Expiration dates are set when you gain your full, initial certification. 

• Individuals who gain initial certification between January to June will be issued an expiration date two years in the future. 
• Individuals who gain initial certification between July to December will be three years in the future. 

For individuals recertifying for the first time:  

Your initial recertification cycle starts when you gain your full certification and ends with your expiration date. 

• EMTs, AEMTs, and Paramedics have recertification dates that are based on a 2-year recertification cycle that ends March 31 of your expiration year. 
• EMRs have recertification dates that are based on a 2-year recertification cycle that ends on September 30 of your expiration year. 
• All education must be completed within your certification cycle and before your expiration date. For the first recertification, your certification cycle starts the date you gained certification. 
• Your expiration date for your National Registry certification may be different from your state license/certification expiration date.
• The 2-year recertification cycle is supported by a balance of the interactions with licensure processes, degradation of knowledge over time, and changes to the EMS community.

 

• The new certification cycle starts the day after the recertification application is processed and approved by the National Registry. 
• The rolling recertification cycle start date will change, but the expiration date will not, even if the individual renews early. 
• Once the new cycle date is granted, the individual can begin earning and assigning education for their next recertification cycle. 
• Rolling recertification dates are automatically assigned and cannot be changed. 
• Recertification by Examination (RBE), the cycle date starts the day after the passed examination results are processed. 
• EMS professionals must recertify before their current expiration date, or they will lapse. See the Regain Certification section of this guide for additional information. 

April 1   1 year before the current expiration date	Recertification by Examination (RBE) opens. You can test through March 31 of your expiration date and go ahead and get your Training Officer and/or Medical Director to verify your skills.
October 1  6 months before your expiration date	Recertification by continuing education opens.. Submit your completed application now until March 31 of your expiration date.
5 Business Days Before   March 31	RBE applications must be completed to allow enough time to take the examination before the expiration date.
March 31  expiration year	This is the last day to submit your recertification by continuing education application without paying the reinstatement fee.
April 1 - 30 expiration date	This is the reinstatement period. Submit your application with an additional reinstatement fee.
April 5 expiration year	Applications pending Training Officer and Medical Director verification for active status are converted to inactive status and submitted to National Registry for review. This prevents a lapsed certification status and expiration of many state licenses. This does not include RBE applicants.
May 1  expiration year	For anyone who submitted during the reinstatement period or earlier, applications pending Training Officer and Medical Director verification for active status are converted to inactive status and submitted to National Registry for review.
May 1  expiration year	Lapse of certification. You will need to regain your national EMS certification. See the Regain Certification section for more details.

October 1   1 year before the current expiration date	Recertification by Examination (RBE) opens. You can test through September 30 of your expiration date and go ahead and get your Training Officer to verify your skills.
April 1   6 months before your expiration date	Recertification by continuing education opens.. Submit your completed application now until September 30 of your expiration date.
5 Business Days Before  September 30	RBE applications must be completed to allow enough time to take the examination before the expiration date.
September 30   expiration date	This is the last day to submit your recertification by continuing education application without paying the reinstatement fee.
October 1 - 31  expiration date	This is the reinstatement period. Submit your application with an additional reinstatement fee.
October 5   expiration date	Applications pending Training Officer verification for active status are converted to inactive status and submitted to National Registry for review. This prevents a lapsed certification status and expiration of many state licenses. This does not include RBE applicants.
November 1   expiration date	For anyone who submitted during the reinstatement period or earlier, applications pending Training Officer verification for active status are converted to inactive status and submitted to National Registry for review.
November 1   expiration date	Lapse of certification. You will need to regain your national EMS certification by taking a new EMR education program.  See the Regain Certification section for more details.

The reinstatement period for each certification level is listed in the Important Dates section above. The fee to complete your recertification application during this time is $50 in additional to the regular recertification application fee.

Note: Continuing education dated during the reinstatement period is not accepted.

• There is no guarantee an application will be accepted during the reinstatement period. An application must meet all recertification requirements and can be returned incomplete for correction, randomly selected for audit, or approved for recertification.
• Reinstatement does not apply to RBE. National Registry staff will continue to accept signed Cognitive.
• Successfully recertifying during the reinstatement period will affect an individual’s rolling recertification date.  It will begin the day after your application is processed and approved by National Registry staff.

The National Registry may assess individual requests for a time extension to meet all education requirements and/or submission of the recertification application for qualifying events. You must apply before your current expiration date. Email support@nremt.org with supporting documentation. An extension may be considered for examples such as, but not limited to, overseas military deployment or a significant, incapacitating personal medical event that impacted at least 2/3 of the current recertification cycle.