Class by class in Alberta
Each card is checked against ABSA's class page. Operating scope comes from Alberta's Power Engineers Regulation, not from the class page. Fees, pay, and the arena and pool notes elsewhere on this page are unchanged. Course credit and steam time are separate requirements.
Also on this site: Exam format · 5th vs 4th Class · Alberta 4th Class eligibility.
5th Class
How you get in. ABSA lists three ways to qualify to write: a boiler and heating plant course satisfactory to the Administrator, or 6 months on a power plant boiler plus a further 6 months on a heating plant boiler, or a mechanical engineering degree satisfactory to the Administrator.
Time in a plant. The certificate is separate from permission to write. ABSA's Fifth Class page says you must pass the 5th or 4th Class examination and have been employed for 6 months operating a power plant or heating plant. The Power Engineers Regulation, section 20.1, words that employment as 6 months assisting in the operation of a power plant or operating a heating plant boiler. Use both texts and ask ABSA which reading they apply before you log time. SteamTicket does not create that time.
What the ticket covers. Section 9 of the Power Engineers Regulation limits a 5th Class certificate to Row 5 of Table 1 (power plants) and Row 5 of Table 4 (heating plants). A heating plant of 750 kW or less is outside the general-supervision rule in section 4. Read the Schedule for the kilowatt bands. The arena note elsewhere on this page is unchanged.
The exam. One paper, 100 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, at least 65%. ABSA's page dates that format from 1 January 2023.
Official page: ABSA Fifth Class. Checked 5 November 2026.
Also: Power Engineers Regulation (AR 85/2003)
4th Class
How you get in. To write, ABSA requires a 4th Class power engineering course satisfactory to the Administrator, or the first full term of a 2-year power engineering technology program satisfactory to the Administrator, or a mechanical engineering degree satisfactory to the Administrator. Part A of an accepted course qualifies you for the Part A paper only, and Part B for the Part B paper only. A 5th Class certificate does not replace that course. Our Alberta eligibility page keeps the course, the exams, and steam time as three separate gates.
Time in a plant. For the certificate, ABSA requires a pass plus employment of 6 months assisting in a power plant over 250 kW (or a pressure plant the Administrator accepts), or a shorter power-plant stretch combined with 12 months on pressure equipment, or 12 months in a heating plant over 750 kW while holding Building Operator A, Building Operator B, or 5th Class. College power-lab credit is not the same thing as this employment. Confirm what ABSA will count.
What the ticket covers. A 4th Class certificate issued on or after 1 September 1998 may supervise the plants in Row 4 of Tables 1 to 5 of the Schedule. It is not a blanket ticket for every Alberta plant. Read the rows rather than a single kilowatt slogan.
The exam. Two papers. From 1 January 2023 each paper is 100 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, at least 65% on each paper.
Official page: ABSA Fourth Class. Checked 5 November 2026.
Also: Alberta 4th Class eligibility · Power Engineers Regulation (AR 85/2003)
3rd Class
How you get in. ABSA requires a 4th Class Power Engineer's Certificate of Competency before you can write the 3rd Class examination.
Time in a plant. For the certificate, pass the exams and meet one of ABSA's employment routes. The main ones are 12 months as chief, shift, assistant shift, or assistant engineer in a power plant that must staff those jobs with at least a 4th Class certificate, or 12 months as chief of an oilfield once-through boiler plant over 1,000 kW, or 48 months in a heating plant over 3,000 kW while holding a 4th Class certificate issued after 1 September 1998. ABSA may credit 6 months for an accepted 3rd Class course or a mechanical engineering degree, and 9 months for an accepted 2-year power engineering technology program. There are also partial-time routes on the class page.
What the ticket covers. Section 9 limits a 3rd Class certificate to Row 3 of Tables 1 to 5. The kilowatt bands are in the Schedule, not on the class page.
The exam. Four papers (A1, A2, B1, B2). From 1 January 2023 each paper is 100 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, at least 65%. The older 150-question, 3.5-hour description is still on the page above that effective date.
Official page: ABSA Third Class. Checked 5 November 2026.
Also: Power Engineers Regulation (AR 85/2003)
2nd Class
How you get in. ABSA requires a 3rd Class Power Engineer's Certificate of Competency before you write.
Time in a plant. For the certificate, pass the exams and have 24 months as chief, shift, assistant shift, or assistant engineer in a power plant that must staff those jobs with at least a 3rd Class certificate, or 36 months as shift engineer in a power plant over 1,000 kW. ABSA may credit 9 months for an accepted 2nd Class course or a mechanical engineering degree, and up to half the time for an accepted 2-year technology program held with a 3rd Class certificate. Partial routes are on the class page.
What the ticket covers. A 2nd Class certificate may supervise any heating plant or thermal liquid heating system, and power plants only as shown in Row 2 of Tables 1 and 2.
The exam. Six papers, at least 65% on each. ABSA's notice says that from 1 January 2025 paper 2A1 is multiple choice only, 100 questions, with the same pass mark. From 1 January 2024, papers 2A2, 2A3, 2B1, 2B2, and 2B3 are 100-question multiple choice, and multiple-choice 2nd Class papers are a maximum of 3 hours. An older paragraph on the same page still describes 2A1 as a 3.5-hour essay.
Official page: ABSA Second Class. Checked 5 November 2026.
Also: Power Engineers Regulation (AR 85/2003)
1st Class
How you get in. ABSA requires a 2nd Class Power Engineer's Certificate of Competency before you write.
Time in a plant. For the certificate, pass the exams and have 30 months as chief or shift engineer in a power plant that must staff those jobs with at least a 2nd Class certificate, or 45 months as assistant shift engineer in a power plant over 10,000 kW. ABSA may credit 12 months for a mechanical engineering degree or an accepted 1st Class course. Partial routes are on the class page.
What the ticket covers. Section 9 says a 1st Class certificate may supervise any type or capacity of power plant, heating plant, or thermal liquid heating system.
The exam. Eight papers, at least 65% on each. ABSA's notice says that from 1 January 2026 paper 1B4 is multiple choice only, 100 questions, with the same pass mark. The older paragraph on the same page still describes all eight papers as 3.5-hour long-answer essays, answer 5 of 7. Confirm which 1B4 paper you will be given.
Official page: ABSA First Class. Checked 5 November 2026.
Also: Power Engineers Regulation (AR 85/2003) · Exam format
SteamTicket is an independent study tool. These cards are general information, not a certification decision and not a regulator endorsement. Confirm the current rule with the official page before you apply or register.