Grief certification from an independent board
INBGC is an independent board for non-clinical grief support: the help people give after a loss that is not therapy or medical care. It publishes the standard for that work and certifies the people who meet it, whatever their job title, so anyone can check who is qualified.
Three ways to use the standard
The standard serves the organizations that refer grieving people, the people looking for support, and the practitioners who provide it.
For organizations that refer
Use the published referral criteria to decide whether someone offering non-clinical grief support belongs on the resources you give families. Confirm any credential by its number. No organization is ever charged to use the criteria or verify a credential.
For people seeking support
If you want one-on-one support after a loss, but not counseling or a group, start here. Describe the loss and the support you are looking for, and INBGC matches the request with a practitioner board certified in grief care. There is no cost, and no practitioner pays to be matched.
For practitioners
Whatever your title or setting, bring qualifying grief-specific education from any provider, document 50 verified practice hours, and pass the proctored Board Examination. INBGC provides no training, so the review has no stake in where you trained.
What is non-clinical grief support?
Non-clinical grief support is one-to-one or group support for a person moving through loss, provided without diagnosing, treating, or providing therapy. The loss may be a death, a divorce, a diagnosis, a job, an estrangement, or a change in identity. The work includes knowing when to refer a person to licensed or emergency care.
Grief coaching is one form of non-clinical grief support. Hospice bereavement staff, chaplains, funeral professionals, and human resources teams provide it too, under many titles. The work defines it, not the title, and board certification in grief care measures the work.
Read what a grief coach does and does not doWhat a board credential confirms that a course certificate does not
A course certificate documents that someone attended. A board credential documents that they were measured. These are the differences that matter to a grieving person choosing support, or to a hospice, employer, or clinician deciding whether someone belongs on the resources they give families.
The credential distinction
| What sets the credential apart | Board Certified in Grief Care (BCGC) | Course certificate |
|---|---|---|
| How it is earned | Board Certified in Grief CarePassing a proctored Board Examination at 80 percent across six equally weighted topic areas | Course certificateMeeting the requirements the program sets for itself, which may or may not include an examination |
| Who makes the decision | Board Certified in Grief CareProgram Administration, applying a published standard set by the Advisory Board. INBGC provides no training and holds no stake in where the candidate trained | Course certificateThe program that sold the course |
| Education reviewed | Board Certified in Grief CareReviewed against six published topic areas, accepted from any qualified provider | Course certificateDetermined by the program. Some programs are reviewed by an outside body and many are not, and the certificate does not tell you which |
| Practice verified | Board Certified in Grief CareA minimum of 50 verified practice hours of non-clinical grief support, documented and reviewed before the credential is issued | Course certificateVaries by program, and not verified by anyone outside it |
| Ethics | Board Certified in Grief CareBound by a published Code of Ethics with a complaint process and the authority to revoke | Course certificateVaries by program. A certificate carries no enforcement mechanism of its own |
| Scope of practice | Board Certified in Grief CareA published scope naming what falls outside a non-clinical frame and when referral to licensed care is required | Course certificateDefined by the program, if at all |
| Independent verification | Board Certified in Grief CareA credential number confirms the practitioner's name and status as Active, Expired, or Revoked | Course certificateConfirmed, if at all, by the program that issued it |
| Staying current | Board Certified in Grief CareRenews annually, with 30 hours of continuing education across a rolling three-year cycle | Course certificateTypically issued once, with no ongoing requirement |
Training programs and certifying boards do different work, and both are necessary. Some programs set a high bar and test rigorously. The difference is not effort. A program cannot be the independent check on its own students, and a certificate applies only within the program that issued it. A program teaches. A board measures.
For organizations that refer grieving people
Most organizations give grieving families a resource list, and non-clinical practitioners are rarely on it. Without a way to confirm someone's preparation, the defensible choice is to leave the whole category off. The standard gives organizations criteria to use and a credential to check.
Reach the families groups miss.
Some people want one-on-one support after a loss but will not attend a group or accept a counseling referral. Non-clinical grief support can serve them, once your team has a way to decide who belongs on the list.
Criteria you can defend.
The published referral criteria give your team one consistent way to decide whether someone offering non-clinical grief support belongs on the resources you give families. Using them is free and is not a commitment to refer anyone.
A clear line where support ends.
The published Scope of Practice names what non-clinical grief support includes, what falls outside it, and when a practitioner must refer to licensed or emergency care.
A credential you can check.
A credential number confirms the practitioner's name and whether the credential is Active, Expired, or Revoked, free and without involving the practitioner. Certification makes a practitioner possible to confirm and consider. It does not guarantee a referral.
If you decide where to send grieving people, one page sets out what a practitioner board certified in grief care does, what falls outside a non-clinical frame, and when they must refer to licensed or emergency care. No one who references the standard or verifies a credential is ever charged.
Who sets the standard
The Advisory Board sets and owns the standard: the six topic areas, the scope of practice, the Code of Ethics, the continuing education requirements, and the passing threshold. It does not review individual candidate files.
Program Administration applies that standard to each candidate. It does not write the rules it enforces, and no one with a commercial interest in candidate flow helps define the bar.
The standard is published in full, so practitioners, referring organizations, and the public can read exactly what the credential requires and hold INBGC to it.
The six topic areas: foundations of grief and loss; the non-clinical grief coaching frame; grief coaching skills and techniques; scope of practice and referral; ethics and professional conduct; and diverse and disenfranchised grief. Every candidate is examined on all six.
Who the credential covers
Grief is not only about death. It follows divorce, job loss, serious illness, estrangement, identity change, and career transition. The credential is open to anyone whose work regularly meets people in grief, in a non-clinical frame, who meets the published requirements. That includes funeral and death care professionals and human resources and employee assistance teams. Eligibility rests on the requirements, not on a title. The credential does not certify clinical practice.
Licensed clinicians
LPCs, LPCCs, LMFTs, LCSWs, psychologists, and other licensed mental health professionals, certified for the non-clinical grief support they provide. The credential does not certify clinical practice.
Healthcare professionals
Nurses, hospice staff, bereavement coordinators, and hospital-based professionals who provide non-clinical grief support and want a published scope and referral line.
Clergy and pastoral caregivers
Clergy, chaplains, and pastoral caregivers who support grieving people and families, and want that work verifiable outside their tradition.
Coaches and practitioners
Grief coaches, group facilitators, and other practitioners who support people through loss and want their work measured against an independent standard.
Already certified by a program
Practitioners whose training program issued a certificate or certification. Your education is reviewed against the six topic areas, so you do not repeat coursework.
New to the field
People entering grief support from another career. Complete grief-specific education with any qualified provider, document verified practice hours, then apply.
How board certification works
Seven steps from application to credential. There is no cohort schedule and no enrollment window, so you move at your own pace.
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1Submit your application
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2Document your education
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3Complete education review
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4Attest to ethics and scope
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5Submit verified practice hours
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6Sit the Board Examination
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7Receive and renew your credential
Education from any provider is reviewed against the six published topic areas. Practice hours are documented with your signed attestation and one supporting record. No client session is recorded and no client is contacted. One Practice Exam attempt is included and returns a topic-area breakdown. The proctored Board Examination uses scenarios to test applied judgment and requires 80 percent across six equally weighted topic areas. See what each step involves.
Board certification
One path to board certification
The Certification Path is the single route to the Board Certified in Grief Care (BCGC) credential. INBGC provides no foundational grief support training. You bring that education with you, from any qualified provider, and the board measures it against the published standard.
Certification Path
Certify with the education you have
Every candidate completes the same process and is held to the same standard, whatever their title, setting, or where they trained.
The certification fee covers
- Application and eligibility review
- Education review against six topic areas
- One Practice Exam with a topic-area breakdown
- The proctored Board Examination
- Verified practice hours review
- Credential issuance
- Registry listing
- Your first year of certification
Certification fee
$1,295paid in full
Or three payments of $450, totaling $1,350, billed directly by INBGC.
First year of certification included
Get certified Check your eligibilityCreating your account takes about a minute and does not enroll or charge you.
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Eligibility and education review
Program Administration reviews your grief-specific education against the six topic areas.
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Practice Exam
One included attempt, with a breakdown by topic area so you know where you stand.
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Board Examination
Proctored, with an 80 percent passing standard across six equally weighted topic areas.
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Practice hours and credential
Submit 50 verified practice hours. Your credential is issued and listed in the registry.
You arrive prepared. INBGC measures. It does not teach.
Independent. Published. Accountable.
Renewal
After your first year, the credential renews annually at $125. Continuing education is completed across a rolling three-year cycle. How renewal works
Funding and the Access Award
The INBGC Access Award reduces the fee at three tiers for candidates serving underserved communities. It reduces the fee and never the standard. Employers may fund certification, and organizations buying five or more seats pay published seat rates. All funding options
What the credential gives you
The sections above explain why the credential matters to grieving people and the organizations that serve them. This is what it means for the practitioner measured against the standard.
A documented answer to what qualifies you
When an organization, an employer, or a clinician asks what qualifies you, certification replaces a self-description with education reviewed against six topic areas, verified practice hours, and an examination result they can confirm independently.
A scope you can state out loud
The published Scope of Practice names what non-clinical grief support includes, what falls outside it, and when a practitioner must refer to licensed or emergency care. Being able to say where your work ends is part of what makes it credible.
A credential that moves with you
A job title describes where you work. The credential moves with you between roles and employers. Anyone you give your credential number to can confirm your name and standing, at no cost and without involving you. Lookup is by number only, so you decide who receives it. Verify a credential.
An expense your employer knows how to fund
The certification fee is a credentialing and examination expense. INBGC invoices employers directly, accepts purchase orders, and handles vendor onboarding paperwork, so a finance office can process the request under an existing professional development or credentialing policy. How employers work with INBGC.
Certification confirms that you met the standard and makes your preparation possible to confirm. It does not guarantee referrals, clients, or income. Why board certification.
Questions about board certification in grief care
Board certification in grief care certifies non-clinical grief support, whatever the person providing it is called. These answers cover what the credential requires, what it costs, how to check whether someone is qualified, and how INBGC works alongside training programs.
Become board certified.
Applications are open and reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply when you are ready. Organizations can use the referral criteria and verify any credential at no cost.