IRC Practices Training

What are IRC Practices?

The Vermont Lead Poisoning Prevention Law requires owners of residential rental buildings and child care facilities built before 1978 to do Inspection, Repair and Cleaning (IRC) Practices to help prevent lead poisoning in children. These are relatively inexpensive maintenance activities, which include inspecting the property for chipping and peeling paint.

IRC Practices must be performed by a person who is IRC Practices certified or who has anRRPM licenseorUCCO certification. We recommend that all rental property and child care owners or managers become licensed or certified. If you have an EMP certificate, you can continue to perform IRC Practices using this certificate for 5 years from the date the certificate was issued. After 5 years, you will need to take the IRC Practices training to become recertified.

How to Become IRC Practices Certified

To become IRC Practices certified, you must attend a Health Department approved IRC Practices training and take a test. You must get at least a 70% on the test to receive your certificate. Certificates will be sent by email within two weeks.

The IRC Practices training is offered in person and online. The total time for the training and test is about 3 hours.

The appeal process for a certification decision can be found in the Statement of Procedural Rights.

Essential Maintenance Practices (EMPs) are now Inspection, Repair and Cleaning (IRC) Practices

As of October 1, 2022, “Essential Maintenance Practices" (EMPs) are now called “Inspection, Repair and Cleaning (IRC) Practices.” IRC Practices are the same as EMPs, except for these differences:

If you are EMP certified, you are no longer able to perform paint repair of 1 square foot or more per interior room or exterior surface on pre-1978 rental housing and child care facilities. Repairs of areas larger than this need to be performed by someone who is licensed under the Vermont Renovation, Repair, Painting and Maintenance (RRPM) regulations.
You will still be able to use your EMP certificate to perform IRC Practices (except for repairs) for 5 years from the date you took the EMP training. After that, you will need to take the new IRCs training to receive an updated certificate number.

Online Training

Self-paced training with a live 1-hour question and answer (Q & A) session

This self-paced option requires that you watch the 1-hour recording of the IRC Practices training and review the IRC Practices training materials.
The Q & A sessions are offered most weeks on Thursday at 2 p.m. and Friday at 10 a.m. and are held online using the Microsoft Teams meeting platform with an option to call in by phone.
If you don't have one already, you will need to create an account on the ALRP Licensing and Permitting Portal before registering for the training.
After you register for the training in the portal, you will receive a link and call-in number for the Q & A session.
The Q & A session is an open discussion hosted by members of the Asbestos and Lead Regulatory Program. Please come prepared with questions to ask.
After the Q & A session, all who registered will receive an email with the link to the test. You will have until noon the next day to complete the test.

Create an Account and Register for a Training

In-person Training

The in-person training is a 3-hour class, including time for the test. We recommend you review the IRC Practices Course Manual before attending the class.

Find the Training Schedule and Register for a Class

IRC Practices Training Materials

If you are completing the online training, please review these materials before you attend the Q & A session:

IRC Practices Course Manual – this manual will prepare you for the IRC Practices training and is a resource to return to as you perform IRC Practices on pre-1978 rental housing and child care facilities.
Introductory Videos – watch the four videos below. The total viewing time is about 15 minutes.
IRC Practices Training Video – watch this if you are completing the self-paced option. The viewing time is about 1 hour.

Additional Materials for RRPM Licenses and UCCO Certification

If you plan to apply for the Vermont Lead-Safe RRPM Supervisor License or the Uncompensated Child Care Operator (UCCO) Certification, review What Workers Need to Know About Vermont’s Renovation, Repair, Painting and Maintenance Regulations. You will need to answer test questions on that information before you can get your RRPM license or UCCO certification. You will also need to take the Renovation, Repair and Painting training.

Learn about RRPM Licenses and UCCO Certification and How to Apply