The applicant shall be of good moral character and high ethical and professional standing. Specific requirements for the application, candidacy, and exams follow.

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The applicant must hold an earned doctoral degree (PhD) in a chemical, physical, biological or clinical laboratory science or an MD, DO, DPM, or DMD degree from an appropriately accredited university or college acceptable to the Board.

The applicant must have satisfactorily completed a minimum of 30 semester hours (or equivalent) of undergraduate and/or graduate level courses taken at institutions acceptable to the Board that meet the combined criteria established by each of the ABCC certification disciplines as shown in Table 1 and Table 2. To demonstrate successful completion of the required semester hours, applicants must submit official transcripts from their undergraduate and graduate institutions, that are sent directly from the institutions to ABCC. Applicants cannot submit their own transcripts.

Applicants with education obtained at institutions outside the United States or Canada must also, at their own expense, have their credentials evaluated by the International Education Research Foundations, Inc., or similar credentialing agency.

The Credentials Committee will evaluate completed application materials submitted by prospective examinees to determine whether they meet established criteria to sit for the chosen exam. An applicant will become a “Candidate” for exam when the board or its committees are satisfied that the requirements for admission have been met. The candidate for the exam will be notified at least 45 days prior to an upcoming exam period.

In order to become an ABCC diplomate, the Candidate must pass all required exam parts within the 3-year eligibility period. Candidates may only attempt an exam part twice within an eligibility period. This eligibility period will end after 3 years OR once a Candidate fails an exam part twice, whichever comes first. Details on the exam passing requirements include:

• Successfully pass all required exam parts as defined in the specialty within the 3-year eligibility period. Visit the Certifications page for details on the parts of each specialty (Clinical Chemistry, Molecular Diagnostics, and Toxicological Chemistry). All exam parts must be successfully passed with a 3-year period.
• The 3-year eligibility period begins on the exam period immediately following the determination of an Applicant to become a Candidate. The eligibility period will begin the immediate following exam period following the determination that an Applicant becomes a Candidate. The eligibility period ends after 3 years on the same exam period as the initial exam period. For example, an Applicant that becomes a Candidate in December 1999 will have an eligibility period starting with the February 2000 exam period and ending with the February 2003 exam period. The 3-year eligibility period effectively gives Candidates 7 exam periods to complete.
• Candidates also have a limit of two attempts to successfully pass an exam part. Eligibility extends 3 years. However, Candidates are only given two attempts to pass any individual exam part. If the Candidate fails an exam part before the end of the 3-year eligibility period, the eligibility period effectively ends and the individual must reapply to sit for future exams. Please refer to the Reapplication Requirements section for details.
• Exam parts are not transferrable between eligibility periods. For example, if a Candidate passes Clinical Chemistry Part A and fails Clinical Chemistry Part B twice, the Candidate’s eligibility period ends and the individual must reapply and pass all exam parts in the subsequent eligibility period. The results of the prior eligibility period (i.e., passing Clinical Chemistry Part A) does not carryover into the new eligibility period. Candidates are required to sit for all exam parts regardless of past performance on any one portion. Failure to take or pass the exam parts within this time will result in termination of the eligibility period. If necessary, a Candidate that does not pass all exam parts within the eligibility period may reapply to sit for an ABCC exam. Details on Reapplication Requirements are below.
• Candidates can only be eligible for one specialty at a time. Individuals cannot apply for or be eligible for multiple specialties during the same eligibility period. For example, an individual cannot apply for or be eligible to sit for the Clinical Chemistry AND Toxicological Chemistry specialties during the same period. Individuals must complete or end an eligibility period by either successfully passing all exam parts or failing an exam part twice BEFORE applying for another specialty.