CMRP FAQs

What are the eligibility requirements to take the exam?
Candidates meeting eligibility requirements and passing the CMRP Examination attain the CMRP designation. The American Hospital Association Certification Center (AHA-CC) reserves the right, but is not obligated, to verify the accuracy of information supplied by or on behalf of a candidate.  If selected for an audit, the candidate will be asked to submit documentation as proof of meeting the eligibility requirements.

To be eligible for the CMRP Examination, a candidate must fulfill one of the following requirements for education and professional experience:

  • Baccalaureate degree or higher from an accredited college or university and 3 years of associated health care resource and materials management* experience.
  • Associate degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university and 5 years of associated health care resource and materials management* experience.
  • High school diploma or equivalent and 7 years of associated health care resource and materials management* experience.

*Associated health care resource and materials management includes persons who are involved in the materials functions of health care facilities; or are active in the health care materials supply chain, including manufacturers, vendors, distributors, consultants and employees of group purchasing organizations.

Who administers the exam?
PSI Candidate Services, on behalf of the AHA-CC. Exams are administered in over 200 locations across the United States and international examinations are available by request.

What is the process for applying to take the exam and who do I pay to apply for the exam?
To apply for the CMRP exam, an eligible candidate must submit the appropriate fee (see below) with a complete Examination Application to PSI.

Member of AHRMM or other AHA Personal Membership Group: $275
Non-member: $425

  • Payment may be made by credit card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express or Discover) or by company check, cashier’s check or money order made payable to PSI. Cash and personal checks are not accepted.
  • All exam-related fees are nonrefundable.
  • Up to two business days prior to a scheduled administration, the application may be transferred to a future exam date by requesting PSI to reschedule a new exam date. The exam date may be rescheduled once without incurring an additional fee. The exam date must be within 90 days of PSI confirming receipt of your exam application. Additional rescheduling of an exam date is subject to a $100 rescheduling fee.
  • Credit card transactions that are declined are subject to a $25 handling fee. A certified check or money order for the amount due, including the handling fee, must be submitted to PSI to cover declined credit card transaction.
  • Candidates who fail an exam and apply to retake the exam must pay the full exam fee as listed above.

Applications can be submitted to PSI by mail, secure fax, or online. Within approximately two weeks of receiving the application, PSI processes it, confirms the candidate’s eligibility, and sends an email and postcard confirmation notice with a toll-free phone number and website address at which a testing appointment can be scheduled. For special administrations, this notice reports the date, location, and check-in time for the examination. If confirmation notice is not received within 4 weeks of mailing your application, contact PSI at (833) 518-7455.

What happens after I take the exam?
Score reports are issued by PSI, on behalf of the AHA-CC. Scores are reported in written form only, in person or by U.S. mail. Scores are not reported over the telephone, by electronic mail or by facsimile.

  • A candidate who takes the exam in paper-and-pencil format receives his/her score report from PSI by mail approximately five weeks after the exam.
  • A candidate who takes the exam on a computer at an PSI Assessment Center or on laptop receives his/her score report before leaving the testing center except when the examination program is in a provisional score report mode.

The score report indicates a “Pass” or “Fail”, which is determined by the raw score on the total examination. The score report also includes raw scores for each of the major categories of the examination Content Outline. A raw score is the number of questions answered correctly. Even though the examination consists of 110 questions, the score is based on 100 questions. 10 questions are pretest” questions and do not impact the candidate’s score. The minimum passing score for the examination is posted on the AHA Certification Center.

New certificants receive a congratulatory package, including recognition of certification and information about certification renewal, from the AHA-CC. It takes approximately 6-8 weeks from when a candidate passes the exam to the day the package is mailed. The package is mailed to the address in the candidate’s customer record.

Who “takes care of” my certification (keeps track of expiration, reminders, etc.)?
The candidate is responsible for knowing when their certification expires.

  • Successful re-examination. To renew this way, successfully pass the CMRP certification exam no sooner than 1 year prior to expiration of your certification (subject to usual fees and provisions for testing) and submit with the Certification Renewal Application a copy of your passing CMRP score report as received from PSI. An additional Certification Renewal Application fee is not required if a candidate selects this way to renew the designation.
  • Completion of 45 contact hours of continuing professional education (CPE) over the 3-year renewal period and payment of the renewal fee. To renew this way, submit to the AHA-CC a complete Certification Renewal Application with the appropriate fee and report all eligible continuing professional education activities that you completed during your renewal period. Eligible activities include attending or teaching academic courses, completing on-line courses, attending professional organization conferences and completing AHA-CC Self-Assessment examinations, among other activities. Some activities have limitation on maximum allowable hours. Refer to the current Certification Renewal Application for a description of eligible activities and other provisions for renewing your certification.

Certification Renewal Application processing requires 4-6 weeks. Certificants who meet the renewal requirements receive in the mail (at the address in their membership record) a new certificate of recognition listing the new certification expiration date, as well as information about renewing the certification. Certificants are responsible for keeping current contact information in their membership record.

What is the CMRP renewal process and who processes my renewal application?
Candidates who successfully complete the examination are provided information about certification renewal requirements in a certification package sent by the AHA-CC. There are two ways to renew your certification:

  1. Take and pass the CMRP exam within one year prior to the expiration date (renewal application only, no processing fee required)
  2. Complete 45 hours of eligible professional development activity within the three year renewal period (renewal application and processing fee required)
    • Certificants may submit any education program/event toward the certification renewal requirements as long as the program meets the criteria set forth in the renewal application, i.e. it can be linked to a content are as listed in the content outline for the exam, and it does not exceed the maximum allowable hours for that type of education.
  • The AHA-CC sends courtesy reminders – keep all of your contact information current with the AHA.
  • Certificants are fully responsible for keeping current their certification.
  • The renewal application is available online up to one (1) year prior to certification expiration date. Applications postmarked/faxed up to 30 days past the expiration date incur the $50 late renewal fee.
  • The renewal fee is $135 for members and $225 for non-members.
  • Certification Renewal Application processing fee does not apply when renewing by re-examination.

To avoid a lapse in certification you can submit your renewal application up to one year before the current expiration date. However, if you submit your application early, that will not change the expiration date or extend the next renewal cycle. Applications postmarked/faxed up to 30 days past the expiration date incur the $50 late renewal fee. The AHA-CC sends multiple courtesy notices to certificants of their ending certification expiration. Certificants are responsible fully for keeping their contact information accurate. The AHA-CC is not responsible for communications not received due to incorrect contact information in a certificant’s record.

View the current CMRP Certification Renewal Application and fees »

My company is attending the AHRMM Annual Conference as an exhibitor and I would like to attend the conference education (learning labs). Do I need to be a registered attendee in order to attend and earn credit?
Exhibiting companies are allowed one complimentary full-conference registration badge for each 10x10 booth in addition to three exhibit hall-only badges. Individuals who register for their company’s full-conference badges will receive a certificate of attendance for the conference education. Exhibiting companies can also purchase additional exhibitor full-conference badges and/or upgrade any exhibit hall-only badges to full-conference.

Does UHC VAP CEUs count toward certification renewal?
Yes, UHC VAP CEU Certificate will count toward your recertification.

How is the CMRP certification different from AHRMM’s Fellow Program (FAHRMM)?
The AHA-CC is independent of AHRMM and administers the CMRP and other certification programs. CMRP is a nationally recognized credential for the health care materials management profession. Passing the CMRP certification Examination is an indicator of broad-based knowledge as defined in the CMRP exam content outline.

FAHRMM status is presented to active AHRMM members who have earned their CMRP, met specified achievement criteria, and have submitted an acceptable, original unpublished paper on a current aspect of materials or supply chain management. The designation of AHRMM Fellow recognizes those who have reached the highest level of education and achievement in both the Association and in the supply chain field.