Certification Fees

Funding Your Board Certification

The certification fee should not be the thing that decides whether you certify. There are four ways to cover it.

There are four ways to cover the certification fee: pay in full at enrollment, spread it across a payment plan billed directly by INBGC, have your employer fund it, or apply for an INBGC Access Award.

The certification fee is the same on both pathways and does not change based on how it is paid. The only exception is the payment plan, which carries a modest premium detailed below.

Certification fees

The four options

Employer funding is common for professional credentials. Hospices, healthcare systems, counseling practices, funeral groups, and faith organizations regularly fund credentialing for staff whose work meets people in grief.

01 Pay in full

Pay the certification fee at enrollment through secure checkout.

02 INBGC payment plan

A down payment plus three monthly payments, billed directly by INBGC.

03 Employer funding

Your employer pays INBGC directly, or reimburses you. Documentation provided.

04 Access Award

A reduced certification fee for coaches serving communities with limited access to grief support.

Before you commit funding, confirm you meet the published eligibility requirements.

Option one

Pay in full

Pay the certification fee at enrollment through the secure online enrollment process. Standard payment methods are accepted at checkout.

PathCertification fee
Equivalency Path$3,750
Curriculum Path, includes the optional $1,250 curriculum$5,000

Option two

INBGC payment plan

Spread the certification fee across a down payment and three monthly payments, billed directly by INBGC. No third-party financing and no credit application. The plan total runs slightly above the pay-in-full price.

PathDown paymentThenPlan total
Equivalency Path$9753 monthly payments of $975$3,900
Curriculum Path$1,3003 monthly payments of $1,300$5,200

How the plan works with the certification process

  • The application and eligibility review begins once the down payment is received.
  • The certification fee must be paid in full before the credential is awarded. Candidates may complete every step of the process, including the Board Examination, while on an active payment plan. The credential is issued and the registry listing added once the balance is cleared.
  • If a payment is missed, candidacy is suspended until the balance is brought current. Suspension pauses progress through the certification steps. It does not cancel the application, and amounts already paid are not refunded.
  • Adding the INBGC curriculum does not change your plan. The $1,250 curriculum fee is billed separately, either in full or spread across your remaining plan payments. The certification fee and its schedule are unaffected.
  • All fees are non-refundable, including amounts paid under a payment plan. Confirm you meet the published eligibility requirements before you enroll.

Review the full fee policy.

Option three

Employer funding

Board certification fees are commonly funded from the same budget that covers licensure examinations, credential maintenance, and professional credentialing. INBGC provides the documentation a finance office needs to process the request.

Your employer pays INBGC directly

INBGC issues an itemized invoice to your employer, payable by card or invoice link. Your candidate account is never shared and your login is never transferred.

  • Single payment. Your employer receives one itemized invoice for the full certification fee. Your candidacy opens once payment is received.
  • Split across two fiscal years. Your employer pays half at enrollment and the balance within six months. INBGC issues two itemized invoices sized to your organization's fiscal calendar. If the employer does not complete the second payment, the candidate is responsible for the balance, and the payment plan suspension terms above apply.

You pay, your employer reimburses

Some organizations reimburse rather than pay vendors directly.

  • Pay the certification fee at enrollment. INBGC issues a paid, itemized receipt in your name.
  • Submit the receipt with your employer's reimbursement request form under its professional development or credentialing policy.
  • If your employer reimburses across two fiscal periods, INBGC will issue a second letter confirming your candidacy status and progress at your request, so you can file the second reimbursement in the next cycle.
To request an invoice

Email [email protected] with your name, your employer's billing contact, and any purchase order or vendor onboarding requirements.

For the finance office

What your employer is funding

This is the distinction a finance office needs, and it is worth stating plainly on the request.

The certification fee is not course tuition. It is a board examination and credentialing fee, the same category as a licensure examination or a board certification maintenance fee in a clinical field. It covers:

  • Application and eligibility review
  • One practice exam attempt
  • The proctored Board Examination, requiring at least 80 percent correct across six equally weighted topic areas
  • Verified practice hours submission review
  • First year of credentialing and public registry listing
  • The Practice Building Curriculum, released once the designation is awarded

The optional INBGC curriculum is a separate $1,250 line item and is the only part of the fee that is instructional. It is not required, and it confers no advantage on the examination.

What the organization gets from it

A credentialed practitioner whose standing is verifiable directly with INBGC, held to a published Code of Ethics with an enforcement process, and required to renew annually and complete continuing education on a three-year cycle. That is what separates holding a credential from training attendance.

Provided on request

Documentation for your employer

INBGC provides the following on request at [email protected]:

  • Itemized invoices, formatted to your organization's purchase order or vendor onboarding requirements
  • Paid receipts for reimbursement filing
  • Candidacy and progress confirmation letters
  • The INBGC Employer Funding Packet, covering the credential, the published standards, the certification process, governance, fees, and an administrator FAQ

Download the Employer Funding Packet

Option four

The INBGC Access Award

The Access Award reduces the certification fee for coaches serving communities with limited access to grief support. It is granted by application, on published criteria, with a fixed number available each quarter.

Awards are granted at three amounts against the $3,750 certification fee. Every recipient pays part of their own certification, and the remaining balance may be placed on an INBGC payment plan.

$1,875

Remaining balance of $1,875.

$1,250

Remaining balance of $2,500.

$750

Remaining balance of $3,000.

Applications are evaluated on mission first and need second. Applicants must meet the full published eligibility requirements, serve communities with limited access to grief support, and attest that cost is a genuine barrier. No financial documentation is required.

What the award does not change

The award reduces what a coach pays. It does not reduce what a coach must meet. Recipients complete the same eligibility review, submit the same verified practice hours, and sit the same Board Examination as every other candidate, and the credential carries no notation of any kind.

Read the criteria and apply

Organizations that want to widen access to the credential can contribute to the Access Fund. Contributors do not select recipients, review applications, or shape the criteria. Write to [email protected].

Frequently asked questions

Most organizations classify it as a credentialing or board examination expense rather than course tuition, because it covers examination, eligibility review, and credentialing rather than instruction. Final classification is determined by your organization's policies. INBGC provides itemized documentation to support that determination.
Yes. INBGC issues an itemized invoice to your employer's billing contact, payable by card or invoice link. Email [email protected] to request one. Your candidate account is never shared.
Yes. Your employer pays half at enrollment and the balance within six months, with an itemized invoice for each. If the second payment is not completed, the candidate is responsible for the balance.
Yes, modestly. The Equivalency Plan totals $3,900 and the Curriculum Plan totals $5,200. The difference covers the cost of administering the plan.
Candidacy is suspended until the balance is brought current. Progress through the certification steps pauses during suspension. The application is not canceled, and amounts already paid are non-refundable.
Your existing plan continues unchanged. The $1,250 curriculum fee is billed separately, either in full or spread across your remaining plan payments. The certification fee and its schedule are not affected.
No. You may complete every step of the certification process, including the Board Examination, while on an active payment plan. The certification fee must be paid in full before the credential is awarded and before you are listed in the INBGC registry. If you finish the process before your plan does, your credential is issued as soon as the balance clears.
No. The credential, the standard, the examination, and the registry listing are identical regardless of payment method or path. That includes candidates who receive an Access Award.
Your credential belongs to you, not your employer. If your employer has paid in full, your candidacy continues unaffected. If a second employer payment is outstanding, the balance becomes your responsibility.
Coaches who meet the full published eligibility requirements, serve communities with limited access to grief support, and for whom the certification fee is a genuine barrier. All three must be present. See the Access Award criteria for the full detail and the quarterly application windows.
Yes. The balance remaining after an award may be paid in full or spread across an INBGC payment plan, billed directly with no third-party financing and no credit application.
Yes. Hospices, foundations, healthcare systems, and individuals can contribute to the Access Fund. Contributors do not select recipients, review applications, or shape the criteria, and no contribution creates any claim on an award decision. Write to [email protected].
No. All fees paid to INBGC are non-refundable, including the certification fee, the optional curriculum, examination retakes, and annual renewal. This applies to amounts paid under a payment plan and to fees paid by an employer. Every requirement and every fee is published in advance. Review the eligibility requirements and the Fees and Policies page before you enroll.
No. All fees are non-refundable, and an organization that funded a candidate does not receive a refund if the candidate does not complete the process. Organizations funding a candidate should confirm the candidate meets the published eligibility requirements before an invoice is issued. Program Administration will answer eligibility questions at no cost beforehand at [email protected].

Ready to begin

Get board certified

Choose your pathway and your payment method at enrollment. Creating an account takes about a minute and does not enroll or charge you.

Get CertifiedReview eligibility

Funding this for a staff member? Email [email protected] for an itemized invoice, or send your finance office the Employer Funding Packet.

For the full fee schedule, refund policy, and renewal requirements, see Fees and Policies. For what the credential requires, see the certification process and the published certification standards. For why coaches decide the fee is worth paying, see why grief coaches get board certified. For the plain-language guide to what board certification verifies, see Board Certification for Grief Coaches.