Certification Programs (CET, CAT, QEI) - CET: Certified Elevator Technician
The CET (Certified Elevator Technician) credential is the general-industry mark for technicians who install, maintain, repair, and modernize elevators and escalators. Items in this part of the Certification Programs domain ask what the credential covers, who is eligible, and how it is kept current - not how to wire a particular controller.
What the CET validates
- Trade competence on traction and hydraulic elevators, escalators, and moving walks: door operators, roping, governors, safeties, buffers, and drives.
- Working knowledge of ASME A17.1/CSA B44 as the governing safety code for new and altered equipment, plus jobsite safety practice.
- The ability to read and apply code requirements during maintenance, testing, and repair - not to act as the regulator's inspector.
Eligibility and maintenance
- Documented field experience attested by an employer, plus completion of the NAEC CET training curriculum.
- A proctored written examination; the credential is time-limited and renewed through continuing education, so a lapsed CET is no longer a CET.
Worked example
A mechanic with four years on hydraulic private-residence units applies for recognition in order to move into commercial traction maintenance. The correct answer is CET: the target work is commercial elevating equipment governed by A17.1/B44 and sits outside the accessibility and residential scope of CAT. Choosing CAT because "that is what I have worked on" is the classic wrong answer - you match the credential to the equipment and code scope of the job being sought, not to past experience alone.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating a CET as an inspector. Code-mandated inspections and certificates belong to the QEI and authority-having-jurisdiction side.
- Confusing certification with licensure. A state or local license is a separate requirement in many jurisdictions.
- Assuming CET covers accessibility lifts; stairway chairlifts and platform lifts are CAT territory.