1.2 Eligibility & Recertification

Eligibility Requirements

The CHL is a leadership credential, so HSPA expects candidates to already have technical grounding plus management exposure. In practice that means holding an HSPA technical certification — almost always the Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST) — together with sterile processing or leadership experience.

Under the updated eligibility requirements (effective October 2026), a candidate needs a current, full CRCST plus one of the following qualifying paths.

Eligibility at a Glance

The key shift is that the prior outline could be sat with a CRCST and no required hands-on hours; the updated outline adds a substantive experience-or-education gate. The 2,080-hour figure is worth memorizing — it equals one full-time work-year and is the same number used later to define one full-time equivalent (FTE) in workforce planning. Note that path B explicitly counts leadership hours, so a supervisor moving into SP from another department can qualify without 12 months on the SP bench.

How to Apply and Schedule

1. Apply through HSPA. Submit the CHL application and supporting documentation directly to HSPA (online).
2. Pay the $140 exam fee. This is paid to HSPA at the time of application; a retake is also $140.
3. Receive authorization. HSPA verifies eligibility and issues authorization to test, valid for a defined testing window.
4. Schedule at Prometric. Book a seat at a Prometric testing center (or approved delivery option) within the authorized window. The CHL is offered year-round.
5. Bring valid ID. Government-issued photo identification is required at the test center; arrive early and follow Prometric check-in rules.

Tip: Confirm that your CRCST is current before applying. A lapsed technical certification can block CHL eligibility, and HSPA verifies status during application review.

2026 Transition: Pilot Exam and Existing-Holder Attestation

HSPA is rolling the updated content outline in through a pilot exam. Applications for the pilot open mid-2026 with a deadline in September 2026; the pilot test window runs the first half of October 2026 at a discounted fee (about $98, a 30% reduction), with results released in late November and regular ongoing testing resuming in mid-December 2026. Two practical implications for candidates:

• If you sit during the pilot window, your score is not released immediately — plan around the late-November results date if you need the credential by a deadline.
• Existing CHL holders must complete an attestation and submit supporting documentation (by roughly October 2027) to remain aligned with the updated requirements. Current certificants do not re-test; they attest.

Certification Period and Recertification

The CHL is not a lifetime credential. It must be renewed annually:

• Continuing education: Earn 6 CE credits per year, focused on management and supervisory topics relevant to SP leadership (for example, budgeting, quality systems, personnel management, regulatory standards).
• Renewal fee: A $50 annual recertification fee is paid to HSPA.
• CRCST must stay current: Because the CHL is built on a technical base, the underlying CRCST must remain active; letting the CRCST lapse jeopardizes the CHL.
• Documentation: Keep CE certificates; HSPA may audit submitted credits.
• Lapse consequences: If you do not maintain CEs and renew on time, the credential can lapse — potentially requiring reinstatement steps or re-examination.

Because the CHL is a leadership credential, the CE requirement deliberately steers you toward management content, keeping certified leaders current on standards, finance, and people leadership rather than only hands-on technique. A common candidate error is logging only clinical/technical CEs (decontamination, instrument repair); those may renew the CRCST but do not satisfy the CHL's management-focused requirement.

Tracking CEs and Avoiding a Lapse

Treat recertification as an ongoing system, not a year-end scramble:

• Log CEs as you earn them, keeping the certificate and the topic so you can show the credit is management/supervisory in focus if HSPA audits.
• Watch two clocks — the CHL renewal date and the CRCST renewal date. Because the CHL sits on the CRCST, a lapsed CRCST can jeopardize the CHL even if your CHL CEs are complete.
• Build a buffer. Aim to complete the 6 CEs well before the deadline; in-services, HSPA conference sessions, and approved courses all count, and many are low- or no-cost.

If the Credential Lapses

If you miss the renewal, the credential lapses. HSPA generally provides a reinstatement pathway — typically completing the missed CE obligation and a reinstatement fee within a defined window — but if too much time passes, the only route back may be re-examination at the full fee. The leadership takeaway, and a fair test point, is that maintaining a credential continuously is far cheaper and lower-risk than letting it lapse and reinstating. The same discipline a CHL applies to staff competency files — track it, document it, never let it expire silently — applies to the leader's own credential.

How Eligibility and Recertification Differ

Candidates sometimes confuse the one-time eligibility gate (CRCST + experience/education to sit for the exam) with the recurring recertification obligation (6 management CEs + $50 + active CRCST each year to keep it). Eligibility is about earning the right to test; recertification is about retaining the credential after you pass. Mixing them up — for example, thinking the $140 exam fee covers future renewals, or that the annual CEs let you skip the experience requirement — is a predictable error the exam can probe.