NAHUC Certification and Recertification
"A Story of Health Unit Coordinator Certification"
Effective January 1, 2026, NAHUC transitioned from a three-year to a two-year certification cycle.
New Testing or Recertification
If you test or recertify on or before December 31, 2025, your cycle will be three years.
If you test or recertify after December 31, 2025, your cycle will be two years.
Certification The First Step: Inform
The first step is to inform yourself. Read the Health Unit Coordinator Certification Exam Candidate Handbook. An outline of the material to be tested, a list of study materials, and sample test questions are included in the candidate handbook. The exam questions are based on the certification exam content outline created from the national job task analysis.
Certification
The National Association of Health Unit Coordinators, Inc. (NAHUC) provides professional standards of practice, education and ethics for unit coordinators. In the ever-changing field of health care, how can we validate we are current? Certification is the answer. For more than 30 years, certification as a health unit coordinator by the NAHUC Certification Board provides proof to employers, other health care professionals and our customers that we have demonstrated the essential knowledge and skills in areas of health unit coordinating. Certification provides evidence that health unit coordinators are qualified and that the facility supports and encourages staff to continuously improve their performance.
Certification The Second Step: Study
NAHUC members get a discount on NAHUC modules and the exam. You have to join before ordering or registering to receive the discount.
- The content outline of the exam lists all the topics where the test questions come from.
- There is a list of study resources published in the exam candidate handbook.
- NAHUC offers a 50-item practice test to assist you in assessing your current skill level and prepare for the exam.
- NAHUC offers five learning modules in areas of the exam content.
Certification The Third Step: Register
Registration for the exam will completed online and instructions are published on page 2 in the Health Unit Coordinator Certification Exam Candidate Handbook. Registration steps are different depending on whether you test with a remote or in-person proctor. Contact the NAHUC office for instructions before registering for the exam.
Increased opportunity and availability to sit for the exam. There are two ways to take the exam.
- Take the exam under the supervision of an independent proctor. An independent proctor is a person who supervises the administration of a test or examination. A school or an employer can be an independent proctor for the health unit coordinator certification exam.
- Take the exam under the supervisor of a webcam remote proctor. Utilizing a webcam remote proctor gives you the convenience of taking the exam via your own computer in your own personal setting.