Certification Policies

The policies in this section are frequently asked about or represent critical information for some candidates. Not all of these policies may apply to you.

Accommodations

The National Registry wants to ensure that all candidates receive a fair and unbiased opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities related to EMS. To ensure that each candidate receives a fair opportunity to test, the National Registry offers reasonable and appropriate accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. The National Registry recognizes that each disability is unique to the individual and all National Registry decisions regarding reasonable accommodations are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The National Registry complies with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Information on the National Registry's Accommodations Policy and applying for accommodations for a Regsitry exam can be accessed at: https://nremt.org/Policies/Examination-Policies/ADA-Accommodations

Appeals

When the Registry makes an unfavorable ruling regarding an individual’s application for certification or recertification, request for an accommodation in the administration of an exam, cancellation or revocation of exam results or any disciplinary action, including, but not limited to, the revocation or suspension of certification (collectively “Adverse Decision”), the Executive Director shall send to that individual, by certified mail, return receipt requested, a statement setting forth:
  • The action taken
  • The reason(s) for the action and, if applicable, a statement of facts constituting the alleged violation of any of the Registry’s rules or standards or the reasons for ineligibility
  • The time period in which the individual may appeal and provide any additional information
An applicant or registrant who is subject to an Adverse Decision of the Executive Director, excluding decisions with respect to the timeliness of applications or the scoring or reporting of the exams, may appeal such decision by mailing a notice of appeal to the office of the Registry within 45 days of the date that such decision was mailed (based on postmark). The request for appeal must contain the individual’s statement of the basis of his or her appeal, as well as any documents in support of the appeal. Materials not included in the request shall not be considered on appeal unless expressly requested in writing by the Registry.

The entire appeals policy and procedures that are followed are located on this page: www.nremt.org/Policies/Certification-Policies/Certification-Eligibility,-Discipline,-and-Appeals

Candidate Retesting at Request of The Registry

The Registry may require an applicant to retake a certification exam if presented with sufficient evidence that the security or integrity of the exam has been compromised, notwithstanding the absence of any evidence of an applicant’s personal involvement in the security compromise.

Complaints

The Registry responds to all complaints, inquiries, and concerns brought to our attention in a constructive and timely manner. Complaints can be submitted by email to support@nremt.org. The Registry will confirm receipt by email and provide status updates. Most notifications and initial responses are sent within five business days.

A candidate who wishes to submit a complaint to the Registry must submit notice of complaint to the office of the Registry within 30 days of the action(s) resulting in complaint. The notice of complaint must contain the individual’s personal statement and any supporting documentation. The Registry will treat any person who invokes this complaint procedure courteously. The Registry will handle all complaints swiftly and confidentially to the extent possible, considering the need to take appropriate corrective action. Most complaints are investigated and resolved within 30 days, and updates will be provided if delays are encountered. Documentation and information submitted as part of a complaint will be subject to the Registry Privacy Policy.

Criminal Convictions

The Registry has adopted a Criminal Conviction Policy to safeguard the public from individuals who, in practice as an EMS professional, might pose a danger to the public.

EMS professionals, under the authority of their state licensure, have unsupervised, intimate, physical and emotional contact with patients at a time of maximum physical and emotional vulnerability, as well as unsupervised access to a patient’s personal property. These patients may be unable to defend or protect themselves, voice objections to particular actions, or provide accurate accounts of events at a later time. EMS professionals, therefore, are placed in a position of the highest public trust.

The public in need of out-of-hospital medical services relies on state licensure and National Registry certification to assure that those EMS professionals who respond to their calls for aid qualify for this extraordinary trust. For these reasons, the Registry has adopted a Criminal Conviction Policy to ensure that individuals, who have been convicted of certain crimes, are identified and appropriately evaluated as to whether they would pose a risk to public safety as an EMS provider.

The entire criminal convictions policy is located on this page:
www.nremt.org/Policies/Certification-Policies/Criminal-Conviction

Any applicant or registrant subject to an adverse decision by the Registry under this Policy may appeal that decision as outlined in the Registry Certification Eligibility, Discipline and Appeals Policy.

Denial Or Revocation Of Certification

The Registry may, at its own discretion, deny an individual’s eligibility for initial certification or recertification, deny, suspend or revoke an individual’s certification or take any other appropriate disciplinary action against an individual’s application, certification and/or recertification or deny authorization to use the Registry’s website for any purpose, including submitting applicant training information in the case of:
  1. Ineligibility for National Registry certification
  2. Failure to comply with any policy or rule of the Registry, including, but not limited to the Registry’s website Terms of Use Policy
  3. Irregular behavior regarding any National Registry exam
  4. Misrepresenting, withholding, or the failure to update any information on any application for certification or recertification or in any other communication with the Registry
  5. The intentional misrepresentation by a trainer of any applicant’s successful completion of education requirements for certification
  6. Misrepresentation of the individual’s status as a registrant of the Registry
  7. The conviction of, plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere (no contest) to, a felony or any criminal offense which is related to public health or emergency medical service in accordance with the Registry’s Criminal Conviction Policy
  8. Any disciplinary action is taken by a licensing or authorizing agency relating to practice, or the ability to practice safely and effectively, as an EMS professional or the voluntary surrender of a licensee as a punishment for or in place of any disciplinary action. The Registry can suspend an individual’s certification, prior to any right of appeal, should a licensing or authorizing agency find the individual poses an imminent threat to the public or cannot practice safely and effectively
  9. Copying, reproducing, disclosing, disseminating or removing of exam related materials from the test site; attempting to copy, reproduce, disclose, disseminate or remove of exam related materials; or asking someone to copy, reproduce, disclose, disseminate or remove of exam related materials

Impartiality

The Registry ensures that personnel, vendors, and all involved in our certification activities understand the importance of impartiality and potential conflicts of interest. To reassure the Registry continues to act impartial, we conduct ongoing assessments to identify and address any risk that may result in a conflict of interest or imply a potential threat to impartiality. Policies and procedures are implemented for individuals involved in our certification activities to sustain a consistent and fair process. The Registry prides itself on being fair and objective when dealing with candidates and applicants pursuing the National Registry certification.

Nondiscrimination And Fairness

The Registry is committed to providing an equal opportunity for all applicants, certificants, staff, volunteers and vendors. The Registry does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or military status in any of its certification activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, initial applicants and recertification certificants, internal staffing practices, and selection of volunteers and vendors.

Privacy

The Registry’s privacy policy is applicable to personal information that we may receive related to certification, licensure and research. We will handle and treat all personal information collected and received by us in connection with application, exam administration, and certification in the manner outlined in our privacy policy.

The privacy policy covers personal information collected, aggregation of non-person-specified data, mailings and contact, transfer of information to licensing agencies, transfer of information to educational institutions, other transfer of information, public information, independent testing centers, information access and corrections, research data, protections of personal information, resolution of concerns, information from children, information received from internet service providers through the National Registry website, cookies, transmission of information, links to other websites, and changes to the privacy policy.

The entire privacy policy can be accessed at: https://www.nremt.org/Policies/General-Policies/Privacy-Policy