ANCC Certification FAQs
Q: Test Center Locations
A: Please visit www.prometric.com/ancc and select "Locate a test center."
Q: When to apply for your ANCC Certification?
A: When all requirements have been met for certification eligibility. Please view the certification page of the certification you are seeking for the detailed eligibility criteria.
Q: I am having trouble finding my login. What should I do?
A: Your login is your email address. If you are still having difficulty, send an email to customerservice@ana.org.
Q: I am having difficulty accessing nursingworld.org, what can I do?
A: Review the accessibility information here: https://www.nursingworld.org/accessibility/. You may also attempt to clear your browser of cookies and cache. Many web pages are optimized for Google Chrome. If you are still having difficulty, send an email to customerservice@ana.org.
Q: How do I access my account?
A: Start at https://www.nursingworld.org/ and select LOG IN from the top right corner of screen. Enter your log in and password, then select My Account from the top right of the screen.
Q: How do I check the status of my application?
A: Application statuses are visible in your online account.
Q: When logging in to check on the status of my application, what does initial mean?
A: Your application was successfully submitted and is scheduled for review.
Q: I applied for the wrong exam. What do I do?
A: Send an email to customerservice@ana.org. An additional $100 fee may apply to make the change.
Q: What is the pass rate for ANCC exams?
A: The annual statistics for all ANCC certifications are provided here.
Q: What is the total number of ANCC Certified Nurses?
A: The total number of ANCC certified nurses is provided on the Grand Total row found here.
Q: Where do I send supporting documents for my application?
A: The preferred method is to send Transcripts and validation of education forms (VOE) via email to aprnvalidation@ana.org
Official transcripts MUST be sent directly from the school or from the school’s designated transcript delivery service.
ANCC strongly recommends etranscripts.
*sending hard copies of transcripts via mail may result in a delay of review of application.
Q: How can I determine if I am practicing in an ANCC certification specialty?
A: Review the certification specialty information page for a description of the certification and to review the test content outline. Use this information to compare with your current practice and responsibilities.
Q: How do I request special testing accommodations?
A: The special accommodations can be found here: https://www.nursingworld.org/certification/certification-policies/special-accommodations/
Q: Can I mail in my initial or renewal application?
A: All ANCC certification or renewal applications are completed and submitted via the online application.
Q: How do I withdraw my application?
A: Please review the withdrawal policy here: https://www.nursingworld.org/certification/certification-policies/certification-exam-withdrawal/
All withdrawal requests must be made in writing to customerservice@ana.org
Examination candidates may withdraw their examination applications. If a candidate chooses to withdraw an examination application, ANCC must receive a written request before the end of the candidate's testing window for the candidate to receive a refund minus the administrative fee.
Renewal Candidates: may withdraw renewal applications. If a candidate chooses to withdraw a renewal application, ANCC must receive a written request before the certification renewal is issued for the candidate to receive a refund minus the administrative fee.
Q: How do I change my test date?
A: You may reschedule an existing test date up to two business days prior to the test date on the Prometric website at www.prometric.com/ancc or by calling 1.800.688.5805
Q: What is the non-refundable administrative fee?
A: Upon withdrawal from any certification application, ANCC will retain the non-refundable fee of $140. For example, if you paid the application fee of $395 and then chose to withdraw or were deemed not eligible for the exam, ANCC would retain $140 and refund $255 for the review and processing of the application.
Q: How do I change my name?
A: Your first and last names must be spelled correctly and match the first and last names on your government-issued identification.* If any of these items is incorrectly listed in your account, please contact ANCC immediately sending an email to customerservice@ana.org. by
*Examples of acceptable discrepancies of names on identification vs. application:
Absence or presence of a middle initial: John Smith vs. John E Smith
Absence or presence of a middle name: John Smith vs. John Evans Smith
Absence or presence of appendages: Jr., Sr., II
Maiden name as a middle name and as a given name: Mary Ellen Smith vs. Mary Jones Smith
Requests for legal name change due to marriage, divorce, or a court-approved legal name change must be sent, in writing, with a copy of the marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court-approved legal name change document. For clinicians who have applied in the past under one name and are currently applying under a different name, please note that ANCC requires copies of legal name change documents before proceeding with the application review process.
Name changes requests may be sent by mail to the address below. For fastest service, please send an email to customerservice@ana.org.
ANCC Certification
ATTN: Name Change
8515 Georgia Avenue, Suite 400
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Q: How early can I submit my renewal application?
A: Renewal applications may be submitted up to one year prior to the certification expiration date.
Q: How many times can I use ACLS, PALS, BLS, NRP or similar in a renewal cycle?
A: ANCC will accept ACLS, PALS, NRP or similar contact hours for all content in these courses one time during your 5-year renewal period.
Q: Which contact hours are ANCC approved?
A: Formally approved continuing education must meet the following criteria:
- Continuing nursing education (CNE) approved for nursing contact hours by an accredited provider or approver of nursing continuing education.
- Continuing medical education (CME) approved for CME hours.
- Sponsored by organizations, agencies, or educational institutions accredited or approved by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), or the Commission on Dietetic Registration
- Provided by one of these accepted agencies:
- American Nurses Association (ANA)
- American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
- American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)
- American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)
- American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM)
- American Psychiatric Association (APA)
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA)
- Emergency Nurses Association (ENA)
- National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH)
- National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners (NAPNAP)
For a list of ANCC accredited organizations, please visit Accredited Organizations
Q: If I do not have enough contact hours, can I combine/convert academic credits to contact hours?
A: Yes.
- 1 semester credit = 15 contact hours
- 1 quarter credit = 12.5 contact hours
Q: What is the pharmacy contact hour requirement?
A: APRNs (CNS and NP) renewing a certification must meet the following pharmacotherapeutic requirements:
- 25 of the 75 mandatory contact hours must be in pharmacotherapeutics.
Q: How do I enter my professional development in my ANCC account?
A: Include all your professional development into your account before creating an application.
- Once an online application is created, all professional development entries in your ANCC account are copied into the application at that time.
- After the application is created, no more entries from your account are copied into the application.
- Additional entries must be entered in the online application if they are to be included on the application.
- Entries made in the application will automatically be added to the master list in your account.
Q: After submitting an online verification request, what does the status "in process" mean?
A: The status "in process" means that the clinician has applied for the certification, but the review process is not complete. A verification letter is not yet available with the status "in process."
Q: If I have more than one ANCC Certification, how do I enter contact hours?
A: For all your ANCC Certifications enter all your contact hours in your ANCC Account. This is the master list of contact-hour entries.
- After entering all your contact hours, apply for each of the multiple certifications one at a time. All your contact hours from your account will copy into each application.
- Please retain the contact hours applicable for each specific application, deleting those that do not apply from the listing in the application. Repeat for each application.
Q: Does ANCC set the number of clinical hours required to complete a graduate or undergraduate nursing program?
A: ANCC does not set the number of clinical hours for undergraduate or graduate programs. ANCC sets for the number practice hours for eligibility for the RN specialty certification e.g., Ambulatory Care Nursing, Medical-Surgical Nursing, etc.
For NP and CNS initial certifications the number of faculty supervised clinical hours are set by national standards. Reach out to your school program faculty for this information
Q: How do I know if ANCC has received my documents?
A: You can see the documents received in your ANCC Account. You are encouraged to create an account by accessing nursingworld.org before you begin sending documentation to the ANCC. If you have created an account, each time a document is received for you, you will be notified via the email address listed on file.
Q: Do I need to send in proof of practice hours with my application?
A: You will need to submit proof of practice hours if your application is selected for a random audit.
Q: Do I need to send in proof of the clinical hours in my nursing academic program?
A: For NP or CNS initial certification applications, information regarding the number of clinical hours you completed is submitted by the faculty via a signed validation of education (VOE) form.
Q: What does authorization to test (ATT) mean?
A: ATT means that you have been authorized to test for your certification exam. Additional documents, such as final official transcripts, may be needed to become certified.
Q: Will I be certified after passing the ANCC Certification exam?
A: Certifications will be issued on the date that the final, official transcripts for your certification are received and reviewed, all eligibility requirements are met, and a passing result for your certification exam is on file.
Q: I have a question about the Success Pays program. Who can I contact?
A: Please send an email to successpays@ana.org
Q: I am an employer or verification organization and need to official proof of certification for a nurse. What should I do?.
A: Please review the information on verifications here: https://www.nursingworld.org/certification/verification/. If you do not already have an account set up to verify multiple individual certifications, please send an email to customerservice@ana.org.
Q: How many days in advance of a test date is recommended to cancel an exam?
A: Rescheduling or cancellation of an existing testing appointment, within the exam window, can be made up to two (2) days prior to the appointment, at no additional cost. Rescheduling or cancellation requests which are received less than two (2) days prior to an existing appointment will result in a forfeit of all testing fees.
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