City of New York Department of Buildings

Transcription

1 City of New York Department of Buildings Pre-Examination Requirements.. 2 Submitting Your Exam Application. 2 Exam Fees. 2 Scheduling Your Exam. 3 Special Considerations 4 Taking your Exam 4 Testing Regulations.. 5 Exam Results. 6 Page 1

2 The New York City Department of Buildings ( the Department ) determines whether applicants are eligible to take the below license qualification exams. The Department contracts with CPS HR Consulting ( CPS HR ) to administer these exams. Master/Special Electrician Master Plumber Master Fire Suppression Piping Contractor Master/Special Rigger Master/Special Sign Hanger High Pressure Boiler Operating Engineer Oil Burner Equipment Installer Tower/Climber Crane Rigger Site Safety Manager Private Elevator Agency Director Private Elevator Agency Inspector Before you can schedule your exam with CPS HR, you must submit a typed exam application and fee to the Department. Applications that do not include the exam fee will be returned to the applicant. Corresponding license exam applications can be found on the Department s website at Any false statement on your application will result in you being deemed ineligible to take the corresponding license exam and may result in severe civil and criminal penalties. The fee for the written exams is $525 and the fee for the practical exams is $350. The fees are nonrefundable and do not include the background investigation fee or the license issuance fee for your license after you pass the exam. The fees must be paid by money order only and made payable to the New York City Department of Buildings. Checks and cash will not be accepted. Please make sure to include the last four digits of your social security number on the front of your money order and retain a copy of the money order receipt as your proof of filing. Page 2

3 Once you receive an notifying you that you are eligible to take the corresponding license exam, you must schedule your exam by clicking on the scheduling website link in the . After you schedule your exam, you will receive a confirmation with appointment details. Important: You have one (1) year from your exam application date to pass the exam. After one (1) year, you will need to reapply and pay another fee. The exams are given by CPS HR s partner Pan at one of their several convenient test centers in the City. When registering for your exam, you will be provided with a list of available test locations and availability options. You will be able to choose the center that is most convenient for you. A list of current approved test centers, including centers in Manhattan and Queens can be viewed upon registering to complete your exam. Holidays: Testing generally does not occur on the following holidays: New Year s Day Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Thanksgiving through December 1 st Christmas Eve and Christmas Day To Schedule an Exam Online After your exam application with the Department has been approved, you will receive a notice via that you may schedule your licensure exam. This notice will provide you with a link that will direct you to the scheduling website. After scheduling your exam, you will receive a confirmation with appointment details. Visit the CPS HR website at for more information. For any questions about the scheduling process, please NYCDOB@cpshr.us or call CPS HR s toll-free at If you do not have an address, please contact CPS HR to assist you in the scheduling process. If Absent or Late to Your Appointment To avoid paying a new exam fee, you must cancel or reschedule your written exam at least 48 hours in advance by clicking on the link in your exam confirmation . In order to do this, click on the link provided in your appointment confirmation . If you do not cancel or reschedule your written exam 48 hours in advance, you will have to submit another exam application and pay an additional fee. You must cancel or reschedule a practical exam at least seven days in advance by contacting CPS HR. Please send an to NYCDOB@cpshr.us or call CPS HR s toll-free at Page 3

4 Emergency Closings Severe weather or an emergency could result in the canceling of exams. A link is provided in your appointment confirmation in which you can view closure announcements due to severe weather, power outages, or other unexpected reasons. If the testing site is closed, your account will be updated to allow you to reschedule your exam without additional fees. If a testing center is open for testing and you do not to appear for your exam, you will have to pay an additional exam fee. ADA Accommodation While scheduling your exam, you will be given an option to select yes if you request ADA accommodations. If you indicate a need for accommodations, CPS HR will follow-up with your request. You must indicate a need for accommodation during the scheduling process. Reasonable testing accommodations are provided to allow candidates with documented disabilities recognized under the Americans with Disabilities Act an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and knowledge. CPS HR will consider the details of each request and determine the appropriate response; requests may or may not be granted. Note: Please submit professional documentation of your disability with your application to help us determine the necessary testing arrangements. Thirty (30) days of advance notice is required for all special testing arrangements. There is no additional charge for these accommodations ESL (English is Your Second Language) Please note that a language barrier is not considered a disability. In order to meet the license requirements, applicants must be able to read and write in the English Language pursuant to Section of the NYC Building Code. Your written exam will be given by computer at a Pan testing center. You do not need any computer experience or typing skills to take your exam. Before you start the exam, you will receive an introduction to the testing system. Scores are based on the number of questions you answered correctly. You will not be given credit for any question answered incorrectly, marked with more than one answer or left blank. There is no penalty for guessing, so be sure to mark an answer for each question. Page 4

5 Arrival You should arrive fifteen (15) minutes before your scheduled exam to allow time for you to sign in and for staff to verify your identification. Identification Upon arrival, you will be required to present two forms of identification in order to take your exam. The first form of identification must be a current and valid, government-issued identification with a photo. In addition, it must contain your signature and the name on the identification must match the name you used to register for your exam. Acceptable forms of identification that meet these standards include the following: A driver s license Current U.S. passport U.S. Permanent resident card with a photo ( Green Card ) The second form of identification may be any non-expired identification with a photo. If you arrive at the test center without an ID that meets the above requirements, you will not be permitted to test, and you will have to pay an additional exam fee. To ensure that all candidates are tested under equal and favorable conditions, the below regulations and procedures will be observed at each testing center. Failure to follow these procedures may result in you being disqualified. CPS HR reserves the right to audiotape and videotape any examination session. Personal Items We recommend that you do not bring any unnecessary personal items to your assessment appointment as storage may not be available. Please note the following: Calculators, multiple pieces of blank paper, and multiple pencils will be provided to you. Electronic equipment cameras, tape recorders, cell phones, PDAs, pagers, etc. is not permitted in the testing areas. No hats, scarves, or other non-essential garments are allowed in the testing center. Pocket items keys, wallets, etc. are not permitted in the testing center. Page 5

6 Other personal items briefcases, backpacks, etc. are not permitted in the testing center. Breaks Breaks are not permitted. In the event that you do need to leave the testing room while an exam is in progress, you must sign out/in on the roster and you will lose exam time. Visitors You are not permitted to bring any visitors to the test facility. Misconduct or Disruptive Behavior Candidates who engage in any kind of misconduct, disruptive, or offensive behavior may be dismissed from the exam. Such behavior includes giving or receiving help, sharing supplies, taking part in an act of impersonation, removing test materials or notes from the testing room, using rude or offensive language and behavior that delays or interrupts testing. Weapons Weapons are not allowed at the testing center. Important: Before an exam begins, the test center administrator will perform an inspection to ensure candidates are not in violation of any of the above rules and collect any materials that violate the rules. Copyrighted questions All test questions are the copyrighted property of the Department. It is forbidden under federal copyright law to copy, reproduce, record, distribute or display these test questions by any means, in whole or in part, without the Department s written permission. Doing so may subject you to severe civil and criminal penalties, including up to five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine for criminal violations. For written exams, you will be provided a printed score report from the Proctor at the end of your exam. The report indicates overall score and grade, and whether you passed or failed. Proctors do not have any information about these tests or scoring methods. For practical exams, you will receive your exam results via US mail within five weeks of the date of your practical exam. If you pass the exam, you will receive a notice of qualification from the Department after an investigation. Upon receipt of this notice, you must contact the Department s Licensing Unit to schedule an appointment to apply for the license. You have one year from the date of notice to appear and furnish to the Department all requested original forms, Page 6

7 documents and fees. Failure to do so will result in the denial of the license and will require a reexamination and reapplication. Passing Score The Department has established a recommended pass point of 70% to determine the minimum competency needed for licensure. If you pass the exam, you are required to submit, in person, a Background Investigation Questionnaire and all required documents within six (6) months of passing the exam to the Department s Licensing Unit. Please refer to the How to Apply Guide on the Department website at If you successfully pass the background investigation, you will receive a notice of qualification from the Department. Upon receipt of the notice, you must contact the Department's Licensing Unit to schedule an appointment to obtain the license. You have one year from the receipt of the notice of qualification to appear and furnish to the Department all requested original forms, documents and fees. Failure to do so will result in the denial of the license and will require a re-examination and reapplication. Retaking an Exam If you fail the written exam, you must wait fourteen (14) days before re-applying for the exam. You may retake the written exam, when available, up to three (3) times within a six (6) month period. Each time you wish to take the exam, you must reapply through the Department and pay the full exam fee. If you fail the practical exam, you must re-apply through the Department using the practical exam application only and pay the practical exam fee. While you may re-apply upon notice of failure of the exam, there is a waiting period of 90 days from the date of your original exam before you can be rescheduled. Release of Score Information Exam scores are released only with the candidate s written consent. In order for CPS HR to release a score to the Department, the candidate must give CPS HR consent on the computer before the examination will launch. You will be asked for consent at the Pan testing center just before the exam is administered. Your consent is required before you will be administered the examination. If you do not consent at the testing center, you will not be administered the examination and you will not be reimbursed for the exam fees. Appeals Process CPS HR s goal is to provide quality exams and a pleasant testing experience for candidates. If you are dissatisfied with either and believe CPS HR can correct the problem, please fill out the general comments section at the end of your exam. Your comments will be reviewed by CPS HR. Page 7

8 If you fail by five points or less, you may submit an appeal in writing. The appeal must state the title of the license examination, your name, return address, social security number, the date of the test, and a detailed statement of the grounds for appeal. Be sure to include your signature and return address. Your appeal must be received no later than thirty (30) days from the date of notification of failure to pass the license exam. An appeal form must be used and can be found at the FAQ section of the CPS HR website: The Appeals Committee will review your concern and send you a written response within sixty (60) days of receipt. Faxed appeals are not accepted because an original signature is required. Appeals can be mailed to: Attn: NYC DOB Appeals Rockville Pike Suite 550K Rockville, MD Page 8