Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Applicant
You must download an application, fill it out completely following the instructions, request your transcripts from your educational institutions and send to ABFT.
That depends on your situation. An analyst certification is appropriate for a bench level toxicologist with an AA or BS degree in chemistry. This is not a certification for public use but is used for proficiency with chemistry terms and bench work analysis.
Diplomate and fellow certifications are appropriate for forensic toxicologists with a bachelor’s degree or higher (Doctor of Philosophy or Science for fellow) in natural or life sciences with satisfactory completion of at least 32 semester hours or 48 quarter hours of college level studies in chemistry. They must have a minimum of three years of full-time professional experience (or the part-time equivalent thereof) in forensic toxicology subsequent to receipt of degree with at least one year of the professional experience having been acquired immediately preceding the date of application.
The average time is 60 days depending on how quickly the background check is completed and the transcripts and references are received.
Applicants must be approved as a candidate before any arrangements can be made. Once approved as a candidate, contact Sherri Williamson at swilliamson@abft.org. All candidates who wish to sit for the examination must register with Sherri Williamson, administration and operations director, a minimum of 30 days prior to the requested examination date. All arrangements to sit for an exam must go through the ABFT Administrative Office only. Arrangements cannot be made through the proctor.
Properly completed applications are open for one year from the date received by ABFT.
The cost is $300 to apply for all categories of certification. An application without the appropriate payment will be considered incomplete and will not be processed.
Diplomates and fellows must provide the names and email addresses of three persons qualified to provide professional and character references. They must be knowledgeable of the applicant's work and training in forensic toxicology, and be qualified to verify competency, training, and ethical conduct relative to forensic toxicology. One reference must be an immediate supervisor. References must not be a member of the ABFT Board of Directors or a member of the Examination Committee.
ABFT (American Board of Forensic Toxicology, Inc.)
5540 N Academy Blvd, Suite 230
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
**Please note that applications and transcripts must be mailed. Reference Forms are sent to the referee by DocuSign when the application is processed.
Candidacy and Exams
Candidates must pass an examination within two years of obtaining candidate status.
Applicants shall be actively engaged and employed in the practice of forensic toxicology at the time of application for certification and at the time of the qualifying examination.
The first exam is included in the application fee. If you are unsuccessful on the first exam, an examination fee of $150 is charged for the second exam. If unsuccessful on the second exam a new application must be filed.
The exam is a three-hour comprehensive multiple-choice exam.
Contact Sherri Williamson at swilliamson@abft.org. All candidates who wish to sit for the examination must register with Sherri Williamson, administration and operations director, a minimum of 30 days prior to the examination date. All arrangements to sit for an exam must go through the ABFT Administrative Office only.
The exam is administered at the SOFT and AAFS annual meetings. Exams are also administered at the ABFT Administrative Office and Testing Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado throughout the year. In addition, members of the board may proctor exams in their respective locations once arrangements have been made through the ABFT Administrative Office. All arrangements must be made through the ABFT Administrative Office only by contacting Sherri Williamson, Administration and Operations Director at swilliamson@abft.org.
Each candidate must have a minimum score of 70% to pass the exam and become certified.
It takes approximately four to six weeks to receive the results after sitting for the exam.
Certification
- Every certificant must keep the ABFT up to date regarding contact information e.g. any name changes, degree additions, current home and work addresses, current email addresses including an alternate email address.
- Every five years a certificant must complete a recertification application reflecting continued work in the field of forensic toxicology and include a CV with the application. If filed by the deadline, no fee is required. This application is in addition to the CE (Continuing Education) submission for the year.
- Annually, every certificant must submit a report documenting the CE earned for the previous year. An average of 10 points per year are needed to obtain the required 50 points for the 5-year recertification period. An average of 5 points per year are needed for analysts. There is an annual fee of $120 when submitting CE. You do not have to submit CE for the year you become a certificant. Your points for the first recertification period are prorated to 40 points instead of the normal 50 points. Analysts are prorated to 20 points instead of the normal 25 points. The only requirement for the first year is that you must sign a Code of Ethics form and a Code of Professional Conduct form. These two documents are sent out via DocuSign in January and must be completed and returned no later than March 15th.
- Certificants are required to submit a minimum of 5 points per year. Submissions of less than 5 points shall result in revocation of certification and certificants shall be required to surrender their certificate. Reinstatement option does not apply for any designation. If an individual would like to again be certified by the ABFT, they must reapply and successfully pass the current relevant written certification examination.
- In the case of an extended illness, a medical waiver may be granted by the board no more than once per 5-year recertification period. However, the CE submission form must be submitted with the appropriate submission fee and waiver request and is subject to ABFT Board approval.
You do not have to submit CE for the year you become a certificant. Your points for the first recertification period are prorated to 40 points instead of the normal 50 points. Analysts are prorated to 20 points instead of the normal 25 points. The only requirement for the first year is that you must sign a Code of Ethics form and a Code of Professional Conduct form. These two documents are sent out via DocuSign in January and must be completed and returned no later than March 15th of the year after you become a certificant. (e.g., You become a certificant in 2021, your Code of Ethics form and Code of Professional Conduct form are due by March 15, 2022.)
Certification expires December 31st of the 5th year from the date of issuance (e.g. Certified 6/15/2019, expires 12/31/2024) unless it is the first recertification period after certification.
No, all information is not open to the public. The ABFT publishes a certificant's name, degree, designation, certificate number, certification expiration, and state/province on the ABFT website in the Certificant Directory. All other information is kept private.
Each certificate shall remain the property of the board. Each certificant shall be entitled to its possession, unless expired or revoked or if the certificant has retired or is no longer in the field of forensic toxicology. Every certificant of the ABFT shall discontinue use of all claims to certification that contain any reference to ABFT or certification upon suspension or withdrawal of certification and will return any certificates issued by the ABFT. Certificants shall not present themselves as certified during a suspension period and continued use of the certification designation shall result in immediate revocation of certification. Certificants shall not present themselves as certified upon revocation.
Continuing Education
No. Submission of the CE Submission Form is by DocuSign only. Paper submissions will not be accepted.
No. Each activity must have the appropriate CE certificate with all required information to receive credit.
At the top of the DocuSign document, there is an "Other Actions" drop-down menu. Select "Finish Later" to save your DocuSign document in between sessions of working on your document.
All CE activities must be “completed” in the year for which the CE is submitted and must have the date indicated on the certificate. An activity is not considered “complete” until the evaluation has been submitted. It then becomes eligible for credit and a certificate can be printed. The date the evaluation is submitted is the completion date that is on the certificate. The certificate must have a date that is in the same year as the submission year to receive credit for this submission. All certificates must show the date and number of credits earned for points to be awarded. In addition, if the certificate shows zero credits, no points will be awarded.
The CE certificate must indicate the name of the certificant, the name of the activity, the date of completion, and the number of hours/credits.
No. Please be thorough when preparing your submission. Submissions received by the ABFT Administrative Office are final and addendums will not be accepted.
Yes. Do not enter more points than are allowable in each section.
You will not see the attachment icon until you have entered activity information in the first field of each line of the text boxes. Once text is entered in the first box, text can be entered in the remaining boxes in that line and the attachment icon will appear.
To encourage the accumulation of points over the entire 5-year period, diplomates and fellows should submit a minimum of 10 points per year. Analysts should submit a minimum of 5 points per year.
All certificants are required to submit forensic toxicology related activities with a minimum total of 5 accurately calculated points per year. Submissions of less than 5 points shall result in immediate revocation of certification and certificants shall be required to surrender their certificate. The reinstatement option does not apply. If the individual would like to be certified by the ABFT, they must reapply and successfully pass the current relevant written certification examination.
After March 15 to April 30 - $100 late fee; After April 30 to June 30 - $200 late fee; After June 30 - Shall result in immediate revocation of certification. A certificant whose certification has been revoked due to failure to submit CE may apply for reinstatement in accordance with the ABFT's policy for reinstatement.
Diplomates and fellows must submit a minimum of 50 continuing education points during each 5-year recertification period. Analysts must submit a minimum of 25 continuing education points during each 5-year recertification period. Certificants that fail to accumulate the required minimum CE points during a 5-year recertification period shall not recertify. If an individual would like to remain certified by the ABFT, they can choose to exercise the exam option in lieu of sufficient cumulative points to recertify or they may reapply and successfully pass the current relevant written certification examination. Accumulated points greater than what is required to recertify do not carry-over into the next recertification period.
Contact Sherri Williamson at swilliamson@abft.org.
You do not have to submit CE for the year you become a certificant unless you are already a certificant and have upgraded your certification. Your points for the first recertification period are prorated to 40 points instead of the normal 50 points. Analysts are prorated to 20 points instead of the normal 25 points. The only requirement for the first year is that you must sign a Code of Ethics form and a Code of Professional Conduct form. These two documents are sent out via DocuSign in January and must be completed and returned no later than March 15th of the year after you became a certificant. (e.g., You became a certificant in 2021, your Code of Ethics form and Code of Professional Conduct form are due by March 15, 2022.)
All virtual or online activities including JAT articles are calculated at 0.25 points/contact hour. Hour and credit are synonymous with each other and are calculated the same way. Details regarding the number of points awarded in each category are designated on the CE submission form.
Certificants need to log in to the AAFS website. The certificates are located in the membership portal. Certificates are also emailed to each participant.
There is a payment gateway embedded in the DocuSign document. You will be prompted to make your payment when the document is complete and ready for submission.
Certificants must pay the CE fee with a personal credit card at the time of submission. The credit card can also be an employer/company credit card if the payment gateway within DocuSign will accept it. Employers will not be sent an invoice.
No. Your CE will only be processed once payment has been received.
Once the payment has been made within DocuSign and the document is submitted, an email will be sent from DocuSign that states, "Completed Documents". DO NOT DELETE THIS EMAIL. This email is your receipt and is your link to your completed documents. No additional receipts will be sent. Also, certificants can set up a free account with DocuSign and all documents signed will be accessible through that account.
General
The ABFT stationery, logo, and seal shall be used only by the ABFT for purposes of conducting official business.
Documents shall be uniquely identified by the footer which shall include document title, date of issue, issuing authority, revision identification, and pagination. All controlled documents shall be secured from unauthorized changes and shall be reviewed annually. Retired versions of controlled documents shall be removed from use and archived.
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Colorado Springs, CO 80904
Phone: (352) 258-6125
The ABFT is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization incorporated in the District of Columbia.
The ABFT has been accredited by the Forensic Specialties Accreditation Board (FSAB) since March 1, 2006.
Information found in ABFT documents or website, including advertising, is intended to be accurate and not misleading at the time of publication.
Contact Us
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