Becoming a Certified Hazardous Materials Practitioner (CHMP)

As a CHMP, your job encompasses more than just environmental protection, waste management, dangerous goods transportation, safety, or materials handling. By working in an area that involves hazardous or potentially hazardous materials, you serve all of these areas and more. Corporations, universities, and government agencies depend on the certification to identify distinguished individuals.

The CHMP credential has been developed as a standard of proficiency for front-line hazardous materials workers. Acquiring the CHMP credential for yourself and/or recommending it to your colleagues will provide added assurance to both you and your employer of the secure and proper handling and management of hazardous materials in the workplace. The CHMP is intended to enhance regulatory compliance, safety, and overall credibility of operations, and provide recognition to individuals who meet its rigorous requirements.

PREREQUISITES

Your education and/or experience will determine your eligibility to sit for the exam. There are two ways to qualify:

• You must have at least 5 years of relevant experience with responsibilities directly related to the handling of hazardous materials and/or waste in the workplace; or,
  
• You must have an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree from an accredited college or university in hazardous materials management, environmental science, environmental management, or environmental technology, plus 3 years of relevant experience as described above.

Relevant Experience

Relevant experience includes any of the following:

• Hazardous materials identification and handling in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• Planning and preparing for and responding to hazmat emergencies and incidents.
• Sampling and analysis (of air, water, soil, waste) for potential contaminants.
• Site investigation and remediation.
• Hazmat program or project management.

College Transcript Requirements
An official transcript must be on file at the IHMM Executive Office before you can register for an examination. Official transcripts must have the registrar's original stamp or seal (not a photocopy) showing your achievement of a degree from the accredited college or university in the United States which conferred your degree. To find out whether a college in the U.S. is accredited, check with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Degrees acquired through foreign colleges or universities are acceptable if they are documented as equivalent to an AAS or BS/BA degree issued in the United States. Candidates with degrees from colleges and universities outside the U.S. must provide a statement of equivalency from a recognized evaluating agency. For a list of recognized agencies, see www.naces.org/members.htm. See our FAQ's section for more information. If the applicant holds an additional degree in a relevant field from an accredited U.S. college or university, only the U.S. college transcript needs to be submitted, and a degree equivalency report will not be required.

THE EXAMINATION

Candidates for CHMP certification must pass a multiple-choice examination, professionally developed by IHMM, and administered via computer-based testing (CBT) at over 200 locations across the United States. To learn more about the exam topics and content, view the CHMP Blueprint.

EXAMINATION TIMES AND LOCATIONS
All examinations are held through the proctored Kryterion HOST® network, at over 450 computer-testing locations world-wide. Please note that most testing centers will likely be closed for holidays and each testing center has its own hours of operation and seating availability within our windows.

Go here for a list of testing center locations.

APPLYING FOR THE EXAMINATION

All applications must be accompanied by the non-refundable $125 application fee, a signed Application Consent Statement, and a detailed work history or resume. Two reference evaluations are also required prior to final approval (as well as an official, original transcript of the AAS degree, if applicable), but they may arrive separately from the application. Applications to take IHMM examinations expire 18 months from the date your application is received. You must submit all supporting documentation, register for and complete the examination within that time, or you will have to start over as a new candidate, and meet whatever requirements are in effect at that time.

Go HERE to apply ONLINE!

If you've never applied before, please select the link for "First Time Users" to set up your account.

EXAM RESULTS AND RETAKE POLICY
All candidates will be notified of their examination results within 2 weeks after sitting for the examination. Successful candidates will be notified of the next steps required toward certification. Unsuccessful candidates will be provided with a print-out of the specific area(s) of weakness in their performance on the examination.

A candidate who fails the examination must wait at least six months before retaking it, and may be granted no more than two retakes within 18 months of the original exam date. The candidate shall pay the examination fee but need not submit a new application.

After a third unsuccessful sitting, a candidate must wait at least one year from the date of the last attempt to be eligible to take the examination again, and must submit a new application form and full fees for each new sitting. The candidate must also meet whatever eligibility requirements are in effect at that time. For more information, see the IHMM Management System Manual.

MAINTAINING YOUR CREDENTIAL

Once the candidate has successfully passed the examination, they must pledge to maintain the highest standards of integrity through the CHMP Code of Ethics, submit their Annual Certification Maintenance Fee each year in order to remain in good standing, and, because the field of hazardous materials management changes over time, must demonstrate currency in the field and continued competence by undergoing recertification every five years.

The recertification schedule is based on the initial certification or last recertification date. To meet this requirement, you must either submit documentation of your employment and professional development activities for your 5-year cycle, or take and pass the exam again.

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Ready to learn more? Specific information on each credential follows below. For general information on the certification process, click on these links:

• Fees
• Exam Content
• Preparing for an Examination
• Study Courses and Materials
• FAQ's