Renewal and Recertification FAQ

Renewal applies to your credentials, such as Registered Art Therapist (ATR℠), Provisional Registered Art Therapist (ATR-P®) and Art Therapy Credentialed Supervisor℠ (ATCS℠) and must be completed annually to keep the credential active.

Recertification applies to your board certification and is required every five years. It involves meeting continuing education requirements to demonstrate ongoing professional competence.

While they may occur around the same time, renewal and recertification are separate processes with different requirements.

ATCB℠ operates on a fixed annual renewal cycle that runs from July 1 through June 30, regardless of when a credential or certification is first awarded.

If you received your credential or board certification in February, it is still tied to the previous certification year, which ends June 30. The payment made during your application covers the cost of reviewing and processing of your initial application—it did not include the annual renewal fee.

This differs from a rolling renewal model often used by membership organizations. ATCB℠ is a credentialing board, and all credential holders renew on the same annual timeline to ensure consistency in ethics/compliance attestation and reporting requirements.  

This separation is due to a limitation of the current MyATCB℠ portal, which processes renewal and recertification as two distinct transactions.

The workflow was implemented for the 2024 renewal and recertification cycle, at the request of credential holders, to ensure that individuals recertifying their Board Certified also renew their Registered Art Therapist (ATR℠) credential. An active ATR℠ is required for the board certification to be valid.

In addition, the attestations required for each credential and certification are different, which necessitates handling them separately. We are actively working to streamline this workflow in future cycles.

ATCB renewal and recertification fees support the administration and maintenance of the credentialing programs that protect the integrity and value of ATCB credentials.

These activities include, but are not limited to:

• Credential maintenance and verification
• Public registry services
• Ethics attestation and disciplinary processes
• Credentialing system operations and support
• Examination development and maintenance
• Job Task Analysis and competency studies
• Accreditation compliance and reporting
• Application review and processing
• Continuing education review and recertification administration
• Customer support and credential holder assistance
• Technology, security, and record management systems

Renewal and recertification fees help ensure that ATCB credentials remain credible, defensible, and recognized by employers, regulators, credential holders, and the public.

ATCB is a credentialing organization. Fees support the ongoing administration of the credentialing programs and the standards that underpin them.

ATCB recognizes that credential holders may occasionally experience financial hardship.

Requests for hardship consideration are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may require additional information regarding the nature of the hardship and the assistance being requested.

Because ATCB is a nonprofit credentialing organization, any fee reductions, waivers, or accommodations must be administered fairly and consistently. Decisions regarding hardship requests are made in accordance with established policies and available resources.

Credential holders seeking hardship consideration should contact ATCB and provide information regarding their circumstances for review.

The Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB℠) and the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) are separate organizations and are not affiliated.

If you renewed a Credentialed Professional membership with AATA, that payment supports membership. It does not cover or fulfill any credential renewal or board recertification requirements with ATCB.

To maintain your credentials or board certification, you must complete the required ATCB℠ renewal or recertification process separately through the MyATCB℠ portal.

ATCB℠ offers options for individuals experiencing personal or professional hardship. Depending on your situation, you may be eligible to request Temporary Inactive Status (TIS).

Each option has different implications for maintaining your credentials or board certification, including rules around reinstatement and use of professional designations.

To learn more, visit: Inactive Status and TIS Overview

If there is an active ethics or compliance inquiry, your credential or certification will remain active during the investigation. Deadlines for renewal or recertification are suspended until the matter is resolved, and you may continue using your credential or certification during this time.

The Registered Art Therapist (ATR℠) is your foundational credential and must be renewed annually to remain active—even if you also hold the Board Certified Registered Art Therapist℠ (ATR-BC®) designation. The ATR-BC® is a certification that builds on the ATR℠ but does not replace or include it. Both must be maintained separately.

You must complete your ethics/compliance attestation and pay the renewal fee by June 30 each year. If you miss the deadline, a grace period is available from July 1–31, with a $30 late fee. If you haven’t renewed by August 1, your credential becomes inactive.

See Inactive Status and Deferred Status Overview to learn more.

If your credential is not renewed by July 31, it becomes inactive. You have one year (until June 30 of the following year) to complete the reinstatement process, which includes a $250 fee.

If reinstatement is not completed within that one-year window, the credential—and its number—becomes permanently inactive.

For details, visit the Reinstatement Process.

Note: Reinstatement is only for your credentials (ATR, ATR-P® and ATCS℠). Board certification can not be reinstated.

The renewal fee supports the ongoing administration and integrity of your credential. This includes oversight of the ATCB℠ Code Governing Standards of Practice, Eligibility for and Regulation of Credentials, and Disciplinary Procedures, compliance review, the international credential registry, and the MyATCB℠ portal. It also helps cover communication, verification, and operational costs necessary to maintain a national credentialing program.

The Registered Art Therapist (ATR℠) is a credential that must be renewed annually to remain active. The Board Certified Registered Art Therapist℠ (ATR-BC®) is an advanced certification that is held in addition to the ATR℠ and requires recertification every five years.

Each has its own requirements, timeline, and associated fee. While renewal and recertification may happen around the same time, they are separate processes. We recognize the experience can be confusing and are working to improve it in future cycles.

No. The board certification separate certification, in addition to your Registered Art Therapist (ATR℠), that requires recertification every five years. Your ATR℠ credential must still be renewed annually. Both must be active for your board certification to remain valid.

To submit or track CE hours for your board certification recertification:

1. Log in to your account on the new MyATCB℠ Portal. If you need assistance with logging in, visit the MyATCB℠ Transition Hub for steps and tutorial.
2. Once on your dashboard, in the top navigation menu, click on "CE"
3. On the left hand side of the page click "+ Add CE"

For detailed, step-by-step instructions, and video tutorials on entering a CE, visit theMyATCB℠ Transition Hub section on the ATCB℠ website.

Note: The Continuing Education tracker is available year-round and populate into your recertification process.

The CE Tracker is designed to support credential holders throughout the entire recertification cycle, not just at the point of recertification.

The system is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, allowing credential holders to enter continuing education activities as they occur rather than reconstructing several years of records at the end of a recertification cycle.

By entering activities throughout the cycle, credential holders can:

• Track progress toward recertification requirements in real time
• Identify any deficiencies before a recertification deadline
• Maintain supporting documentation in a centralized location
• Reduce the burden of gathering and organizing several years of continuing education records at the time of recertification

The CE Tracker also allows credential holders to monitor completion of specific recertification requirements, including total continuing education credits, art therapy-specific credits, ethics credits, and supervision credits.

While transitioning to a new system may require an initial investment of time, the CE Tracker was implemented to create a more transparent, organized, and user-friendly recertification experience while supporting accurate recordkeeping and credential maintenance.

CEs must be completed within your five-year recertification cycle. ATCB℠ accepts CEs completed on or after January 1 of your cycle start year through the end of your certification cycle.

For example, if your certification cycle runs from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2030, eligible CEs must be completed between January 1, 2025 and June 30, 2030. CEs completed outside of this timeframe are not eligible.

No.

Conference sessions must be entered individually rather than as a single conference total.

Each session should be entered separately with its corresponding CE value and category (e.g., Art Therapy, Ethics, Supervision, Multicultural, etc.). This allows the CE Tracker to accurately calculate category requirements and supports ATCB's audit process.

The CE Tracker is designed to track continuing education across multiple required categories. Entering an entire conference as a single activity prevents the system from accurately assigning CE hours to the appropriate categories and may result in incorrect recertification calculations.

Board Certification recertification is based on continuing education activities completed during a specific recertification cycle and meet the recertification requirements. 

Only activities completed within your current recertification period may be applied toward that cycle's requirements. Continuing education activities completed before the start of the cycle or after the cycle ends cannot be applied to that recertification period.

For example, if your recertification cycle runs from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2028, only eligible activities completed during that timeframe may be used toward your current recertification requirements.

If an extension application is approved by ATCB, eligible continuing education activities completed during the approved extension period may also be applied toward the recertification cycle, subject to the terms of the extension.

This requirement helps ensure that Board Certification recertification reflects ongoing professional development and current competency throughout the recertification period.

The requirement for art therapy–specific CEs reflects the expectations of a specialty certification, where continuing education must align directly with the core discipline and scope of practice. Ensuring that a portion of CEs is specific to art therapy supports continued clinical competence and maintains the integrity of board certification.

Yes. Credential holders may review and update how CEs are categorized within the MyATCB℠ system. CEs should be categorized accurately to reflect the content area, including identifying those that qualify as art therapy–specific when appropriate.

If you are unable to complete your required Continuing Education (CE) hours by the recertification deadline, you may request a recertification extension through your MyATCB℠ portal.

If approved, the extension grants you an additional 90 days, starting after the July 31 grace period ends. The extension request must be submitted before your board certification lapses, and no more than two extensions will be granted per recertification cycle.

If you do not complete your Board Certified Registered Art Therapist℠ (ATR-BC®) recertification by June 30, you have a grace period through July 31 to submit your application with a $30 late fee.

If no recertification is submitted by August 1, your board certification will no longer be valid. To regain board certification, you must either appeal to reopen your recertification or retake the ATCBE®.

Learn more about the appeals process.

ATCB℠ is required by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) to audit 10% of all recertification applications each year. The audit group is selected randomly, and ATCB℠ staff conduct all audit reviews.

If your application is selected, you’ll be notified through the MyATCB℠ system and asked to upload documentation that supports your reported Continuing Education Credits (CECs). This may include certificates of attendance, event programs, course syllabi, transcripts, or documentation for juried shows. All materials must be submitted within the recertification application.

Audit candidates are selected randomly by the MyATCB℠ system. ATCB℠ staff and board members do not select or influence who is chosen for audit.

ATCB℠ is only made aware of audit selections once the audited recertification application is submitted for review. At that point, ATCB℠ staff conduct the audit in accordance with established procedures.

To help ensure the integrity and consistency of the certification process, certification and recertification applications may be randomly selected for audit.

If your application is selected, please allow up to 10 business days for the audit review to be completed. The review period begins only after all required supporting documentation and audit materials have been received by ATCB℠.

If your recertification application is missing required documentation or supporting materials, it will be returned to you with instructions regarding what additional information is needed. The audit review process will not begin until the requested materials have been submitted and received.

Applicants are encouraged to carefully review all submission requirements and retain copies of supporting documentation to help avoid delays in processing.

The recertification fee helps sustain the board certification program, including continuing education review, compliance processes, certification audits, and the development and maintenance of the ATCBE®. It also supports policy and advocacy work, as well as the operational infrastructure required to manage a national board certification.

Once your Continuing Education (CE) credits have been reviewed, accepted, and applied toward a Board Certified (BC) recertification cycle, they are considered used for that certification period. At that time, the CE Tracker will clear those credits in preparation for tracking credits earned during your next recertification cycle.

Because the CE Tracker is designed to support the recertification process, certificants are encouraged to maintain their own personal records of all CE activities and supporting documentation. This is especially important if you plan to use the same CE credits for other certifications, licenses, credentialing requirements, employer records, or professional development purposes.

We recommend keeping copies of certificates of completion, transcripts, attendance records, and any other CE documentation for your personal files.

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If you previously held an ATCB credential and created a new account instead of accessing your existing record through the First-Time Access process, your credential history, applications, continuing education records, and other information may not appear in the newly created account.

In most cases, the information has not been lost. Instead, it remains associated with your original ATCB record while the newly created account exists separately.

When duplicate accounts are created, ATCB must review the records and, if appropriate, merge the accounts so that your credential information is associated with the correct profile.

If your credentials, continuing education records, renewal history, or applications do not appear in MyATCB, please contact ATCB through the Contact Form for assistance.

To help avoid delays and duplicate records, credential holders should not create additional accounts if they have previously held an ATCB credential.

To complete your renewal and recertification, log in to your account on the MyATCB℠ system and follow these steps:

To renew your credential (ATR, ATR-P®, or ATCS℠):

1. On you Dashboard, navigate to the Registered Art Therapists Area. Under Things to Do, you will see the application to renew your ATR-P® or your ATR℠. Please note this application only appears during the Annual Renewal and Recertification period.
2. Complete the application and ethics attestation.
3. Pay the renewal fee.

To recertify your ATR-BC® (if applicable):

1. After completing your ATR℠ renewal, return to your main dashboard.
2. Navigate to your Board Certification Area.
3. If you have not entered your CEs, do so by clicking on the View CE Credits at the bottom of the blue box in Current Requirements or by clicking on CE at the top of your dashboard.
4. The box in Current Requirements will turn green when all of your CEs have be tracked.
5. Complete the application and ethics attestation.
6. Pay the recertification fee.

Note: Renewal of your ATR℠ is required before you can access the ATR-BC® recertification process. If it is your recertification year, and you carry an ATCS℠, you can not renew your ATCS℠ until you complete you board recertification.

To submit or track CE hours for your board certification recertification:

1. Log in to your account on the new MyATCB℠ Portal. If you need assistance with logging in, visit the MyATCB℠ Transition Hub for steps and tutorial.
2. Once on your dashboard, in the top navigation menu, click on "CE"
3. On the left hand side of the page click "+ Add CE"

For detailed, step-by-step instructions, and video tutorials on entering a CE, visit the MyATCB℠ Transition Hub section on the ATCB℠ website.

Note: The Continuing Education tracker is available year-round and populate into your recertification process.

In the top navigation menu of the MyATCB℠ Portal, click on History and then payments.

Please note that the new MyATCB platform was implemented under updated data governance and privacy standards. Certain historical transactional records, including older payment and order details, were not migrated into the visible user interface to align with current data protection practices and limit exposure of sensitive information.  This does not affect your credential status or standing. If you require documentation related to a specific prior transaction, please use the contact form to contact ATCB℠ for assistance. 

As we near the renewal and recertification period, which is the busiest time of the year, we want to remind credential holders that they must use the appropriate forms to contact the ATCB. Requests sent directly to staff will be redirected to the approporiate form for submission before they can be reviewed.

ATCB℠ does not mail certificates due to the costs associated with printing and shipping. Instead, the certificates are available immediately in your MyATCB℠ account to download. To access them, log in and locate the "Download Certificate" at the top of each credential or certification Area.

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