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/or ANCC 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 chapter 4 of the provider/approver manual). In addition, the ANCC will use data from NARS to produce annual reports as a service to ANCC Accredited Organizations and other stakeholders. This system will replace the current Annual Reporting. 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.
Nursing Activity Reporting System (NARS)
Please read each activity type definition carefully and choose the best option to categorize your activity. Please note that some activities that are blended may need to be recorded as separate activities and this information is listed in each description.
| ACRONYM | CURRENT TERM | ANCC HELP TOOL |
| S | Synchronous | Live |
| A | Asynchronous | Enduring |
| B | Blended | Blended |
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ACRONYM |
NARS TERM |
ANCC HELP TOOL |
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One of the following Activity Type Codes: |
Code Key: |
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| C | Course |
A course is a live educational activity where the learner participates in person. A course is planned as an individual event. Examples: annual meeting, conference, seminar. For events with multiple sessions, such as annual meetings, accredited (approved) providers report one activity and calculate the hours of instruction by totaling the hours of all educational sessions offered for CNE/NCPD credit. To calculate the numbers of learners, accredited (approved) providers report the number of learners that were awarded contact hours or OBCE credit. Accredited (approved) providers are not required to calculate participant totals from the individual sessions. If a course is held multiple times for multiple audiences, then each instance is reported as a separate activity. |
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RSS |
Regularly Scheduled Series |
A regularly scheduled series (RSS) as a course that is planned as a series with multiple, ongoing sessions, e.g., offered weekly, monthly, or quarterly; and is primarily planned by and presented to the accredited (approved) provider's professional staff. Examples include grand rounds, tumor boards, and morbidity and mortality conferences. Accredited (approved) providers report each RSS as 1 activity. In addition, accredited (approved) providers follow the following guidelines: The cumulative number of hours for all sessions within a series equals the number of hours for that activity and each nurse is counted as a learner for each session he/she attends in the series. For example: Nursing Grand Rounds is planned for the entire year as 1 series. Participants meet weekly during the year for 1 hour each week. The accredited (approved) provider reports the series as 1 activity with 52 hours of instruction. If 20 nurses participated in each session, total nurse participants would be 1,040 (20 nurses per session multiplied by 52 sessions) for that single activity. |
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IL |
Internet Live Course |
An Internet live activity is an online course available via the Internet at a certain time on a certain date and is only available in real-time, just as if it were a course held in an auditorium. Once the event has taken place, learners may no longer participate in that activity unless it is again presented on a specific date and time and is only available in real-time. If an Internet live activity is presented on multiple occasions, each event is counted as one activity. Example: webcast. |
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EM |
Enduring Material (Homestudy) |
An enduring material is an activity that is printed or recorded and does not have a specific time or location designated for participation. Rather, the participant determines where and when to complete the activity. Sometimes, accredited (approved) providers will create an enduring material from a live CNE/NCPD activity. When this occurs, ANCC considers the provider to have created two separate activities – one live activity and one enduring material activity. Both activities must comply with all ANCC requirements. Enduring materials can be available for less than a year, a year, or multiple years. Each enduring material is counted as 1 activity for each year it is available, whether it is active for the entire year or part of the year. The accredited (approved) provider reports the number of learners who participated during the year. Accredited (approved) providers do not report cumulative data for an enduring material activity spanning multiple years. When reporting the number of participants for an enduring material activity, the accredited (approved) provider should count all learners that were awarded contact hours or OBCE credit. ANCC would not consider individuals that only received the enduring material activity but did not actually complete all of it to be participants. |
| IEM | Internet Activity Enduring Material |
An Internet enduring material activity is an "on demand activity," meaning that there is no specific time designated for participation. Rather, the participant determines when to complete the activity. Examples: online interactive educational module, recorded presentation, podcast. Internet enduring materials can be available for less than a year, a year, or multiple years. Each Internet enduring material is counted as one activity for each year it is available, whether it is active for the entire year or part of the year. The accredited (approved) provider reports the number of learners who participated during the year. Accredited (approved) providers do not report cumulative data for an Internet enduring material activity spanning multiple years. When reporting the number of participants for an internet enduring material activity, the accredited (approved) provider should count all learners that were awarded contact hours or OBCE credit. ANCC would not consider individuals that only received the enduring material activity but did not actually complete all of it to be participants. |
| JN | Journal-based CNE |
A journal-based CNE activity includes the reading of an article (or adapted formats for special needs), an accredited (approved) provider learner engagement strategy (that may include reflection, discussion, or debate about the material contained in the article(s), and/or a requirement for the completion by the learner of a pre-determined set of questions or tasks relating to the content of the material as part of the learning process. The ANCC does not consider a journal-based CNE activity to have been completed until the learner documents participation in that activity to the provider. Each article is counted as 1 activity. To calculate hours of instruction, the accredited (approved) provider specifies the amount of time required to complete the activity. The number of participants reported by the accredited (approved) provider equals the total number of individuals who completed the activity. Each participant is counted once, regardless of how many times they worked on the activity. For example, an accredited (approved) provider produces a journal that contains an article that is designated as a journal-based CNE activity. Twenty nurses read the article, reflect on the content, and complete questions related to the content of the article. The nurses spend 1 hour on this activity. The provider would report this as 1 journal-based CNE activity with 20 nurse participants and 1 hour of instruction. |
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MR |
Manuscript Review |
Manuscript review is based on a learner's participation in the prepublication review process of a manuscript. |
| TIW | Test Item Writing | Test item writing is an activity based on a learner's participation in the pre-publication development and review of any type of test-item (e.g., multiple choice questions, standardized patient cases). |
| CML | Committee Learning | Committee learning is an activity that involves a learner's participation in a committee process where the subject of which, if taught/learned in another format would be considered within the definition of continuing education. |
| PI | Performance Improvement | Performance improvement activities are based on a learner's participation in a project established and/or guided by a provider in which a learner identifies an educational need through a measure of his/her performance in practice, engages in educational experiences to meet the need, integrates learning into patient care and then reevaluates his/her performance. |
| ISL | Internet Searching and Learning | Internet searching and learning activities are 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. |
| LFT | Learning from Teaching | Learning from teaching is a descriptive label for a type of activity. (The identification of activity types allows the reporting of data and information on the range of educational formats offered nationally. This helps dispel the myth that accredited CE is mostly lecture, or didactic, in format.) We want to assist accredited providers who are seeking to further support, facilitate, and recognize the personal professional development associated with the preparation and presentation of education. "Learning from Teaching" activities are essentially personal learning projects designed and implemented by the learner with facilitation from the accredited provider. Guidance has been provided for providers on how "Learning from Teaching" activities can be incorporated into the accredited (approved) provider’s program. 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. "Learning from Teaching" represents a range of activities in which an accredited (approved) 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”. Examples of learning from teaching activities:
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TOPIC |
ANSWER |
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USER MANAGEMENT |
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Who can use NARS? |
Individuals who are designated as a Primary Contact, Billing Contact and/or leader of an organization Accredited by the ANCC or an ANCC Approved Provider may access NARS with a unique login ID and password. Any of these individuals may add additional users to NARS via the "User Management" tab.The maximum number of users per organization is 20. APPROVER UNITS: Accredited Approvers have the option of entering their Approved Providers activity information OR may grant access to their Approved Providers to upload their own activity data into NARS. **Accredited Approvers are responsible for entering Individual Activity Applicant data into the NARS system. Individual Activity Applicants should not log in to the NARS system.** APPROVED PROVIDERS (providers that are approved by an Approver Unit): Please note that not all Accredited Approvers have elected to grant Approved Providers access to NARS. Please contact your Accredited Approver Unit to for further instructions and to request your login information and details. Click here to download the most recent version of the NARS User Manual [pdf] |
| OPEN AND CLOSED ACTIVITIES | |
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What is the difference between "open" and "closed" activities? |
An important concept in NARS is that of "open" and "closed" activities. OPEN ACTIVITIES: are those that have a minimum set of data entered for them: specifically, activity name, activity type, activity date, and, if applicable, location. Once these data about an activity are entered, the activity is "open", and is saved to the database. CLOSED ACTIVITIES: are those activities for which ALL NARS required information has been entered. For example, in order for an activity to be considered “closed” by the NARS system, a provider must enter data about the hours of instruction, physician and other learner participants, providership, whether commercial support was received, and if it was, how much was received and from how many supporters. Once all required fields for an activity contain data, NARS considers the activity "closed". REMEMBER: "Open" and "Closed" does not refer to the life of the activity and does not mean that the activity is complete or no longer being provided by the provider. |
| PROVIDER ACTIVITY ID | |
| What is the "Provider Activity ID"? |
If your organization assigns an internal code or identifier to each of its NCPD activities, you may enter it into this field. The Provider Activity ID field is optional when entering single activities using the NARS web page interface, however, you will need to enter a value for this field in cases where your organization offers multiple activities in the same format on the same date. The Provider Activity ID is required for all activities included in batch upload files. The Provider Activity ID is a code or identifier that your organization creates. It is used in combination with the data in the fields Reporting Year, Activity Type, and Activity Date to uniquely identify your activity records. For this reason, providers SHOULD NOT use their ANCC or Accredited Approver-assigned provider ID number as a Provider Activity ID, since this number would be the same for all activities you provide. |
| REMS (RISK EVALUATION AND MITIGATION STRATEGIES) | |
| CNE in Support of REMS |
The ANCC Accreditation Program supports the role of NCPD as a strategic asset to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), provided the proper controls are in place to ensure independence. The first REMS to incorporate NCPD is the Extended-Release and Long-Acting (ER/LA) Opioid Analgesics REMS, approved by the FDA in July 2012. The centerpiece of the ER/LA Opioid Analgesics REMS is a prescriber education program about the risks of opioid medications as well as safe prescribing and safe use practices. The education is controlled, designed, and delivered by accredited continuing healthcare education providers. Specific activity related data are required for REMS activities. |
| BATCH UPLOAD ACTIVITIES | |
| What is a tab-delimited batch upload? |
The tab-delimited batch upload enables providers to export multiple activity records at one time into NARS. The tab-delimited batch upload process originates with the use of an MS Excel template which closely mirrors the NCPD Activity List used previously by ANCC accredited and approved providers to report activities for reaccreditation purposes. Organizations that already have their own NCPD tracking system and have the ability to match the fields in this system to the fields in the template might elect to use this format. The tab-delimited format might also be a good choice for organizations that provide the same activity in multiple locations throughout the year. In this case, ANCC expects you to count each of these events as separate activities. Because the process originates with a Tab-Delimited Activity File Template, a simple way for you to enter many activities with similar data is to copy data from one row to another. |
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What is an XML file upload? |
XML File Export: XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language, a Web standard that makes it easier for computer systems to exchange data over the Internet. In order to collect information in a manner that is consistent with the data communications standards being adopted by medical or nursing education content providers, NARS includes a data upload tool that accepts XML files formatted to conform with the Medical Education Metrics (MEMS) XML standard created by Medbiquitous. Providers that have NCPD activity tracking systems that support exports to XML files may wish to explore this option for uploading data to ANCC. Some technical knowledge of your tracking system and XML may be required. |
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ANCC NARS XML File Upload Instructions |
ANCC NARS XML File Upload Instructions [pdf]. click here |
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ANCC NARS Tab Delimited XML Template |
ANCC NARS Tab Delimited template file for Providers batch uploading to NARS [xls]. Click here Instructions for Creating a Tab Delimited File Using the Excel File Template[pdf]. Click here |
| ANNUAL PROGRAM SUMMARY | |
| What is the significance of "Reporting Year?" |
Annually, ANCC aggregates the activity data that is reported by providers and publishes an Annual Report that provides information to the NCPD community about the size and scope of the NCPD enterprise. The “Reporting Year” tells ANCC in which Annual Report the activity belongs. Most providers operate on a calendar year basis, and for these providers the Reporting Year is equivalent to the year of the Activity Date (For instance, Activity Date = September 1, 2010, and Reporting Year = 2010). However, certain providers, such as some hospitals and medical and nursing schools, operate on an academic year calendar, and may need to pay special attention to the “Reporting Year” field for each activity they enter. For instance, if a provider offers a Regularly Scheduled Series that begins September 1, 2010 and ends June 1, 2011, the Activity Date would be September 1, 2010, and the Reporting Year may be either 2010 or 2011, depending on how the organization chooses to aggregate their data for purposes of the Annual Report. |
| What do I need to know about the "Attestation" section of the Program Summary tab? |
Each year, the ANCC collects, summarizes, and publishes information about the NCPD enterprise. At the conclusion of each Reporting Year, a provider is required to submit information about their activities that took place during the year. To complete this reporting process, providers are required to attest that their data entry for the current Reporting Year is complete—as an indication to the ANCC that the organization data is ready to be reviewed and included in the information that ANCC compiles and publishes about the NCPD system each year. After all activities for the Reporting Year are completed and Closed, and the income and expense information on the Program Summary tab is verified, a provider must attest that its NARS data reporting is complete for this Reporting Year by clicking on the button at the bottom of the Program Summary tab that says, "I Attest that Data is Complete for the [current] Reporting Year." Once this button is clicked, providers will no longer be able to add or modify activity and program summary data for that Reporting Year. If a provider finds that they do need to make any edits to this information after clicking the Attestation button, they will need to contact the ANCC program office at NARS@ana.org |
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)
