Minnesota Department of Transportation

511 Travel Info

Technical Certification Program

Manage your certification records (Tech Cert Card)

The MnDOT Technical Certification Card provides a personal record of all your current certifications for roadway materials sampling, testing and inspection in Minnesota. This is an annual card that expires on May 31 of each year. After June 1 of each year, print or save your card to a phone or computer to show to your employer or Independent Assurance staff as needed.

The expiration date for each certification; it is your responsibility to keep your certifications current.

If you want to recertify, you must complete a recertification class in the training season before the expiration date (example: if it says May 31, 2027, take the recertification class in the 2026-2027 training season)

Access your information on the Technical Certification “Portal”

Our program uses a statewide public portal that is used for a wide range of State of Minnesota licenses, not just our certifications.

To see your certifications, update your contact information, and see a list of recent or pending classes, you must first register in the public portal.

Log in using whatever email you would have used when you first registered in the portal and your password.

The email you used when you first registered serves as the permanent username, even if the email address you use for emailing has changed. (Yes, we know that is weird, but it is something we cannot yet change.)

For more information, including how to solve common login issues, see the portal registration page.

Track your certification expiration dates

  • Expiration dates are listed on the MnDOT Technical certification Card
  • If there is an asterisk (*) by an expiration date, that means it is set to expire in the current training season (November – May).
  • If you want to keep a certification active, you must complete a recertification course during the training season before it expires on May 31 or you will lose that certification. For example, if your card says May 31, 2028 for a certification, you will need to complete the recertification course in the 2027-2028 training season.

Find options if your certification has expired

In special situations, a person with a recently expired MnDOT certification with relevant work experience may apply to regain a MnDOT certification through a Recently Expired Certification Exam

Figure out why your certification has not updated

If you find a certification has not updated to the new expiration date, it is usually because of one of three reasons:

1) You must pass the written exam before the certification will update. Test results for an exam taken in the MnDOT system should update within a business day, with the exception of Bridge Construction Inspector Certification which requires manual entry after the second week exam. Test results for the Concrete Field Tester Certification are processed by ACI and can take 2-3 weeks to arrive to us. See the ACI section below for more information.

2) If you have not completed the required prerequisites for the certification or have let a prerequisite certification expire, your certification will not update.

3) If your certification requires a performance exam, your passing results must be documented in our system before the certification will update. If you completed the performance review with a MnDOT District staff member, check with them to make sure your results were submitted to us

If you have checked all three items above and your certification is still not updating, email us directly at tech-cert.dot@state.mn.us.

See your course registrations

For the past six years: In the portal , we show classes you were registered for during the past six years.

For the current training season:

  • Course registration is done through Lake Superior College (LSC) and their college registration system. Use that system for course registrations, changes, and cancellations. LSC will send you a registration confirmation email that include class location, dates, and time. See the Course materials section of our website to find out what to bring to class.
  • Two weeks before the class start date, LSC staff will enter your class registrations into the MnDOT system. LSC will also send you a reminder email from LSC for the information about the class location, dates, and time. See the Course materials section of our website to find out what to bring to class.

If you have new information on an ACI Certification

Email us at tech-cert.dot@state.mn.us with documentation that you have passed the ACI Concrete Field Tester exam. This could include the letter you received with the test results, your ACI card with the current expiration date, or a screen shot of the ACI certification verification website.

Download a Professional Development Hours (PDH) certificate

Log into the the portal, select "View Your PDH Certificate" under actions to see a pdf file of the certificate to download or print.

For people new to materials testing or student workers

You may be eligible to get a Provisional Testing Certificate that will give you the authority to perform certain testing procedures, such as gradations, concrete air, slump, or sand cone density, under the supervision of a technician with the current full certification.

New hires or rotating engineers may be provisionally certified only once. Student workers may be provisionally certified as long as they are active students.

You may be eligible to get a Provisional Testing Certificate that will give you the authority to perform certain testing procedures, such as gradations, concrete air, slump, or sand cone density, under the supervision of a technician with the current full certification. The Provisional Testing Certificate expires Dec. 31 of the calendar year it was issued. See the TCP Policy Manual (PDF) for more information and the MnDOT Independent Assurance Inspector in the District where you would be testing.

Registered engineers certification needs

If you are a registered, professional engineer, you still need to be certified by MnDOT to perform field or laboratory materials sampling, testing, and inspection and to submit bituminous mix designs on Federal Aid, State Aid and state highway projects in Minnesota. This is based on guidance from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Follow the regular certification process, including completing the course and exam.

People certified in other states who want a MnDOT certification

Even if you hold a similar certification from another state, you still need to be certified by MnDOT to perform field or laboratory materials sampling, testing, and inspection and to submit bituminous mix designs on Federal Aid, State Aid and state highway projects in Minnesota.

If you can demonstrate your current certifications and work experience have prepared you for the particular work of a MnDOT certification, you may apply to get the certification through a State Reciprocity Certification Exam