CHPA Overview

The purpose of the Certified Healthcare Protection Administrator certification program is to internationally offer IAHSS' highest level of certification intended for healthcare security professionals with management responsibilities. The CHPA designation is awarded to candidates who meet the qualifying criteria and pass a comprehensive certification examination. It affirms the competency these practitioners have demonstrated in the field of healthcare security.

CHPA Candidate Handbook

Eligibility Requirements & Application

Complete the online CHPA Application outlining the 20 required credits accumulated from the four categories of: Education, Experience, Professional Development and Membership. Requirements

Application Fee

The fee is non-refundable & includes the cost of the CHPA exam.

• Members: $450 USD
• Non-members: $525 USD

Exam Details

The CHPA exam is administered with an approved proctor on your own device with lockdown browser software installed. All testing must be prearranged.

CHPA exam consists of 200 scored and 20 unscored multiple choice items. IAHSS allows 3 hours (180 minutes) total testing time for the exam. The minimum passing score is 75.5%. The exam was developed following a multi-phase process. In the first phase, subject matter experts collaborated to define the expectations (knowledge and skills) that would be required of someone who holds the CHPA. These expectations were sent out to the industry for review and input, and the final set of expectations (refer to Exam content outline below) was developed incorporating the input from the broader profession. To measure these knowledge and skills, the test content was created by subject matter experts following best practices in item development. These items were then piloted to determine how well they were measuring targeted knowledge and skills. Finally, subject matter experts set the expectation for passing the exam (i.e., the passing standard) by reviewing the test content, the expectations for an entry level CHPA, and the performance of the pilot test candidates.

Candidates will receive results of either Pass or Fail upon completion, and will receive follow up email communication from IAHSS. Failing candidates will be provided additional information about their performance by Content Area, specifically, a percent correct score in each content area. This information is provided to better help you understand your performance on the CHPA exam but not intended to guide or limit your future exam preparation. As you prepare for re-exam, please consider the full breadth of expectations contained in the exam content outline (refer to Exam content outline below).

If you did not successfully pass the CHPA Examination, you may view the detail of your results by logging into your account at: https://iahss.ysasecure.com/grants/history, and selecting your exam. You have six months from the date of your exam to retest at a regularly scheduled examination site or by special arrangement online, and there is a 30 day wait period between examinations. The retest fee is $100. You will need to submit a completed Proctor form. You can download the Proctor form below under Preparing to Take the CHPA Exam. Please notify us three weeks in advance of when you wish to take the Examination.

Certification Statistics Summary

Policies

CHPA Certification Policies are reviewed and updated by the Commission on Certification periodically or as needed.

Preparing to take the CHPA exam

IAHSS education is developed independently from the Commission on Certification and is not required for CHPA certification.

• Current Exam content outline and NEW Exam content online
• 2021 CHPA Current core resources
• Core resources -effective Nov 3, 2025
• Proctor guidelines and Recipient Confidentiality Agreement Conflict of Interest
• ADA accommodation request

Recertification

Requirements

A CHPA must renew every three years by completing the online CHPA Recertification Application documenting 40 credits earned during the recertification period. Requirements

Recertification Fee

• Member: $150 USD
• Non-member $175 USD

Distinguished CHPA 

The status of Distinguished CHPA is granted to healthcare security professionals who have maintained an active CHPA certification consistently for 18 or more years.

NCCA Accreditation

NCCA was created in 1987 by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) to ensure the health, welfare, and safety of the public through the accreditation of certification and credentialing programs that assess professional competence. Certification and credentialing programs that receive NCCA Accreditation demonstrate compliance with the NCCA’s Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs. NCCA accreditation provides impartial, third-party validation that the  CHPA program meets or exceeds recognized national credentialing industry standards for development, implementation, and maintenance. The CHPA Program recently underwent NCCA’s extensive review process to demonstrate compliance with NCCA Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs and was awarded full accreditation through 4/30/2026.