Accepted Certifications in the DDCT

The Magnet Recognition Program accepts only nursing and health care–related professional board certifications as eligible for inclusion in the DDCT. Please refer to the Eligibility for inclusion of certifications in the DDCT resource for specific eligibility requirements.

Limiting eligible certifications to accredited nursing or health care–related professional board certifications ensures that certifications included in DDCT reporting meet established quality standards as determined by recognized external accrediting organizations. This approach also promotes consistency, comparability, and standardization across organizations when reporting professional certification percentages in the DDCT. 

Beyond the standardized documentation required for Magnet reporting, how an organization operationalizes professional certification is an organizational decision. Organizations may establish certification practices and support mechanisms that reflect the needs of their nursing workforce and the patients and communities they serve.  

The Magnet Program Office does not prescribe which certifications an organization should approve, recognize, or support for purposes of professional recognition, reimbursement, etc. The Magnet certification requirements are meant to ensure quality and establish a standardized framework for Magnet reporting and do not limit an organization’s ability to recognize or support additional certifications that are meaningful within its practice environment.

Accepted Professional Board Certifications

For a professional board certification and/or a health-care related certification to be accepted for inclusion in the Demographic Database Collection Tool (DDCT) (and Magnet Manual sources of evidence), it must be accredited by one of the accrediting bodies listed below. 

Use the links below to search for a current certification within each of the four (4) accrediting bodies’ websites:

National Commission Certifying Agencies (NCCA) 
ANSI National Accreditation Board (ISO/IEC 17024)
Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC)
International Certification Accreditation Council (ICAC)

For applicant organizations with access to the DDCT, a list of accepted professional board certifications can be accessed using the DDCT instructions. DDCT instructions are found on the Magnet Learning Community. Go to the MLC Resource Center/Magnet Program Webinars/DDCT Vignettes and to DDCT Step 5: Certifications.

Retired Certifications

Retired certifications that were previously accredited by ABSNC, NCCA, ANAB (ISO/IEC 17024), and ICAC will continue to be accepted by the Magnet Program Office.

•    Retired certifications are certifications that are no longer offered by a certifying body, but individuals currently with the certification can maintain their certification.
•    Reference the list of retired certifications: Retired certifications 

Re-establishing Baselines for Certification Rates

With the change in professional board certifications related to the 2023 Magnet® Application Manual, organizations may re-establish their baseline, if needed. To do this:

• Verify certifications for inclusion by ABSNC, NCCA, ANAB (ISO/IEC 17024) and ICAC.
• Remove all certifications that are not accredited professional board certifications or on the retired list.
• Calculate new baseline percentage of eligible certified nurses.
• Establish Year One and Year Two goals.

Please review the professional board certification guidance based on document submission year Submission Guideline Tool  for additional information about eligibility for inclusion of certifications in the DDCT.

Additional Questions
Please contact ddct.certlist@ana.org:

If a professional certification is not accredited by one of the accrediting bodies listed above and is not shown on the accepted list in the DDCT, contact the certifying body who offers the certification to inquire if they are interested or planning for accreditation. 

If an organization finds a nursing or health-care related professional board certification accredited by ABSNC, NCCA, ANAB (ISO 17-024), or ICAC that does not appear in the DDCT, please contact ddct.certlist@ana.org with a request to have the certification added.

For additional questions about certification, please contact ddct.certlist@ana.org.

Please contact your Senior Magnet Program Analyst for any additional questions