CCDS Certification

ACDIS is proud that our credential was recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program for many years. The Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist (CCDS) credential was developed through academically rigorous and ethically sound processes that meet all industry standards. Beginning January 2024, the Magnet Recognition Program made the decision to only recognize credentials that have been accredited by the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC) or the National Commission Certifying Agencies (NCCA).

Individuals who hold the CCDS must apply for recertification every two years. It is due on the anniversary of the date on which they passed the CCDS exam. That date is printed on the individual’s certificate. It is CCDS holder's responsibility to know their recertification due date. ACDIS sends multiple email reminders to the email address on file. ACDIS is not responsible for late, suspended, or revoked certifications.

Yes! ACDIS Members can earn (at least) 10 free CEUs each year. Take the quiz with each edition of CDI Journal quiz (published six times a year) and earn one CEU per edition. Participate in the ACDIS quarterly conference calls and earn one CEU for compelting the accompanying survey. ACDIS also routinely offers free and sponsored programs that offer CCDS CEUs (for example, the annual CDI Week webinar offers one CEU).

Benefits for the organization:

ACDIS has contracted with Prometric to assist in the development, administration, scoring, and analysisof the CCDS and CCDS-O certification examinations. Prometric is a leading provider of technology-enabled testing and assessment solutions to many of the world’s most recognized licensing and certification organizations, academic institutions, and government agencies. Prometric supports more than 7 million test takers annually at its testing locations in more than 180 countries around the world.

The passing score is 88 correct out of 120 scored questions. Approximately 77% of first-time examinees pass the CCDS.

Interested in learning more about the certification process? Watch this free webinar with two of ACDIS' expert CDI education specialists on the topic!

The examination content is based on analysis of the activities of clinical documentation specialists in a wide range of settings, hospital sizes, and circumstances. Input from a survey taken by members of the Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists (ACDIS), and the input and research of an advisory board comprised of experienced clinical documentation specialists, was used to identify seven core competencies with which clinical documentation specialists should have a strong working knowledge.

The examination is composed of 140 multiple-choice questions.

The examination is an objective, multiple-choice test consisting of 140 questions. The examination questions are designed to test the candidate's multidisciplinary knowledge of clinical, coding, and healthcare regulations, as well as the roles and responsibilities of a clinical documentation specialist. The questions are updated on a continuous basis to keep them relevant to current realities in healthcare. Choices of answers to the examination questions will be identified as A, B, C, or D.

Candidates taking the CCDS exam may bring the following with them into the test:

Candidates must complete an online application by clicking here. To login to the application site, ACDIS members can use their regular ACDIS website login credentials. If you do not have a member login, please click the "Register" button.