Eligibility Criteria and Requirements

To meet the eligibility criteria for the CDMS Certification Exam, applicants must possess both the educational and the employment requirements as outlined below. Additionally, those who are applying must abide by the principles and ethical requirements of the CDMS Code of Professional Conduct. Complete details on the certification program—including the application process, acceptable employment experience, exam content, and fees—are outlined in the CDMS Guide for Candidate Certification. Applicants are encouraged to review this Guide prior to completing their application. The guide is updated periodically, so if you have reviewed or downloaded it in the past, make sure you have the most recent copy.

EDUCATION

  • A Bachelor's degree in any discipline, or RN state licensure

 EMPLOYMENT

  • At the time of application, the applicant must be currently employed in the field of absence and disability management AND
  • At the time of application, applicants must be able to attest that within the past 36 months a minimum of 2080 hours of their documented work experience aligns with at least 2 of the 4 domains/practice areas. 
  • Experience must focus on the provision of direct administrative, preventative or case management services to individuals experiencing short or long-term health events. This includes working with individuals who have been impacted by their ability to maintain their economic standard of living and/or are receiving wage replacement benefits from a private, local, state or federal disability wage replacement system.
  • Only paid employment is accepted as a valid fulfillment of the employment criteria. 
  • Internships and volunteer activities are NOT acceptable as employment experience

Please reference the CDMS Guide for Candidate Certification for complete details on acceptable employment experience.

APPLICATION & FEES

  • Applicants must complete the online application and submit it with the appropriate fees no later than 5pm EST on the date of the application deadline. The fee is $420, which includes the application fee AND exam fee. 

AUDITS

  • All applicants are subject to an audit to validate education and/or licensure and work experience.

SELF-EMPLOYED? Self-employed applicants must complete the CDMS Self Employment Verification Form, providing information for 3 different purchasers of their service and upload the form to their online application.

Apply for CDMS certification