In-Building Public Safety Communications (IB-PSC)

NICET has updated the In-Building Public Safety Communications (IB-PSC) exams on December 2nd 2024. Questions that were previously referencing NFPA 1221 (2019) have been updated to NFPA 1225 (2022).

Applications are now done electronically in the NICET portal. Please log into your NICET account or if you are a first time applicant, create one here.
 

Certification Requirements
Application Procedures
Performance Measures

Take a Practice Test

Level I
Level II
Level III
Design

Listing of references allowed in testing centers and other resources that might be useful in preparing for an exam.

Level I
Level II
Level III
Design

Title Page - Edit and print this page with the information about the reference, according to the standard

Take a Practice Test

Standard Model Programs

What is the Test Like?

To apply, click here.

NOTE:

You will be required to sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) to begin your exam. Failure to accept will result in a failed score and fees will be forfeited. The NDA that will be displayed is:

“You must accept the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) below in order to take this exam.

I understand that NICET tests and test questions are owned and copyrighted by NICET and affirm that I will not share the content of any NICET examination with any other person. I acknowledge that divulging the contents of this examination to others in any manner is expressly forbidden and may subject me to sanctions.”

 

Test Time

Your appointment time will be 10 minutes longer to cover an introductory tutorial section before your exam begins. Any unused time will NOT extend the time allotted for answering exam questions.

Exams with scheduled breaks will be marked with an asterisk in the list above. Outside of these scheduled breaks, candidates taking any exam at any level may take unscheduled breaks, but the exam clock will continue to run.

 

Calculators

A calculator is built into the exam. Please see the CBT Calculator Preview for information about the onscreen calculator. Candidates may not bring any personal calculators into the testing room.

Applicants with a disability as defined in Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act who may be placed at a disadvantage when taking a NICET certification examination may request a testing accommodation by contacting test@nicet.org prior to scheduling testing. Each request will be evaluated individually and every effort will be made to offer reasonable accommodations to qualifying applicants. There will be no additional charges to qualifying applicants for these accommodations. NICET will contact the applicant to arrange a mutually suitable accommodation.

Job Task Analysis

The program was developed in cooperation with the Safer Buildings Coalition. In January 2020, a group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) met to perform a Job Task Analysis (JTA) for the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies’ (NICET) In-Building Public Safety Communications (IBPSC) Certification. During the JTA, the meeting participants identified all of the duties and tasks performed by IBPSC professionals, as well as the underlying knowledge, skills, abilities, and attributes required to perform those tasks. Although there are multiple methods for conducting job analyses, for this job analysis the DACUM method was used. DACUM, an acronym for Developing A CurriculUM, is a JTA process that analyzes a job role or a profession systematically.

Validation Survey

Following the meeting, two online surveys were created to validate the results of the JTA and finalize an examination blueprint for the development of a certification program for those working with In-Building Emergency Responder Communication Enhancement Systems. The online survey was administered to IBPSC professionals across the United States. Survey participants were asked to rate each of the job tasks using two rating scales – time spent and task importance. A total of 246 In-Building Emergency Responder Communication Enhancement Systems professionals responded to the surveys.

Post-Survey Review Meeting

Following completion of the survey validation study, members of the DACUM committee reviewed the results from the study and finalized examination blueprints, including the number of items that should be on the credentialing exam.

Click here for an excerpt from the JTA report that shows the content outlines and the knowledge, skills and abilities for domain/sub-domain at each level.