NCCCO written test: passing score, test sites and online testing
For mobile crane operator certification, you need the Core written exam, the written specialty for your designation and the matching practical exam. Choosing a location is a separate decision from choosing the crane designation. Start with the required exams, then compare the testing options available through CCO.
This guide covers mobile crane operator testing. Other CCO programs have their own requirements. Read the Core written guide for preparation scope and the certification requirements guide for the wider route.
What is the NCCCO written test passing score?
The current Mobile Crane Operator Candidate Handbook, cover revision 01/25, checked 17 Oct 2026, does not state a numeric written passing score or score scale. Check CCO's current instructions for your exact exam and rely on its score report for your result.
Older CCO publications explain why a number found online needs context. The August 2020 mobile crane handbook described a scaled score of 70 as the written passing standard. It explicitly distinguished that score from the number of questions answered correctly. That is historical documentation, not confirmation of today's threshold.
Do not turn “70” into “70% correct,” calculate a permitted number of wrong answers from it, or use a practice percentage as a certification prediction. A scaled score and a raw percentage describe different things. Keep your preparation target focused on explaining the published topics and completing calculations consistently, rather than aiming at an unverified minimum.
Where are NCCCO written test locations near me?
CCO's 2026 handbook testing guidance, in its general written-testing section, directs candidates to myCCO for Test Center Testing locations and Event Online Testing options. That document is a crane inspector handbook; use its general location-finding instructions, then confirm availability for your mobile crane exams in the portal.
Use the myCCO portal linked in CCO's mobile crane application guidance. For your own booking:
- Select the exact Core and specialty exams you need.
- Compare available Test Center Testing locations with your travel range.
- Check Event Online Testing listings if you want an organized local event.
- Confirm the address, date, start time and exams included before arranging transport or leave from work.
A search result for a nearby training company is not an appointment confirmation. Ask whether the advertised date is a class, a written test event, a practical test or a package containing several services. Keep each booking and authorization together so that you arrive at the right site for the right exam.
Can you take the written test online?
✓ CCO's mobile crane certification brochure describes Online Proctored Testing (OPT) using your own internet-connected computer, monitored by a live online proctor. It also describes Event Online Testing (EOT) at an authorized CCO site. “Online” therefore does not always mean taking the exam at home.
Test Center Testing (TCT) uses a professional testing-center computer environment. EOT usually brings a group to an employer or training-provider facility. OPT depends on your own equipment and testing space. CCO's 2026 general guidance describes all three options; confirm the options offered for your selected exams when scheduling.
Before choosing OPT, check the current computer, webcam, microphone, connectivity and room requirements through CCO's testing instructions and your scheduling authorization. Run the prescribed equipment check on the computer and connection you will actually use. If a work laptop restricts software installation, resolve that before booking. Avoid relying on hardware specifications copied from an older brochure.
How does NCCCO practical test scoring work?
✓ The current mobile crane handbook publishes deduction categories and optimum times for practical tasks. It explains that exceeding an optimum time causes gradual point deductions and that unsafe acts can disqualify a candidate from continuing. These are performance assessments, separate from the written exam.
The older August 2020 handbook published a practical passing score of 75, but the checked 01/25 handbook does not state that numeric threshold. Confirm the current standard with CCO rather than treating the older number as today's policy. The published material does not justify inventing a complete point formula or a universal number of allowable errors.
Use the current handbook's candidate instructions and qualified practical instruction for that part of the route. Boom Angle covers written preparation; a written diagnostic does not assess hands-on crane operation.
Put the bookings and study plan together
Record your first passing exam date and designation. The current mobile crane handbook gives 12 months to pass the corresponding exams after that first pass. Leave time for separate written and practical arrangements, and use the cost and retakes guide to budget another attempt.
Try the written diagnostic to identify topics to revisit before selecting a test date. Keep that study feedback separate from CCO's certification result.
Sources
Show the list
- Mobile Crane Operator Candidate Handbook, CCO, cover revision 01/25, printed pages 1 and 5–8. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026.
- Mobile Crane Operator Candidate Handbook, August 2020, CCO, printed pages 11 and 19. Historical scoring information only. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026.
- Crane Inspector Candidate Handbook, CCO, revision 2026-01, general written testing and location guidance, printed pages 5–6. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026.
- Mobile Crane Operator Certification: Six Steps, CCO, revision 02/23, OPT/EOT descriptions and myCCO link. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026; check current scheduling instructions before booking.
Facts checked 17 October 2026 against the sources listed above. If something has changed, tell us and we will correct it within 2 business days.
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