TTT-1 Exam: Domains, Practice Questions, Study Plan

The NWSA TTT-1 exam is 85 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, and they come from five domains. Fall protection and rescue is about 30%. Hoisting and rigging is about 20%, and so is appurtenance installation. Job planning and structures are about 15% each. Split your study time the same way: start with fall protection, then rigging and appurtenances. Learn the numbers from OSHA and ANSI Z359. The questions test whether you know the rule. They don't test whether you've heard of it.

What follows is the official outline in plain English, five original practice questions in the exam's style, and a study plan that fits around a work schedule. All exam facts come from the NWSA Candidate Handbook, Rev 10/25. For cost, eligibility and renewal, see TTT-1 certification: cost, requirements and how to get it.

The format, in four lines

85 multiple-choice questions, 90 minutes. That's a little over a minute per question. There's time to read carefully, but not to agonize over every one.
Online, with a live remote proctor. You test on your own laptop or desktop through the Guardian Browser, and a proctor watches the whole session.
Pass or fail. NWSA sets the passing score ahead of time with an expert panel, and your score isn't compared with anyone else's. The handbook doesn't publish a percentage. Any "you need 70%" number you see online comes from someone other than NWSA.
If you fail, you get a strength-and-weakness report by domain, and you can retest after 30 days.

questions, multiple choice

minutes on the clock

30%

of the exam is fall protection

What's in each domain

These are the areas the handbook lists, in the order it lists them. Use this as your checklist.

Domain 1 — Planning the scope of work and job logistics (~15%)

Reading construction drawings well enough to identify materials by type, size, quantity, sequence of assembly and application. DOT pre-trip inspection of trucks and trailers. Checking inventory, transporting tools, loading and unloading. The daily paperwork: site authorization, site security, the job hazard assessment, the emergency action plan and migratory bird compliance. Spotting changing site conditions: housekeeping, fire protection, unsafe conditions, drop zone.

A lot of people skip this domain because it "isn't climbing." At roughly 15% of 85, that's about a dozen questions you shouldn't give away.

Domain 2 — Fall protection climber–rescuer (~30%)

This is the largest domain. It covers PPE inspection before climbing (harnesses, connecting devices, helmets, fall protection, anchorage points), suspension rescue, tool tethering, climbing technique (body position, dressing for the job, conserving energy, situational awareness, balance, endurance), the equipment and hazards of controlled descent, and portable ladders.

The questions here are about numbers and sequence: anchorage strength, free-fall limits, what to do with gear that has arrested a fall, and the order of a rescue. The pre-climb check toolbox talk and the tool tethering talk are free and cover two of these subtopics in the same language a crew uses.

Domain 3 — Hoisting equipment and rigging (~20%)

Inspecting ropes, slings and shackles. Pre-lift inspection, rigging techniques, hand signals, rigging classifications and cranes. How the rigging system loads the structure: placement, tagging, operational and non-operational loads. Knots, hitches and rope types, with three knots named specifically: the bowline, the figure 8 on a bite and the clove hitch. Base-mount, man-rated and capstan hoists, personnel hoisting roles, and gin pole types.

Sling angle math shows up again and again in rigging, and it's much easier to learn by moving a slider than from a table. Our free Rigging Lab shows leg tension climbing as the angle flattens. For signals, use the crane hand signals reference.

Domain 4 — Structures (~15%)

Guyed, self-supporting and monopole towers, plus non-standard structures (utility poles, water tanks, stealth sites) and rooftops. Helping identify deficiencies and the maintenance needed for inspections and modifications: routine maintenance, visual inspections, foundations, grounding systems. Helping assemble structural components according to the scope of work.

Domain 5 — Appurtenance installation and maintenance (~20%)

Installing antennas, tower lighting, remote radio units, surge arresting systems and mounts. Helping align antennas, microwave dishes, mounts and lighting. Installing and weatherproofing fiber, coax, RET and grounding cables, and installing transmission lines. Grounding antennas, radios and surge arrestors. Assisting with line and antenna sweeps, fiber tests and signal quality tests. FAA obstruction lighting requirements.

RF exposure falls in this domain too, and FCC OET Bulletin 65 is on the reference list. Our RF antenna zones tool shows where the energy from different antenna types actually goes. The rooftop RF talk covers the kind of site where most people get surprised.

What NWSA says to study from

Recommended certification

TTT-1 Exam Prep: Telecommunications Tower Technician 1

$100 · ~9h online · certificate issued same day · valid 2 years

TTT-1 Exam Prep Course →

Also read: AI-Powered Drone Tower Inspections: Threat or Opportunity for Certified Climbers · Safety Training Budgets Cut 34% as Telecom Contractors Face Worst Margin Compression in a Decade

The handbook's primary references are ANSI/ASSP A10.48-2023 (safety practices for communication structures), OSHA 29 CFR 1910 and 1926, the ANSI Z359 Fall Protection Code, FCC OET Bulletin 65, IEEE C95.7-2014 (RF safety programs) and ANSI/TIA-222 Rev G. Secondary references include Motorola R56, the NATE RF Awareness booklet, NFPA 70E and ANSI A10.32-2012.

You don't need to read every one of those from cover to cover. The OSHA parts are free at osha.gov. Most of the rest are paid standards. The exam tests how they apply on a tower, not whether you can recite a clause number.

Five practice questions in the TTT-1 style

We wrote these ourselves from the public outline and the cited standards. They are not real exam questions. No legitimate prep provider has them: the handbook calls the exam NWSA's copyrighted property and forbids copying any part of it, "including memorization." That's also why sites selling "actual TTT-1 questions and answers" are worth avoiding.

1. A personal fall arrest anchorage with no engineering design behind it must support at least how much per employee attached?

a) 1,800 lb b) 3,600 lb c) 5,000 lb d) 10,000 lb

2. With a full-body harness, a personal fall arrest system must be rigged so the worker can free fall no more than:

a) 2 ft b) 4 ft c) 6 ft d) 12 ft

3. A 1,000 lb load hangs from a two-leg bridle. Each leg is at 30° from horizontal. Roughly what tension is in each leg?

a) 500 lb b) 707 lb c) 1,000 lb d) 2,000 lb

4. A shock-absorbing lanyard has just stopped a fall. What happens to it?

a) Repack it and keep climbing b) It stays out of service until a competent person inspects it and finds it undamaged c) Use it only as a positioning lanyard d) Tag it and use it the next day

5. Under FCC RF exposure rules, a trained tower crew that knows about its exposure works under which limits?

a) General population / uncontrolled b) Occupational / controlled c) Residential d) Broadcast

Answers. 1-c: 5,000 lb per employee, or designed with a safety factor of at least two under the supervision of a qualified person (29 CFR 1926.502(d)(15)). 2-c: 6 ft, and no contact with any lower level (1926.502(d)(16)(iii)). 3-c: each leg carries load ÷ (2 × sin 30°) = 1,000 lb, so each leg holds the whole load. That's why a flat bridle fools people. 4-b: components that have been impact-loaded come out of service until a competent person clears them (1926.502(d)(19)), and manufacturers' instructions typically call for retiring a deployed energy absorber. 5-b: occupational/controlled limits apply to people who know about their exposure and can control it, per FCC OET Bulletin 65.

The questions test whether you know the rule. They don't test whether you've heard of it.

A four-week plan for people who work all day

Most candidates study around a job, so here's a plan in evening-sized pieces:

1.Week 1 — Fall protection. It's 30% of the exam, so it gets the first week. Harness and connector inspection, anchorage numbers, free fall and clearance, rescue sequence, controlled descent, ladders. Say the numbers out loud until you don't have to think about them.

2.Week 2 — Rigging and hoisting. Inspection and removal criteria, sling angles, the three knots (tie them, don't just read about them), hoist types, personnel hoisting roles, hand signals.

3.Week 3 — Appurtenances, then structures and planning. Grounding, weatherproofing, line testing, RF and FAA lighting. Then tower types, deficiencies, drawings, the JHA and EAP, drop zones.

4.Week 4 — Timed practice and weak spots. Do a full-length practice test with a clock running and no notes. Spend the last days only on the domains where you lost points. Book the real exam when your practice scores are steady, not when you feel lucky.

The exam fee is $274 and a retake costs the same again after a 30-day wait. It's worth knowing where you stand before you book.

If you want the structured version

TTT-1 Exam Prep is built around the same five domains. It's 34 lessons, about 9 hours online, with check questions inside the lessons. It ends with a 90-question practice test of original scenario questions, which you pass at 80% and can retake. It costs $100. It's independent: not affiliated with or endorsed by NWSA, and it doesn't include real exam questions. Finishing it earns you a BuildRight certificate of completion. The TTT-1 certification itself only comes from passing NWSA's exam.

Still new to towers? The tower climbing toolbox talk and the rigging plan talk give you the crew-side version of domains 2 and 3. All toolbox talks are free to download. When you're certified, the tower technician job board is where to look.