In Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC) runs the Red Seal exam, which it calls the interprovincial journeyperson examination. Apprentices usually write at the end of their final level of technical training, with no application and no fee for the first attempt. Experienced tradespersons take the trade qualifier route: apply for an assessment through a MyATC account, pay the $400.00 assessment fee, and wait for a results letter. Once approved, you register for a sitting in MyATC and pay the $175.00 written exam fee. You need a Saskatchewan address to challenge the exam. Sittings are in person on fixed dates at centres across the province, with none in January, and registration closes about one month ahead. The pass mark is 70%. After a failed first attempt the wait is three months, in a rule the SATCC words for the tradesperson. A failed second or later attempt means upgrading before you write again, and the limit is four attempts at a written exam.
| Who runs it | The Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC). In a Red Seal trade, the interprovincial journeyperson exam is the Red Seal exam. |
|---|---|
| Exam fee | Written exam $175.00 per attempt. Apprentices pay nothing for their first attempt. Trade qualifiers also pay a separate $400.00 assessment fee before they can register. Tax status is not stated. |
| How you book | Tradespersons register for a sitting themselves in MyATC, the SATCC's online account. So do apprentices on a second or later attempt. |
| Where you write | In person at a scheduled sitting in Estevan, La Ronge, Lloydminster, North Battleford, Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Swift Current or Yorkton. |
| When you can write | Regina and Saskatoon have sittings monthly from February to December; the other centres have four dates a year. No written exams in January. Registration closes about one month before the date, or when the sitting is full. |
| Pass mark | 70%. |
| If you fail | Three-month wait after a failed first attempt, in a rule the SATCC words for the tradesperson. Upgrading is required after a failed second or later attempt. Maximum four attempts at a written exam (two for Temporary Foreign Workers). |
| Results | Through MyATC, with an email generated from MyATC. No turnaround time is published for written exams. A results review can be bought for $175.00. |
01Who can write the Red Seal exam in Saskatchewan?
The SATCC describes two routes. The first is apprenticeship. Its FAQs page says: "Most apprentices write for their journeyperson certification at the end of their final level of technical training. No application or fee is required."
The second route is for experienced workers, who the SATCC calls tradespersons or trade qualifiers. From the same FAQs page: "Those that have been working in their trade for many years and do not want to go the apprenticeship route may challenge the certification examination without attending training. Refer to the designated trades on this website for the required hours for each trade." There is no single Saskatchewan figure; the requirement is set trade by trade. As an example, the SATCC's Carpenter exam information sheet lists "Tradesperson Requirements: 6 years and 10800 hours" for that trade. The Apply For Exams page adds that tradespersons must verify full-time work in their trade to qualify for the certification examination.
Five trades are closed to the trade qualifier route. The FAQs page: "Construction Electrician, Plumber, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic, Sheet Metal Worker and Sprinkler Fitter trades must take the apprenticeship route to obtain their Journeyperson certification." Two other trades have an extra step. For Insulator (Heat and Frost) and Powerline Technician, "tradespersons must successfully complete the prescribed upgrading training first."
You may apply for an assessment from anywhere, but the SATCC's domestic applications FAQ says "to be eligible to challenge the journeyperson exam a Saskatchewan address is required." For how the challenge route works across Canada, see our guide on challenging the Red Seal exam without an apprenticeship.
02How to apply and book the exam
Apprentices. For a first attempt there is nothing to apply for: no application and no fee, and most apprentices write at the end of their final level of technical training. For a second or later attempt you register and pay yourself, as described in section 06.
Tradespersons. Everything runs through MyATC, the SATCC's online client account, and the assessment and the exam registration are two separate transactions with two separate fees. The SATCC's Domestic Application Process page sets out five steps:
- Apply for assessment. "Apply for Assessment by completing the Trade Qualifier application through your MyATC account," with "the appropriate Form 6A for your trade" and the fee. The Apply For Exams page gives the amount: "first time applicants must submit a Trade Qualifier Application through MyATC and a fee of $400."
- Supply your proof. The SATCC asks for "credentials and transcripts, employer letters, and self-employment information."
- Wait for verification. The SATCC Assessment Unit verifies the "hours, dates and tasks performed." No processing time is published.
- Get your results letter. "The SATCC Assessment Unit sends the applicant a letter with the results." The outcome is approved, not approved, or a request for more information. The page adds: "The Results Letter IS NOT a Certificate of Qualification."
- Register for a sitting. "Once approved, apply to challenge the Journeyperson exam. You will register for your exam through your MyATC account." This is where you pay the $175.00 written exam fee and pick a date and location from the exam schedule.
The exam schedule. Saskatchewan does not offer exams on demand. Written exams are in-person sittings on fixed dates, published a year at a time in the 2026 Written Examination Schedule and the 2027 schedule. Regina and Saskatoon have sittings every month from February to December, and the other centres listed in section 09 have four dates a year. The schedule states: "No written examinations in the month of January."
Registration closes early. The schedule also says: "An exam event will be available for clients to register for an exam up to approximately one month before the exam date or until the exam event is full." The pages we reviewed do not set out cancellation or rescheduling rules for a registered sitting, so ask the SATCC before you register if your dates might change.
03What the exam costs
All amounts are from the SATCC's Fee Schedule as of July 2, 2025, checked on September 17, 2026. The schedule says all fees are payable in Canadian funds. It does not say whether GST or PST is added.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Written exam, apprentice's first attempt | No fee |
| Examination, written (trade qualifiers on every attempt; apprentices on a second or later attempt) | $175.00 |
| Examination, practical (trades that have one) | $175.00 |
| Trade Qualifier (TQ) Assessment | $400.00 |
| TQ Assessment, domestically trained Hairstylists and Estheticians | $250.00 |
| Examination Results Review | $175.00 |
| Request for Upgrading Evaluation | $125.00 |
| Replacement of Certificate or Document | $75.00 |
A trade qualifier pays twice before writing once: $400.00 for the assessment, which the SATCC describes as a fee for first-time applicants, then $175.00 to register for the written exam, which is also the fee for each later attempt. The Second or Subsequent Examination Attempts page points back to the fee schedule for the rewrite amount, and the schedule has a single written exam line.
The apprentice's free attempt is the first one only: "Apprentices taking a written or practical examination for a second or subsequent attempt in the same trade must register for an exam through MyATC and submit the required fee."
How to pay. "Fees can be paid by credit card online via MyATC. Fees can be paid in the Regina and Saskatoon offices with a credit card or debit card."
04Exam day: format, language, what to bring
Format. The pass mark is 70%, put by the SATCC's FAQs as a step: "Write your journeyperson examination and pass with a minimum of 70%." No SATCC page states the exam length. The Red Seal Program's exam preparation guide gives the national rule: "The Red Seal Exam has a pass mark of 70%. The writing time is four hours." The same guide describes the questions as multiple choice, four options with one correct answer, each worth one mark, and the number of questions as varying by trade. The SATCC publishes an exam information sheet per trade; the Carpenter sheet lists "Total number of questions on the Interprovincial Red Seal examination" as 100 questions. Our guides cover the question count for each trade and what 70% means in marks.
Where and how. You write in person, at the sitting you registered for. The Written Examination Protocols, printed in the exam schedule, tell candidates: "Please be aware that all written examination sittings are recorded in video and audio."
What to bring. Photo ID that matches your account: "Have your government issued photo ID ready for confirmation of registration. The Photo ID must match what is on file in MyATC and on the Registration Sheet the day of the exam." If your details in MyATC are out of date, fix them before exam day.
What is supplied. SATCC exams are closed book: "No books or notes may be brought to the examination." "Calculators, erasers, pencils and work sheets are supplied." Where a trade's exam needs a code book, the SATCC supplies it: the Carpenter sheet says candidates "will be provided a copy of the 2020 National Building Code (Volume 2)," and "A Reference Material Booklet will also be supplied with the examination."
What you cannot bring or wear. "All electronic devices are prohibited from the examination area," which covers cell phones, headphones and wearable technology. Also not allowed: sunglasses, hoodies or sweaters with front pockets, hats, toques and ball caps (except for religious or medical reasons), coats and watches. "Purses and backpacks will not be accessible during the examination." "Food is not allowed." "Only water in a store bought, single use clear/transparent bottle without a label is permitted." Our exam day guide covers the national rules these sit on top of.
Trades with a practical exam. The SATCC lists trades with both a written and a practical exam: "Auto Body and Collision Technician, Electronics Assembler, Esthetician – Nail Care Technician, Esthetician – Skin Care Technician, Hairstylist, Machinist, Semiautomatic Welding Production Operator and Welder Trades." The written exam comes first: "Candidates require a pass mark of 70% in the written examination before being eligible to apply for the practical examination."
Language. The SATCC pages in our sources do not address exam language. The Red Seal Program's registration page advises: "Confirm with your provincial or territorial office that your exam will be in the official language (English or French) of your choice."
Misconduct. The SATCC's Academic Misconduct Policy, last reviewed July 16, 2026, covers trade qualifiers, and its cheating definitions name "Interprovincial Examinations (i.e., Red Seal Examinations), whether currently in use or no longer in use."
05How you get your results
Results come through MyATC. The SATCC's MyATC FAQ says apprentices can "access training classes and exam results" in their account, and the MyATC Help page explains the email side: "The SATCC is currently sending emails to clients, such as results from exams, by generating an email from MyATC. Some clients have reported that these emails have been going to their junk mail." Check your junk folder, and log in to MyATC if nothing arrives.
No general turnaround time is published for written exams. The only stated timeframe is in the SATCC's Welder practical examination document: "Official examination results will be posted in MyATC within 4 weeks." That sentence is about one practical exam, not the written exam.
The fee schedule also lists an Examination Results Review at $175.00, the same price as a written attempt, and gives the fee only. What the review covers, how to request it and whether there is a deadline were not found on the pages we reviewed, so ask the SATCC before you pay for one.
06If you do not pass
After a failed first attempt. From the Second or Subsequent Examination Attempts page: "If the tradesperson is not successful on their first attempt, they must wait a period of three months before the next examination attempt. They can apply right away, but must choose a date off the examination schedule not less than three months from the date of the previous exam attempt." The page words this rule around the tradesperson. If you are an apprentice, confirm with the SATCC how the wait applies to you.
After a failed second or later attempt. Upgrading stops being optional. "If the tradesperson is not successful on the second or subsequent exam attempt, they will need to request upgrading before the next examination attempt." The Apply For Exams page adds: "If it is your third or fourth attempt at an exam, you must complete prescribed upgrading." The fee schedule lists a Request for Upgrading Evaluation at $125.00.
The cap. "Apprentices and tradespersons have a maximum of four attempts at a written exam and four attempts at a practical exam (if applicable)." The limit is lower for one group: "Temporary Foreign Workers have two attempts to pass the written or practical examination." The pages we reviewed do not say what options remain after the last attempt.
The fee. Each rewrite costs the $175.00 exam fee, and apprentices register and pay for the rewrite themselves in MyATC. The $400.00 assessment fee is described as a fee for first-time applicants, and the pages we reviewed do not list it as a cost of a rewrite.
Our guide on how to study for the Red Seal exam builds a plan from your trade's exam breakdown.
07Accommodations
Accommodations run through the SATCC's Accessibility Services, described on its Learning Support page: "Accessibility Services provides support for students with disabilities." You need to provide proof of your disability. The page gives two ways to do that: "A licensed healthcare provider can complete the Verification of Disability Form", or you can supply a psychoeducational assessment by a Registered Psychologist. Documents go to the Saskatoon office at 603 - 45th Street West, Saskatoon, phone (306) 933-8476.
The same page describes Learning Services, which offers "virtual study skills and exam preparation sessions" and "academic and exam writing support."
The public page does not list the specific accommodations available for an exam, such as extra time or a reader, and gives no lead time for requesting them. The Red Seal Program's advice is to "ask about accommodations you may be entitled to when writing the exam. Keep in mind that the request for accommodation has to be made well in advance." Registration closes about a month before each sitting, so contact Accessibility Services before you register.
08Certificate and Red Seal endorsement
In a Red Seal trade, Saskatchewan administers the interprovincial exam directly, so there is no separate Red Seal exam to write after a provincial one. The Carpenter exam information sheet puts it this way: "To write the interprovincial journeyperson examination, you must either successfully complete an apprenticeship training program or meet tradesperson eligibility requirements."
The Red Seal Program describes the endorsement itself: "Tradespersons who have successfully passed the Red Seal examination receive a Red Seal endorsement on their provincial/territorial trade certificate." The SATCC fee schedule lists no separate Red Seal endorsement fee. We found no SATCC statement on certificate renewal or expiry, so if your employer or another province asks about it, confirm with the SATCC.
Two related lines on the fee schedule: a replacement certificate or document costs $75.00, and a Blue Seal Certificate costs $75.00. The Blue Seal is a separate business-skills credential, not part of the Red Seal.
09Contact and exam locations
SATCC head office. 2140 Hamilton Street, Regina SK S4P 2E3. Phone (306) 787-2444, toll-free 1-877-363-0536, fax (306) 787-5105. Email apprenticeship@gov.sk.ca. The SATCC's Contact Us page lists the district offices, and the Red Seal Program keeps a directory of provincial and territorial authorities.
District offices, as listed on the Contact Us page:
- Regina Exam Centre: Third floor, 2221 Cornwall Street.
- Saskatoon: 603 - 45th Street West, (306) 933-8476.
- Swift Current: Room 538.5 - 350 Cheadle Street West, (306) 778-8945.
- Yorkton: Kuziak Building, Room 102 - 72 Smith Street East, (306) 786-1394.
- Estevan: #201 - 1302A - 3rd Street, (306) 637-4930.
- La Ronge: 1328 LaRonge Avenue, (306) 953-2632.
- Moose Jaw: Room 222, 110 Ominica Street West, (306) 694-3735.
- North Battleford: #109 - 1192 - 102nd Street, (306) 446-7409.
- Prince Albert: 141 - 15th Street East, (306) 953-2632.
Written exam sittings in the 2026 and 2027 schedules are held in Estevan, La Ronge, Lloydminster, North Battleford, Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Swift Current and Yorkton. Lloydminster has sittings but no district office, and Moose Jaw has an office but is not on the sitting list.
10What Saskatchewan does not publish
We looked for each of these on Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC)'s pages and the Red Seal Program's pages on September 17, 2026 and could not find them stated. Rather than guess, we list them, so you know what to ask the office directly.
- The length of the exam in hours. No SATCC page states it; the only figure is the Red Seal Program's national four-hour writing time.
- How long written exam results take. The only stated timeframe, within 4 weeks, is in a document about the Welder practical exam.
- How long a trade qualifier assessment takes to process.
- Whether GST or PST applies to the fees. The fee schedule says only that fees are payable in Canadian funds.
- A Red Seal endorsement fee, and any certificate renewal or expiry rule. None was found.
- The specific accommodations available for an exam, such as extra time or a reader, and how far ahead to request them. The Written Examination Protocols knowledge article and a calculator note sit inside MyATC, which requires a login.
- What an Examination Results Review covers, how to request one and any deadline. None of that was found on the pages we reviewed; only the $175.00 fee is listed.
- Whether a fixed waiting period applies after a second or third failed attempt, beyond the upgrading requirement, and what options remain after the final attempt. Neither was found on the pages we reviewed.
- Cancellation and rescheduling rules for a registered sitting, and whether a missed sitting forfeits the fee, were not found on the pages we reviewed.
- Exam language. The SATCC pages we reviewed do not address it. The Red Seal Program says to confirm English or French with the provincial office.
- The body of the SATCC's Experienced Workers Overview page could not be read on September 17, 2026; the page showed navigation only. The trade qualifier details above come from the Domestic Application Process, Apply For Exams and FAQ pages.
11Sources
- SATCC: Apply For Exams — the $400 trade qualifier application through MyATC, full-time verification, the four-attempt maximum, two attempts for Temporary Foreign Workers, upgrading on a third or fourth attempt, prescribed upgrading first for Insulator (Heat and Frost) and Powerline Technician.
- SATCC: Second or Subsequent Examination Attempts — the three-month wait after a failed first attempt, upgrading after a failed second or later attempt, apprentices registering and paying for rewrites.
- SATCC: Domestic Application Process — the five-step trade qualifier process, Form 6A, the results letter, registering for the exam through MyATC.
- SATCC: FAQ, Domestic Applications — the Saskatchewan address requirement.
- SATCC: FAQs, Resources and Programs — apprentices' first attempt with no application or fee, the tradesperson route, the five trades that must take the apprenticeship route, the 70% pass mark.
- SATCC: Fee Schedule as of July 2, 2025 (PDF) — every fee amount on this page, and how fees can be paid.
- SATCC: 2026 Written Examination Schedule with Written Examination Protocols (PDF) — sitting locations and frequency, no January exams, the registration cutoff, photo ID, closed-book rule, supplied items, prohibited items, recorded sittings.
- SATCC: 2027 Written Examination Schedule with Written Examination Protocols (PDF) — the same locations and protocols for 2027.
- SATCC: Carpenter, Interprovincial Journeyperson Examination Information (2026, PDF) — an example of trade qualifier hours, the 100-question count, the supplied code book and reference booklet, eligibility wording for the interprovincial exam.
- SATCC: MyATC Help — exam results emailed from MyATC, and the junk mail warning.
- SATCC: Interprovincial Welder Journeyperson Certification, Practical Examination (2024, PDF) — the only stated results timeframe, within 4 weeks, for the Welder practical exam.
- SATCC: Learning Support — Accessibility Services, the proof of disability requirement, Learning Services.
- SATCC: Academic Misconduct Policy (reviewed July 16, 2026, PDF) — cheating definitions that cover trade qualifiers and Red Seal exams.
- SATCC: Contact Us — head office, district offices and the Regina Exam Centre.
- Red Seal Program: Exam Preparation Guide — the national 70% pass mark, four-hour writing time and multiple-choice format.
- Red Seal Program: Register for your Red Seal Examination — confirming the exam language with the provincial office, requesting accommodations well in advance.
- Red Seal Program: About the program — the Red Seal endorsement on the provincial certificate.
- Red Seal Program: Provincial and Territorial Authorities — Saskatchewan's listing.
Every figure above was read on an official page on September 17, 2026. Fees and rules change; the office's own pages are the final word, and if you find one of ours out of date, tell us.
12Other provinces and territories
Eligibility, fees and rewrite rules are set by each province and territory, not by the Red Seal Program. The same guide for the others:
Related: all guides · challenging the exam without an apprenticeship · exam day: what to expect · the 70% pass mark · if you fail: rewrite rules compared
13Practice for this exam
The exam you write in Saskatchewan is the same Red Seal exam written everywhere else in Canada, built from the trade's published breakdown and marked to the same 70%. TicketPrep practice tests are weighted to that breakdown for each trade, every answer is explained, and the first test is free.
Ten free questions per trade, no account: free practice questions. How our questions are written and checked: how our questions are made.