---
kind: "section"
citation: "49 C.F.R. § 245.207"
title: "49"
number: "245.207"
heading: "Certificate requirements."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/49/245.207"
---

# §245.207. Certificate requirements.

- (a) Each person who becomes a certified dispatcher in accordance with this part shall be issued a paper or electronic certificate that must:
  - (1) Identify the railroad or parent company that is issuing the certificate;
  - (2) Indicate that it is a dispatcher certificate;
  - (3) **Provide the following information about the certified person—**
    - (i) Name;
    - (ii) Employee identification number; and
    - (iii) Either a physical description or photograph of the person;
  - (4) Identify any conditions or limitations, including conditions to ameliorate visual or hearing acuity deficiencies, that restrict, limit, or alter the person's abilities to work as a dispatcher;
  - (5) Show the effective date of the certification;
  - (6) Show the expiration date of the certification unless the certificate was issued pursuant to § [245.105(c)](/cfr/49/245.105.md?p=c) or [(d)](/cfr/49/245.105.md?p=d);
  - (7) Be signed by an individual designated in accordance with [paragraph (b)](#b) of this section; and
  - (8) **Be electronic or be of sufficiently small size to permit being carried in an ordinary pocket wallet.**
- (b) Each railroad shall designate in writing any person it authorizes to sign the certificates described in this section. The designation shall identify such persons by name or job title.
- (c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit any railroad from including additional information on the certificate or supplementing the certificate through other documents.
- (d) It shall be unlawful for any railroad to knowingly or any individual to willfully:
  - (1) Make, cause to be made, or participate in the making of a false entry on a certificate; or
  - (2) **Otherwise falsify a certificate through material misstatement, omission, or mutilation.**
- (e) **Except as provided for in paragraph (g) of this section, each certified dispatcher shall—**
  - (1) Have their certificate in their possession while on duty as a dispatcher; and
  - (2) **Display their certificate upon a request from—**
    - (i) An FRA representative;
    - (ii) A state inspector authorized under [part 212](/cfr/49/part212.md) of this chapter;
    - (iii) An officer of the issuing railroad; or
    - (iv) **An officer of the dispatcher's employer if the dispatcher is not employed by the issuing railroad.**
- (f) If a dispatcher's certificate is lost, stolen, or mutilated, the railroad shall promptly replace the certificate at no cost to the dispatcher.
- (g) **A certified dispatcher is exempt from the requirements of paragraph (e) of this section if—**
  - (1) The railroad made its certification or recertification decision within the last 30 days and the dispatcher has not yet received their certificate; or
  - (2) The dispatcher's certificate was lost, stolen, or mutilated, and the railroad has not yet issued a replacement certificate to the dispatcher.
- (h) Any dispatcher who is notified or called to serve as a dispatcher and such service would cause the dispatcher to exceed certificate limitations, set forth in accordance with subpart B of this part, shall immediately notify the railroad that they are not authorized to perform that anticipated service and it shall be unlawful for the railroad to require such service.
- (i) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to alter a certified dispatcher's duty to comply with other provisions of this chapter concerning railroad safety.

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 20103, 20107, 20162, 21301, 21304, 21311; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note; 49 CFR 1.89; and Pub. L. 110-432, sec. 402, 122 Stat. 4884.

### Source

Source: 89 FR 44806, May 21, 2024, unless otherwise noted.