Self-paced NCCCO exam prep · Serving all 75 Arkansas counties

Get ready for your crane exams without leaving the Natural State job site

Arkansas Online Crane School is exam preparation you do on your own time. Operators, riggers and signal persons use it to get through the written side of a nationally accredited certification, whether they set steel in Rogers, unload barges on the Arkansas River or run a boom truck for a timber outfit near Crossett.

There is no classroom to drive to and no fixed class week. You open the lessons on a phone or laptop when the shift is over, work the practice questions, and move on when the material makes sense.

EnrollCrane Courses

Nine prep courses, matched to the card on the job ad

Each course lines up with a certification that Arkansas contractors, utilities and plants commonly ask for. Open a course to see which written and practical exams it prepares you for and who usually takes it.

  • Mobile Crane Operator

    Self-paced study for the NCCCO mobile crane Core and your LAT, TLL or TSS specialty, aimed at Arkansas operators on hydros, all-terrains and crawlers.

  • Tower Crane Operator

    Study for the single NCCCO tower crane written exam online, then test hands-on on a hammerhead, luffer or self-erector, as Bentonville and Little Rock projects keep adding cranes.

  • Articulating Crane Operator

    Written exam prep for the three NCCCO articulating crane designations, for Arkansas drivers dropping building materials, running log loaders or handling scrap with a grapple.

  • Rigger Level I

    Self-paced study for the NCCCO Rigger Level I written test, covering slings, hitches, hardware checks and signals for crew members who rig everyday picks with a known load weight.

  • Signalperson

    Study for the NCCCO Signalperson written test on any device, covering standard hand signals, voice and radio communication, crane behavior and the federal OSHA rules for directing a lift.

  • Service Truck Crane Operator

    Written exam prep for the restricted NCCCO Service Truck Crane credential, aimed at Arkansas mechanics who lift components with the crane on their service body.

  • Digger Derrick Operator

    Written exam prep for the NCCCO Digger Derrick Operator credential, for Arkansas line crews who set poles, rebuild after tornadoes and storms, and take on non-pole lifts.

  • Rigger Level II

    Online preparation for the NCCCO Rigger Level II written test, focused on the weight, balance-point and tension math a lead rigger needs when the load's numbers are not handed to them.

  • Crane Recertification

    A focused refresher for Arkansas operators renewing an NCCCO mobile crane certification, covering the core and specialty written tests, the renewal timeline and the 1,000-hour practical waiver.

No state crane license here, so the national card does the work

Arkansas does not license crane operators at the state level, and we found no city in Arkansas that issues its own crane license either. That does not mean anyone can climb into the cab. Construction lifting in Arkansas is governed by the federal crane rule, 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC, and section 1926.1427 calls for operators to hold a certification from an accredited testing organization and to be evaluated by their employer on the equipment they will actually run.

Signal persons and riggers have their own qualification rules in 1926.1428 and 1926.1425. Our Arkansas crane certification requirements guide lays out who needs what, step by step.

Federal OSHA enforces it, and the state offers free consultation

Arkansas has never adopted an OSHA State Plan. Private employers here answer to federal OSHA, handled through the Little Rock Area Office in OSHA Region 6. On the state side, the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing runs an OSHA Consultation program that visits private employers on request, free and confidential, and keeps its findings separate from enforcement.

For a contractor, that means certified operators and qualified riggers and signal persons are what an inspector will ask about after an incident, and what a general contractor will ask about before you get on site.

How the studying fits around Arkansas work

Spring storm season, river flooding and July heat all push crews into odd hours. A course you can pause on Tuesday night and pick up again Saturday morning keeps your exam date on track even when the weather moves the job.

The lessons cover what the written tests ask: load charts, setup on soft ground, wire rope and hardware, hand signals and the federal rules. The hands-on practical still has to be passed on a real crane at an accredited test site, and we will tell you plainly how that step usually gets arranged.

Flow chart showing the steps to an NCCCO crane certification, from study to recertification
Online prep covers the study step. The exams themselves go through the certifying body.

Who signs up

New to the trade? Our career guides walk through how to become a crane operator in Arkansas, what the written and practical exams involve, and what crane operators earn in Arkansas.

  • First-time operators chasing their first mobile, tower or articulating crane card
  • Certified operators within reach of the five-year recertification deadline
  • Riggers and signal persons who need to show they are qualified
  • Arkansas contractors and plants enrolling several workers at once

Find your county

Every one of Arkansas's 75 counties has its own page, covering the industries that hire crane crews there, ground and weather conditions worth knowing, and the certifications local work tends to call for.

Which certification does your job call for?

The Arkansas requirements guide explains operator certification, rigger and signal person qualification, federal OSHA's role here, and when quarry work falls under MSHA instead.

Open the requirements guide

Questions people ask

Is there an Arkansas crane operator license I have to get?

No. The state does not issue one. Employers and federal OSHA look for certification from an accredited body such as NCCCO, together with the employer's own evaluation of you on the crane you will operate.

Can the whole certification be done online?

The studying can, and written exams can often be taken through online proctored testing. The practical exam cannot. You operate a real crane in front of an examiner at a practical test site.

Which state agency handles crane safety in Arkansas?

Enforcement for private employers is federal OSHA, because Arkansas has no State Plan. The Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing offers free OSHA consultation visits to private employers, which do not result in citations.

Do you schedule the certification exams for me?

No. Exams are booked through the certifying body. When you enroll, an advisor explains how Arkansas candidates usually line up the written and practical exams.

How do I sign up?

Use the enrollment form. Say which certification you need and where in Arkansas you work, and an advisor will reply with the course that fits and how to begin.

Start your Arkansas crane certification prep

Name the card you need (operator, rigger or signal person) and the part of Arkansas you work in. An enrollment advisor writes back with the matching course and what the exam steps look like from there.

  • Self-paced lessons that open on any device, day or night
  • Practice questions written in the style of NCCCO written tests
  • Crew enrollment for Arkansas contractors and plants

Ask about enrollment

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