Two Different Functions
Training Program vs. Certifying Board
A training program teaches you skills and confirms that you completed its course. A certifying board sets a standard for the profession and verifies that an individual meets it, independent of where they trained.
They are two different functions, and confusing them is one of the most common sources of doubt in grief coaching. It matters because the title itself is unprotected: anyone can call themselves a grief coach, so what separates a prepared practitioner from an unprepared one is not the label but a verifiable standard behind it.
The Independent National Board for Grief Coaching (INBGC) is a certifying board, not a school. Understanding that distinction explains what the Board Certified Grief Coach (BCGC) credential actually represents.
01 | Teach vs. Verify
Two different jobs
What a training program does
A training program teaches. Its purpose is to build skills, and a good one does that well. A training program:
- Delivers instruction and course content
- Awards proof that a student completed its course
- Defines what "certified" means inside its own program
- Has a legitimate financial interest in enrolling and retaining students
None of that is a criticism. Training is necessary, and strong programs are valuable. But a course completion is a statement about one program's curriculum, issued by the same organization that was paid to teach it.
What a certifying board does
A certifying board verifies. Its purpose is to hold a single, published standard for the profession and to confirm that individuals meet it. A board:
- Sets field-level standards for the profession
- Reviews education from any reputable provider, not only its own
- Evaluates education, verified practice hours, ethics, and examination together
- Holds credential holders to ongoing renewal, continuing education, and enforceable ethics
- Has no financial stake in which qualifying program a candidate attended
The key word is independent. A board's judgment is meaningful precisely because it is not tied to selling any one course.
Three framing lines capture the difference:
Training programs prepare you. A board certifies you.
Schools are about how you learn. The board is about how you practice.
A course certificate belongs to the school that issued it. A board credential belongs to the profession.
If you are looking for a training program
INBGC is not a school, so this is not the page that will recommend one. What is worth knowing before you enroll is what strong grief coach training covers and what questions to ask, since no external body reviews program curricula. See Grief Coach Training: How to Choose a Program.
02 | An Established Model
How this works in other professions
The separation between training and certification is not new or unusual. It is how established professions maintain trust. In each of these, one organization teaches and a separate body verifies:
Law
Law schools teach. A state bar examines and admits. Completing law school does not make someone a licensed attorney; passing the bar does.
Nursing
Nursing schools teach. A licensing board administers the examination. The school prepares you; the board confirms you meet the standard.
Accounting
An accounting degree educates you. A state board of accountancy administers the CPA examination and grants the credential.
Health & wellness coaching
Many schools offer training, while a separate national board certifies practitioners against one standard. This is the closest parallel to grief coaching, and it is a working model for how an emerging coaching field professionalizes.
Grief coaching is not a licensed profession, and INBGC does not claim the legal authority that a state licensing board holds. The point of the comparison is the structure: teaching and verifying are different jobs, and keeping them separate is what makes a credential trustworthy.
03 | Our Position
Where INBGC fits
INBGC is the certifying board for grief coaching. It sets published standards, verifies that individuals meet them through examination and verified practice hours, and maintains accountability through ethics and annual renewal.
INBGC does offer an optional curriculum for candidates who want structured preparation before the Board Examination. That curriculum is kept deliberately separate from the credentialing decision. You do not have to train with INBGC to become certified, and completing the curriculum does not guarantee certification. The board reviews qualifying grief-specific education from any reputable provider and applies the same standard to everyone.
That separation is intentional. The organization that administers the exam has no financial interest in which training program a candidate attended. That independence is what makes the credential meaningful, and it is why standards are owned by INBGC’s Advisory Board while day-to-day application review and administration are handled separately by Program Administration.
Frequently asked questions
Is INBGC a school?
No. INBGC is a certifying board. It sets standards and verifies that coaches meet them. It offers an optional preparation curriculum, but that curriculum is separate from the credentialing decision, and it is not required to become certified.
Can a training program certify me?
A training program can issue a certificate confirming you completed its course, and many use the word certification for that. What a program cannot do is verify you against an independent standard, because it wrote the standard and was paid to teach it. That verification is a separate function, and it is what a board provides.
If I complete a training program, am I already certified?
Not in the board sense. Completing a program earns a certificate of completion from that program. Board certification is a separate step: an independent body reviews your qualifications, tests your competency, and holds you to a standard that must be maintained over time. See What Is a Grief Coach? for how the credential protects the public.
Does training from another program count toward board certification?
Yes. INBGC reviews qualifying grief-specific education from any reputable provider. Coaches who trained elsewhere may apply through the Equivalency Path rather than repeating coursework. For what to look for in a program, see Grief Coach Training: How to Choose a Program.
Can I get board certified without taking the INBGC curriculum?
Yes. Candidates who already hold qualifying grief coaching training may apply through the Equivalency Path and go straight to the certification process. The curriculum is one optional route to readiness, useful for those who want it and required of no one.
Does a board credential expire?
Board certification is maintained, not permanent. It requires annual renewal, continuing education, and ongoing compliance with published ethics. A course certificate, by contrast, is typically one-time. Review the certification standards for the full requirements.
Why does independence matter?
Because a credential is only as credible as the process behind it. When the body that certifies you also profits from selling you training, the credential says less. Independence is the difference between a standard and a sales funnel. For why the word accredited does not settle this question in an unregulated field, see What "Accredited" Really Means.
Why get board certified if the coach title is not protected?
Because an unprotected title is exactly the problem. Anyone can claim it, which means clients and referral partners have no way to distinguish a trained practitioner from an untrained one. A verifiable credential is what makes that distinction possible, and it gives hospices, funeral homes, therapists, and employers one standard to reference instead of vetting every training program themselves. See How to Become a Grief Coach.
Learn more
To see the full requirements behind the credential, review the certification process and the published certification standards. To understand how grief coaching relates to clinical care, see Grief Coach vs. Therapist.