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State & POST certification pathways.

A state-by-state list of 911 telecommunicator certification requirements, including who runs the program and where to start. Sorted alphabetically; jump to yours below.

Read this before you rely on any of it. This directory was compiled through AI-assisted research against primary state statutes and agency sites, checked as of September 2026. Laws change, agencies reorganize, and a couple of primary sources blocked automated verification (noted inline where that happened). Treat this as a starting point, not a compliance document: confirm directly with your state's certifying body before making a hiring or training decision on it.

All 50 states

Alaska

No general state-level mandate found

General telecommunicator certification is left to the municipality. The only state rule found is EMD-specific (≥24 hours) for staff giving pre-arrival medical instructions.

Arizona

No state-level mandate found

AZPOST's governing statute is scoped to peace officers, not dispatchers. A 120-hour Public Safety Dispatcher Basic Course exists and is widely used, but isn't legally mandatory statewide. AZPOST's own site (post.az.gov) blocked automated verification: worth a manual check.

Colorado

No state-level mandate found

A 2024 bill (HB24-1016) only authorized 911-surcharge funding for dispatcher training: it created no training or certification requirement. Standards are set locally.

Delaware

No state-level mandate found

The state's police-training council is scoped to officers only. Delaware State Police run a ~5-7 month internal program, but it applies to that one agency, not statewide.

Hawaii

No state-level mandate found

No statewide licensing board for dispatchers. Hiring and training standards are set individually by each municipality; some employers separately require IAED EMD certification.

Illinois

20 ILCS 2605/2605-53: Telecommunicator Training (opens in new tab)

Narrower than it first looks: state law mandates a trauma-informed training curriculum for sexual-assault/abuse calls before a new hire can take calls, plus biennial continuing education. No general basic-hours standard was confirmed under this section.

Kansas

No state-level mandate: state law bars one

Kansas law prevents the state board from setting a mandatory certification program for PSAP staff; training is set county to county. A 2026 bill (SB 379) would add a T-CPR-specific requirement.

Michigan

Michigan State Police / State 911 Committee

Required. At least 80 hours of basic/advanced dispatch training within the first 24 months, plus 24 hours continuing education every 24 months. The primary michigan.gov page blocked every automated fetch attempt: link omitted; search "Michigan 911 Committee telecommunicator training" to find it directly.

Nebraska

No state-level mandate found

Left to local agencies. NLETC's basic course, NCIC certification, and EMD certification are common but not uniformly state-mandated.

New Hampshire

No statewide mandate found

RSA 106-H:5 only authorizes standards-setting studies, not a mandatory requirement. The state's own dispatch centers (DESC) run a rigorous internal program, but it applies to those centers, not every NH PSAP by law.

North Dakota

No confirmed state mandate

State code creates a coordinating committee with authority to recommend standards, but no adopted mandatory statewide certification law was confirmed. In practice, some agencies require APCO's 40-hour course on their own.

Ohio

No mandatory state-level certification

State-approved telecommunicator training exists and agencies may require it, but it isn't legally mandatory statewide: requirements vary by hiring agency.

Oklahoma

No confirmed state-level mandate

CLEET is peace-officer-focused; no mandatory statewide basic-certification course for telecommunicators was found in its own training listings. Oklahoma dispatchers commonly need OLETS database-access credentials and FLETC training, which isn't the same as a state certification.