North Carolina Emergency Management Certification Program

The candidate should submit a copy of their current position description or previous position descriptions which 
document their experience. Additionally, a narrative signed by the candidate’s current supervisor or county 
emergency manager verifying the following areas of experience should be included.

• Preparedness / Planning Experience
• Response Experience
• Recovery Experience
• Mitigation / Prevention Experience
• Disaster Experience 
  • Disaster date and event details
  • The candidate’s role
  • Provide a description of your lessons learned from the event
• Major Role in a Full-Scale Exercise (in lieu of disaster experience)
  • Describe the exercise
  • The candidate’s role
  • Provide a description of your lessons learned from the exercise

• Training courses for initial certification must have been taken within the last ten years. Training courses for recertification must have been taken from the date of the last certification/recertification.
• Training courses used for the Associate Emergency Manager may not be used for the Executive Emergency Manager application.
• Degrees substituted for training hours for the Associate Emergency Manager application may not be used for the Executive Emergency Manager application.
• Emergency management training is considered courses specific to the profession of emergency management and examples of these courses are designated with an “E” in the Training Course Allocation Table found by visiting the IAEM website.
• General management training includes course content that can be applied beyond emergency management  operations and is designated with “G” in the Training Course Allocation Table found by visiting the IAEM website. It should be noted that several courses offered by the Emergency Management Institute, North Carolina Emergency Management, or other training consortium partners are considered “general management” classes. Courses not found on the IAEM list can still be used, but documentation will need to accompany the certificate to show course objectives. The candidate should add the training to either Emergency Management Training or General Management training as defined above.
• The certification program will adopt the IAEM Training Course Allocation Table with NC accepted courses to determine number of hours for each course and accepted allocation for certification. Courses not identified in the CEM Training Course Allocation Table will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the TASAB.
• Independent study courses can only count toward 10% of the total required hours in each category.
• Forums and conferences may not be used to document training hours for initial certification as they are listed as contributions to the profession. Forum and conference hours may be used for the recertification requirement for training hours.
• Time documented during exercises does not count towards training hours for initial certification or recertification.
• One full Continuing Education Unit (CEU) equals 10 hours of training (example: a FEMA course equaling .2 CEU equals 2 hours).
• One semester college course hour is equal to 15 training hours (example: three college credit hours is equal to 45 training hours).
• Credit hours in a degree awarding program counts the same if on-line or in residence as outlined above.
• No more than 25 hours are allowed in any given topic or specialty. As an example, an applicant may have 100 hours of Incident Command System (ICS) classes, however no more than 25 hours of ICS courses can be used for their application for certification. 
  • Sample topic areas could include: 
    • Incident Command
    • Recovery
    • Planning
    • Preparedness
    • Mitigation
    • Communications
    • Organizational Development
    • Response (Emergency Management Focus)
    • Prevention
    • Management
    • Budget / Financial Management
    • Leadership

Candidates may only use each category below one time on their application for certification.

• Active membership in an emergency management or related professional organization for at least three years.
• Attend a state, regional or national educational session meeting or emergency management related conference.
• Serve as an active member on a board, a committee, a task force, or a special project for a professional, emergency management or a jurisdictional organization.
• Serve for at least one term as an officer or in a leadership position on a board, a committee, a task force, or a special project for a professional, emergency management or a jurisdictional organization.
• Complete a special assignment or project for a jurisdictional or governmental committee or task force addressing emergency management issues. An example would be a special assignment or project for the county, LEPC, FEMA, EMI, etc. The resulting product or decisions must make a significant contribution to or impact on the emergency management profession. 
• Develop and participate in an educational or informational speaking engagement on an emergency management issue at a professional conference or public forum (including conferences, workshops, radio, television, educational video, etc.).
• Complete a teaching or instructing commitment on an emergency management related topic for a minimum of 
  three actual platform hours.
• Serve as a Developer, Evaluator or Controller for either a full-scale, functional, or a tabletop exercise or complete a disaster assignment outside the candidate’s jurisdiction. Demonstrate a significant role in the exercise or assignment and describe the lessons learned through participation.
• Write and have published (in print or on the Internet) an emergency management article, research project, brochure, or instructional pamphlet.
• Develop and distribute a completed audio, video, audio-visual or computer software project directly related to emergency management.
• Receive an award or special recognition in the field of emergency management by an outside agency, organization or association.
• Complete a significant role as a full partner in the development or extensive revision of a course in emergency management offered at the state, national, or international level.
• Testify before a legislative/regulatory body or contact an elected representative at the national or state level on any issue related to emergency management. The candidate must receive a written reply because of the contact.
• Other contributions must be approved in advance by the TASAB.

Current certification holders of the International Emergency Management Association (IAEM) Certified Emergency Manager or Associate Emergency Manager (CEM, AEM) credentials may apply for reciprocity to the North Carolina Emergency Management Training and Standards Advisory Board.

Applicants will be required to submit documentation proving a current (non-expired) IAEM credential, as well as documentation showing North Carolina experience and contributions to the profession. The table below outlines the reciprocity path and required documentation.

Applicants wishing to apply for IAEM Reciprocity should use the Application Template for Reciprocity to ensure all appropriate documentation is provided. Applications will be reviewed on the same timeline as regular applications.

Recertification is required for both the Associate Emergency Manager and Executive Emergency Manager certifications every five years.

• NCEM will make notifications of expiring credentials one year prior to their expiration date through TERMS.
• Recertification applications must be submitted with documentation which demonstrates the completion of 100 hours of continuing education (75 hours in emergency management courses and 25 hours of general management courses).
• No more than 25 hours are allowed in any given topic or specialty. As an example, an applicant may have 100 hours of Incident Command System (ICS) classes; however, no more than 25 hours of ICS courses can be used for their application for certification.
  Teaching emergency management courses may substitute for a maximum of 50 continuing education hours; however, no more than 25 hours are allowed in any given topic or specialty.
• If an individual holds a CEM certification through the International Association of Emergency Managers, the CEM recertification documentation may be submitted in lieu of the NC recertification process.

Recertification applications will be accepted up to 30 days after expiration without additional requirements. 

Recertification applications received from 30-90 days after expiration will require the applicant to repeat the exam. 

Recertification applications will not be accepted beyond 90 days of the expiration date in TERMS. To achieve certification status after a lapse of 90+ days, the applicant must complete and submit the entire initial application packet.