In-House Inspectors are those individuals who are providing Periodic monitoring, and internal inspections for the company they are employed through.

• In-House Level 1: Introductory level of certification for applicants who perform in-house inspections at their currently insured course site.
• In-House Level 2: Advanced level of certification for applicants who perform in-house inspections at their currently insured course site.
• In-House Supervisor Endorsement: For those individuals that oversee other inspectors at their company. The Endorsement includes comprehension of quality assurance practices for companies that offer inspections and allow a Level 2 Inspector to supervise an apprentice inspector. The applicant must meet the requirements for Level 2 Certification. Applicant must also provide documented proof of employment as an In-House Inspector, including signed documentation from their supervisor that the applicant meets the requirements for both the Level and the Supervisor Endorsement being sought.

Professional Inspectors are those individuals who are providing Professional inspections while employed for a legally licensed company.

• Professional Level 1: Introductory level of certification for applicants who perform professional inspections of traditional style challenge courses that are not typically open to the public and do not utilize complex or engineered life safety systems.
• Professional Level 2: Advanced level of certification for applicants who perform professional inspections of commercially operated challenge courses that utilize specialty engineered life safety products or more complex mechanical systems including electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic systems.
• Professional Supervisor Endorsement: For those individuals that oversee other inspectors at their company. The Endorsement includes comprehension of quality assurance practices for companies that offer inspections and allow a Level 1 or Level 2 Inspector to supervise an apprentice inspector. The applicant must meet the requirements for Level 1 and/or Level 2 Certification. The applicant must also provide documented proof of employment as a Professional Inspector, including signed documentation from their supervisor that the applicant meets the requirements for both the Level and the Supervisor Endorsement being sought.

Professional Inspectors are those who are able to provide Annual and Third-Party inspections.

The Third-Party Professional Inspector Certification (hereinafter known as the “Professional Inspector Certification”) is designed for the individual working for a legally licensed business that is properly insured to offer professional inspections as described in the ANSI-ACCT 03-2019 Standard, Chapter 1, Section B.1.2. and Section C of the Qualified Course Professional Guidelines (QCP).

To be eligible to sit for the Inspector Certification Exam, all candidates meet the following:

• Be at least 21 years of age
• Have a high school diploma, GED or equivalent

• Meet the following visual requirements:

• Eye exams must be administered by an Ophthalmologist, Optometrist, Medical Doctor, Registered Nurse or Certified Physician’s Assistant.
• All applicants must pass an eye examination, with or without corrective lenses, to provide 20/30 or greater acuity both for near and distant acuity.
• All applicants must take a color perception test. If an applicant is colorblind, this does NOT disqualify the applicant, however, if the applicant is colorblind a letter from the employer’s supervisor stating acknowledgment must be submitted before testing

• Professional Inspector applicants must also provide a portfolio of previous experience with the following minimum requirements:

• Minimum of 150 lifetime builder days (or equivalent)
• Minimum of 12 third party inspections conducted under the supervision of a qualified inspector

• Provide proof of employment in accordance with the level and track of certification they are seeking:

• Professional Level 1 – Minimum of 365 days of documented employment in the Challenge Course/Aerial Adventure Park or Zip Line industry within the past 36 months
• Professional Level 2 – Minimum of 1,095 days of documented professional employment in the industry within the past 60 months. – Employment must be directly related to challenge courses, aerial adventure courses and /or zip lines or related structures and incorporate various mechanical systems (electric, hydraulic, pneumatic, etc).

• Provide proof of employment via signed Supervisor’s Affidavit. Owners or self-supervised candidates shall provide the Self-Supervised Affidavit.

• Provide a portfolio of previous experience with a minimum of 40 hours of training received from a Third-Party training entity covering challenge course operations, maintenance and inspections

• Provide current proof of insurance in accordance with the track of certification they are seeking. ACCT should be listed as the certificate holder on the certificate of insurance.

• Professional inspector applicants must provide a certificate of insurance showing a Professional Liability policy of $1,000,000 minimum coverage. Professional services covered by the professional liability policy must be listed in the description of operations on the certificate of insurance.

• Agree to comply with ACCT Code of Ethics

• Meet minimum experience requirements for providing inspections as outlined in C.1 through C.2 .10 of the Qualified Course Professional Guidelines (QCP) Inspectors section. 

An In-House Inspector performs Pre-Use or Periodic Inspections for their own company.

The In-House Operator Inspector Certification (hereinafter known as the “In-House Inspector Certification”) is designed for those individuals who perform the Operator Operational Inspections for their own organizations as described in the ANSI-ACCT 03-2019 Standard, Chapter 1, Section B.1.3. (daily, monthly and quarterly in-house physical and operational inspections). An In-House inspector by definition is not a Professional Third-Party Inspector. ACCT standards require an annual inspection by an outside qualified third party.

To be eligible to sit for the Inspector Certification In-House Inspector Exam, you will need to ensure you meet the following: 

• Be at least 21 years of age
• Have a high school diploma, GED or equivalent
• Meet minimum experience requirements for providing inspections as outlined in C.1 through C.2 .10 of the Qualified Course Professional Guidelines (QCP) Inspectors section. (C2.7 and C2.8 are waived for In-House inspectors)
• Meet visual requirements (pass eye exam with a visual acuity of J2 or better and submit official form)
• Pass written examination(s)
• Comply with ACCT Code of Ethics
• Have appropriate level of Liability Insurance

All test applicants must provide proof of employment (via signed Supervisor’s Affidavit) and proper insurance certificate (e.g. of appropriate level) for inspection services. See below for specific category requirements:

•  In-House applicant must provide a certificate of insurance showing a General Liability policy of $1,000,000.00 minimum coverage.

Level 1 In-House Inspector Certification:

• 200 days of documented employment in the Challenge Course / Aerial Adventure Park or Zip Line industry within the past 36 months
• A minimum of 40 hours of training from a qualified third party covering challenge course operations, maintenance and inspections.

Level 2 In-House Inspector Certification:

In addition to traditional challenge course structures, Level 2 In-House Inspector Certification includes commercial grade operations and/or structures using mechanical systems such as hydraulics, pneumatics, compression or resistance, electricity and/or magnetics.

• Minimum of 365 days of documented employment in the Challenge Course / Aerial Adventure Park or Zip Line industry within the past 60 months
• Minimum of at least 40 hours of training from a qualified third party covering challenge course operations, maintenance and inspection.

In-House Supervisor Endorsement

The Supervisor Endorsement is for those individuals that oversee other inspectors at their company.  The Endorsement includes comprehension of quality assurance practices for companies that offer inspections and allow a Level 1 or Level 2 Inspector to supervise an apprentice inspector.

Applicant must meet the requirements for Level 1 and/or Level 2 Certification. Applicant must also provide documented proof of employment as an In-House Inspector, including signed documentation from their supervisor that the applicant meets the requirements for both the Level and the Supervisor Endorsement being sought.

All new and renewing applicants will be required to submit all of the required forms:

• Eye Exam Form   Exam date must be within 6 months of certification test date.
• Inspector Certification Portfolio  
• Inspector Certification Supervisor Affidavit  Please use if you are supervised by an individual
• Inspector Certification Self Supervisor Affidavit Please use if you are the owner or are self-supervised
• ACORD Certificate of Insurance Sample

In-House Inspector:  Inspector must provide certificate of company insurance showing a general liability policy of $1,000,000.00 minimum coverage.

Third-Party Professional applicant must provide a certificate of insurance showing Professional Liability of $1,000,000.00 minimum coverage.

All Levels of In-house and Professional Inspectors must obtain at least 32 continuing education units (CEUs) or 32 hours of ACCT approved formal training during their certification period (2 years) to maintain inspector certification.

Formal training shall consist of:

● ACCT Conference and Symposium attendance
● ACCT ICE Panel approved seminars and conferences
● Third-Party training on related subjects such as product or systems specific manufacturer training; classes related to affiliated skills i.e. welding, blueprint reading, rigging, vertical rope access; contractor’s license; a community college class in construction management, etc. and/or training via other industries on rigging, OSHA, CWA, ASTM, TSSA, NDT, hydraulic, electrical or mechanical systems
● ACCT shall maintain a file on each member and retain copies of all training documentation

If there are courses you would like to attend outside of ACCT to contribute to your CEUs, please send a summary and/or a course syllabus to the Program Manager to be awarded units before attending the course.

Heather Brooks, ACCT Program Manager, is happy to assist you with any questions you may have about this Inspector Certification Program.

Contact Information:

Email: heather@acctinfo.org

Phone: 303-827-2432

ACCT Inspection Guidance (PDF)

Test Prep Suggestions and Material (PDF)

ICE Sample Test Level 1

ICE Sample Test Level 2