Applicants

Application Processing Terminology:

Applicant – A person who has submitted an application for certification and is requesting acceptance of eligibility to sit for the appropriate NCCAOM examination.

Candidate – An Applicant whose application payment has been processed allowing their application to be submitted to certification services for review. When tracking your status on the NCCAOM website the status will appear as “Candidate”.

Approved Candidate - A Candidate who is “authorized to test” and is able to register with Pearson VUE to take the designated examination. When tracking your status on the NCCAOM website the status will appear as “Approved”.

Pass-All - A candidate who has passed all the required examinations in the certification for which they have applied but has not yet submitted all the required documents.

Pre-Cert - A candidate who has passed all the required examinations in the certification for which they have applied, has submitted all the required documents and who is awaiting the finalization of the NCCAOM quality control review.

Certification Statuses:

Diplomate – A candidate who has successfully passed the required examination(s) and has received approval of the final transcript submitted to NCCAOM directly from the school. If the candidate has applied for the Acupuncture or Oriental Medicine Program, they have also completed and requested submission to NCCAOM of their validated Clean Needle Technique (CNT) Certificate from the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine’s (CCAOM).

• Diplomate Certified Status (Active) - A first time certified Diplomate. Active Diplomate status assures patients, employers, certifying agencies, and others of a Diplomate’s commitment to upholding certification standards. Active status entitles Diplomates to all of the benefits of certification.
• Diplomate Recertified Status (Active) – Diplomates who recertify every four years are considered to be in Certified Status (Active) which demonstrates competency maintenance in the profession.
• Diplomate Retired Designation (Non-Certified Status) – An active Diplomate, or a former Diplomate who holds inactive status at the time of retirement, who is permanently retired as a practitioner from the AOM profession, a recognized subspecialty or any other health profession in any state in the U.S. or abroad, and who does not perform, in an office or clincal setting the practice of acupuncture or Oriental medicine at any time now or in the future and has applied for and been approved as a non-active retired Diplomate. (See the Retired Designation Handbook for more information.)

Expired Statuses: Any Diplomate who does not recertify is in “expired status” and is not considered certified by the NCCAOM. An individual holding an expired status may not use the NCCAOM designation(s) or the NCCAOM service mark(s) for any NCCAOM certification. Below are the three types of expired statuses.

•  Inactive Status (Non-Certified Status) – A Diplomates who is not practicing as an AOM professional due to life circumstances may apply for inactive status. Inactive status is valid for two years. An individual may not apply for consecutive periods of inactive status. An individual must recertify prior to expiration of their inactive status. Former Diplomates holding inactive status are not entitled to any of the benefits of certification except receipt of the Diplomate newsletters. (See the Recertification Handbook for more information.)
• Lapsed Status (Non-Certified Status) – NCCAOM certification is considered lapsed after the expiration date on the certificate. A recertification application for either active or inactive status must be received to avoid lapsed status. Former Diplomates in lapsed status are not entitled to any of the benefits offered under active status.
• Terminated Status (Non-Certified Status) – After three years of continuous lapsed status, the certification is no longer valid and considered terminated. A former Diplomate whose certification is terminated must either reapply for certification and meet the current eligibility requirements or apply for NCCAOM Reinstatement to active status. (This new route is being developed and expected to be available by mid-2013).

The certification process can be a daunting experience for those with little experience in the application process. The first and most important step is to read the NCCAOM^® Certification Handbook. For a visual overview of the certification processes see Your Roadmap to Successful Certification and the new NCCAOM^® Certification Brochure. To see step by step instructions go to Stepping through the Certification Process.

New! The NCCAOM now offers the opportunity to complete and submit the certification application on-line.

The first step to applying on-line is to create an account and enter your profile information. This is made easy with step-by-step instructions for On-Line Account Maintenance which can be viewed or printed for your convenience.

Next, is the actual completion of the on-line application. Again, NCCAOM has provided instructions for completing the On-Line NCCAOM^® Application Form for Certification.

Contact NCCAOM at (904) 598-1005 or by email at “Contact Us“for general inquiries and questions about the on-line process.