Fact Sheet
Certification Maintenance

Basic Requirements for Maintaining the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-A and CCC-SLP)

The Certification Maintenance Standards require that all certificate holders must accumulate 30 Certification Maintenance Hours (CMH) of professional development during each 3-year certification maintenance interval in order to maintain their ASHA Certificates of Clinical Competence (CCC). 

Certification Maintenance Hours

The Certification Maintenance Hour (CMH) is 60 minutes that you spend in a professional development activity as a learner or participant. CMHs are accumulated through participation in non-ASHA CEU activities for the purpose of maintaining your ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence. If you choose to use CMHs, you will be responsible for obtaining and keeping documentation, such as a certificate of attendance or university transcript, that will verify your completion of the activity. CMHs are not considered to be approved by ASHA for any purpose other than meeting the professional development requirement for maintaining ASHA certification. CMHs cannot be maintained on the CE Registry.

The activities you choose will be acceptable as long as 1) they occur during your assigned 3-year maintenance interval and 2) you have determined that they are related to the science or contemporary practice of audiology, speech-language pathology, or the speech/language/hearing sciences, and that they will enhance or lead to the acquisition of the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to practice independently in your professional practice setting. You will not need to obtain prior approval from ASHA if you choose to participate in non-ASHA professional development activities. When choosing non-ASHA activities, ask yourself the question—Would my clients, my peers, my allied health professional colleagues, my employer, my professional Code of Ethics recognize this activity as appropriate professional development that will add to or enhance the knowledge and skills needed to practice in my particular practice setting in my specific area of practice? If the answer is no, then you should not consider using the activity for ASHA certification maintenance.

ASHA Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

ASHA CEUs are another way that you can meet the professional development requirement. If you earn ASHA CEUs, you'll need 3.0 CEUs every three years. For more information on ASHA CEUs visit ASHA's Continuing Education Web site.

ASHA CEUs and CMHs - What's the Difference?

The benefit of using ASHA CEUs to maintain your Certificate of Clinical Competence is that you will not have to keep records of your activities. If you are randomly selected for audit, you will not be required to report your activities or to submit verification of attendance for your activities. Your ASHA CE Registry Transcript will be your verification of attendance. Many state regulatory agencies and boards of education recognize ASHA CE Providers and accept ASHA CEUs for the purposes of renewing state licensure or board of education recertification.

If you use CMHs to maintain your Certificate of Clinical Competence, you will be responsible for keeping records of your activities. If you are randomly selected for audit, you will be required to report your activities and to submit verification of attendance for each activity. State regulatory agencies and boards of education do not necessarily recognize or accept CMHs. 

You can find contact information for your state regulatory agency by going to ASHA's State Education Advocacy Leaders Web site. 

Combining ASHA CEUs, CMHs, and Academic Credit

You may combine ASHA CEU's, academic credit, and employer-sponsored or other CMHs to meet the requirement. Use the following formulas:

• 3.0 CEU = 30 CMHs
• 1.0 CEU = 10 CMHs
• 0.1 CEU = 1 CMH
• 1 quarter hour of academic course work = 10 CMHs
• 1 semester hour of academic course work = 15 CMHs

You may accumulate all of the required 30 CMHs through participation in employer-sponsored in-service activities, other professional organizations' continuing education activities, college credit, or IACET CEUs; however, you will not earn ASHA CEUs or be able to maintain a record of activities for which you earned CMHs on the ASHA CE Registry to document your participation.

Three-year Maintenance Intervals

* Certification maintenance is an ongoing process; once you successfully complete your current maintenance interval, another will be assigned for you in which you'll repeat the same certification maintenance requirements until, for example, you retire and become inactive or no longer desire to remain certified. Your next maintenance interval is determined by several key factors: 1) timely completion of your professional development hours, 2) timely completion of your certification maintenance form, 3) keeping current on your dues every year, and 4) the possibility that you may request a one-time change of your maintenance interval (causing your next interval to begin sooner than previously scheduled). Please note: It is possible that if you fail to complete requirements 1 through 3 by their deadline, your certification could lapse and if you choose to reinstate your certification, a new interval would need to be determined. If you have any questions about your maintenance interval or the maintenance process, please contact the Action Center at 1-800-498-2071.