Congratulations on earning your ACRP Certification!
Keep your designation current and continue demonstrating your competence through the Maintenance of Certification program. To maintain your credential you are required to participate in continuing education/involvement activities and report 24 contact hours/points every 2 years, or take the current Certification exam.
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The goal of the Maintenance of Certification process is to ensure, as much as possible, the continuing competence of each certificant and maintain the professional standard of those engaged in clinical research. The purposes of the Continuing Competency requirements established by the Academy are that credential holders continue to: obtain current professional development information; explore new knowledge in specific content areas; master new clinical research-related skills and techniques; enhance approaches to effective clinical research, both within their specified job role and beyond; further develop professional judgment; conduct clinical research in a safe and ethical manner.
Early-Bird Application Period (February 11 – April 15, 2021)
Regular Application Period (April 16 – May 31, 2021)
Late Application Period (June 1 – July 31, 2021)
**Maintenance of Certification fees are nonrefundable.** It is your responsibility to meet the program requirements and timelines. If an incomplete or deficient submission is made and not rectified by the Certification expiration date, all fees will be forfeited and you will lose your designation.
**Dual Certificant Discount** If more than one of the Academy’s credentials is held, you may maintain both designations at the same time. Both expiration dates will advance forward by 2 years. By maintaining together, you will receive a $50 discount and need only submit a total of 24 points. If you hold three certifications, please contact us for manual processing.
Maintaining your ACRP Certification boils down to these three activities:
Learn more about each step by exploring the appropriate sections of this page. Additional details can be found in the Maintenance of Certification Handbook:
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Try the Maintenance Resources page:
Still have questions? Contact us and we will be happy to help you.
Continuing Education and Continuing Involvement are the two categories in which a certificant can participate in activities and earn points toward Maintenance of ACRP Certification.
What is Continuing Education (CE)?
CE pertains to instructional activities where the certificant is participating in a learning capacity. CE is also referred to as “coursework” or “training.”
There are 2 types of CE relevant to YOUR certification:
What is Continuing Involvement (CI)?
CI is participation in a capacity other than learning. The certificant can be attending a meeting, serving/volunteering, presenting information, or providing oversight.
Continuing Involvement activities are:
Examples include attendance at Investigator Meetings, Site Initiation Visits, inclusion on a 1572, authoring a journal article, etc.
Continuing Education and/or Continuing Involvement activities (or Maintenance by Examination) that satisfy the Maintenance of Certification requirements must be completed and reported within the appropriate timeframe for a candidate’s maintenance period, as shown below. This also includes taking and passing the exam for maintenance.
Points must be earned two years prior to your Certification expiration date.
Points must be earned between June 1, 2019 and May 31, 2021.
If you earned your Certification in 2019, your reporting timeframe begins June 2019.
All points earned through ACRP are automatically reported to your contact history upon completion of the activity evaluation. Points can be viewed by logging in and clicking on “My Account,” then “My CCRA/CCRC/CPI/CP Certification.” Click the “Activities Points Requirement” link. If the points are not listed, go to the “Learning Portal” link to complete the activity and the evaluation.
Candidates can view and report points at any time during the 2-year period. All activities not completed through/reported by ACRP must be self-reported using one of these methods:
Report the following information about each activity:
All documents for Maintenance must have the name of course, date, number of points, and the participant’s name printed on the certificate to be acceptable for credit. All other information listed is required for completing the Maintenance application and is the certificant’s responsibility to obtain.
Please do not include or upload certificates of completion during the points reporting or application process. This documentation is requested from candidates who are selected for the random Maintenance Documentation Verification Process only (see Maintenance Document Verification Process section in the Maintenance Handbook). It is recommended to keep all documentation supporting the claim for hours/points until their next Maintenance cycle is completed. The Academy reserves the right to request further documentation.
This is the final step–after all points have been earned and reported. Payment must be submitted with the Maintenance Application and twenty (24) points.
The online application is easy and automatically traceable. Be prepared with any points reporting and credit card details as the application will timeout after 20 minutes of inactivity. You cannot save your work and return.
For check or money transfer transactions, an online application must be completed.
The online and printable applications are available four months prior to your certification expiration date. They can be found under the “Applying for Maintenance” tab above or on the Maintenance Resources page.
If you are paying by check, download the printable application in addition to completing the online version. Payment will not be processed until your online application is complete and all 24 points are listed.
If you know that you are due to maintain it is possible that you have a duplicate record in the Academy’s database and you are logging in to the account that does not contain your Certification history. Contact us for assistance.
Once payment has been made, ACRP will send email notification to confirm receipt and approval. Approved certificants will be able to access an updated copy of their certificate online.
Please visit the online Certification Registry and confirm the expiration date of your Certification. When Maintenance is successful, your Certification expiration date will advance two years. If your application was not received (your expiration date has not changed in the registry), then verify that the payment submitted was for Maintenance and not membership renewal. ACRP Membership and Maintenance of Certification are separate programs requiring separate applications and fees.
Contact hours/points may be entered into your ACRP profile at any time by clicking “My Account” and then “My Profile” after logging into the ACRP website with your credentials.
Continuing Education (Research, Healthcare), and Continuing Involvement. Be sure to read the Maintenance Handbook for points/hours requirements.
Candidates for Maintenance can take continuing education offerings in two (2) topic areas.
The options available are ACRP, CBRN, CME, and Other. You need to review the certificate you received to determine the organization that accredited the program you attended or the type of hours earned. If you are still unclear, contact the organization that held the function.
Enter the date that you attended or completed the program. If the program was longer than one day, enter the last day of the event.
This is not required. Records of certificates should be kept in case you are randomly selected to participate in the Verification process.
As an alternative to earning points, you can take and successfully complete the current form of the Exam for your credential prior to your Certification expiration date. Please download the Maintenance by Examination form and return via email or fax.
If you hold two or more ACRP certifications, you may maintain both certifications at the same time and receive a $50 discount. Another benefit of maintaining both designations simultaneously is that the 24 points can be applied to both designations. Done separately, a total of 48 points must be completed (24 points for each credential).
Adding hours/points and submitting payment is completing the Maintenance application. Once your application is submitted, please allow up to two weeks for review. You will be sent an updated certificate once you have successfully maintained your credential.
No. Membership and Maintenance of Certification are two separate programs. Membership is renewed annually, while Maintenance is due every two (2) years.
Note: ACRP does not invoice for Certification. If you received an invoice, it was to renew your Membership with ACRP.
ACRP Membership is not required, however, ACRP Members pay a lower maintenance fee, and have access to discounted training programs and contact hours, such as ACRP Home Study.
Maintenance of Certification fees cover the review of your application and therefore are non-refundable. It is the certificant’s responsibility to be compliant with the program requirements and timelines. If a deficient application is submitted and is not rectified by the required deadlines, all fees will be forfeited and the certificant will no longer be permitted to use the designation.
Please contact us with any other questions.
Supplement more rigorous training and stay informed of the latest trends and developments in clinical research with Home Study tests delivered through ACRP’s flagship journal, Clinical Researcher. Home Study tests are based on articles in each issue of Clinical Researcher— read the articles, take the test, and convert the knowledge you gain from Clinical Researcher into contact hours/credits. Home Study tests are just $15 per contact hour for ACRP Members and are accredited to provide 2.0 to 3.0 contact hours/credits (CBRN, ACRP).
From ICH Guidelines and Good Clinical Practice to more specialized, advanced topics, ACRP provides high-quality training that builds competence, improves on-the-job performance, and provides the continuing education units you need to maintain your ACRP Certification.
Browse our extensive catalog of eLearning, Webinars, Classroom programs, and more.
Share your knowledge and expertise by volunteering for the Academy of Clinical Research Professionals or writing Certification exam items.
