Valve has made it easier for peripheral designers to license its SteamVR position tracking hardware by removing the $3,000 training fee and instead offering an online certification course that designers can take for free.
Once a designer completes the online course they will receive a license to use Valve's tracking technology. Of course, if in-person is your choice then that is still an option.
The steps to get started are now very simple. From the SteamVR Partner website:
1. Create a Steam account (or sign into your existing account)
3. Sign up as a SteamVR Tracking licensee
5. Install the SteamVR Tracking HDK (it will appear in your Steam library under "Software")