ATT2 Certification

What Is ATT2 Certification?

ATT2 - Aggregate Testing Technician, Level 2 - is a certification credential administered by the American Concrete Institute (ACI). It is delivered through ACI-approved sponsoring groups and examiners rather than directly through ACI's national office, which is why local pricing and scheduling can vary from one region to another. ATT2 sits above the entry-level ATT1 credential in ACI's aggregate testing track and is designed to verify that a technician can independently perform and interpret a broader set of standardized aggregate test methods used in concrete and asphalt materials testing.

If you're new to the credential entirely, the companion articles What Is ATT2? and What Is ATT2 Certification? walk through the basics in more depth. This article focuses on the mechanics: eligibility, exam structure, domains, fees, and renewal.

Prerequisites and Eligibility

ATT2 is not a standalone entry point. Certification requires that the candidate hold a current ACI Aggregate Testing Technician - Level 1 credential before sitting for the Level 2 exam. This staged structure means candidates are already familiar with basic aggregate sampling and testing concepts before tackling the more detailed standards covered at Level 2.

For a complete breakdown of eligibility rules, documentation, and how sponsoring groups verify your ATT1 status, see ATT2 Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Exam Format: Written and Performance Components

ATT2 certification requires passing two distinct components:

• Written examination: Open-book, using ACI-approved references only. It runs two hours and contains approximately 100 multiple-choice questions, with eight to 12 questions drawn from each of the ten standards in the Job-Task Analysis.
• Performance examination: Closed-book. Candidates must correctly demonstrate - or, where permitted, verbally describe - the prescribed procedure steps for the practical standards.

A simple-function, nonprogrammable pocket calculator is permitted during testing. Both components must be passed within a one-year window; if you fail one, you retake that component in full, while a passed component remains valid for use within that same year.

For a deeper look at how difficult candidates actually find each component, read How Hard Is the ATT2 Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026, and for how the two components differ in weighting and scope, see ATT2 Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 10 Content Areas.

The Ten ATT2 Study Domains

ATT2's content is built on ACI's Job-Task Analysis, approved September 30, 2024. It defines ten standards that make up the written exam, seven of which also appear on the performance exam. AASHTO T 96/ASTM C131, AASHTO T 104/ASTM C88, and ASTM C535 are written-examination-only - you won't demonstrate these physically, but you're still tested on their procedures, calculations, and specification limits.

Because eight to 12 questions come from each standard, no single domain dominates the written exam - but the seven practical domains carry extra weight since they also determine your performance exam outcome. A full breakdown of how these domains interact appears in ATT2 Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 10 Content Areas.

Passing Score Requirements

ATT2's scoring rule is stricter than a simple overall percentage. You must score:

• At least 60% on every individual standard - a strong score elsewhere cannot offset a weak score on one standard
• At least 70% overall across the entire written exam
• A pass on the separate, closed-book performance examination

This means a candidate could clear 70% overall and still fail the exam if any single standard drops below 60%. That structure rewards balanced preparation across all ten domains rather than cramming only the ones that seem most memorable. For the exact scoring mechanics and how ACI's sponsoring groups apply them, see ATT2 Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.

Registration, Sponsoring Groups, and Fees

ACI does not sell a single national ATT2 exam ticket; instead, ACI-approved sponsoring groups run their own sessions with their own pricing. Two published 2026 examples illustrate the range:

• ACI Intermountain Chapter (Utah): USD 500 for chapter members or USD 600 for nonmembers, bundling the study guide, review session, written exam, and performance exam.
• CRMCA at Denver's CDOT headquarters (Colorado): USD 598 for members or USD 928 for nonmembers for the full exam, with workbooks purchased separately, no exam-day training or review included, and a 3.05% credit-card processing fee.

These are local packages, not a fixed national ACI price - costs and inclusions differ by sponsoring group. If you plan to self-study rather than rely on a bundled review, ACI sells the standalone CP-45 seventh-edition workbook directly for USD 133 regular price or USD 69 for ACI members.

A full pricing comparison across sponsoring groups, plus how to estimate your total out-of-pocket cost including travel and retake fees, is covered in ATT2 Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. For scheduling logistics and how often sponsoring groups run sessions, see ATT2 Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

Building a Domain-Based Study Plan

Because the written exam draws evenly from ten standards and the performance exam covers seven of them hands-on, an effective study plan treats each domain as its own mini-unit rather than studying "aggregate testing" as one blob of material.

A short daily review of your CP-45 workbook sections beats one long cram session, since the 60%-per-standard rule punishes gaps more than it rewards overall strength. For a structured week-by-week plan built specifically around this scoring rule, see ATT2 Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and for a condensed reference during final review, use the ATT2 Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts. You can also run through timed practice questions on our practice test platform to identify which standards need more attention before exam day.

Certification Validity and Recertification

ATT2 certification lasts five years from the date it's granted. Recertification requires passing both the written and performance examinations again - there is no abbreviated renewal path or continuing-education substitute. This makes it worthwhile to keep your workbook and notes rather than discarding them once you first pass, since you'll need to refresh the same material in five years.

Who Hires ATT2-Certified Technicians

ATT2-certified technicians typically work for materials testing laboratories, concrete and aggregate producers, transportation departments, and construction quality-control firms that need staff qualified to run the full range of aggregate acceptance and quality tests referenced in state DOT specifications. Holding both ATT1 and ATT2 signals to employers that a technician can independently handle the more involved standards - sand equivalent, particle shape, soundness, and abrasion testing - without close supervision.

If you're weighing whether the credential is worth pursuing before you commit to the exam fees, Is the ATT2 Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 lays out the considerations, and ATT2 Jobs covers the kinds of roles that list this credential as a requirement or preference. For compensation context tied specifically to this credential, see ATT2 Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis.

If you're still deciding between training routes, ACI-approved sponsoring groups often run structured prep sessions - see ATT2 Training for what these typically cover. And once you've reviewed the fundamentals, testing yourself with realistic questions on our ATT2 practice exam site is one of the most direct ways to confirm you're meeting the 60%-per-standard threshold before exam day.

Frequently Asked Questions