1.3 Eligibility, Fees, and Recertification

Before you invest months of study, confirm you can document eligibility. The ACM program is intentionally limited to registered nurses and social workers who practice case management inside a Health Delivery System, with a quantified experience minimum. This section walks through eligibility, fees, retesting, and the four-year recertification cycle using the ACM Candidate Handbook (effective January 1, 2024).

Discipline Eligibility

Registered Nurse (RN) pathway

An RN applicant must possess a valid and current nursing license. At application you provide license number, state, and expiration date. If your license lapses before you sit, fix that administratively — an expired license is an eligibility problem, not a content-knowledge problem.

Social Worker (SW) pathway

A Social Worker applicant must have either:

• A Bachelor's or Master's degree from an accredited school of social work, or
• A valid social work license

SW applicants provide degree details (degree, school, year) or current social work license number, state, and expiration date. This either/or structure matters: a BSW/MSW graduate who is not yet licensed may still qualify via the degree route if other requirements are met, while a licensed social worker uses the license documentation path described in the handbook.

Who is outside the eligibility gate

Other valuable care team members — for example, some LPNs, non-SW counselors, or unlicensed coordinators — may do transitional care work but are not ACM examination applicants under the handbook's RN/SW gate. Point them to appropriate credentials rather than forcing an ACM application that will be denied.

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Experience Requirement: 1 Year / 2,080 Hours in HDSCM

All applicants must have at least one (1) year, or 2,080 hours, of supervised, paid work experience employed as a case manager — or in a role that falls within the Scope of Services and Standards of Practice of a case manager — by a Health Delivery System.

Unpack the modifiers; each one appears in eligibility disputes:

Candidates with less than two years of experience

The handbook notes that candidates with less than two (2) years of experience must provide supervisor contact information and an attestation that they meet requirements. If you are early in your CM career, plan for that paperwork before you click "submit" on the application.

Scenario: counting hours correctly

Devon is an RN who worked 1,040 hours last year in hospital case management and 1,040 hours this year in the same role — Devon meets the 2,080-hour/one-year threshold if supervision and HDSCM employment are documented. Avery worked three years in payer-only telephonic UM for an insurer with no health-delivery-system employment — Avery should not assume those hours automatically satisfy ACM's HDSCM experience rule without checking handbook definitions and ACMA/NBCM application guidance.

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Examination Fees and Retesting

Fees are the same for the ACM examination for Nurses and for Social Workers:

Retest strategy implication

Candidates are required to retest only the section(s) they did not pass. If you pass Core and fail Simulation, the single-section retest fee structure is designed for that situation ($200 for one section per handbook). If you fail both, budget the full $359 retest. Do not assume you must rewrite a passed section unless your authorization/eligibility window or board instructions say otherwise — follow the official authorization you receive.

Ineligibility refunds

Candidates deemed ineligible to sit receive a refund of the examination fee less a $75 processing fee. That is another reason to verify license/degree documentation and HDSCM hours before paying.

Delivery logistics reminder

Fees in the handbook are certification program fees. Testing-center rules, reschedule penalties, and identification requirements come from the current delivery partner process. Because ACM delivery has historically involved PSI, while ACMA's 2026 communications have referenced DRC/Pearson VUE transition activity, confirm scheduling mechanics on the live ACMA ACM site when you are ready to book.

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Credential Validity and Recertification

The ACM credential for Nurses and Social Workers is valid four (4) years. NBCM ties the four-year cycle to the pace of change in clinical options, reimbursement/coverage rules, and required care-management processes.

Continuing education (CE) requirements

To recertify, you need forty (40) hours of continuing education during your recertification term:

• Thirty (30) hours must be specific to Case Management
• Ten (10) hours may be non-case-management but must still relate to healthcare practice in your field
• All CE must be applicable to job performance and earned within your recertification dates

For counting purposes under handbook option definitions, one continuing education credit is defined as 60 minutes of qualifying activity (for the CE option structured that way).

Recertification fee

Along with CE, submit a recertification fee of $209.00 by the end of your recertification term.

Why CE design matters beyond paperwork

The 30-hour case-management minimum forces ongoing learning in utilization rules, transitions science, ethics, and regulatory change — the same themes the exam tests initially. Waiting until month 47 to scramble for random CE is how certificants end up with hours that are technically "healthcare" but weak on case management specificity. Track CM-specific hours from year one of your cycle.

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Application Mindset: Eligibility First, Then Content Mastery

A high-yield study plan still fails if your application is incomplete. Sequence your preparation like this:

1. Confirm RN license or SW degree/license documentation.
2. Document 2,080 hours / 1 year supervised paid HDSCM experience (and supervisor attestation if under two years).
3. Budget $359 (plus $46 only if you truly need expedited scheduling).
4. Study for both Core and Simulation from day one.
5. After certification, calendar the 4-year mark, 40 CE / 30 CM-specific, and $209 recertification fee.

Common eligibility and fee traps

• Counting unpaid internships as paid HDSCM experience
• Applying on the RN track with a lapsed license "because studying is done"
• Confusing association membership dues with the $359 exam fee
• Assuming a failed simulation requires paying $359 even when only one section must be retaken
• Planning recertification with 40 hours of non-CM conferences and hoping they all count as case-management-specific

Key Takeaways for Section 1.3

• RN license or SW degree/license, plus 1 year/2,080 hours supervised paid HDSCM experience.
• $359 exam fee; +$46 expedited; $359 both-section retest; $200 one-section retest; $75 withheld on ineligibility refunds.
• Credential lasts 4 years; maintain with 40 CE (30 CM-specific) and $209.
• Confirm current test-delivery partner on ACMA's site when scheduling.