Dormancy of Certification

Introduction
Circumstances may dictate that a Certificate Holder is unable to maintain their certification due to life changing events e.g., long term illness, military deployment, family care leave, maternity leave, or a leave of absence from the profession. Upon approval, an ABC certificant may have their certification deferred to an inactive status, and later regain active status, without retaking the written examination(s). The term of the absence can be in one-, two-, or three-year increments with a maximum of three years.  Extensions may be granted upon request not to exceed the three-year maximum.  Only one absence per life changing event will be granted.  
​
Requirements

• Dormancy only applies to certificants.  Dormancy does not apply to Affiliates. Dormancy allows the certificant to accumulate the required number of points even with a leave of absence.
• The certificant must be in good standing with the organization. All fees and recertification paperwork must be current at the time of the request. 
• The request should be made within 90 days of the life changing event. 
• The certificant’s contact information must be current. 

Requesting the Dormancy
The certificant must request the Dormancy in writing to the Registrar using Form (09-1003F). Forms that are incomplete will not be reviewed.

Review of the Dormancy Request

1. The Registrar will forward the request to the ABC Secretary. 
2. The Board of Directors will decide by simple majority vote whether to approve or deny the request. 
3. The Secretary will notify the certificant of the decision. 

While in Inactive Status
The certificant will continue to receive information from the Registrar and the Website. This includes yearly recertification notification.

• The certificant will be responsible for paying maintenance fees when due along with a signed copy of the Rules of Professional Conduct form. 

• The certificant must request reactivation if the certificant returns to work status or the life changing event is over prior to the end of the dormancy period. Failure to do so may result in an ethics complaint.
• If any of the conditions are impossible due to military deployment or for other reasons, the certificant will be responsible for all back fees in order to regain an active certification.

Return to Active Status
To return to active status, the certificant must submit the Dormancy Reactivation Request Form (09-1004F) to the Registrar within 60 days of returning to work or the end of the life-changing event. Forms that are incomplete will not be reviewed.

Review of the Reactivation Request

1. The Registrar will forward the request to the Secretary. 
2. The Secretary will work with the certificant to determine a new certification expiration date.
3. The Board of Directors will decide by simple majority vote whether to approve or deny the request. 
4. The Secretary will notify the certificant of the decision. The letter will note the revised certification expiration date. The certification expiration date will be extended based on the length of the dormancy. A copy of the letter will be provided to the Registrar for inclusion in the certificant’s file. 
5. The Registrar will be informed by the Secretary of the return to active status. 
6. If the certificant would like to have a new certificate issued with the new expiration date, the certificant will have to note that in the provided area on the Dormancy Reactivation Request Form (09-1004F) and pay the $15 certificate replacement fee.

If you need additional information or would like to better understand the ABC procedure for Dormancy, please read the ABC Dormancy Procedure (09-10).