Four multiple-choice papers: 3A1, 3A2, 3B1, and 3B2. SOPEEC, Alberta, and British Columbia publish 100 questions, 3 hours, and 65% on each paper. Ontario's TSSA 3rd Class question count and sitting length are still TODO. You already need a 4th class footing before this exam in the provinces reviewed here.
3rd Class Power Engineer certificate. Four SOPEEC papers. The province issues the certificate.
The November 2022 SOPEEC 3rd Class syllabus says four papers, each 3 hours, each 100 multiple-choice questions with four options, and 65% on each paper. ABSA and Technical Safety BC both print an effective-date note that matches that format. Ontario's TSSA 3rd Class guide was not checked for question count or sitting length.
Papers
TODO
3A1, 3A2, 3B1, and 3B2 on the national SOPEEC syllabus, on the ABSA page, and on the Technical Safety BC page.
Questions and time
TODO
100 multiple-choice questions and 3 hours on each paper, in most jurisdictions, on the SOPEEC, ABSA, and Technical Safety BC pages checked for this guide.
Pass mark
TODO
At least 65% on each paper. TSSA's operating engineer program uses the same 65%.
Ontario count and length
TODO
TODO. This page does not state an Ontario question count or sitting length, because TSSA's 3rd Class guide was not checked.
Older line still on the ABSA page
TODO
The ABSA Third Class page still describes 150 questions and 3.5 hours, and then says that effective 1 January 2023 the papers are 100 questions and 3 hours. This guide follows the January 2023 note.
TODO. Ontario 3rd Class question count and sitting length were not checked against TSSA's 3rd Class guide. National SOPEEC, Alberta, and British Columbia publish four exams, 100 multiple-choice questions with four options, 65% on each, and 3 hours in most jurisdictions.
Fees
The examination fee is charged by the province. Ontario is $89.00 per exam from 1 May 2026, plus HST, and each rewrite is a new exam. British Columbia matches 4th Class: $193 in person or $183 remote in 2026, then $203 or $192 from 1 January 2027, plus GST. Alberta uses the same $113.10 examination figure as 4th Class. Four papers means the calculator multiplies by four. That per-paper reading is TO-CONFIRM.
Alberta
Application and examination
TO-CONFIRM
ABSA examination · effective 1 November 2025
$113.10
Schedule G, item 5, of the ABSA fee schedule effective 1 November 2025: the fee payable for application and writing an examination is $113.10. The calculator treats that as one charge per paper per attempt. ABSA does not say that. Two 4th Class attempts are therefore shown as $452.40 before you confirm the reading.
TO-CONFIRM. ABSA Schedule G, effective 1 November 2025, lists $113.10 for application and writing an examination. It does not say that charge is once per paper. The calculator still multiplies by papers and attempts, so two 4th Class attempts are 4 × $113.10 = $452.40. Confirm that reading with exams@absa.ca before treating it as fact. The same caveat applies to 3rd Class.
Annual certificate registration
Checked
After you are certified · effective 1 November 2025
$37.75
Schedule G, item 2, effective 1 November 2025: the annual fee for registration of a Certificate of Competency is $37.75. This is separate from the examination fee.
Evaluation of qualification for power engineers is $130 in 2026 and $137 from 1 January 2027. It is one-time, non-refundable, and GST applies. The calculator uses the 2026 amount.
From 1 January 2027 this evaluation fee is $137, plus GST.
Digital in-person certificate of qualification exams for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th class are $193 per exam from 1 January 2026, and $203 from 1 January 2027. GST applies. The fee covers a new examination or a re-examination, and it is set by the date you write.
From 1 January 2027 the in-person fee is $203 per exam, plus GST. The calculator uses $193, the amount in effect on 15 October 2026.
Digital remote exams for 2nd through 5th class are $183 per exam from 1 January 2026, and $192 from 1 January 2027, plus GST, including re-examinations. The fee is set by the date you write.
From 1 January 2027 the remote fee is $192 per exam, plus GST. The calculator uses the 2026 amount of $183.
The 2026 schedule lists power engineer and pressure welder renewal at $128 per unit, GST applicable. The certification pages say power engineering certificates are renewed every 3 years. This guide does not call $128 an annual fee.
Holding a 4th class certificate is the common starting point. Experience for the 3rd class certificate is a separate test from permission to write.
Alberta
ABSA says you must hold a 4th Class Power Engineer's Certificate of Competency to take the 3rd Class examination.
For the certificate, ABSA publishes several employment paths. They include 12 months as chief, shift, assistant shift, or assistant engineer in a power plant that must staff those roles with at least a 4th class certificate; 12 months as chief engineer of a plant of oilfield once-through boilers over 1,000 kW; and 48 months in a heating plant over 3,000 kW while holding a 4th class certificate issued after 1 September 1998.
Shorter operating time can be combined with pressure-plant work or with design, construction, commissioning, installation, repair, maintenance, or operation of pressure equipment. Read the subclauses on the ABSA page before you count months.
ABSA says the Administrator may grant 6 months of credit toward the power-plant paths for a satisfactory 3rd class course or a satisfactory mechanical engineering degree, and 9 months for graduates of a satisfactory 2-year power engineering technology program. A satisfactory power engineering course can also reduce the long heating-plant path.
Ontario
The TSSA guide dated October 2024 says the practical operating training requirement is 1,920 hours as chief operating engineer in a 4th class plant, or 1,920 hours as a 4th class operating engineer in a 3rd, 2nd, or 1st class plant.
That guide sets 160 hours for candidates who completed a full-time TSSA approved-for-time-reduction 3rd class program.
At least 33% of qualifying experience time must be boiler operation at a registered plant. No more than 33% may be maintenance of regulated equipment.
The same guide says that from 14 June 2021 you may pursue the exams and the experience at the same time.
Experience from another Canadian jurisdiction has to match the boiler types and capacities in Table 3 of Ontario Regulation 219/01, and TSSA asks for a letter from the chief engineer with boiler details, dates, and the chief's certificate number.
British Columbia
Technical Safety BC lists general eligibility as a 4th Class certificate, a corresponding Canadian credential, or a 2nd Class or higher Marine Engineer (motor) certificate from Transport Canada.
You need four exams: 3A1, 3A2, 3B1, and 3B2. Evaluation comes after the exams and while you hold one of those credentials.
Published employment paths include 12 months as chief engineer of a 4th class power plant, 12 months as shift engineer of a 3rd class power plant, 12 months as assistant shift engineer of a 2nd class plant, 12 months as assistant engineer of a 1st or 2nd class plant, 24 months as chief of a 4th class heating plant, 24 months as shift engineer of a 4th class power or heating plant, 36 months as chief or shift engineer of a 4th or 3rd class plant that is not a power plant or heating plant, or a two-year full-time 3rd class diploma plus at least six months in a power plant of at least 100 m2 boiler capacity.
An approved 3rd class course, or a Canadian or equivalent mechanical engineering degree, reduces the employment periods by six months. Approved boiler-plant computer simulation in a diploma program can add a one-time three-month credit.
The application must be finished within 7 years of its creation date or Technical Safety BC closes it and forfeits the fees.
How to book
Alberta
Schedule each paper through cpecs.ca. New applicants create the account, then upload documents.
Help is exams@absa.ca or 1-888-454-3926.
The schedule's missing dates are full or inside the 5-business-day cutoff.
TODO. ABSA's general certification timeline says results are available within two working days of receipt at Edmonton or Calgary. That page's own last-modified stamp is 15 June 2022, and it was not re-checked as the current power engineer rule.
Ontario
Apply in the TSSA Client Portal. Book the sitting with Prometric after the eligibility email. Cancel at least 22 days ahead or the fee is forfeited.
From 1 May 2026 the examination is $89.00 plus HST. Each rewrite is a new exam, after 60 days.
Question count and sitting length on the Ontario 3rd Class guide were not checked. See the TODO in the format section.
British Columbia
Apply for the certificate in Online Services and wait for approval before you book.
Each paper is chosen by date, time, and location after you are eligible. Call 1-866-566-7233 if you need the phone path.
Fees match 4th Class. In 2026 that is $193 per exam in person or $183 remote, plus GST. From 1 January 2027 it is $203 or $192. The fee is set by the date you write. There is no refund once the exam is booked.
Rewrite rules
Alberta
ABSA publishes no fixed waiting period before you write a power engineer paper again.
Failing any 3 papers in succession disqualifies you from that exam for 6 months. Each further consecutive failure adds 6 months, and ABSA may impose up to 12 months.
After 1 failure you may schedule at most 2 papers ahead. After 2 consecutive failures, at most 1. Failures older than 2 years are not counted.
A passed paper counts for seven years, then it must be written again. Experience older than seven years is not accepted toward a higher certificate.
The calculator treats $113.10 as one charge per paper per attempt. ABSA's wording does not say that. See the TO-CONFIRM note.
TO-CONFIRM. ABSA Schedule G, effective 1 November 2025, lists $113.10 for application and writing an examination. It does not say that charge is once per paper. The calculator still multiplies by papers and attempts, so two 4th Class attempts are 4 × $113.10 = $452.40. Confirm that reading with exams@absa.ca before treating it as fact. The same caveat applies to 3rd Class.
Ontario
TSSA's operating engineer program, in the preparation guide dated 16 March 2026, allows a rewrite after 60 days. The pass mark for that program is 65% on each paper.
From 1 May 2026 the examination fee is $89.00 per exam, plus HST. Each rewrite is billed as a new exam.
Question count and sitting length for the Ontario 3rd Class papers were not checked. See the TODO in the format section.
TODO. Ontario 3rd Class question count and sitting length were not checked against TSSA's 3rd Class guide. National SOPEEC, Alberta, and British Columbia publish four exams, 100 multiple-choice questions with four options, 65% on each, and 3 hours in most jurisdictions.
British Columbia
You get three chances. Wait 30 days after a failure before you rebook. A fourth or later attempt needs permission.
You receive a notification letter with the mark and the weak areas.
The re-examination fee applies each time. Miss the cancellation cutoff, or miss the sitting, and you pay again.
Allowed references
The November 2022 3rd Class syllabus repeats the SOPEEC reference list. Confirm it with the jurisdiction before you travel.
The Act and regulations of the examining jurisdiction.
CSA B51 and CSA B52, or the extracts. This site does not copy those standards.
ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code except Sections VI and VII, or the 2007 or later academic extract and supplement. The 1983 extract is not recommended.
ASME/ANSI B31.1 and B31.3.
Formulae handbook, with steam tables and refrigeration tables normally provided.
Non-technical English dictionary provided by the jurisdiction, pens, pencils, drawing instruments, and a non-programmable calculator. Programmable calculators must have their memory cleared to the examiner's satisfaction.
Picture identification. No phone or other electronic communication device. No other material.
Syllabus headings to study
Names of the public syllabus sections, so you can follow the official PDF. This is not a copy of the syllabus.
3A1
Applied mathematics
Applied mechanics
Thermodynamics
Applied science, including chemistry, materials, and industrial drawings
3A2
Industrial legislation and the purpose of the named codes
ASME Section I code calculations
Fuels and combustion
Piping
Electrotechnology
Electrical calculations
Control instrumentation
Industrial safety and fire protection
3B1
Boilers
Boiler control systems
Feedwater treatment
Pumps
Welding procedures and inspection
Pressure vessels
3B2
Prime movers, including steam turbines, gas turbines, and internal combustion engines
Cogeneration
Compressors
The remaining 3B2 headings in the official syllabus, which this guide does not restate past the compressor section that was read
Study plan
Pick a pace
Both plans were written here. They are not issued by SOPEEC, Red Seal, or a provincial regulator. Ticks stay in this tab only. Put them on a calendar.
0 / 0 tasks
A four-week revision for someone who has already studied a 3rd class course. One paper per week is a heavy pace. It is not an official plan.
Week 13A1
Week 23A2
Week 33B1
Week 43B2 and a mixed review
Eight weeks, two weeks to a paper, for a candidate who already holds 4th class and has course notes. Not an official plan.
Week 13A1 mathematics and mechanics
Week 23A1 thermodynamics and science
Week 33A2 legislation, combustion, piping
Week 43A2 electrical, controls, safety
Week 53B1 boilers and controls
Week 63B1 water, pumps, welding, vessels
Week 73B2 prime movers and cogeneration
Week 83B2 compressors and a full pass
04 / Sample questions
Ten original questions
Pending review
Written for this site and pending review by a qualified person. Not past exam items, not copied from a code book, and not an official or certified exam bank. The interactive quiz needs JavaScript. The questions and answers are also in the page.
How many papers are in the current 3rd Class certificate examination?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four: 3A1, 3A2, 3B1, and 3B2
D. Eight
Answer and explanation
C. Four: 3A1, 3A2, 3B1, and 3B2
SOPEEC publishes four exams. ABSA and Technical Safety BC describe the same four papers. Ontario's TSSA 3rd Class guide was not checked for the paper count. 1st Class is outside this guide.
Which format note should you follow when an older sentence is still printed above it?
A. 150 questions and 3.5 hours, because it appears first on the ABSA page
B. 100 multiple-choice questions and 3 hours, the format ABSA dates to 1 January 2023 and the 2022 syllabus states
C. An essay on every paper
D. One combined score across all four papers
Answer and explanation
B. 100 multiple-choice questions and 3 hours, the format ABSA dates to 1 January 2023 and the 2022 syllabus states
The November 2022 syllabus, the ABSA note effective 1 January 2023, and the Technical Safety BC note effective 1 March 2023 describe 100 questions, 3 hours, and 65% on each paper. Ontario's TSSA 3rd Class guide was not checked for count or length.
In Alberta, what certificate must you hold to take the 3rd Class examination?
A. No certificate
B. A 5th Class certificate only
C. A 4th Class Power Engineer's Certificate of Competency
D. A Red Seal welder certificate
Answer and explanation
C. A 4th Class Power Engineer's Certificate of Competency
ABSA's Third Class page says a candidate must hold a 4th Class Power Engineer's Certificate of Competency to take the examination.
TSSA's operating engineer program allows a rewrite after how many days?
A. The next day
B. 30 days
C. 60 days
D. Seven years
Answer and explanation
C. 60 days
The preparation guide dated 16 March 2026 says 60 days for operating engineers. Technical Safety BC publishes 30 days and requires permission for a fourth attempt. Alberta publishes no fixed wait. Failing any 3 papers in a row is a 6-month disqualification from that exam, and each further consecutive failure adds 6 months.
ABSA says a passed power engineer paper can be counted toward certification for:
A. One year
B. Three years
C. Seven years from the date it was passed
D. As long as the certificate stays registered
Answer and explanation
C. Seven years from the date it was passed
ABSA's power engineer FAQ sets a seven-year limit on passed papers and on operating experience used for higher certification.
Which reference is on the SOPEEC 3rd Class allowed list?
A. A personal summary binder
B. CSA B51, shown to the examiner
C. A phone calculator
D. The 1983 academic extract as the preferred code
Answer and explanation
B. CSA B51, shown to the examiner
CSA B51 is on the list. Personal binders and phones are not. SOPEEC says the 1983 extract is outdated and is not recommended.
Technical Safety BC's published general eligibility for 3rd Class includes which of these?
A. A 4th Class certificate
B. A ski lift mechanic certificate
C. A welder Red Seal only
D. No prior certificate, if you pay a higher fee
Answer and explanation
A. A 4th Class certificate
The Technical Safety BC Third Class page lists a 4th Class certificate, a corresponding Canadian credential, or a 2nd Class or higher Marine Engineer (motor) certificate.
The TSSA October 2024 guide's full practical operating time for 3rd class, before a time-reduction program, is:
A. 160 hours
B. 480 hours
C. 1,920 hours
D. 6,000 hours
Answer and explanation
C. 1,920 hours
The guide says 1,920 hours in the roles it names. The 160-hour figure is the reduced time after a full-time TSSA approved-for-time-reduction 3rd class program. 6,000 hours is a ski lift mechanic table figure, not this exam.
On a multiple-choice SOPEEC paper, SOPEEC's own advice if you are unsure is to:
A. Leave every unsure item blank and stop
B. Eliminate the wrong answers and favour the safer procedure
C. Ask the examiner to explain the question
D. Use your phone to check one formula
Answer and explanation
B. Eliminate the wrong answers and favour the safer procedure
The SOPEEC general exam page says that if you are not sure, eliminate the wrong answers and focus on the best or a safe procedure. Phones are prohibited.
SteamTicket's stated coverage, for someone who wants more than these 10 questions, includes:
A. Only welder Red Seal
B. SOPEEC power engineering from 4th Class through 1st Class
C. A ranked list of other people's prep courses
D. Ski lift mechanic exams
Answer and explanation
B. SOPEEC power engineering from 4th Class through 1st Class
SteamTicket is Nick Hesson's app for SOPEEC power engineering, 4th Class through 1st Class, and for Red Seal 313A. Ski lift practice is the separate SkiLiftQuiz app, which is not launched. This site does not rank other prep tools.
FAQ
FAQ
Can I write 3rd Class before I finish the experience? +
In Ontario, the October 2024 TSSA guide says that from 14 June 2021 you may pursue exams and experience at the same time. In Alberta you need the 4th class certificate to write, and the experience is required for the 3rd class certificate. In British Columbia you apply and get approval before booking, and the experience evaluation is after the exams. Read the provincial page for your file.
Do all four papers have to be passed before any of them expire? +
In Alberta, ABSA says each passed paper is valid for seven years from the day it was passed. Budget the four papers inside that window. British Columbia's application file closes after seven years. The five-year certificate deadline was read on the TSSA 4th Class guide, not on a 3rd Class guide, so this page does not state it for Ontario 3rd Class.
Is 3rd Class still an essay exam? +
Not on the sources reviewed for this guide. The current papers are multiple choice. Essay technique on the SOPEEC general page is for the papers that are still long-answer.
Are these sample questions official? +
No. SOPEEC publishes its own style samples and says they are not study material. The questions on this page were written here and are not those samples.
TODO. Ontario 3rd Class question count and sitting length were not checked against TSSA's 3rd Class guide. National SOPEEC, Alberta, and British Columbia publish four exams, 100 multiple-choice questions with four options, 65% on each, and 3 hours in most jurisdictions.
TODO. ABSA's general certification timeline says results are available within two working days of receipt at Edmonton or Calgary. That page's own last-modified stamp is 15 June 2022, and it was not re-checked as the current power engineer rule.
TO-CONFIRM. ABSA Schedule G, effective 1 November 2025, lists $113.10 for application and writing an examination. It does not say that charge is once per paper. The calculator still multiplies by papers and attempts, so two 4th Class attempts are 4 × $113.10 = $452.40. Confirm that reading with exams@absa.ca before treating it as fact. The same caveat applies to 3rd Class.