The pathway to Professional Certification for environmental professionals is simple:

Sign up for the E-Course that corresponds to the Professional Certification you desire.  Complete the entire E-Course curriculum on-line (including passing the Certification Exams imbedded within the E-Course), receive your Course Completion Certificate and then submit an Application for Certification documenting your educational and employment background in an environmental field.

More detailed information on certification requirements can be found here.

CONTINUED for 2023! Certified Professionals have the option to renew their Certifications for Life!  Imagine - no more having to contact us to determine if a meeting you plan to attend will qualify for CEUs, no more having to search for workshops and meetings to attend to earn CEUs, no more registration fees to pay for programs to earn CEUs and no more worrying about getting your annual renewal form submitted before the deadline.

To qualify for converting your Certification(s) from an annual renewal to Certification for Life, you must meet the following requirements:

1.  You must have earned 8 qualifying CEUs in 2022 to ensure that your 2023 Certification is current;

2.  If you were Certified within the last year, you will be eligible for Certification for Life on your first renewal date, at which time you must document earning at least 8 CEUs the prior year; or

3.  IF you allowed your Certification to lapse for 2022 for some reason, you may still renew if you earn 8 qualifying CEUs in 2022 and pay the late renewal fee.  You may not take advantage of the Certification for Life program if your Certification lapsed in 2021 or earlier. 

You will see this option for Certification renewal on the 2023 Certification Renewal Form (see link below).

If Certification for Life is not for you, our annual renewal option is still available.  Annual renewals for each of the five categories of Professional Certification are due January 15 of each year.  Payment of the $85.00 (US) renewal fee and a completed Certification Annual Renewal Form must be submitted to us prior to January 15 to avoid the late payment fee of an additional $85.00 (US), or your suspension from the International Registry of Certified Environmental Samplers and Specialists.  You can download the certification renewal form by clicking on this link: Certification Renewal Form.

Keeping current with evolving technology and field methods is an important part of maintaining your certification.  So, annually, each person who is certified must complete at least 8 hours of continuing education specifically related to the subject matter of the certification (i.e., a Certified Ground-Water Sampler must complete 8 hours of training related specifically to ground-water sampling).  Under this program, 1 continuing education unit (CEU) is earned for each hour of training.  Acceptable forms of continuing education include:

• Attendance at conferences with relevant subject matter
• Taking Nielsen Environmental E-School E-Modules or E-Courses.  PLEASE NOTE; For those taking E-Modules to apply toward CEU credit for renewal of Certifications, per Certification Progam rules, you are NOT permitted to take for credit, E-Modules that you have taken previously. 
• Attendance at “live” open-enrollment courses, web-based courses or webinars offered by other providers (including US EPA, ITRC, and other public entities or private companies)
• Attendance at webinars or other on-line training events offered by equipment manufacturers or suppliers
• Attendance at formal in-house (corporate or agency) training sessions that cover subject matter related specifically to the type of certification you hold

The following do not count toward your 8-hour CEU requirment:

• Corporate or other health and safety refreshers
• In-house review of SOPs or regulatory guidance documents
• On-the-job training
• Viewing of YouTube videos
• Taking E-Modules you have taken in previous years.  While our system will allow you to register for modules you have already taken, you cannot claim CEU credit for those modules.  We really do want you to learn new things!
• Meetings discussing environmental policy, economics, politics or other topics tangential to the subject of your Certification.

Attendance at all training events (whether “live” or web-based) must be properly documented.  Acceptable forms of documentation include:

1. Course completion certificates documenting proof of attendance and documenting the date(s) of the course, the subject matter for the course, and the number of hours for each course completed (a course syllabus will work for this part);
   
   
2. A receipt for payment for each training event, along with a detailed description or outline from the course provider documenting the content and length of the course (simply copying website content without a receipt or formal confirmation of registration is not acceptable);
   
   
3. For conferences, a complete schedule of the conference with an indication of which conference presentations (platform papers, workshops, short courses or other events) you attended, and a signed affidavit from the presenter(s) documenting your attendance at each presentation (download the affidavit form here or contact the event sponsor prior to the conference to determine if they have a similar mechanism for documenting your participation at the various presentations throughout the conference).
   
   
4. For in-house training sessions, an outline of the session (with times) along with a certificate of completion or a signed affidavit from the instructor(s) documenting your attendance.

If you have any questions about whether a course, conference, webinar or in-house training session  will be accepted, please provide us with detailed content information for the training event (outline, detailed schedule, detailed course description, link to on-line course material, etc.) and we will be happy to evaluate that information for you.