CPO Certification in Missouri

The state’s lodging rule, 19 CSR 20-3.050, covers pools and spas at hotels and motels. It sets water quality and record keeping standards and requires a certified lifeguard at larger pools, but it does not require a certified pool operator.

Operator rules come from local codes. St. Charles County (County Code section 233.120) requires every permitted aquatic facility to have at least one nationally certified pool operator on staff, on the property at least a third of operating hours. The person who looks after the water has to complete a nationally recognized course of at least 16 hours that the county approves, and pass a test.

Kansas City, St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis each have their own swimming pool ordinances. If your pool is in one of them, that health department decides which operator credential it accepts.

One online course and one live test day.

You do the PHTA CPO Fusion coursework online at your own pace, about 6 hours for most people, then join Samuel on Zoom for one live test day. Test days run every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday at 9:00 AM Pacific (11 AM Central). Pass the 50-question exam and Samuel issues your certificate the same day from the PHTA instructor portal. It is good for five years.

St. Charles County and the City of Kansas City are two places where a fully online class does not satisfy the local health department, so checkout won’t sell a virtual seat to anyone who lives or works in either one. Call Samuel about an on-site class for your team. We don’t know of another Missouri jurisdiction that turns the virtual class down, but if your city or county has its own pool code, ask your inspector.

$395 covers the course, the printed PHTA handbook, the live test day, the proctored exam, the certification, two retakes proctored by Samuel (PHTA charges $75 per retake), a free copy of The Pool Operator Playbook, and lifetime access to the CPO PRO operator community.