Paths and options
Choose where to start
There is one route to the Board Certified in Grief Care (BCGC) credential, the Certification Path. INBGC also offers an optional Advanced Resource Center subscription and reviews of education and continuing education providers. Choose the option that fits below.
The Certification Path does not include foundational grief support training. INBGC does not provide it at any price, which is what allows the board to review education from any provider without a stake in the outcome. Every candidate brings that education from an outside provider.
Credential
Become board certified
The route to the BCGC, for practitioners who bring grief-specific education from any provider, whatever their title. Program Administration reviews the education you hold against the six published topic areas, and you sit the Board Examination without repeating coursework.
- Application and eligibility review
- Education review against the six topic areas
- One Practice Exam attempt with a topic-area breakdown
- The proctored Board Examination at an 80 percent passing standard
- Verified practice hours review
- Credential issuance, including your credential number, digital credential, and printed certificate
- Your first year of certification
The same Certification Path, paid in three payments of $450, billed directly by INBGC, totaling $1,350. The review, the verified practice requirement, the Board Examination, and the passing standard are the same however you pay.
- Three payments of $450, billed directly by INBGC
- You may complete every step, including the Board Examination, while the plan is running
- The credential is issued once the balance is paid in full
There is no cohort schedule and no enrollment window, so you move at your own pace. The timeline depends on how quickly you assemble your documentation and sit your examination, and there is no appointment to book.
Cost a barrier? The INBGC Access Award reduces the certification fee for candidates serving communities with limited access to grief support. Not sure whether to certify at all? Read why get board certified in grief care, read the certification overview, or check the eligibility requirements.
Resources
Advanced Resource Center
A subscription library of professional tools for people who support grieving clients and communities, including client agreements and informed-consent templates, scope and boundaries language, intake and readiness tools, referral protocols, documentation templates, and advanced recorded training. It is month to month with no contract. It is optional, it is not included in certification or renewal, and certification never requires it.
The Public Resource Center is free to everyone.
For providers
Education and continuing education review
Review of a defined grief-specific education program against the published qualifying training criteria. Programs that meet the criteria are listed. Recognition is optional, and the fee buys the review, not an outcome. Renewal is $350 per year.
A separate and narrower review of a specific continuing education offering, asking whether it qualifies for renewal hours in a named topic area. Recognition applies to the offering, not to the organization. Renewal is $125 per year.