoff date has passed, this pathway is effectively closed to new applicants, which is why the education pathway is the practical focus for anyone starting CAT training now.

For a full breakdown of who qualifies for each route, see CAT Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

The Five-Course CAT Curriculum

The education pathway is organized into five sequential courses, each corresponding to one of the credential's exam domains. Training providers pace these courses across roughly two years, blending classroom instruction with field hours logged on active job sites.

For a domain-by-domain study breakdown with weighting considerations, see CAT Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas. And if you want a sense of how the exam actually feels once you sit for it, How Hard Is the CAT Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 walks through the format and pressure points candidates report.

Course 5: Private Residence Elevators

Course 5 deserves its own spotlight because of its sheer size relative to the rest of the curriculum. Published at 120 classroom hours and 1,800 field hours, it dwarfs the other four courses combined and represents the bulk of the on-the-job training hours candidates accumulate on the way to the 4,200-hour education pathway requirement.

Because private residence elevators involve full cab systems, hoistway construction, and more complex electrical and mechanical integration than platform lifts or stairway chairlifts, this course draws heavily on the program's authoritative references: ASME A17.1-2007 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators, NEC 2008 Section 620, and the Elevator Industry Field Employees' Safety Handbook, alongside ASME A18.1-2005 for platform and chairlift-specific standards. Candidates should expect Course 5 to consume a disproportionate share of both study time and field-hour logging compared to Courses 1 through 4.

Registration, Fees, and Exam Mechanics

The CAT final exam is computer-based, delivered through the Exam Builder platform, closed book, and offered in English only. Rather than traveling to a testing center, candidates sit for the exam at their own workplace - a detail that shapes how employers coordinate scheduling and proctoring.

Key mechanics to plan around:

• Education pathway application fees: $105 (NAEC member companies) or $160 (non-members)
• Legacy pathway exam fees: $735 (members) or $1,180 (non-members)
• Candidates have 90 days to complete the application and 365 days from authorization to sit the exam
• Education pathway final exam: 150 questions, 75 percent required, three-hour time limit
• Legacy pathway exam: 160 questions, scaled score of 80 to pass

For a complete cost comparison across both pathways, including renewal and retest fees, see CAT Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. If you want the exact scoring thresholds spelled out side by side, CAT Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass covers both the percentage-based and scaled-score requirements. Scheduling logistics, including the 90-day and 365-day windows, are detailed further in CAT Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

Proctoring Requirements You Can't Skip

Because the CAT exam is administered at the candidate's own workplace rather than a neutral testing center, NAEC builds integrity into the process through a strict two-proctor requirement. The first proctor must be an officer of the employing company. The second must be a competent adult who is not related to the examinee, not their supervisor, and not a program examinee themselves. Both proctors are required to submit a signed and notarized proctoring statement before certification can be issued.

This means training coordinators need to identify and confirm both proctors well before exam day - waiting until the last minute risks delaying certification even after a passing score. Build proctor confirmation into your training timeline as a formal checkpoint rather than an afterthought.

Building a Training Schedule Around the CAT Curriculum

Because CAT training unfolds over roughly two years alongside real field work, candidates benefit from treating the final months before the exam as a distinct review phase rather than trying to absorb five courses' worth of material at once. Spacing review sessions across weeks - revisiting earlier courses while field hours accumulate - tends to work better than cramming, since Course 5's volume alone makes last-minute review impractical.

For structured practice material mapped to this sequence, CAT Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt walks through preparation strategy in more detail, and you can build familiarity with the question format using the practice tests on CAT Exam Prep.

Retakes, Renewal, and Continuing Education

Not everyone passes on the first attempt, and NAEC's retake structure is worth planning for in advance. Candidates must wait 30 days between attempts, and a $100 retest fee applies before the third attempt. After a third failure, candidates face a 180-day wait plus reapplication to the Certification Board - a significant setback that makes thorough preparation on the front end worthwhile.

Once earned, CAT certification runs for one year and expires every December 31, regardless of when during the year it was issued. Renewal requires:

• 10 continuing education hours, including at least 1 safety hour (safety hours are capped at 3)
• A signed Code of Ethics form
• A renewal fee of $115 for members or $210 for non-members

Up to 4 surplus continuing education hours can be rolled forward into the next renewal cycle, which gives technicians some flexibility if they complete extra training in a given year. Technicians who want to advance further after certification can also pursue the CAT-S supervisor designation, available for $100 to those already CAT certified.

For a look at what the pass/fail landscape actually looks like across candidates, see CAT Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.

Who Hires CAT-Trained Technicians

CAT-trained technicians work for elevator and lift contractors that install and service accessibility equipment: vertical and inclined platform lifts, stairway chairlifts, and private residence elevators in homes, small commercial buildings, and accessibility retrofits. Because the certification requires employer-sponsored on-the-job hours and workplace-based exam proctoring from day one, most candidates are already employed by an NAEC member or affiliated contractor before they start the curriculum - this isn't typically a credential pursued independently before landing a job.

If you're weighing whether the time investment across the two-year curriculum pays off in career terms, Is the CAT Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and CAT Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis look at the broader career picture, while CAT Jobs covers the kinds of roles that typically expect or prefer this certification.

Frequently Asked Questions