"70E certified" is not a thing.
The 2027 edition restores explicit language that a person may be qualified with respect to certain equipment and tasks and unqualified for others. A single certificate does not establish qualification. A matrix does.
§ Why this matters more in a data center
The same technician is expected to work a 208 V rack PDU, a 480 V distribution panel, a UPS with a live DC bus, a battery string, and — on some sites — 15 kV switchgear. Those are five different qualification questions, and a single 8-hour class answers none of them on its own.
What establishes qualification is training plus a documented employer demonstration that the person can perform the specific task on the specific equipment class, safely.
§ Build the matrix
Equipment classes this person is qualified on
§ Using it
One row per equipment class, one column per task. Not one row per person — a person is a sheet.
Training is necessary, not sufficient. Each tick needs a class and a documented demonstration on that equipment.
Blanks are the point. A matrix full of ticks is a matrix nobody filled out honestly. Blanks are scope limits, and scope limits are what keep people out of gear they should not be in.
Review on task change, equipment change, and at least every three years.
Contractors too. Under 110.5 the host employer must verify contract employee qualifications. Ask for their matrix, not their certificate.
Get the training half right
Certificates naming the attendee, date, content, edition and evaluation — the record that anchors every row of your matrix.
For employers See the schedule