Accreditation is the process by which a voluntary, non-governmental agency or organization appraises and grants accredited status to institutions and/or programs or services which meet predetermined structure, process, and outcome criteria.
The ANCC Accreditation program includes:
Accreditation of nursing continuing professional development organizations
(Nursing Continuing Professional Development Accreditation)
Please Note: Accreditation for organizations is distinct from certification for individual nurses. For information on continuing education requirements for nursing certification, visit the ANCC Certification Center or email certification@ana.org or call 1.800.284.2378.
Accreditation in NCPD recognizes organizations which demonstrate excellence in the ability to deliver nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) or approve organizations or individuals that have demonstrated excellence in the ability to deliver NCPD. The Accreditation Program ensures the integrity of the accreditation process through systematic, evidence-based evaluation of application materials submitted by qualified applicants for Accredited Provider or Accredited Approver status. ANCC's NCPD Accreditation Program contributes to improving healthcare outcomes by providing a voluntary peer-review process that defines standards for high performance in providing quality NCPD and measures compliance with those standards for organizations that elect to apply for accreditation.
Find an ANCC Accredited Organization
The Joint Accreditation Program is an organizational credential for organizations planning inter-professional continuing education. This program is managed collaboratively by ANCC, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).
Goals are to support inter-professional collaborative practice (IPCP) through inter-professional continuing education, and to streamline the accreditation processes. Inter-professional education (IPE) is designed to address the professional practice gaps of the healthcare team using an educational planning process that reflects input from all professionals who make up the team. The education is designed to change the skills/strategy, performance, or patient outcomes of the healthcare team.
PTAP sets the global standard for nurse residency and fellowship programs that transition registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) into new practice settings. PTAP provides a road map for organizations to develop new residency or fellowship programs, or to evaluate the quality of their existing programs. These include the following types of transition programs: RN residency, RN fellowship, and APRN fellowship. Residencies or fellowships that meet PTAP criteria exhibit excellence in the domains of development and design, nursing professional development, organizational enculturation, practice-based learning, program leadership, and quality outcomes.
The Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education are designed to ensure that accredited continuing education serves the needs of patients and the public, is based on valid content, and is free from commercial influence.
The Standards were released in December 2020, replacing the Standards for Commercial Support: Standards to Ensure Independence in CME Activities.
Accredited CME providers need to comply with the Standards that are applicable to their organizations by January 1, 2022--(July 1, 2022 for Accredited ANCC Providers). Visit our Standards resources page for more information and resources. A PDF of the Standards is available here.
The Standards have been adopted by the following accrediting bodies representing multiple health professions:
Please Note: Accreditation applies to organizations. Certification applies to individuals. Questions about continuing education (CE) requirements for nursing certification should be addressed to ANCC Certification Program at certification@ana.org or 1.800.284.2378.
Learn more at the ANCC Certification Center
Can CE Be Used for License or Certification Renewal?
Contact the appropriate licensing or certifying body. For questions about ANCC certification please visit the ANCC Certification Center or address questions to certification@ana.org or 1.800.284.2378.
Providers must develop educational activities that address a gap in knowledge, skills, and/or practices for the professional registered nurse. Content chosen for educational activities must be evidence-based or based on the best-available evidence, and the educational activity must be planned independently from the influence of Ineligible Companies.
Continuing education may be awarded for content provided through orientation, skills training, BLS, ACLS, PALS, or similar if the content addresses a gap in knowledge, skills, and/or practices for the target audience.
Content developed by an ineligible company may NOT be used in educational activities awarding ANCC NCPD contact hours.
Ineligible Companies
Logos of an ineligible company are not permitted within or associated with the content of an educational activity with the exception of required disclosure to learners. Logos of an eligible company are permitted at the discretion of the Provider.
The Nurse Planner is responsible for adhering to and complying with the ANCC NCPD Accreditation Criteria.
The Nurse Planner and the Planning Committee must adhere to the following guidelines when incorporating previously developed content into educational activities:
The Nurse Planner and Planning Committee may not provide a previously developed educational activity and award continuing nursing education credit without complying with these guidelines. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in loss of accreditation status.
Updated 5/2022
There are three ways to award ANCC contact hours (nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) ) for successful completion of nursing continuing professional development activities. An organization can:
Note: An ineligible company is not eligible to award NCPD contact hours. To determine if your organization ineligible, pleae visit the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education.
Accredited Provider
Organizations may apply to become an Accredited Provider of nursing continuing professional development. This organizational credential enables an organization to plan and present as many educational activities as it chooses throughout the period of accreditation, domestically and internationally.
An Accredited Provider must have a currently licensed registered nurse who holds a graduate degree, and either the graduate degree or baccalaureate degree must be in nursing. Initial applicants may receive accreditation for up to two years, and re-accrediting applicants may receive accreditation for up to four years. View fee schedule. NCPD Resources available here: Writing to the ANCC NCPD Accreditation Criteria Self-Learning Guide and/orANCC NCPD Accredited Provider Applicant Journey Guide.
Find ANCC Accredited Providers
Approved Provider
Organizations may apply to become an Approved Provider through a constituent or state nurses association (C/SNA) that is an ANCC Accredited Approver. This organizational credential enables an organization to plan and present as many educational activities as it chooses throughout the period of approval. An Approved Provider is required to have a currently licensed registered nurse who holds a baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing.
An Approved Provider must target at least 50% of its educational activities within its local geographic region (see Boundary Rule for Approved Providers under the Eligibility). Each C/SNA has its own application process and fee schedule. An approval period is no longer than 3 years.
Find ANCC Accredited Approvers
Organizations listed as state nurses associations may approve providers.
Individual Activity Approval
Organizations may submit individual activities to an ANCC Accredited Approver to have a specific educational activity approved for two years. Each Accredited Approver sets fees and review time. Some Accredited Approvers offer an expedited review process for a higher fee.
Each educational activity must include a qualified nurse (Nurse Planner) in planning, implementing, and evaluating the educational activity. The qualified nurse must hold a current, valid nursing license as an RN and a baccalaureate degree or higher in nursing.
Find ANCC Accredited Approvers
Any organization listed as an ANCC Accredited Approver can approve an individual activity.
An organization accredited or approved to award ANCC nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) must use the appropriate ANCC accreditation statement on its materials for learners. To determine if an organization is awarding ANCC nursing continuing professional development (NCPD):
Contact the provider of the educational activity and ask if the provider is awarding ANCC contact hours.
Look for an ANCC Accreditation statement, such as:
The boundary rule applies to approved providers only, not individual activity applicants. An organization must apply to ANCC if more than 50% of its activities are marketed to nurses in multiple noncontiguous regions (based on the HHS regions), regardless of the marketing method (Internet, flyers, print advertisement, or similar).
The actual audience make up (from local or multiple regions) does not determine whether the organization must apply to ANCC. How the organization markets its activities is the determining factor. The audience make up, however, may provide evidence for the Accredited Approver in order to make an appropriate decision. The marketing method also does not determine whether an organization must apply to ANCC, but may provide additional evidence.
Example #1: An organization provides 100 activities annually and advertises them within a 5 hospital system using a web-based link on its intranet. Only nurses from the local state attend.
Example #2: An organization provides 100 activities annually and advertises 60 of them through a national publication. Only nurses from the local state attend.
Example #3: An organization provides 100 activities annually and advertises 10 of them through a national database of CE activities. Nurses from multiple regions attend the 10 activities. Nurses from the local area attend the other 90 activities.
Example #4: An organization provides 100 activities and only advertises in a small, local nursing publication. Nurses from the local area attend.
Example #5: An organization provides 100 activities annually and states that it advertises them only within a small, local nursing publication. Nurses from multiple regions attend.
To view the HHS Regions and Boundary Map visit: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Region Map
Organizations outside the US may apply to become ANCC Accredited Providers and to have individual educational activities approved by an ANCC Accredited Approver.
View Benefits
Learn How to Become Eligible
Learn How to Apply
Find Accredited Approvers
Email ANA Accreditation Program
The ANCC's Nursing Activity Reporting System (NARS) is a web-based portal designed to streamline and support the collection of program and activity data from Accredited Providers, Accredited Approvers, and Approved Providers (Providers approved by an ANCC Accredited Approver Unit). The ANCC uses the information in NARS to evaluate/support provider accreditation criterion which is a part of the educational design process for initial accreditation, reaccreditation, and progress report reviews (refer to Policy 15 of the ANCC NCPD Accredited Provider or Approver Policy and Operations Manual in the learning communities). In addition, the ANCC will use data from NARS to produce annual reports as a service to ANCC Accredited Organizations and other stakeholders. All Providers and Approvers accredited directly by the ANCC are required to use NARS. Providers approved by a Constituent State Nursing Association (C/SNA) or Federal Nursing Service (FNS) (Approved Providers), should check with their Approver Unit for details.
Link to: Nursing Activity Reporting System (NARS)
First time users will need to use the Forgot Password Button.
For updated templates and detailed NARS Instructions, please log in to the NCPD Learning Communities and navigate to the NARS folder.
*If you accept the terms prior to entering your activity data, you can still proceed with entering your activity data.
*Cumulative learner counts should include all learners that were awarded contact hours or OB-CE© credit from the start date (which may be prior to the current year) to either the end date of the activity or 12/31/XX, whichever comes first.
*For example: If you had 20 learners receive contact hours for a specific enduring activity in 2023, and 20 learners receive contact hours in 2024, your cumulative learner count for annual reporting in 2024 is 40 learners.
There are four activity statuses: Draft, Active, Ready to Close, and Closed. Below is a description of the data fields required for each activity status:
DRAFT
ACTIVE 
READY TO CLOSE 
CLOSED 
*The fields below are optional and are not currently required to be completed in the NARS system:
· Description of Activity
· Who can register for this activity
· Is there a fee to register for this activity
· Provider URL to view activity details
· Outcomes
| What kinds of activity formats can be reported in NARS? | |
|---|---|
| ACTIVITY FORMAT | DEFINITION |
| Live Course |
A live course is a live activity where the learner participates in real time. A live course is planned as an individual event. A live course can either be classified as an in-person event or live-streamed via an online platform. Examples of a live course could be an annual meeting, one-off conference, or seminar. For events with multiple sessions, such as annual meetings, accredited providers report one activity and calculate the credit by totaling the hours of all educational sessions. To calculate the total numbers of learners, accredited providers report the number of learners that were awarded contact hours or OB-CE© credit for the overall event. If the same live course is held multiple times for different audiences (ex: ACLS trainings held in different locations), then each instance is reported as a separate activity. |
| Regularly Scheduled Series |
Regularly scheduled series (RSS) is a live activity planned as a series with multiple, ongoing sessions, e.g., offered weekly, monthly, or quarterly. An RSS is primarily planned by and presented to the accredited organization’s professional staff and generally targets the same audience over the whole series. If an RSS is presented live and recorded for the same audience who might happen to miss one or more sessions, then it would still be reported as one RSS, and those learners would be part of the aggregate count of learners that were awarded contact hours or OB-CE© credit. Examples include grand rounds, tumor boards, and morbidity and mortality conferences. If, however, the RSS is recorded and intended for a different, broader audience, then it should be reported as two separate activities – one RSS and one enduring material. The recorded sessions could be offered as a single enduring material or multiple enduring materials as determined by the provider. When reporting RSS activities in NARS, each series should be reported as one activity. Each series should be reported for a maximum of a 12-month period. If this activity is available for longer than 12 months, it should be reported as a separate activity each year in which it is available. In addition, the following guidelines should be used: The number of credits listed for the activity should be for the entire series, not the credit amount per session. Each nurse or other learner is counted as a learner for every session they attend in the series. For example: Nursing Grand Rounds is planned as a 12-month activity from July 1 to June 30 each year. This activity meets for one hour each week. The start date should be entered as 07/01/XXXX and the end date should be entered as 06/30/XXXX. In NARS, the series should be entered as one activity with 52 credits. If 20 nurses received contact hours in each session, total nurse learners would be 1,040 (20 learners/session x 52 sessions) for that single activity. The number of credits listed for the activity should be for the entire series, not the credit amount per session. Please note: live activities where the same content is offered multiple times for different audiences should be reported as separate live courses and not RSS. NARS allows the provider to indicate in NARS if a live course is repeated. |
| Enduring Material |
An enduring material is an on-demand activity that does not have a specific time or location designated for participation; rather, the participant determines whether and when to complete the activity. The content can be accessed at any point during the lifespan of the activity and there is no specific time designated for participation. Examples include online interactive educational modules, recorded presentations, printed materials, and podcasts. Enduring material activities should be reported in NARS once for the duration of the activity. Enduring materials can be entered with a date range up to three years, with the start date as the first date the activity is available to learners, and the end date as the date of expiration. If the activity is reviewed and renewed, the activity will be re-entered into NARS as a new activity. When reporting the number of learners for an enduring material activity, you should count all learners who received contact hours for all or a portion of the activity and whose participation can be verified. Individuals that downloaded or accessed the activity but did not receive contact hours are not considered learners. |
| Journal-Based CNE |
A journal-based CNE/CE activity is an activity, planned using the educational design process, where the learner reads one or more articles (or adapted formats for special needs) from a peer-reviewed professional journal.
When reporting journal-based activities in NARS, the accredited provider may choose to report journal-based CNE activities as a single activity per journal or as individual articles. The number of learners should equal the total number of individuals who completed the activity and received contact hours. |
| Manuscript Review |
Manuscript review is an activity, planned using the educational design process, in which a learner participates in the critical review of an assigned journal manuscript during the pre-publication review process of a journal. |
| Test-Item Writing |
Test-item writing is an activity wherein nurses learn through their contribution to the development (and review) of examinations, or certain peer-reviewed self-assessment activities, by researching, drafting, and defending potential test-items. This activity must be planned using the educational design process. |
| Committee Learning |
Committee learning is a live activity that involves a learner’s participation in a committee process addressing a subject which, if taught/learned in another format, would be considered within the definition of continuing education. |
| Performance Quality Improvement |
A performance/quality improvement activity is structured as a three-stage process by which a nurse or group of nurses learn about specific performance measures, assess their practice using the selected performance measures, implement interventions to improve performance related to these measures over a useful interval of time, and then reassess their practice using the same performance measures. |
| Internet Searching and Learning |
An internet searching and learning activity is an activity in which a nurse engages in self-directed, online learning on topics relevant to their clinical practice from a database whose content has been vetted by an accredited CNE provider. This type of activity is based on a learner identifying a problem in practice and then accessing content in search of an answer from sources on the Internet that are facilitated by a provider. |
| Learning from Teaching |
Learning from teaching activities are personal learning projects designed and implemented by the learner with facilitation from the accredited provider. This type of activity recognizes the learning that occurs as nurses prepare to teach. Learning from teaching represents a range of activities in which an accredited provider can facilitate practice-based learning and improvement – where the ‘practice’ could be the person’s professional “teaching practice” or “clinical practice” or “research practice.” As is the case for all activities, an accredited (approved) provider’s "Learning from Teaching" activities are expected to be developed in compliance with all applicable requirements.
Examples of learning from teaching activities To prepare for teaching a skills workshop at a surgical specialty society meeting, nurse faculty find that they need to learn how to operate a new laparoscopic device that will be used during the workshop. The specialty society, as an accredited provider, facilitates their training on the new device as a learning from teaching activity for the faculty prior to their teaching engagement. An accredited provider makes available a learning from teaching activity for new faculty in the form of “individualized learning projects.” In the activity, the new faculty assess what knowledge and skills they need to teach more effectively, and then the provider makes available training and feedback to improve the new faculty members’ teaching skills. This includes one-to-one mentorship and training with educational experts. When you report learning from teaching in NARS, aggregate your data for learning from teaching for all learners into one activity. The number of learners should equal the number of individuals who were awarded contact hours or OB-CE© credit in this activity. |
| Other/Blended Learning |
An activity (activities that involve a “live” component in combination with a provider-directed, learner-paced component). Blended activities involve either pre and/or post activity work with a live component. The learner completes the pre and/or post activity work as designed and is notified of the direction to do so per the required disclosure to learner criteria for awarding contact hours given to the learner prior to the live course. |
| Outcome-Based CE © |
Only an ANCC Accredited Provider Unit may award Outcome-Based CE© credit. The five levels for this outcome-based model are as follows: OUTCOME LEVEL 1 Articulate knowledge and/or skills OUTCOME LEVEL 2 Apply knowledge and skills OUTCOME LEVEL 3 Demonstrate in an educational setting OUTCOME LEVEL 4 Integrate into practice OUTCOME LEVEL 5 Impact on practice, patient and/or system outcomes For more information, please reference the Outcome-Based CE© Manual. |
Information for re-certifying ANCC Certified Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) and Nurse Practitioners (NP), effective January 1, 2014:
**Pharmacotherapeutic content may include but is not limited to drug specific information, safe prescribing practices, safe medication administration, prescribing methodologies, new regulations or similar content.
Activity file records must be maintained in a retrievable file (electronic or hard copy) accessible to authorized personnel for 6 years.
Answers to frequently asked questions about accreditation and Nursing continuing professional development from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
