State requirements

Which cert does your state accept for the pool-operator job?

The CPO exam is national, but whether your workplace needs a certified operator, and which certification counts, is set state by state (and often county by county). Each row below is verified against that state's own health regulation and links to the full, cited page. We publish a state only after confirming it against the primary source, so this list grows as we verify, never as a name-swapped template.

A checklist on a clipboard under a location pin, with a magnifying glass reviewing one checked row, standing in for confirming a requirement against its own jurisdiction's primary source. — Every row here is checked against that jurisdiction's own regulation before it publishes.

Pool-operator requirement by state 51 verified

					View state page
Alabama	Local rule	Accepted	Local	Accepted	View
Alaska	Required	Accepted	Not named	Accepted	View
Arizona	Local rule	Accepted	Local	Accepted	View
Arkansas	Not required	Accepted	Not named	Accepted	View
California	Local rule	Local	Local	Local	View
Colorado	Required	Accepted	Accepted	Accepted	View
Connecticut	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Delaware	Required	Accepted	Not named	Accepted	View
District of Columbia	Required	Not named	Not named	Accepted	View
Florida	Conditional	Not named	Not named	Accepted	View
Georgia	Required	Not named	Not named	Accepted	View
Hawaii	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Idaho	Local rule	Local	Local	Local	View
Illinois	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Indiana	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Iowa	Required	Accepted	Accepted	Not named	View
Kansas	Local rule	Local	Local	Local	View
Kentucky	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Louisiana	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Maine	Required	Accepted	Not named	Accepted	View
Maryland	Required	Not named	Not named	Accepted	View
Massachusetts	Local rule	Local	Local	Local	View
Michigan	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Minnesota	Required	Accepted	Accepted	Accepted	View
Mississippi	Local rule	Local	Local	Local	View
Missouri	Local rule	Local	Local	Local	View
Montana	Required	Accepted	Not named	Accepted	View
Nebraska	Required	Not named	Not named	Accepted	View
Nevada	Required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
New Hampshire	Required	Accepted	Not named	Accepted	View
New Jersey	Required	Accepted	Accepted	Accepted	View
New Mexico	Required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
New York	Conditional	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
North Carolina	Conditional	Accepted	Not named	Accepted	View
North Dakota	Local rule	Local	Local	Local	View
Ohio	Conditional	Not named	Not named	Accepted	View
Oklahoma	Required	Accepted	Not named	Accepted	View
Oregon	Required	Accepted	Accepted	Not named	View
Pennsylvania	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Rhode Island	Conditional	Accepted	Not named	Not named	View
South Carolina	Required	Not named	Not named	Accepted	View
South Dakota	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Tennessee	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Texas	Required	Accepted	Accepted	Accepted	View
Utah	Required	Not named	Not named	Accepted	View
Vermont	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Virginia	Not required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
Washington	Required	Not named	Not named	Not named	View
West Virginia	Required	Accepted	Accepted	Accepted	View
Wisconsin	Conditional	Accepted	Accepted	Accepted	View
Wyoming	Required	Accepted	Accepted	Accepted	View

New to the credential itself? Start with how to become a CPO, compare the two national credentials against a state card in the CPO vs AFO vs state-cert matrix (or the head-to-head CPO vs AFO guide), see which states run their own certification, and drill the pool math the exam actually tests. Many states here point to the CDC Model Aquatic Health Code as their baseline.

State pool-operator requirements: quick answers

Does every state require a certified pool operator?

No. Some states set a statewide certified-operator mandate, some delegate the decision to county or city health departments (a Local row in the table above), and a few name no certification requirement at all. Check your state's row above, then confirm with the linked state page and your local health department if it reads Local.

What does it mean when a state accepts CPO but not AFO, or the reverse?

It means that state's health code names one national credential by name and does not recognize the other, even though the CPO and AFO cover the same core water-chemistry and pool-math content. Some states accept either, some name only one, and some accept a state-specific certification instead. The table above shows exactly which credentials each verified state accepts.