(1) Requirements for an independent certifying organization. An independent certifying organization shall:

(a) Be an organization such as a society or association, whose members participate in, or have an interest in, the fields of industrial radiography;

(b) Make its membership available to the general public nationwide that is not restricted because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or disability;

(c) Have a certification program open to nonmembers, as well as members;

(d) Be an incorporated, nationally recognized organization that is involved in setting national standards of practice within its fields of expertise;

(e) Have an adequate staff, a viable system for financing its operations, and a policy- and decision-making review board;

(f) Have a set of written organizational by-laws and policies that provide adequate assurance of lack of conflict of interest and a system for monitoring and enforcing those by-laws and policies;

(g) Have a committee, whose members can carry out their responsibilities impartially, to review and approve the certification guidelines and procedures, and to advise the organization's staff in implementing the certification program.

(h) Have a committee, whose members can carry out their responsibilities impartially, to review complaints against certified individuals and to determine appropriate sanctions;

(i) Have written procedures describing all aspects of its certification program, maintain records of the current status of each individual's certification and the administration of its certification program;

(j) Have procedures to ensure that certified individuals are provided due process with respect to the administration of its certification program, including the process of becoming certified and any sanctions imposed against certified individuals;

(k) Have procedures for proctoring examinations, including qualifications for proctors. These procedures must ensure that the individuals proctoring each examination are not employed by the same company or corporation (or a wholly owned subsidiary of such company or corporation) as any of the examinees;

(l) Exchange information about certified individuals with the department, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, other independent certifying organizations or agreement states and allow periodic review of its certification program and related records; and

(m) Provide a description to the department of its procedures for choosing examination sites and for providing an appropriate examination environment.

(2) Requirements for certification programs. All certification programs must:

(a) Require applicants for certification to:

(i) Receive training in the topics set forth in WAC 246-243-230 or equivalent NRC or agreement state regulations; and

(ii) Satisfactorily complete a written examination covering these topics;

(b) Require applicants for certification to provide documentation that demonstrates that the applicant has:

(i) Received training in the topics set forth in WAC 246-243-230 or equivalent NRC or agreement state regulations;

(ii) Satisfactorily completed a minimum period of on-the-job training; and

(iii) Received verification by an agreement state or a NRC licensee that the applicant has demonstrated the capability of independently working as a radiographer;

(c) Include procedures to ensure that all examination questions are protected from disclosure;

(d) Include procedures for denying an application, revoking, suspending, and reinstating a certificate;

(e) Provide a certification period of not less than three years nor more than five years;

(f) Include procedures for renewing certifications and, if the procedures allow renewals without examination, require evidence of recent full-time employment and annual refresher training;

(g) Provide a timely response to inquiries, by telephone or letter, from members of the public, about an individual's certification status.

(3) Requirements for written examinations.

All examinations must be:

(a) Designed to test an individual's knowledge and understanding of the topics listed in WAC 246-243-230 or equivalent NRC or agreement state requirements;

(b) Written in a multiple-choice format;

(c) Have test items drawn from a question bank containing psychometrically valid questions based on the material in WAC 246-243-230.