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exam and licensing process

Looking to become a Drinking Water Operator? 

Watch our Water Works: Careers with Purpose video.
Review our information sheet on understanding the pathway to becoming an operator here.

For information on MWWA's educational offerings, click here.

Registering for a Drinking Water Exam

The drinking water operator licensing exams are administered by a third party company “PSI” which provides exam services for a wide range of certification programs in Massachusetts (e.g. wastewater, real estate, optometry etc,). 

To register for a drinking water license exam, go to:  https://test-takers.psiexams.com/abc-ma/test

Important information:

  • When you are registering for an exam for the first time, you will need to set up an account with a username and password.
  • The exam fee is currently $108.00, which can be paid for using a credit card.
    • Military veterans can have the fee waived by providing the necessary documentation.

This short video demonstrates how to register for a drinking water exam:  Video: How to Register for an Exam

Applying for a Drinking Water License

For information on applying for a license, review the Application Checklist and Required Forms:

Helpful Hints When Applying for a Water Operator License

Watch this presentation by Blake Lukis, MWWA's representative to the Board of Certification, to get an overview of what the Board expects a complete application to contain: 

What’s on the Drinking Water Exams?

Massachusetts uses the same ‘standardized’ exams that are used by 35 other states.

Each exam is developed by Water Professional International (WPI) thru the ABC Testing division.  WPI has an extensive exam validation process and routinely reviews questions to update the question banks. 

WPI provides a detailed overview of the topics covered on each level of the exam.  These “Need to Know Criteria” documents can be found here:  https://gowpi.org/services/2025-need-to-know-criteria/

WPI also provides the Formula and Conversion sheets that examinees will be provided with at the test taking centers. (See below for the most recent version.) 

Exam Passing Rates

You can download any earlier exam printouts/scores. For a video showing you how, click here.

Review the MassDEP Certified Operator Reports: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/public-water-system-capacity-development#operator-certification-reports

WPI/ABC Formula Conversion Sheet

A copy of the most recent (2024) Formula and Conversion document can be found here:  https://www.gowpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WPI-FCT-2024-WT.pdf

MA Board of Licensure:

We suggest that you navigate around this website www.mass.gov/dpl/boards/dw  for the board's policies, regulations, exam calendar and other important information. This is the website of the MA board that licenses all water system operators.

Board of Certification of Operators of Drinking Water Supply Facilities Policy for Training Requirements to Sit for Exams

Operator Quiz Corner

MWWA publishes a member newsletter (H2O Pump) five times a year. One of the standard articles is a quiz corner with questions similar to what operators could encounter on a license exam.  MWWA Members can also access the quiz corner answers using this link.