General Qualifications

• Applicants must be persons of good moral character, high integrity, and good repute and must possess high ethical and professional standings.
• 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.
• Once certified, each certificant must disclose to his employer or customer their specific level of certification.

 

Education

Fellow and Diplomate

• Fellow and diplomate 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 from an institution acceptable to the board. Acceptable institutions are those accredited by regional accrediting commissions recognized by USOE, those whose pertinent education programs, e.g., in chemistry, are at the time accredited by national accrediting agencies recognized by USOE and other institutions in the discretion of the board.
• Applicants must have appropriate education in biology, chemistry, and pharmacology or toxicology with satisfactory completion of at least 32 semester hours or 48 quarter hours of college level studies in chemistry that include accredited courses in inorganic, organic, analytical and physical chemistry.

Analyst

• An analyst certification is appropriate for a bench level toxicologist with an associate or bachelor’s degree in chemistry that performs bench level work and other tasks such as method validation and research under the guidance of a more experienced analyst. An analyst may also provide courtroom testimony related only to the technical aspects of the work performed (i.e., - no interpretive and/or opinion testimony).

 

Professional Experience

Fellow and Diplomate

• Applicants must have at least three years of full-time professional experience (or the part-time equivalent thereof) in forensic toxicology, acceptable to the board of directors, and acquired subsequent to receipt of the degree.
• At least one year of the professional experience must be acquired immediately preceding the date of application.
• Applicants are required to document a record of appropriate professional activities in forensic toxicology, in keeping with the concept that "forensic toxicology is the study and practice of the application of toxicology to the purposes of the law."

Analyst with a Bachelor’s Degree

• Applicants for analyst certification with a bachelor’s degree shall possess a minimum of one year full-time professional experience (or the part-time equivalent thereof) in forensic toxicology, acceptable to the board of directors, and acquired after receipt of the bachelor's degree.
• A minimum of one year professional experience shall have been acquired immediately preceding the date of application.

Analyst with an Associate Degree

• Applicants for analyst certification with an associate degree shall possess a minimum of two years full-time professional experience (or the part-time equivalent thereof) in forensic toxicology, acceptable to the board of directors, and acquired after receipt of the associate degree.
• A minimum of one year professional experience shall have been acquired immediately preceding the date of application.