The IRATA Level 2 practical assessment, run under the Training, Assessment and Certification Scheme (TACS), requires you to demonstrate ascent, descent, changeovers, passing wide re-anchors, at least four other rope manoeuvres, vertical aid climbing, and at least one rescue from each of five categories. You pass or fail as a whole: one Major Discrepancy or three Minor Discrepancies ends the assessment in a fail. To book an upgrade you need one year at Level 1, 1,000 signed working hours, certification valid on assessment day and your logbook ready before the course.
What the Level 2 practical assessment covers
The assessment checks that you can perform a representative selection of Level 2 practical elements safely, working under Level 3 supervision. An independent IRATA Assessor runs it, and there is no separate theory exam at this level.
TACS defines Level 2 as an experienced technician who performs more complex tasks under the supervision of a Level 3 Rope Access Safety Supervisor. That includes everything required at Level 1, more complex rigging such as re-anchors, deviations and tensioned lines, rescues from a variety of situations, and assembling and implementing hauling systems.
The Assessor is independent of you, your employer and your training company. You may be given combined exercises that draw on several syllabus elements at once, and you can ask the Assessor to clarify any requirement at any time.
At Levels 2 and 3, it is not normally practicable to assess every practical element. The assessor selects a representative set meeting TACS criteria. Training covers the whole applicable syllabus: prepare across that syllabus, including elements the assessor may select beyond the minimum listed below.
Sources: IRATA Training, Assessment and Certification Scheme (TACS) [TC-101ENG], Issue 006 — Sections 3.1, 4.3-4.7, 6.1, 6.3 and 9.3; Technician Exam General Information, IRATA International — Requirements and languages
How marking works on the day
Each relevant section of the Technician Assessment Form is marked as a pass, a Minor Discrepancy, or a fail. The overall result is pass or fail, and a single Major Discrepancy or three Minor Discrepancies ends the assessment in a fail.
A Minor Discrepancy means you have not committed a Major Discrepancy but have still compromised your own safety or the safety of others. A Major Discrepancy is a critical safety issue where you have put yourself or others at risk, and one is enough to fail. If you pick up a Minor Discrepancy or appear confused or inefficient, the Assessor may question you further or ask you to repeat the demonstration.
The Assessor must explain the marking system before you start and must tell you about any discrepancy and the safety issue behind it, when it occurs and when it is safe to do so. You sign the assessment form beforehand and receive a debrief and your outcome at the end.
If you do not reach the required standard, the Assessor may specify further training, which should be completed before you are reassessed.
Eligibility and booking an upgrade
Before a Level 2 upgrade course you must be competent at Level 1, hold one year of experience and 1,000 working hours signed in your logbook, and your current certification must still be valid on assessment day.
TACS is precise about the timing: one year of experience means the calendar date one year and one day after your previous assessment. Your Trainer Member Company verifies these requirements, including your logbook, before training starts. If you have lost your logbook, a replacement must be issued, completed and verified first, and if your certification has already expired, TACS points you to separate certification procedures or your Trainer Member Company for guidance.
Training lasts at least four days and must meet IRATA's instructor requirements. The assessment must be completed within 60 days of the first training day; otherwise further training is required. Register through TechConnect and confirm the provider's identification, fitness declaration and any medical documentation requirements before attending.
Use this paper check to test the rules before you commit to course dates.
Practice check
This is a hypothetical booking check. Priya passed her Level 1 assessment on 15 June 2024, and her certificate expires on 14 June 2027. By 30 April 2025 she has 1,040 signed working hours at Level 1. She proposes an upgrade course starting on 2 June 2025 and an assessment on 9 June 2025. Which eligibility condition prevents this plan, and what date satisfies the one-year-and-one-day requirement?
Show answer
The experience period is too short. Her hours exceed 1,000 and her certificate remains valid on the proposed assessment date, but neither proposed date meets the minimum experience period. One year and one day after 15 June 2024 is 16 June 2025. She needs to arrange later dates with the training company, which verifies eligibility before the upgrade course starts.
Logged hours and elapsed experience are separate requirements: completing more hours does not shorten the year. Current certification must also remain valid on assessment day. In this example certificate validity is not the problem; the minimum experience period is.
Sources: IRATA Training, Assessment and Certification Scheme (TACS) [TC-101ENG], Issue 006 — Sections 3.1, 4.3-4.7, 6.1, 6.3 and 9.3; Step By Step Guide, IRATA International — Pre-training requirements, training, assessment, certification and revalidation
The practical elements you will demonstrate
TACS lists the minimum assessed set for Level 2: ascent, descent, changeovers, passing wide re-anchors, at least four other rope manoeuvres, vertical aid climbing, and at least one rescue from each of five categories.
The rope manoeuvre requirement is explicit. You must show ascent, descent, changeovers and passing wide re-anchors, plus at least four other manoeuvres from the syllabus, and you must demonstrate vertical aid climbing. Because the assessor samples from the wider Level 2 syllabus, be prepared for any element you trained, not only the guaranteed minimum.
The rescue requirement is broader than at Level 1. The assessor must see at least one exercise from each of the five categories in the table below. Check your own training coverage against all five before assessment day.
As before, these are assessed as practical demonstrations under observation, with the Assessor free to explore your knowledge through discussion. This guide deliberately does not reproduce rescue or rigging procedures; those you learn and rehearse under supervision on your course.
Practice check
A technician's Level 2 training record shows supervised practice in four rescues: a rig-for-rescue exercise, a hauling exercise, de-weighting a casualty from ascending devices, and de-weighting a casualty from fall arrest lanyards. The assessor must see at least one rescue from each of five categories. Which category has no matching practice entry, and what does that category involve?
Show answer
The missing category is passing an obstruction, for example a deviation, a rope-to-rope transfer, or a re-anchor, while managing the casualty. The four recorded exercises match the first four categories, so this fifth one is the gap to close with the training company before assessment.
TACS requires Level 2 and Level 3 candidates to demonstrate at least one rescue from each of five listed categories. Comparing a training record against that list, as this exercise does, shows exactly where supervised practice is still needed. This is a paper record check, not a rescue procedure. Any practice to close the gap happens under supervision at an IRATA Trainer Member Company.
| Rescue category | What the assessor must sample |
|---|---|
| Rig-for-rescue | A rescue using a system rigged specifically for rescue |
| Hauling | Recovering a casualty using a hauling system |
| De-weighting on ropes | For example, a rescue from ascending devices |
| De-weighting from structure | For example, from aid climbing equipment or fall arrest lanyards |
| Passing an obstruction | For example, past a deviation, a rope-to-rope transfer, or a re-anchor |
Equipment checks expected at Level 2
Level 2 adds responsibility beyond the personal-equipment checks expected of everyone: you must pre-use check all ropes and rigging equipment, and fit and assemble equipment for other people, not only yourself.
All candidates demonstrate functional, visual and tactile pre-use checks of their personal equipment. At Level 2 and Level 3 the same standard of checking extends to all ropes and rigging equipment, and the Assessor is expected to explore how well you understand the checking process.
You should also be able to fit and assemble personal rope access equipment for yourself and others using a variety of equipment, and to perform a buddy check of another technician wearing similar gear. Be ready for the Assessor to introduce faults deliberately during a buddy check and expect you to find them.
Beyond pre-use checks, show awareness of what damages equipment, such as wear, abrasion, temperature extremes, ultra-violet light and certain chemicals, and of the formal inspection regime: equipment should be covered by recorded detailed inspections by a competent person at intervals not exceeding six months, with interim inspections after arduous conditions or exceptional events, and a known process for quarantining or retiring items.
Preparing and the official documents to study
Study from the official sources your course uses: the IRATA Code of Practice, TACS itself, equipment instructions and IRATA safety bulletins, and read IRATA's guidance for candidates before assessment day.
TACS requires your training provider to make supporting information available, as a minimum: course hand-outs, relevant equipment instructions, the IRATA International Code of Practice, the TACS document and all IRATA safety bulletins. Reading the syllabus sections for Level 2 in TACS before your course shows the required competence and the criteria used to select assessment tasks.
IRATA also publishes specific guidance for candidates undergoing assessments, which sets out what to expect across the whole assessment day. If you have not worked at height for a while, note that TACS recommends a pre-course evaluation to verify your current competence before an upgrade course, since there is little time for refresher training during the course itself.
Arrange supervised preparation with your Trainer Member Company, using the assessed elements above to identify gaps. Adapt your study plan to those gaps. Paper preparation helps you understand the requirements, while practical competence must be developed and demonstrated in supervised training.
- Confirm your logbook hours, signature records and certification expiry date before booking
- Read the Level 2 sections of TACS and the candidate guidance document
- Ask your Trainer Member Company about a pre-course evaluation if your Level 1 skills are rusty
- Check your training covers all five rescue categories, not just four
Sources: IRATA Training, Assessment and Certification Scheme (TACS) [TC-101ENG], Issue 006 — Sections 3.1, 4.3-4.7, 6.1, 6.3 and 9.3; Technician Exam General Information, IRATA International — Requirements and languages
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