CCO’s Drill Rig Operator program certifies anchor and micropile rig operators under the designation AMP: a Drill Rig Operator Core written examination of 90 questions in 90 minutes and an AMP Specialty written examination of 45 questions in 45 minutes, with a corresponding practical examination, five-year certification, and all examinations completed inside a 12-month window. CCO publishes no Auger Boring Machine designation, and AMP in CCO’s system does not stand for one. PassProfessor’s program for this slot is in the works for the written examinations CCO actually publishes.
This program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog — join the notify list and we’ll email you when enrollment opens.
An anchor/micropile operator runs the compact, powerful rigs that install ground anchors, tiebacks, and micropiles — the small-diameter, high-capacity foundation elements that hold up excavation walls, stabilize slopes, and retrofit foundations where a full-size foundation rig cannot go. The work is precision drilling in tight, often urban sites: threading a rig between shoring and structure, drilling at angles a foundation rig never attempts, grouting under pressure, and keeping a hole open in ground that wants to close it. It is foundation work at surgical scale, and the written examinations test whether the operator understands the ground, the rig, and the plan before the steel goes in.
PassProfessor’s Anchor/Micropile Drill Rig Operator (AMP) program is in the works as part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog, organised on the written examination’s published domains so preparation follows the examination’s own architecture. This page states the credential’s verified facts — its examinations, its fees, its windows, and the component this program does not cover — exactly as the issuing body publishes them.
Which credential is this?
This page covers one credential only: the Anchor/Micropile Drill Rig Operator (AMP), issued by CCO (NCCCO). It is not a neighbouring designation, and the distinctions matter, because this family of credentials is deliberately granular — each designation certifies a defined machine, role, or function, and an employer or regulator asking for one is not asking for another. The facts table below is the credential’s identity card; the companion guide walks the route to it in full. Candidates should confirm, before any preparation begins, that this is the designation their employer, their site, or their licence actually requires — in this suite, the costliest preparation error is preparing thoroughly for the adjacent credential.
What will the program cover?
Practice in the examination’s own shape. The written examination for this credential is multiple-choice, and the program in the works practises in that shape throughout: timed sets at the examination’s pace, single-best-answer items, and section sets matched to the published outline’s structure. Candidates should arrive having already made their pacing mistakes in practice.
Written from the primary sources. The program is written from the candidate handbook and published outlines CCO (NCCCO) issues — the same documents the examination is built from. Where a handbook states a figure, the program teaches to the figure; where the published record is silent, the program says so rather than filling the gap.
The whole candidate, not only the test-taker. Around the item practice, the program carries the certification or licensing route as the issuing body publishes it — eligibility, the examinations, and the steps around them — because a written examination is a means to a credential, and candidates plan better when the destination is mapped.
Preparation only, with the boundary kept clear. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with CCO (NCCCO). No completion of this program is reported to the issuing body, and nothing in the program substitutes for any step in the certification or licensing process.
The written-only boundary, stated plainly
This credential also has a practical, hands-on component, and this program does not cover it. Required for certification — the AMP practical examination (pre-operational inspection, site safety protocols, controls identification, tool positioning, pipe pickup and placement, pipe laydown, drilling, safe shutdown). This program prepares candidates for the written examinations only; the practical examination is not covered Written preparation and practical readiness are different preparations: this program builds the first, thoroughly, and candidates must arrange the second — training, supervised practice, and the practical sitting itself — through the channels the issuing body publishes. No page in this program should be read as suggesting otherwise.
What are the verified facts of the credential?
| Fact of record | Detail |
|---|---|
| Designation | Anchor/Micropile Drill Rig Operator — designation code AMP in CCO’s Drill Rig Operator program, developed with ADSC, the International Association of Foundation Drilling |
| Name correction — read this first | CCO publishes no Auger Boring Machine Operator designation. In CCO’s Drill Rig Operator Candidate Handbook (DRO CH REV 01/25), AMP is the Anchor/Micropile Drill Rig specialty. This package is built to that published designation; the scoped working title is recorded in the package metadata and flagged for the coordinator |
| Certifying body | CCO — the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) |
| Written examinations | Two sittings: the Drill Rig Operator Core Examination (90 questions, 90 minutes) and the Anchor/Micropile Specialty Examination (45 questions, 45 minutes); calculator permitted, per the handbook’s written examination outline |
| Practical examination | Required for certification — the AMP practical examination (pre-operational inspection, site safety protocols, controls identification, tool positioning, pipe pickup and placement, pipe laydown, drilling, safe shutdown). This program prepares candidates for the written examinations only; the practical examination is not covered |
| Examination fees | Third-party fees paid to CCO under its published fee schedule: Core written $140; AMP Specialty written $80; practical $70 |
| Validity and window | Certification is valid for five years; candidates have 12 months after passing their first examination to pass the corresponding examinations for the designation |
| Eligibility | At least 18 years of age; pass the written and practical examinations; comply with CCO’s Substance Abuse Policy and Code of Ethics (handbook, Certification Policies) |
How does preparation map to the examination outline?
The published outline for this written examination organises the sitting as follows. Preparation in the program in the works is organised on the same domains.
| Examination domain | Weight / character |
|---|---|
| Pre-Operations and Site Conditions | About 23% of the Core test |
| Operations | About 34% of the Core test |
| Technical Knowledge | About 31% of the Core test |
| Tooling | About 4% of the Core test |
| Communications | About 8% of the Core test |
Pre-Operations and Site Conditions (About 23% of the Core test). Anchor and micropile work begins in ground the crew cannot see. Items test jobsite assessment: locating utilities above and below ground and reading their markings, verifying depths of existing foundations, judging ground bearing and platform stability, completing the job hazard analysis, and setting the rig’s controlled access zone before the mast goes up.
Operations (About 34% of the Core test). The largest Core block follows the rig through a working day: tramming to the drilling location, assembly and disassembly sequence, setting outriggers and stabilizing the base, centering over the shaft, drilling, and adjusting the procedure as soil, rock, groundwater, weather, or obstructions change the plan mid-hole.
Technical Knowledge (About 31% of the Core test). Candidates read capacity and stability charts, verify equipment specifications against the operator’s manual, explain rigging principles and working load limits for the auxiliary winch, inspect wire rope against removal criteria, and read gauges, levels, and hydraulic indications as diagnostic information rather than decoration.
Tooling (About 4% of the Core test). A short block with outsized field consequences: kelly bars and stubs, swivels, crowd systems, augers and drill tools for anchor and micropile work — what each tool does, how it is inspected, and how the wrong tool for the ground in front of the rig announces itself.
Communications (About 8% of the Core test). Drilling is crew work conducted over engine noise. Items cover coordinating with supervisors and project representatives, hand and voice communication during pipe handling, and the operator’s authority — and duty — to stop operations when the hole, the rig, or the site says stop.
Who earns this credential?
Candidates are foundation-drilling crew members stepping up from tender and laborer roles, operators cross-training from foundation rigs onto anchor work, and specialty contractors’ rig hands whose firms need certified operators for anchored excavation and micropile scopes. Many arrive with strong hands and thin paperwork habits; the written examinations are where the job’s invisible half — hazard analyses, utility verification, chart reading — is tested.
What is the route to the credential?
CCO’s route runs: meet the eligibility terms (18 or older, substance abuse policy, code of ethics), pass the Core written examination and the AMP Specialty written examination, and pass the AMP practical examination — all inside the 12-month window that starts when the first examination is passed. Certification then runs five years. This program prepares candidates for the two written sittings only.
What makes this examination demanding?
The demand is geological. A foundation rig operator reads a bore log; an anchor/micropile operator reads ground that changes within a single hole — fill over till over water-bearing sand — while working inches from structures the drilling must not disturb. The Core examination’s weight on site conditions and technical knowledge reflects that: nearly a quarter of the test is decided before drilling starts, and the specialty sitting assumes the candidate can reason about tooling, grout, and inclination, not merely recite rig controls.
An honest note on format
PassProfessor practice works in the format this examination uses — multiple-choice, timed at the examination’s pace. The issuing body does not release its examination items, and no provider can offer them. Practice results are a study gauge, not a prediction of a certification or licensing outcome, and the examination decision and the credential decision both belong to bodies other than PassProfessor.
How should you use this page while the program is in the works?
- Join the notify list today. Enrollment is not open yet, and the notify list is how you hear the moment it is. While you wait, read the exam guide — it walks the route, the outline domain by domain, the sitting itself, and a preparation plan in full.
- Confirm the designation before the syllabus. Read the ‘Which credential is this?’ section above twice if your background is in a neighbouring machine or role; in this suite, designations are atomic, and the wrong one is a wasted season.
- Plan the whole route, not only the sitting. The steps around the written examination — companion examinations, practical sittings this program does not cover, approval gates, and completion windows — have their own lead times, and candidates who start them during preparation do not lose a season to sequencing after a pass.
- Study from the primary documents alongside any preparation. The candidate handbook or licensing guidance and the published outline are the examination’s sources, and both are published for candidates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Anchor/Micropile Drill Rig Operator (AMP) credential? It is the credential this page covers: Anchor/Micropile Drill Rig Operator — designation code AMP in CCO’s Drill Rig Operator program, developed with ADSC, the International Association of Foundation Drilling. An anchor/micropile operator runs the compact, powerful rigs that install ground anchors, tiebacks, and micropiles — the small-diameter, high-capacity foundation elements that hold up excavation walls, stabilize slopes, and retrofit foundations where a full-size foundation rig cannot go. The issuing body is CCO (NCCCO).
Who issues the AMP drill rig credential? CCO (NCCCO). That body writes or administers the examination, sets the requirements, and makes the certification or licensing decision. PassProfessor prepares candidates for the written examination and has no part in the decision.
What written examination must candidates pass? Two sittings: the Drill Rig Operator Core Examination (90 questions, 90 minutes) and the Anchor/Micropile Specialty Examination (45 questions, 45 minutes); calculator permitted, per the handbook’s written examination outline
Is there a practical or hands-on examination? Required for certification — the AMP practical examination (pre-operational inspection, site safety protocols, controls identification, tool positioning, pipe pickup and placement, pipe laydown, drilling, safe shutdown). This program prepares candidates for the written examinations only; the practical examination is not covered
What is the passing standard? CCO sets the passing standard for its examinations by criterion-referenced standard setting and reports each candidate’s performance by domain. This page states no percentage figure for the standard, because CCO does not publish it as a simple percentage for this designation — inventing one would misstate the record.
What does the examination cost? Third-party fees paid to CCO under its published fee schedule: Core written $140; AMP Specialty written $80; practical $70 Those are third-party fees owed to the issuing body — not PassProfessor charges. This page prints no PassProfessor price.
How long does the credential last? Certification is valid for five years; candidates have 12 months after passing their first examination to pass the corresponding examinations for the designation
What will the PassProfessor program cover? The written examination named above — its published domains, its format, and its pacing — together with the certification or licensing route around it as the issuing body publishes it. Where the credential has a practical component, that component is not covered, and the program says so wherever the credential is described.
When will the PassProfessor program open? The program is in the works and enrollment is not open yet. Join the notify list on this page and you will be emailed when enrollment opens; the companion exam guide is available to read now for planning your preparation.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with CCO (NCCCO)? No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider and is not affiliated with CCO (NCCCO). Nothing in the program is reported to the issuing body, and completing preparation is not a step in the certification or licensing process.