Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General FAQs
An unencumbered license is one that is not currently subjected to formal discipline by any state board of nursing and has no provisions or conditions that limit the nurse's practice in any way. ONCC certification candidates and ONCC-certified nurses must notify ONCC in writing within 30 days if a restriction of any kind is placed on their RN or APRN license. Failure to notify ONCC may result in sanctions.
Nursing practice may be work experience that is direct and/or indirect patient care in clinical practice, nursing administration, education, research, or consultation in the specialty represented by the credential. The position must be one that requires a Registered Nurse/Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (RN/APRN). A position that may be filled by another licensed care provider will qualify as nursing practice so long as RN/APRN is included among the licensed care providers who can fill the role.
ONCC will request a job description when the position title does not clearly indicate a nursing role. This documentation must be an official copy from the employer, on employer letterhead, bearing the company logo or otherwise verified, and must state the name of the position and that the position requires it be filled by an RN/APRN among other licensure types. Proper verification of acceptable nursing practice upholds the integrity of all certifications and credentials awarded by ONCC, including ensuring that all candidates meet established eligibility criteria.
Beginning in January 2025, ONCC will require two new pieces of information from applicants for a certification test or renewal. Applicants will be asked to provide the last four digits of their social security number (ONCC will not store this information) and their National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) identification number during the application process.
To obtain your NCSBN ID:
• Go to https://nursys.com
• Use the QuickConfirm Option and click on Look Up License
• Agree to Disclaimers and Terms and Conditions
• Search for your NCSBN ID by License Number (preferred) or by Name
• Follow the instructions on screen
• Verify the information returned is you; the NCSBN ID appears on screen
• Make a note of this number so you can enter it during the application process.
Nursing certification is a process to validate a registered nurse's qualification and knowledge of a specific area of nursing. To become certified, a nurse must meet minimal competency standards set by the agency that grants the certification. One purpose of nursing certification is to promote public safety. Certification assures the public that a certified nurse has completed all criteria required for a specific credential. Another purpose of certification is to develop specialty areas of nursing by establishing minimal competency standards and recognizing those who have met those standards.
The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) recognizes the benefits of certification to patients and the public, and encourages oncology nurses to become certified. Read the ONS position on oncology certification of nurses.
In addition to certification programs, there are assessment-based certificate programs and continuing education programs. It is important for nurses to understand what each of these programs represents. The Institute for Credentialing Excellence has defined the differences between these programs.
The term "certification" doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. “Certification” programs offered by different providers may not represent the same level of achievement. For example, some providers label continuing education (CE) programs as "certification," and tell participants they may call themselves "certified" upon completing the program. Nurses who have passed a comprehensive, broad-based certification examination such as the OCN® test know that completing a CE program does not represent the same level of achievement. Nurses and employers need to understand what each type of program represents. Nurses and employers should not misrepresent themselves or those they employ as "certified" when they are not. Read full article.
The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) recognizes the benefits of certification to patients and the public. ONS encourages oncology nurses to become certified. Read the ONS position on oncology certification of nurses.
In addition to certification programs, there are assessment-based certificate programs and continuing education programs. It is important for nurses to understand what each of these programs represents. The Institute for Credentialing Excellence has defined the differences between these types of programs.
You can find your Individual Learning Needs Assessment (ILNA) results using the same link you used to access the assessment. Once you log in, you can retrieve, download and print your assessment results.
If it’s been more than six weeks since you took the assessment, you can log into your Learning Plan to see the number of points you need for renewal and the subject areas where points may be earned.
You can find your certification test results through the PSI candidate portal using the same username and password you used when you scheduled your test appointment. Once you log in, you can retrieve, download and print your certification test results.
ONCC certificates aren’t available for download. You can check your current ONCC certification expiration date online via the Certification Verification System. From the verification site, you may download a document confirming current ONCC certification, showing the credential(s) earned, effective date and expiration date.
If you need a copy of your current ONCC certificate, a duplicate or replacement certificate may be requested for $10 by contacting ONCC at oncc@oncc.org.
ONCC sends certified nurses reminders and other communications by mail, email, and home phone. It is important to keep your current contact information in your ONCC profile at all times.
If you have unsubscribed from bulk emails, or use a workplace email address you may not receive email messages as intended. Please use a personal email address or request your employer not block ONCC emails. Ask your email administrator to add emailer.realmagnet.com and realmagnet.com to your whitelist. Also, be sure to check your spam or junk mail folders regularly for communications from ONCC.
To resubscribe to emails, visit the Manage Your Email Subscriptions page.
Testing FAQs
You must show two forms of acceptable identification, including one form of photo ID. Both forms of ID must contain your signature and be current, valid, and non-expired. The first and last name on both forms of ID must match the first and last name on your Authorization to Test (ATT).
You will not be admitted to the test without proper ID. Candidates who are not permitted to test due to invalid ID will forfeit their test fee, and must reapply and pay the full test fee to test at a later date.
Follow the instructions on your Authorization to Test (ATT).
You may reschedule your test appointment within your 90-day test eligibility period by contacting PSI at least two business days prior to the appointment start time.
To transfer to a later 90-day test eligibility period: You must request a transfer before the expiration of your current ATT. Log in to your ONCC account to request a transfer. If you have scheduled a test appointment, you must cancel the appointment by contacting PSI at least two business days prior to the appointment start time. Transfers will not be granted to candidates who do not cancel their testing appointment at least 48 hours in advance. Failure to cancel an appointment will result in forfeiture of all test fees paid. Transfers are granted one time only and the test must be taken within the ensuing 12 months. Once a transfer is granted, no refunds will be issued, and all test fees will be forfeited if the test is not taken within 12 months. FreeTake candidates may not transfer to a different testing window
Refunds: You may request a refund of all but $100 (processing fee) of the test fee before the expiration of your ATT. Login to your account at www.oncc.org to request a refund. Refund requests received after the ATT has expired will not be granted. If you have scheduled a test appointment, you must cancel the appointment by contacting PSI at least two business days before the appointment start time. Candidates who do not cancel a scheduled test appointment will forfeit their test fee and will not receive a refund. Ineligible candidates may request a refund of all but $100 (processing fee).
You may request a refund of all but $100 (processing fee) of the test fee prior to the expiration of your ATT. Log in to your account at www.oncc.org to request a refund. Refund requests received after the ATT expires will not be granted. If you have scheduled a test appointment, you must cancel the test appointment by contacting PSI at least two business days before the start of the appointment. Candidates who do not cancel a scheduled test appointment will forfeit their test fee and will not receive a refund. Ineligible candidates may request a refund of all but $100 (processing fee).
The passing score for each ONCC examination is based on the number of test items that are answered correctly. The number of items answered correctly is converted to a scaled scare. A scaled score is not a percentage score, and is not the number of items answered correctly. A scaled score is a transformation of a raw score (number of items answered correctly) into a different unit of measurement. A scaled score of 55 is the passing score for all ONCC tests. The 55 equates to different raw scores on various forms on the test depending on the difficulty of the form. Read more information on passing scores here.
Candidates who fail an ONCC examination on the first attempt may apply for a retest, but may not take the same examination more than once during a 90-day test eligibility period.
Candidates who fail an ONCC examination on the second attempt may apply for a retest, but may not take the same examination more than once during a 90-day test eligibility period.
Candidates who fail the test on a third attempt must wait one year before taking the test again if the three failed attempts occurred during a three-year (36 month) period. If the three failures occurred over more than three years (36 months), the candidate may apply to retest, but may not take the same test more than one time during a 90-day test eligibility period.
Candidates taking a test for the second or subsequent time are not identified as repeat candidates at the test center. Candidates are not likely to receive the same form of the test as previously taken.
Review the tips for retaking a test.
Acceptable documentation includes a certificate of completion for each course or a transcript that includes your name, the title of the course, the date of course completion, the number of contact hours awarded, and an accreditation statement.
Please note that all continuing education entries must be complete and accurate and include the name of the accrediting organization (not the provider); application processing may be delayed if entries are incomplete or inaccurate.
Continuing education programs in nursing must be approved by an acceptable accreditor to be used for initial certification or for renewal points. The certificate or letter of attendance awarded for a program must contain an accreditation statement. To find the name of the accrediting organization, look for the accreditation statement on the certificate or letter of attendance awarded for completion of the program. The accreditation statement is normally located at the bottom of a certificate or transcript.
The following is an example of what an accreditation statement looks like:
This continuing nursing education activity was approved for 1.0 contact hour by HealthStream CNE Provider Unit, an accredited provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (ANCC).
In this example, the provider is HealthStream and the accrediting organization is ANCC. When completing your entries, please be sure to list the name of the accrediting organization, not the name of the provider. Read more information on accredited continuing education here.
Please note that all continuing education entries must be complete and accurate and include the name of the accrediting organization (not the provider); application processing may be delayed if entries are incomplete or inaccurate.
When ONCC confirms that you are eligible to test, PSI will send you an Authorization to Test (ATT) by email. You will receive the ATT within 6 weeks of applying.
The subject line of the ATT will read “ONCC Authorization to Test”. Please check your junk or spam folders and add no-reply@psi.com to your safe senders or contacts list. The ATT is valid for 90 days and provides the instructions you need to schedule your test appointment.
If you applied more than 6 weeks ago and haven’t received the ATT, please contact ONCC customer service at oncc@oncc.org.
Candidates who receive a passing score are mailed a congratulatory packet and personalized certificate 4-6 weeks after taking the test. ONCC will mail the congratulatory packet to you via regular USPS mail to the home address in your ONCC account.
Incomplete- your application was not submitted for processing. You may return to an Incomplete application and submit it. After a period of 60 days, Incomplete applications are deleted from the online registration system.
Submitted- Your application has been received by ONCC and is in the queue for processing. Please allow 6 weeks from the date of application submission for ONCC to process your application.
Insufficient- Your application has either been selected for audit or is missing information that is needed for approval. Please check your email or reach out to ONCC Customer Relations.
Verified- Your application has been approved for testing, and your ATT has been issued. Please check your email or reach out to ONCC Customer Relations to have your ATT resent.
ONCC processes applications in the order that they are received. In fairness to all candidates, we cannot expedite the processing of a particular application.
When you are preparing to apply for the exam, please review ONCC processing times and submit your application accordingly. Processing time for test applications is 6 weeks from the date the completed application is received by ONCC.
A maximum of 5 of the required 10 contact hours may be continuing medical education (CME).
CME courses will be accredited by the ACCME, AMA, state medical societies, or award AMA-PRA Category 1 credits.
Courses that award continuing nursing education (CNE) will be accredited by the ANCC, AANP, AACN, APHON, ANA, NAPNAP, state nursing associations, and State Boards of Nursing in Alabama, California, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, and West Virginia.
More details can be found here: Continuing Education | ONCC
Renewal FAQs
You can take the assessment shortly after you renew your certification by Option 1 (Professional Development Points). The assessment is the first step in preparing for your next renewal. You will be sent an Authorization to Assess (ATA) by email. The earlier you take the assessment, the more time you will have to earn points for renewal. You must take the assessment by January 31 of the year renewal is due. You cannot earn points for renewal until after you take the assessment. (Note: AOCN®, AOCNS®, and CPON® candidates do not take an assessment.)
If you don’t take the assessment you may renew by submitting a minimum of 100 renewal points that exactly match the weighting of the respective test content outline (test blueprint) categories, or by successfully retesting. You'll likely need fewer points for renewal if you take the assessment.
You can earn points immediately after passing a certification test or completing the assessment. If it’s your first renewal after passing a test, your test results report identifies the number of points you need for renewal and the subject areas where points may be earned.
If you're eligible to take the learning needs assessment, you can earn points after you take the assessment. Use your assessment results report to identify the number of points you need for renewal and the subject areas where points may be earned. Take the assessment as early as possible in your certification cycle to provide time to earn the required points. You must take the assessment January 31 of the year renewal is due.
AOCN, CPON, and AOCNS certified nurses do not take an assessment, but must submit professional development points for renewal. These nurses may use points earned after their last certification renewal was approved.
Acceptable documentation includes a certificate of completion for each course or a transcript that includes your name, the title of the course, the date of course completion, the number of contact hours awarded, and an accreditation statement.
Please note that all continuing education entries must be complete and accurate and include the name of the accrediting organization (not the provider); application processing may be delayed if entries are incomplete or inaccurate.
Continuing education programs in nursing must be approved by an acceptable accreditor to be used for initial certification or for renewal points. The certificate or letter of attendance awarded for a program must contain an accreditation statement. To find the name of the accrediting organization, look for the accreditation statement on the certificate or letter of attendance awarded for completion of the program. The accreditation statement is normally located at the bottom of a certificate of transcript.
The following is an example of what an accreditation statement looks like:
This continuing nursing education activity was approved for 1.0 contact hour by HealthStream CNE Provider Unit, an accredited provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (ANCC).
In this example, the provider is HealthStream and the accrediting organization is ANCC. When completing your entries, please be sure to list the name of the accrediting organization, not the name of the provider. Read more information on accredited continuing education here.
Please note that all continuing education entries must be complete and accurate and include the name of the accrediting organization (not the provider); application processing may be delayed if entries are incomplete or inaccurate.
Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a form of continuing education created for physicians, though it can be completed by anyone in the medical field.
Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) is created specifically for nurses. To determine whether a course is considered medical or nursing education, you need to look at the accreditation statement which is normally found at the bottom of a certificate of completion or CE transcript. Below is an example of what an accreditation statement looks like:
“The Oncology Nursing Society is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.”
In the case of the example above, the approval body (accreditation body) is ANCC, and CEs completed trough ONS are CNE.
Accreditation bodies such as ACCME, state medical associations, or AMA PRA Category 1 credits, are medical education (CME). Courses accredited by the ANCC, state nurses’ associations, or a board of nursing are CNE. You can find the full list of approved accreditation bodies on the ONCC website.
If you are having trouble finding accredited CEs, a great resource for finding oncology continuing education offerings is the Big List of Free CE. There are currently multiple lists of oncology specific free CE. These lists are coded for ONCC ILNA renewal but can also be used for initial testing as well. You can access the Big List of Free CE on the ONCC website.
Whether you passed the test for the first time or completed the assessment for your renewal, your individual learning plan, which is created based on your test or assessment results, will be available by the 15th of the following month. ONCC will email you when your learning plan is available to access.
ONCC randomly audits a percentage of renewal applications submitted to ensure the integrity of the renewal process. If your application is selected for audit, you will be asked to upload documentation (i.e., CE certificates, letters of attendance) to LearningBuilder for the points you submitted for renewal.
Applications are selected for audit based on computerized random selection. Because of the random selection process, an application may be selected for audit even if the applicant has been audited previously.
Once you are notified that your renewal application has been approved, ONCC will mail a congratulatory packet and personalized certificate 4-6 weeks after notification that your renewal application is approved. ONCC will mail the congratulatory packet to you via regular USPS mail to the home address in your ONCC account.
Academic courses may be applied to your renewal if the clinical hours or course material fits into one of the test outline content categories and was completed during your accrual period. For academic courses, ONCC uses the date that the academic course was completed and passed as the date of completion.
When entering courses into your Learning Plan, please use your best judgement to determine where your courses will fit based on the topics that it covered.
When entering your academic courses into your Learning Plan, if the title of the course is vague, please be sure to upload course description, a course outline, or any papers that you wrote for the class that show that the course covered adult oncology. This will allow ONCC credentialing administrators to verify the course content without having to request additional documentation from. Course content cannot be determined by reviewing your transcript.
For academic courses, 1 academic credit = 15 renewal points. There is no limit to the number of academic credits that can be applied to your renewal.
Incomplete- Your application was not submitted for processing. You may return to an Incomplete application and submit it. After a period of 60 days, Incomplete applications are deleted from the online registration system.
Submitted- Your application has been received by ONCC and is in the queue for processing. Please allow up to 12 weeks from the date of learning plan and application submission for ONCC to process your application.
Insufficient- Your application or Learning Plan was found to contain insufficient information or insufficient documentation. ONCC notifies insufficient candidates by email with details of what is needed to complete the application and/or learning plan. Please check your email or reach out to ONCC Customer Relations.
Audit-Your Learning Plan has been selected for either a random audit, or ONCC Credentialing Administrators need additional information about a specific course or courses to approve your application and/or Learning Plan. ONCC notifies audited candidates by email with details of the information or documentation needed. Please check your email or you may locate the audit letter under the Communications tab in your Learning Plan.
Verified- Your application and Learning Plan have been approved. When your application is approved, the status of your application will be updated “Pass”, and your expiration date will be updated in our database. Your congratulatory packet and certificate will be mailed to your home address a few weeks thereafter. In the meantime, you may use the ONCC Certification Verification System to confirm the status of your credential and you may print a document that will show your updated certification effective dates.
ONCC processes applications in the order that they are received. In fairness to all candidates, we cannot expedite the processing of a particular application.
When you are preparing to apply for renewal, please review ONCC processing times and submit your application and Learning Plan accordingly. Processing time for renewal applications is 8-12 weeks from the date the completed application and learning plan are received by ONCC.
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