CERT is for programs that make decisions about individual competence.
Before organizing evidence, confirm that the object of review is a defined certification program or an approved, clearly governed family of certification programs. CHSPS accredits the certification system and its scope, not the individual certificants who hold the credential.
Credential basis
The program awards certification based on a defined assessment of competence rather than course attendance or completion alone.
Operating evidence
Full accreditation relies on current operational evidence from a functioning credentialing system, including real records and implementation samples.
Decision authority
The organization can identify who governs the scheme, who supports technical work and who has authority to make certification decisions.
Use the CERT pathway page and pathway chooser when the accreditation object or scope is still uncertain.
The six families are a navigation aid across all 15 CERT-200 domains.
The original article grouped certification requirements into six plain-language themes. The current CERT-200 structure is more detailed. The map below keeps the six-family orientation while showing exactly which CERT-200 domains sit inside each family.
Define who governs the certification scheme and how independent judgment is protected.
The credential needs a defined scheme, accountable decision authority, qualified stakeholder or SME participation and controls that keep education, commercial interests and related entities from improperly influencing certification decisions.
Scheme charter or governing document, decision-authority matrix, SME qualification criteria and rosters, conflict disclosures, minutes, related-entity agreements, change-control records and training/certification separation controls.
Can a reviewer identify who owns the credential, who contributes technical judgment and who is authorized to make certification decisions without relying on sales or training personnel?
Show that eligibility, content and candidate information trace to a defensible basis.
The program should connect its credential requirements to a current practice or job analysis, define and justify eligibility rules, and communicate requirements, fairness protections and accessibility information clearly to candidates.
Practice-analysis technical report, survey and sampling records, domain/task weighting rationale, eligibility policy and verification records, candidate handbook, accommodation procedure, communication templates and correction logs.
Can the program trace an eligibility rule and a major content area back to the documented role analysis and show how candidates are informed and treated consistently?
Demonstrate that the assessment is built, scored and maintained to support the credential claim.
Blueprints, item development, psychometric monitoring, standard setting and form comparability should work as one controlled assessment system rather than as disconnected technical activities.
Approved blueprint and specifications, item-writing and review records, pretest evidence, technical and reliability reports, fairness analyses, standard-setting documentation, cut-score approvals, equating or comparability records and score-scale documentation.
Can a reviewer follow the path from the practice analysis to the blueprint, from the blueprint to a scored form, and from the scored form to the approved passing standard?
Control what happens when the assessment is delivered and when results become certification decisions.
Administration, identity, accommodations, security, irregularity handling, scoring quality control and awarding records should preserve the integrity of the assessment from test delivery through status issuance.
Administration manual, identity and proctoring controls, vendor SLA, accommodation delivery records, security plan, threat or exposure monitoring, incident files, scoring specifications, QC logs, result samples, certification decision records and status-update logs.
Can the program reconstruct a sampled administration from identity verification through scoring, irregularity handling if applicable, and the final certification decision?
Give candidates a defined, conflict-controlled way to challenge or complain about program actions.
Appeals and complaints need published rules, appropriate independence, documented case handling and records showing how recurring issues are reviewed and corrected when necessary.
Published appeal and complaint rules, case logs, panel appointment and conflict checks, outcome letters, filing or tolling logic, trend reviews and resulting corrective-action records.
For a sampled appeal or complaint, can a reviewer see the rule that applied, who handled it, how conflicts were checked and how the final disposition was documented?
Maintain competence and control material dependencies after initial certification.
Recertification should have a defined continuing-competence basis, while vendors, AI-enabled processes and quality-management activities remain governed, monitored and subject to corrective action and change control.
Recertification rationale and policy, cycle review and audit records, reinstatement rules, vendor inventory and monitoring, AI inventory or validation records where applicable, human-oversight controls, annual quality reporting and CAPA records.
Can the program show why recertification requirements support continuing competence and how vendor, AI or quality risks are monitored between credentialing cycles?
Expect reviewers to trace real operations across the certification system.
Eligibility → certification decision
Follow a real candidate from eligibility verification through assessment, scoring and the final certification decision.
Blueprint → scored administration
Follow the role analysis into the blueprint, form construction, administration, scoring and technical quality records.
Appeal or accommodation case
Trace a real case through published rules, responsible roles, conflict controls, communication and disposition.
Recertification decision
Follow a sampled renewal or recertification decision through continuing-competence requirements, verification and status action.
A strong evidence file lets the reviewer move from the controlled requirement to the responsible role, the operating record, the result and any exception or corrective-action history.
Organize the records you already use to run the certification program.
Start with authoritative records and build a clause-level evidence index. The goal is not document volume; it is a reviewable trail showing how the certification system is defined and implemented.
Scheme & governance
Scheme charter, scope, decision authority, SME governance, conflicts, minutes, related-entity controls and change records.
Practice basis & eligibility
Practice analysis, weighting rationale, eligibility requirements, verification, candidate information and accessibility controls.
Assessment system
Blueprint, item development, technical reports, reliability and validity evidence, standard setting, equating and comparability records.
Delivery & decisions
Administration, identity, accommodations, security, incident management, scoring QC, awarding and disciplinary records.
Candidate due process
Appeal and complaint procedures, case records, conflict checks, communications, trend review and resulting corrective action.
Lifecycle & quality
Recertification, vendor oversight, applicable AI controls, quality reporting, CAPA, material change and ongoing monitoring records.
The CERT Preparation Center provides the 15-domain evidence examples, tracer plan and downloadable evidence-index tools. Use Evidence Requirements for general evidence handling and mapping rules.
Requirements are reviewed through a larger evidence and decision process.
Eligibility & scope
Confirm that CERT is the appropriate pathway and define the proposed certification-program scope.
Evidence mapping
Map current operational evidence to CORE-100 and CERT-200 and test representative implementation tracers.
Technical review & decision
Conflict-screened review evaluates the evidence record; a separate authorized decision process determines status.
Public record & maintenance
If accreditation is awarded, the defined scope becomes publicly verifiable and ongoing reporting, changes and renewal remain part of the lifecycle.
Review Review Stages, Decisions & Statuses and Maintenance & Renewal before finalizing an internal accreditation project plan.
Use controlled sources for the current standard, fees, timing and status.
This Learn article is an orientation dated August 26, 2026. Current operational facts should be confirmed on the controlled pathway, standards and process pages.
Standard & edition
Use Published Standards, Standards Registry and Current Program Status to confirm the current CERT standard stack and effective edition.
Fees & planning
Use the CERT pathway page and current CERT fee table for current cost and planning information.
Preparation tools
Use the CERT Preparation Center for the current 15-domain preparation map, tracer examples and applicant tools.
Turn the six-family map into a 15-domain evidence index.
Use the CERT Preparation Center to map current operational records, test the four representative tracers and identify gaps before formal review. Begin the no-fee eligibility and scope review when the proposed certification-program scope is clear.