Arkansas wastewater operators
The steps from no license to an Arkansas wastewater operator license, how to qualify for and pass the exam, how to keep your license active and what operators earn. Every requirement links to the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Wastewater Operator Licensing Program or its rule, 8 CAR pt. 22 (formerly Rule 3).
DEQ makes the final eligibility determination. Check with DEQ before you apply.
Why it matters
All wastewater treatment plants in Arkansas must have a properly licensed operator. Under Arkansas law it is unlawful to do the work of a wastewater treatment plant operator without a license.
Every plant owner must employ a licensed operator whose license class is at least equal to the plant's class, and that operator makes the operating decisions for the plant.
Anyone whose regular job duties may directly affect how the plant runs must get a license. An official who only supervises in a general administrative way is not counted as an operator.
A wastewater treatment plant includes any plant, disposal field, lagoon, pumping station or other works that treats sewage or other wastewater, or handles its sludge, and either discharges to Arkansas waters or land-applies municipal wastewater.
If you have never held an Arkansas wastewater license, you can get a one-time Apprentice license for up to six months. It lets you work for a facility as its operator while you work toward your license.
Arkansas has two kinds of wastewater license. Municipal licenses are Apprentice and Class I to IV. Industrial licenses are Apprentice, Basic and Advanced. You can hold both kinds, but you must meet the requirements for each.
A municipal plant's class comes from rating points for its size and each treatment process, such as lift stations, lagoons, activated sludge, disinfection and sludge treatment. Class I is 1 to 25 points (and single homes that treat only their own sewage), Class II is 26 to 49, Class III is 50 to 74 and Class IV is 75 or more.
An industrial plant is a privately owned plant that treats wastes from industry, manufacturing, trade or business. Basic industrial plants include car washes, sedimentation, oil and grease separation, pH adjustment and aeration ponds. Advanced industrial plants include activated sludge, metal finishing waste, clarification with chemicals and dissolved air flotation.
DEQ's list of licenses has no separate collection system license. The rule counts lift stations toward a municipal plant's rating points.
DEQ has asked the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission to revise the rule (Docket 26-001-R, filed September 11, 2026). The proposal would extend the Apprentice license to nine months, add course and time-held requirements for Class II to IV, and change some exam, fee and renewal rules. Check the docket before you plan.
Step 1
DEQ runs the licensing program through its online system, SEEK. Every operator must create a SEEK account, and the license, exam, reciprocity and renewal applications are all in SEEK.
After you create the account and verify your email, set up your electronic signature in SEEK. DEQ's Quick Start Instructions walk you through both, and you can check your license status in your SEEK account.
Step 2
For a Class I license you need a high school diploma, GED or equivalent and 40 hours of approved training. A Basic industrial license needs the same education and 12 hours of approved training.
Training must be approved by the Wastewater Licensing Committee. DEQ lists the Arkansas Environmental Training Academy (AETA) and the Arkansas Rural Water Association (ARWA) as training providers; contact them for courses, registration and their fees.
College courses with a grade of C or better can count toward training hours. For example, one undergraduate semester hour of a directly related class such as biology or chemistry counts as 4 training hours. Sacramento State (CSU-S) wastewater correspondence courses count 4 hours per chapter of each completed volume.
Step 3
Apply for the exam in your SEEK account. The exam schedule is in the application.
DEQ must receive and process your application and fee at least five business days before the exam date, or at least 30 days before for the Municipal Class IV exam. Exam fees are not refundable.
The exam and licensing fees are set in the rule, and the proposed revision would change how they are charged, so check the current fee in SEEK or with DEQ before you apply.
An application can be denied if you give false information on it.
Step 4
A score of 70% or higher passes, and DEQ awards the license to those who pass.
Once you pass, and meet the education, training and experience for the next class, you can take the next exam without a waiting period.
Class II needs a Class I license, 80 total training hours and two years of experience. Class III needs a Class II license, 120 hours and three years (one in plant operation). Class IV needs a Class III license held at least three years, 200 hours and six years of experience, with at least two in direct charge of a plant or one of its major components.
An Advanced industrial license needs a Basic industrial license and 24 hours of approved training.
Step 5
Licenses run for two years, July 1 to June 30. You renew without an exam once you meet the training requirement, using the Wastewater Renewal form in SEEK.
Each two-year period you need at least 24 hours (2.4 CEUs) of approved training. At least 12 hours must be directly about wastewater: treatment processes, collection, pumping or management. The rest can be related subjects such as water treatment and distribution, plumbing inspection or cross-connection control.
Renewal training also counts toward the hours you need for a higher class.
The renewal fee is $40 for each license, and a $10 late fee applies after the due date. If you hold a municipal and an industrial license, the same training hours count for both, but you pay a renewal fee for each.
If your license has been expired for over a year, you must pass a new exam before DEQ will consider licensing you again. The Wastewater Licensing Committee decides the class.
Exam day
Every municipal class and both industrial levels have their own exam. You pass with a score of 70% or higher.
In 2026 DEQ gives Class I to III, Basic and Advanced industrial exams at its headquarters on set Fridays at 8:30 am or 1:00 pm, and the Class IV exam four times a year. Class I, II, III and industrial exams are also given in towns around the state on the dates in the exam schedule.
If you do not pass, you can retake the exam after a three-month wait.
To appeal a score, write to the committee's executive secretary at DEQ within 30 days of getting it. DEQ sets a time for you to review the exam, and if that does not settle it, the appeal can go to the Wastewater Licensing Committee.
DEQ says course content and formula sheets are available for the municipal and industrial licenses. Ask the Wastewater Licensing Help Desk how to get them.
DEQ gives the Arkansas licensing exams, and the DEQ pages we could read do not say who writes them, how many questions they have or how long you get. Operator Master's free practice questions, timed practice exam and math help are built on the WPI exam format and the WPI formula table, so use them for general wastewater knowledge and math, and ask DEQ's Wastewater Licensing Help Desk for the Arkansas course content and formula sheets. Operator Master is an independent study tool, not the official exam.
Pay
The median pay for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Arkansas was $44,320 a year ($21.31 an hour) in 2025, compared with $60,020 nationally. One in ten earned $31,480 or less, and one in ten earned $61,780 or more.
These federal figures cover drinking water and wastewater operators together, at every class. Pay for a new operator is usually nearer the low end.
Moving up
Every municipal class also needs a high school diploma, GED or equivalent and a passed exam, and Class II to IV need the license one class below. Training hours are totals, not added per class. Industrial licenses: Basic needs 12 hours of approved training; Advanced needs a Basic license and 24 hours.
From another state
If you hold a wastewater license in another state, the Wastewater Licensing Committee can grant an Arkansas license case by case, based on your current credentials.
You must have the training and experience for the Arkansas class you want, have passed a written exam given by the authority that licensed you, and be licensed by an authority that recognizes Arkansas's program. Send the reciprocity application in SEEK with the $40 research fee.
The committee compares each state's exam and requirements. In 2025 it granted some operators with a top-class license from another state an Arkansas Class III license and let them take the Class IV exam at any time.
