Instructions for Applicants

Please read these instructions carefully, and also the specific requirements in the Candidate handbook, before completing the application form. Please note also that if your application and all supporting information are not postmarked by the February 1 deadline for the Spring examination or August 1 for Fall, your eligibility cannot be reviewed until the next scheduled application period.

Your application, transcripts, and professional references are the primary basis for evaluating your qualifications for admission to examination. If your application and supporting materials are incomplete, you will be notified of the deficiency, and your application will not be reviewed by the Board until the deficiency is corrected. This could result in your missing the application deadline. Pay special attention to the following:

1. Complete your application and arrange for professional references and official transcripts as early as possible. The Board will ordinarily credit experience as continuous up to the time of examination, so there is no advantage to you in filing late. Early filing permits transcripts and references to be received and questions to be resolved or additional information submitted, prior to the application deadline.

   Provide specific details on the application form for each of your industrial hygiene positions to permit the Board to evaluate the level and type of experience for which you claim credit. General statements such as "Recognition, evaluation and control of environmental factors which may relate to worker illness or impaired health" are not acceptable; there must be sufficient detail and examples to indicate clearly the nature of your responsibilities.

   Type or print neatly so that your application is readable and reproducible. Be sure you have signed your application. Retain a copy of your application for your records against the possibility that the original is lost or damaged in the mail.

2. Complete and submit the IH Coursework Form along with documenting certificates for the appropriate contact hours required.
   
   
3. The Board requires official transcripts for each college or university degree which is claimed. The transcripts must show all of your course work for the degree and should show completion of the degree. The official transcripts must be sent directly to the Board by the college or university. As an alternative, the applicant may submit official transcripts if they are in a sealed envelope with the registrar's stamp across the seal. Applicants with a foreign degree may be required to have a report submitted by a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, Inc.
   
   
4. Furnish the Professional Reference Questionnaire forms to your references for direct mailing to the Board. At least two references are required; more will be necessary if you have more than one work experience period for which you claim credit. Supervisory references covering the entire time period you wish credited are required including one from your current supervisor.

   You may not use anyone as a reference whom you supervise, nor may you use a relative as a reference.

   If one of your supervisory references is not a CIH, there must be an additional reference from a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) who is familiar with your work. If there is no CIH in your company, the Board will accept a professional reference from a CIH who is a client with whom you work, a consultant to your company, or a professional associate who is familiar with your work experience. If your supervisor will serve also as your CIH reference, a second reference from a colleague or co-worker is required.

   If you cannot provide a reference from a CIH, contact the Board's Office to discuss alternatives. That should be done promptly to avoid delay in completing your application.

5. Attach the non-refundable application fee (check or money order for U.S. funds) of $150.00 for the CIH review and mail the application and fee to the Board at the address given at the bottom of these instructions.
   
6. Examination fees are due upon notice of your approval for examination.

APPLICATION DEADLINES

Spring Examination: February 1, each year
Fall Examination: August 1, each year