Which states make you take a course before writing a SWPPP?
Maine and Montana require the SWPPP preparer to hold a certificate from an open-enrolment course before the plan is written; Minnesota and Indiana require training but accept in-house or any-provider training with no exam.
A course is not a licence
Montana requires certification from a course its agency approves, valid three years, with no degree or licence prerequisite — the syllabus is knowledge, not credentials. Maine requires a certification in erosion control practices from its own training centre, which is open to contractors, landscapers, municipal officials and project managers.
Whether Maine runs an online session has not been verified. Ask the training centre directly before you plan around it.
The two softer cases
Minnesota requires the person preparing the plan to have been trained, but accepts training from any agency, professional organisation or other entity with expertise, refreshed every three years — no exam, no certificate, but keep evidence of what you took. Indiana wants the plan signed by a "trained individual", defined in the alternative, so annual in-house training satisfies it. Keep the record either way.
Questions people ask
- Can I write the plan first and take the course later?
- In Maine and Montana the requirement attaches to the person preparing the plan, so do it in that order. SwpppDraft will still build the document, and it shows the course notice before you start.
- Does the certificate expire?
- Montana's is valid no more than three years from the date it was issued. Minnesota's training is refreshed every three years.
The states this question turns on
- Maine SWPPP requirements — Maine requires the preparer to hold a DEP certification in erosion control practices — an open-enrolment course, not a licence.
- Montana SWPPP requirements — Montana requires SWPPP preparers to hold a certification from a DEQ-approved course; the course has no degree or licence prerequisite.
- Minnesota SWPPP requirements — Minnesota requires the person preparing the SWPPP to be trained, but accepts training from any agency, professional organisation or other entity with expertise.
- Indiana SWPPP requirements — Indiana requires the SWP3 to be signed by a "trained individual", a disjunctive definition that annual in-house training already satisfies.
Other questions
- Who can prepare a SWPPP?
- Which states require a licensed professional to prepare a SWPPP?
- Does my site need a licensed professional even though my state allows self-preparation?
- What acreage thresholds change SWPPP requirements?
- Why does my state call it something other than a SWPPP?
Check your state and build a draft
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Source: SwpppDraft 50-state preparer-requirement table, from a scan of all 50 construction general permits, read 2026-08-03. County and city rules are not covered.
What we are, and what stays your responsibility
- SwpppDraft is a document generation tool. It does not provide engineering services, legal services, or compliance consulting, and no engineer or attorney reviews what it produces.
- Everything in the document is built from the site facts you enter. Checking that those facts are right, and that the resulting plan fits your project, is yours to do.
- We do not file anything on your behalf, we do not certify or endorse your compliance, and we accept no liability for what happens when you use the document.
- State-level requirements carry the date we verified them. County and city rules are not covered — some local jurisdictions require a licensed preparer even where the state does not, and you have to check that yourself.
- When the product opens, our total liability will be capped at the amount you paid us. Today that amount is zero, because nothing is for sale.