ASCP Certification Renewal – Ensure Your Credentials Stay Current

The ASCP Board of Certification wants to take its candidates one step forward from the other; therefore, it developed the ASCP certification renewal process.

The ASCP certification renewal, or Credential Maintenance Program (CMP), presents various opportunities to gain learning experience.

This program helps to make you an excellent person for the medical lab.

The CMP helps you stay current with your profession by introducing new technologies and updating your certification.

According to Walter Oliveira, M (ASCP), MLS (ASCP)CM SI

“As laboratory professionals, we must endeavor to be lifelong learners in order to maintain and expand our knowledge to stay current in our profession. The Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) challenges me to maintain and expand my knowledge across disciplines within the laboratory medicine field.”

This article will give you comprehensive information about the ASCP certification renewal process, including eligibility requirements, application fees, and a step-by-step guide to applying.

Navigating the ASCP Official Website

CMP is the most important program of ASCP BOC that updates the candidates' certification after three years of getting it.

The credentials will be updated for the upcoming three years.

After this period, you have to again participate in the ASCP certification maintenance process for credential renewal.

This ASCP certification renewal cycle will continue for a lifetime.

After login to the ASCP official website and scrolling down, you will find “Stay Credential” within other ASCP activities.  Click on it.

To apply for CMP, you have to satisfy the ASCP certification renewal requirements (points).

These requirements (points) are the same for U.S. and international applicants.

For many certifications like MLS, MLT, HT, etc., you have earned 36 points.

These 36 points are divided into different categories.

2 points in the relevant subject in which you are certified.

1 point in lab or patient safety, and the rest (26) in immunology, education, management, or other lab work.

For some certificates like PBT, MLA, etc., you have to get 9 points.

2 points in your area of specialty, 1 point in patient safety and lab, and the remaining (5) in management, education, or other laboratory-related work.

ASCP certification renewal fees are equal for all U.S. and international credentials.

It is $95 for a CMP application, but you have to pay a reinstatement fee of $125 (application fee + expired certification) in case ASCP certification renewal deadlines have been exceeded. Check MLS ASCP Course if you failed to renew.

Utilizing Renewal Process Guidelines

Following are the ASCP certification renewal steps.

• Login to your ASCP official website
• To view your certificate's current status, click “Check Progress” under “My Education.”
• Add your ASCP and non-ASCP (self-record) credits. All credits that you will get through ASCP and non-ASCP activities are shown on your ASCP and online ASCP transcripts.
• When all requirements have been given out. You will receive a notification to submit your CMP declaration for review from the Board of Certification.
• You must submit your declaration three months before the expiration date so that you may have time for processing.
• Keep all ASCP certification renewal documentation forms (Employer Assessment Form and Clinical Teaching Documentation Form) at the time of audit.
• After completion of the ASCP certification maintenance process, you will get a certificate renewal(three-year) notification.

Exploring Continuing Education Providers

Continuing education helps candidates acquire new skills in their relevant fields.

It is a big opportunity to stay up to date with the latest emerging technologies.

With CMP, you can take your career to an excellence and perfection level and become the sought-after person in your medical lab field.

You have to get credits from ASCP and non-ASCP providers.

The credits that you get from ASCP will automatically be entered into your CMP Declaration process.

This process will automatically monitor the points that will be beneficial for completing the ASCP certification renewal requirements and that are still present for allocation.

Through a subscription online program or course, you can get your non-ASCP CE credits.

The CE credits that you get from non-ASCP activities must be entered manually into your online ASCP transcript.

Following is the list of CE credit providers that are suggested by ASCP.

• ASCP CMLE—American Society for Clinical Pathology (CE Update, CheckSample, LabQ, Teleconferences, Workshops for Laboratory Professionals)
• AMA—American Medical Association
• AAPA—American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants
• CACMLE—Colorado Association for Continuing Medical Laboratory Education
• AABB
• CSMLS—Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science
• ASH—American Society of Hematology
• CMEA—Continuing Medical Education Association
• ASCT—American Society for Cytotechnology
• ASCLS PACE—American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science
• CAP—College of American Pathologists
• AACC “ACCENT”—American Association for Clinical Chemistry
• The American Red Cross
• NSH—National Society for Histotechnology
• AMT—American Medical Technologists
• Florida Excell
• ASFA—American Society for Apheresis
• The Joint Commission
• CLMA—Clinical Laboratory Management Association

Tapping into Community Forums and Blogs

According to Harrington, MD, F ASCP, MLS (ASCP)cm

“ASCP offers a variety of excellent online continuing education courses and activities to help me earn my continuing medical education credits (CME) and meet my Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) and Continuing Certification (formerly MOC) requirements while staying on the forefront of the profession.”

For successful Ascp certification renewal, you must get information from real-world experience and try to learn from certified professionals how they keep the balance between their jobs and ASCP certification renewal requirements.

You also read blogs from BOC News that offer you the latest information about the ASCP and non-ASCP CE credits and tips for getting them.

You must also join the ASCP groups, where you can get the best tips about successful renewal from experts.

Staying Informed with News and Updates

To get all the updated information, you must stay in touch with ASCP News and Updates.

From the American Society for Clinical Pathology News, you can get information about the ASCP, including CMP.

Every policy that ASCP will change or create new, you can get from the news.

As an ASCP member, you will access ASCP news and ePolicy news, where you can get all updates, whether they are related to the ASCP exam or ASCP certification renewal.

Crafting a Personalized Renewal Strategy

Your ASCP and non-ASCP CE credits must be completed during the current three years before the certificate expiration date. For instance, if your certification expiration date is August 2025, you must complete all your credits before this date.

For adding CE credits, checking the ASCP certification renewal deadlines, and monitoring your CMP points, BOC has simplified the process.

You can do all the work regarding continuing education in the “My Account” dashboard after logging in to the ASCP account.

To meet the requirements for an ASCP certification renewal application, you must keep a balance between your jobs and renewal requirements.

Because once your certificate expires, you cannot use it.

Hence, you must earn CE credits and send a declaration before expiration.

For this, you must establish your CE credit plan.

ASCP offers its students CE packages that you can purchase at any time to meet your requirements.

You must add these packages to your CE credit plan so that you may use them at the right time.

According to ASCP

“ASCP members have earned over 300,000 CE credits through the Member Unlimited CE Packages. The online learning portal is an easy and cost-effective way to earn all of the CE credits needed to satisfy your BOX Points requirements.”

Maximizing Resources for Cost-Effective Renewal

The ASCP unlimited CE package is the best solution to earn CE credits because it is available at an affordable price.

You can get most of these products 365 days per year from the ASCP online learning portal.

Board offers a “One-Year Unlimited Online CE Package” and a Multi-Credit Online CE Package to earn credits.

Unlimited Online CE package access to many courses that you can take at any time per your need during your usage time.

But you have to complete all the courses within one year.

The member price of this pancake is $39, and the non-member price is $190.

If you consider that you cannot complete all the courses in the One-Year Unlimited Online CE Package within one year, you must purchase a Multi-Credit Online CE Package that is only for you.

This package helps you a lot to get the CE requirements, no matter when you want to get them or how much you want to get them.

The Multi-Credit Online CE package member price is $7 per credit, and the non-member price is $8 per credit.

Here is a guide on how you can purchase the member CE credits.

• First and foremost, login your ASCP account
• On the left corner of your dashboard, you will see “Education.” Click on it
• After exploring “Education” in the lower left corner, you will see “CE packages.” Press this button.
• Here you will find information related to CE packages.
•  Select and purchase your desired one.

If you are not a member of ASCP, you have to visit the ASCP online store to get CE packages.

If you are a member of ASCP, you have many opportunities (serving on the ASCP board or authoring Lab Medicine journal articles) to meet ASCP certification renewal requirements.

So be a member of ASCP and get CE credits.

Overcoming Common Renewal Challenges

During a three-years period, BOC informs you many times through email notifications regarding your renewal requirements.

If you do not send the declaration during this time and your certificate expires, you have to pay the expired certification fee with application fees.

Besides this, you have to write a letter of appeal to the Board of Certification that must describe your severe condition behind not submitting a declaration on time or being unable to meet the CMP requirement.

These severe conditions may be your serious illness or military work, where you could not get access to online workshops for more than one year of the period.

ASCP never accepts your letter of appeal if the reason behind it is your financial condition or family-related responsibilities. check ASCP Preparation if you failed to renew before the deadline.

Conclusion for ASCP Certification Renewal

What an amazing action of ASCP certification renewal that adds excellence and perfection to candidates' skills!

When it comes to meeting the requirements of ASCP renewal certification, the board offers your support in many ways if you are a member.

Besides this, the Board of Certification presents you with the tool “Manage CMP Process” to know your certificate's current status, expiration dates, and requirements.

FAQs for ASCP Certification Renewal