Home> Nuclear Reactors> Operator Licensing> Licensing Process for Oper ators 

## Licensing Process for Operators

Before the NRC licenses an individual to operate or supervise the controls of a commercial nuclear power reactor, the applicant must complete extensive training and pass rigorous e xaminations. Once licensed, operators and senior operators must comply with a number of requirement s to maintain and renew their licenses. For more details see:

• Process for New Operator Licenses • Operator License Maintenance • Operator License Renewal Process • Operator Licensing Examination Performance Trends • Operator Licensing Examination Schedules


### Process for New Operator Licenses NRC's four regional offices are responsible for issuing licenses for operat ors and senior operators of commercial nuclear power plants in accordance with NRC's regulations for "Operators' Licenses" (10 CFR Part 55) and (NRC Form 398). An applicant sends or delivers a completed applicat ion (NRC Form 398) to the Regional Administrator having jurisdiction over the plant at which the appli cant hopes to work.

A completed application (10 CFR 55.31) describes the applicant's qualificati ons and requires the facility licensee for which the applicant will work to certify that the applicant has satisfied the facility licensee's training and experience requirements to be a licensed operator or senior oper ator. Applicants must also undergo a physical examination (10 CFR 55.21) and be certified (NRC Form 396) physical ly and mentally fit to be an operator.

If the NRC determines that the applicant's qualifications and physical condit ion are acceptable (10 CFR 55.33), the applicant will be scheduled to take the NRC licensing examination. The exam ination process begins with a 50-question, multiple-choice written exam covering reactor theory, ther modynamics, and mechanical components; this Generic Fundamentals Examination (GFE) is actual ly administered early in the applicants' training program and is a prerequisite for taking the site-s pecific examination. The sitespecific examination for reactor operators (10 CFR 55.41) consists of 75 multiple -choice written questions and an NRC-administered operating test (10 CFR 55.45) that includes a plant walk-through and a performance demonstration on the facility licensee's power plant si mulator. Individuals who apply for a senior operator's license must pass an additional 25-question written exam ination (10 CFR 55.43) and a more rigorous operating test. The examinations may be prepared by the faci lity licensee and approved by the NRC, or the facility licensee may request the NRC to prepar e the examinations (10 CFR 55.40). In either case, the examinations are prepared and administered using the guida nce in the Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors (NUREG-1021).

If the applicant passes both the written examinations and the operating test , the responsible NRC regional office will issue a license (10 CFR 55.51) in a form and containing any conditions it c onsiders Page 1 of 4 NRC: Licensing Process for Operators

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- process.html**appropriate and necessary. The license is only valid to operate the facility for which the applicant**  **applied, and it expires 6 years after the date of issuance or upon termination of emp loyment with the**  **facility licensee or other conditions specified in the regulation (10 CFR 55.55).**

Operator License Application Forms **. NRC Form 398, "Personal Qualification Statement - Licensee," (i.e., the license application), and NRC Form 396, "Certification of Me**  **dical Examination by Facility Licensee,"are available in portable document format (pdf). I**  **f you have Version 5.0 or newer of the Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can view or print the blank form, or you can complete the f**  **orm and then print it for your use. If you have the full Adobe Acrobat program - not just the free R**  **eader - you can also save the completed form as a new file. Beginning on January 1, 2004, you will be able to submit t** **he applications to the NRC in electronic format; refer to the Electronic Inform**  **ation Exchange web site for more information.** 



### Operator License Maintenance **Each license is subject to a number of conditions (10 CFR 55.53) whether or not they are sta ted in the**  **license. For example:**

**• Licensed operators and senior operators are required to observe all applic able rules, regulations, and**  **orders of the Commission (10 CFR 55.53(d)).**

**• Licensed operators and senior operators are required to maintain their prof iciency (10 CFR 55.53(e)**  **and (f)) and to complete their facility licensee's requalification training a nd examination program (10**  **CFR 55.53(h)) as described in 10 CFR 55.59.**

**• Licensed operators and senior operators must have a medical examination by a physician every 2**  **years (10 CFR 55.21). If, during the term of the license, an operator or senior operator devel ops a**  **permanent physical or mental condition (10 CFR 55.25) that may adversely affect the p erformance**  **of their duties, the facility licensee must notify the Commission within 30 days of lea rning of the**  **diagnosis. When appropriate, the NRC may issue a conditional license in accordance w ith the**  **requirements in 10 CFR 55.33(b).**

**• Licensed operators and senior operators are prohibited from using, possess ing, or selling illegal**  **drugs (10 CFR 55.53(j)) and from performing licensed duties while under the influence of alcohol or**  **any prescription, over-the-counter, or illegal substance that could adversely aff ect their performance.**  **They are also required to participate in their facility licensee's drug and al cohol testing programs (10**  **CFR 55.53(k)) established pursuant to 10 CFR 26.**



### Operator License Renewal Process **If an operator or senior operator applies for renewal at least 30 days before the expiration date of the**  **existing license, the license does not expire until the NRC determines the final disposition of the renewal**  **application (10 CFR 55.55). The renewal process (10 CFR 55.57) requires the applicant to com plete**  **NRC Form 398 and submit it to the applicable NRC regional office with the foll owing information:**  **written evidence of the applicant's experience under the existing license, a ce rtification from the facility**  **licensee that the applicant is a safe and competent performer who has satis factorily completed the**  **requalification program for the facility (10 CFR 55.59), and certification on NRC For m 396 that the**  **Page 2**  **of 4**  **NRC: Licensing Process for Operators**

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**- process.html** **applicant's medical condition and general health are satisfactory (10 CFR 55.23). The N RC regional** 

**office will renew the license if, on the basis of the application and certif ications, it determines that the**  **applicant continues to meet the regulatory requirements (10 CFR 55.57(b)).**



### Operator Licensing Examination Performance Trends **The following graphs illustrate the written examination, operating test, and overal l pass-rates and the**  **average written examination grades for reactor operator (RO) and senior react or operator (SRO) initial**  **license applicants on a fiscal year (FY) basis for each of the NRC's four R egions and nationally. (Each**  **FY runs from October 1 of one year through September 30 of the following year.) Two additional graphs summarize the average grades and pass-rates on the SRO-only portion of the**  **written examinations.** 

**The last graph summarizes the national written examination performance hi story (10 year) for ROs. For**  **each year, it charts the percentage of the total number of examinations that had no fai lures, one failure,**  **two failures, etc. For example, in FY 2012, about 86% of the RO written examinations (i.e., 35 of 41) had no failures, about 10% of the exams had one failure, about 2% of the exams had two failures, and**  **about 2% of the exams had three failures. The chart illustrates that the vast major ity (generally about**  **80% or more) of the RO written examinations over the past 10 years have had no failures, tha t the RO**  **performance during that period has been relatively constant, and that a single exami nation with an**  **unusually high failure rate (which can often be traced to deficiencies in the faci lity licensee's training**  **program) can have a significant effect on the Regional performance trends summar ized in the other**  **graphs.**

**• RO Written Examination Pass-Rates • RO Written Examination Average Grades**  **• RO Operating Test Pass-Rates • RO Overall Pass-Rates**  **• SRO Written Examination Pass-Rates • SRO Written Examination Average Grades**  **• SRO Operating Test Pass-Rates • SRO-Only Written Examination Average Grades**  **• SRO-Only Written Examination Pass-Rates • SRO Overall Pass-Rates**  **• RO Written Examination Performance Trends**



### Operator Licensing Examination Schedules **See the operator licensing examination and requailification schedules for each of t he four regional**  **offices:**

**• Region I • Region II**  **• Region III • Region IV** 

**All the schedules are in portable document format (PDF). See our Plugins, Viewe rs, and Other Tools**  **page for more information. Page**  **3 of**  **4 NRC: Licensing Process for Operators** 

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