Revised On: Sept. 11, 2023 - 8:45 p.m.

If you have considered transferring your water or wastewater certifications to the state of Arizona, you can apply for reciprocity. ADEQ only offers reciprocity like for like. This means if you are a certified Grade 1 Water Treatment operator in your state, ADEQ will only offer a Grade 1 Water Treatment. If you are a certified Grade 5 Wastewater Collection, ADEQ will offer a Grade 4 Wastewater Collection certification, as Grade 4 is our highest certification class | View Fact Sheet >

Application

Access the Operator Certification Portal and select RECIPROCITY. To complete the application, the application needs the operator's full name and contact information, copies of active certification(s), and submission of the review fee. If you are submitting a reciprocity application and your certificates are expiring in 3 months or less, please include proof of PDHS or CEUs with your application.  

Review Process 

Once an application has been submitted, please allow up to 30 days for ADEQ to finalize our review. A form will be sent to your certification home state to verify that the: 

• Certification was not earned by prior reciprocity. Operators must have earned the current certification(s) by passing approved examinations in their home state.
• Certification is active and in good standing.
• Applicant meets minimum standards expected of Arizona operators.

If approved, the Operator Certification Program will send the operator an approval email with a link to finalize the application. There is a certification fee for each approved certification. Once the application is finalized, the operator will be considered certified under ADEQ. Learn how to maintain your Arizona certification(s) | Learn more >

Application Fee

If an applicant wishes to apply for reciprocity, review the application review fee, new certification fee, and renewal fees | View Fees >

Military 

ADEQ grants reciprocity for water/wastewater operator certifications earned on a military base. The military generally has one grade of certifications, therefore, ADEQ will only grant Grade 1 certifications.