Four rungs, mirroring
ISO 18436-2.
TCAT's category structure maps one for one onto the categories ISO 18436-2 defines for vibration analysts. TCAT is a TIERA-issued credential aligned with the ISO 18436-2 body of knowledge. It is not an accredited ISO certification, TIERA is not an ISO certification body, and TCAT training hours do not count towards the formal training an accredited ISO 18436 certification requires.
Which category you can enter depends on your experience — not on where you started.
TCAT is a mature-entry scheme. Verified experience alone gates Categories I and II, so an experienced analyst is not made to sit Category I first. Categories III and IV additionally require the category below.
Category I
Category I is the first rung of the TCAT credential. Entry is on verified work experience alone — no prior TCAT category is required.
EntryVerified experience only. No prior TCAT category required.
Category II
Category II is the rung TIERA is building first. Like Category I, entry is on verified work experience alone: an experienced analyst is not made to sit Category I first.
EntryVerified experience only. No prior TCAT category required.
Category III
Category III sits above Category II. Entry needs verified work experience and a held TCAT Category II — this is the point on the ladder where the category below stops being optional.
EntryVerified experience AND a held TCAT Category II.
Category IV
Category IV is the top of the TCAT ladder. Entry needs verified work experience and a held TCAT Category III.
EntryVerified experience AND a held TCAT Category III.
What does not change between rungs.
Experience is verified
Every category needs an employer or supervisor confirmation of field experience, checked by a person at TIERA before exam entitlement unlocks. How entry works.
Two assessed components
Knowledge items and graded diagnostic tasks, each passed on its own cut score. How assessment works.
Issued by TIERA
Aligned with the ISO 18436-2 body of knowledge, issued by TIERA, not by an accreditation body. Where this sits.
TCAT is a TIERA-issued credential aligned with the ISO 18436-2 body of knowledge. It is not an accredited ISO certification, TIERA is not an ISO certification body, and TCAT training hours do not count towards the formal training an accredited ISO 18436 certification requires.
No topic lists here yet.
The topic-by-topic syllabus for Categories I to IV is being authored. Until it is finished, no category page lists topics: a topic list on a paid credential page is a promise about what will be taught and examined, and we are not making that promise from a draft.
What is already decided — the entry route, the gating between categories and the two-component assessment — is published in full on the pages above.
Want the syllabus when it is published?
Tell us which category you are aiming at and we will let you know when its syllabus and enrolment open.