Beginning in April, courses and exams for Certified Landscape Irrigation Auditor and Certified Golf Irrigation Auditor will no longer be required to be linked. The courses and exams may still be offered together, but it will not be mandatory that the class and exam be provided or taken as a unit, said James Dowd, IA certification board chairman. In addition, CLIA and CGIA candidates must verify that they have at least one year of field experience and submit an independently completed audit verified by an Irrigation Association auditor in good standing.

The labeling program will raise consumer awareness of water efficiency and the importance of certification in the same way the Energy Star label raised awareness of energy efficient products.

Professionals with WaterSense approved IA certifications will be eligible to be WaterSense partners and use the WaterSense label as well as the IA certification logo.

To offer an exam, download the exam site agreement from the IA Web site, complete it and mail it to the IA at least 60 days in advance. For additional information, write certification@irrigation.org

The exam site agreement is available at https://www.irrigation.org/certification/pdf/exam_agreement.pdf