In Washington State, any company offering to contract to design, install, test, and/or maintain a fire sprinkler system must be licensed by the Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Any contractor licensed to perform the design and installation of a water-based fire protection sprinkler system must also have a full-time [at least 20 hours per week] Certificate of Competency Holder [COC] in their employ, holding the same level of certification as the contractor’s licensing level.

Certification through the National Institute for Certification of Engineering Technologies [N.I.C.E.T.] is required for state certification as a level II and III designer. However, for those currently pursuing certification through N.I.C.E.T. of either a level 2 or level 3 in Automatic Sprinkler Design Layout, the Revised Code of Washington [R.C.W.] provides for a temporary certification program for qualified individuals.

R.C.W. 18.160.040 (5) details the temporary program. In order to apply for a Temporary Certificate of Competency, an applicant will need to complete the Certificate of Competency Application, Affidavit, and Verification of Employment form as with any applicant for a Certificate of Competency. However, in addition to these documents, the applicant will need to submit to this office not less than six letters of reference from the fire service and/or sprinkler industry supporting their intent to qualify for certification and three sets of completed, installed, and approved plans drafted by the applicant. These plans must include the hydraulic calculations for each system.

The fee schedule and approval process is the same as with a Certificate of Competency, as this individual will function exactly like a fully certified designer with the following notations:

1) No Temporary Certificate of Competency can be certified as “Temporary” for more than three years in the life of the individual.

2) Each renewal (only two allowed) must be accompanied by evidence of attempting to obtain N.I.C.E.T. certification in Automatic Sprinkler Design Layout.

3) No Temporary Certificate of Competency can be certified as FOR DESIGN ONLY at any time.

4) As this program is specified by statute, an application for temporary certification can be received at any time.

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