International Municipal Signals Association

IMSA is the oldest known association of its kind in the world.

It dates back to October 1896, when a group of municipal signal men from several east coast cities met in Brooklyn, New York and organized an association called the “International Association of Fire and Police Telegraph Superintendents.”  Records indicate that the group met once a year thereafter and that committees were appointed which developed and submitted technical papers on pertinent subjects at these annual meetings.

The basic purpose of the organization was to keep its members and others in the profession, up-to-date on proper procedures of construction and maintenance of signal systems and informed on new products and equipment developments.

July 8, 2026

Fall 2026 Online Schools coming

Online classes are being planned this Fall in the following programs:

• Roadway Lighting Technician I
• Traffic Signal Technician I
• Traffic Signal Field Technician II
• Traffic Signal Senior Field Technician III

Dates for these schools will be published on the Ontario Section website.

General School Information

All Level I and Level II programs are two days in length and commence at 8:00 am and run until 4 pm each day.  The Level III program will be one day in length.  All Certification exams will be completed on-line.  Students will need to have access to a laptop or tablet with a working camera in order to complete the exams.  Exams will be available for a 12 hour period after the class ends.  Students will have 3 hours to complete the on-line exam.  All exams are closed book and the student is not to be distracted during the exam or confer with others during the exam.

For Level I programs the prerequisite is a Work Zone program and one year of experience.  For Work Zone only the IHSA Traffic Control for Temporary Work Zones or the OTC OTM Book 7 programs are recognized.  No other Work Zone programs are currently accepted.

For Level II programs 2 years of experience and a current Level I Certification are the prerequisites.

For Level III program 5 years of experience and a current Level II Certification are the prerequisites.

General School Information

All online school programs are two days in length and commencing at 8:00 am and concluding each day at 4:00 pm. All Certification exams will be completed on-line. Students will need to have access to a laptop or tablet with a working camera in order to complete the exams. Exams will be available for a 12 hour period after the class ends. Students will have 3 hours to complete the on-line exam. All exams are closed book and the student is not to be distracted or confer with others during the exam.

For Level I programs, the prerequisite is a Work Zone program and one (1) year of experience. For Work Zone only the IHSA Traffic Control for Temporary Work Zones or the OTC OTM Book 7 programs are recognized. No other Work Zone programs are currently accepted.
For Level II programs, two (2) years of experience and Level I Certification are the prerequisites.
To register, send your request to certifications@imsasafetyon.org.