JAN/FEB 2026 RETA Breeze

RETA TESTING CORNER NO. 52

RETA OFFERS MANY ASSISTS TO ENCOURAGE RECERTIFICATION

R ETA works diligently to encourage people who have earned CARO, CIRO and CRST to maintain their skills and keep their credentials active. Recent experience by a member who allowed his CIRO to expire illustrates how much RETA works to help keep these credentials active and the cost of ignoring reminders of pending expirations. One candidate whose CIRO credential expired accumulated an extensive history on the way to expiration of his credential. Here are the benchmarks in his CIRO journey:

1.

Dec. 2015—Passed full CIRO exam with a total score of 87%. Dec. 2018—Renewed CIRO with credits documented in RETA RCD. Dec. 2021—Renewed CIRO with credits documented in RETA RCD. Jun. 2024—RCD emailed that his CIRO would expire in December. Sept. 2024—RCD emailed that his CIRO would expire in December. Oct. 2024—RETA staff emailed that his CIRO would expire in December.

7. Nov. 2024—RETA staff sent email and postcard that CIRO would expire. Nov. 2024—RCD emailed that his CIRO would expire in December. Dec. 2024—RETA staff emailed that his CIRO would expire 12/31/2024. 10. Jan. 2025—RETA staff emailed asking whether candidate could document PDHs needed in RCD to renew CIRO. 11. Aug. 2025—RETA rejected request from candidate’s supervisor to extend deadline to document PDHs to renew his CIRO. 8. 9.

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The table shows the candidate’s performance on CIRO Practice Tests in 2014 and 2015 and full exams in December 2015 and 2025.

CIRO Content Area and Total Scores for Candidate Whose CIRO Expired

2014 CIRO Practice Exam

2015 CIRO Practice Exam

2015 CIRO Full Exam

2025 CIRO Full Exam

CIRO Fundamentals

50%

66%

83%

None

Safety Standards & Practices

83%

83%

91%

63%

Electricity

60%

100%

91%

84%

Heat Flow

33%

66%

86%

64%

System Performance Measures

66%

88%

92%

92%

Valves, Controls & DX Systems

100%

100%

75%

47%

Liquid Overfeed & Flooded Systems

75%

75%

92%

68%

Two-Stage/Secondary Coolant Systems

25%

100%

81%

61%

Evaporator Defrost

None

None

None

77%

Total Score

58%

80%

87%

62%

26 RETA.com

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026