- What the Credential Is and Who Stands Behind It
- Who Pursues It and Where the Work Happens
- The Three Eligibility Pathways
- Project Sheets, Verification, and Board Approval
- Exam Format and Delivery
- The Four Competency Areas
- Fees at a Glance
- Keeping the Credential Active
- Reading the Pass Ratio and Holder Data Carefully
- Sequencing Your Preparation
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CEICC is issued by the American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC) and stands for Council-certified Environmental Infection Control Consultant.
- The exam has 120 multiple-choice questions, three hours, closed book, and a 75% passing threshold.
- Initial cost totals $500: a $100 examination fee plus a $400 certification fee.
- You need documented field experience and four project sheets; no training course is mandatory.
What the Credential Is and Who Stands Behind It
CEICC stands for Council-certified Environmental Infection Control Consultant. It is a professional certification awarded by the American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC) to practitioners who manage the environmental side of infection prevention, especially where building work, healthcare environments, and patient safety intersect. The exam itself is delivered through testing provider Kryterion.
The word "environmental" matters. This credential is not a clinical nursing certification and not a general epidemiology credential. It centers on how physical spaces, construction activity, ventilation, containment, and project coordination affect infection risk for vulnerable people. If you have seen other credentials that share the same four-letter acronym, treat them as separate programs with their own rules, fees, and exams. Everything in this article refers only to the ACAC credential. For quick definitional answers, see our short explainers: What Does CEICC Stand For? and CEICC Meaning.
Who Pursues It and Where the Work Happens
The credential suits professionals whose daily decisions affect whether construction, demolition, or renovation dust, moisture, and airflow reach patients. Typical candidates come from backgrounds such as:
- Facilities and engineering staff who oversee work inside or adjacent to occupied healthcare buildings
- Infection preventionists who review construction plans and conduct risk assessments
- Contractors and project managers who must follow containment protocols on healthcare sites
- Environmental health and safety professionals who monitor compliance and worker protection
- Independent consultants who advise hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities on project-related infection risk
Employers that tend to value this kind of credential are healthcare systems, construction and restoration firms working in clinical settings, environmental consulting practices, and facilities management organizations. For a closer look at roles and employers, read CEICC Jobs, and for earning potential see the CEICC Salary Guide.
The Three Eligibility Pathways
ACAC does not require a single fixed degree. Instead, it allows you to combine education with documented field experience in one of three ways:
| Education Level | Qualifying Coursework | Documented Field Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Relevant four-year degree | Or equivalent 30 qualifying semester credits | Four years |
| Relevant two-year degree | Or equivalent 15 qualifying credits | Six years |
| High-school diploma or GED | None required | Eight years |
Note the tradeoff: less formal education is offset by more years in the field. The experience must be documented, not merely claimed, which ties directly into the verification step described below. A fuller walkthrough of qualifying degrees and experience appears in CEICC Requirements.
Project Sheets, Verification, and Board Approval
The application is where this credential differs most from a typical "sit the exam and you're done" certification. In addition to meeting an eligibility pathway, candidates must submit four distinct project sheets and complete verification of the information provided. Each project sheet describes real work you performed, so keep your own records organized: project scope, your role, the infection control measures involved, and someone who can confirm your participation.
There is no mandatory training course. You can prepare through experience, the optional ACAC study guide, and independent review. The award itself requires unanimous board approval, so passing the exam is one component of earning the credential rather than the whole story.
If you are mapping out your timeline, our guide to CEICC exam dates, windows, and scheduling covers the logistics in more depth.
Exam Format and Delivery
The examination is straightforward in structure:
- Questions: 120 multiple-choice items, each with at least four answer choices
- Time: three hours
- Reference materials: closed book
- Passing threshold: 75%, established using the Modified Angoff method
- Delivery: computer-based at a test center, or online with secure video proctoring
- Results: available immediately after you finish
The Modified Angoff method means a panel of subject-matter experts judged how a minimally qualified candidate would perform on each item, and the cut score reflects that judgment rather than a curve against other test-takers. In practice, you are measured against a fixed standard. At 120 questions, a 75% threshold means you should expect to need roughly 90 correct responses, though you should confirm any scoring details with ACAC. For the full explanation, see CEICC Passing Score.
Because the exam is closed book, you cannot look up airflow specifications or regulatory language during the test. Plan to internalize the core concepts instead of memorizing page numbers. Our CEICC difficulty guide discusses what makes the question style challenging.
The Four Competency Areas
The ACAC handbook lists four Required Skills competencies, and the optional study guide corroborates them. They are presented here as the four content areas candidates should master. One caution: the handbook does not publish weights for them, and the list does not prove that every exam question maps neatly to one heading. Treat them as the core map of the profession, not as a guaranteed blueprint.
Domain 1: Infectious Diseases and Their Modes of Transmission in the Healthcare Setting
This area builds the biological foundation. Before you can control environmental risk, you must understand how pathogens move and which patients are most vulnerable.
- Routes of transmission: airborne, droplet, and contact, and how each interacts with building conditions
- Environmental organisms of particular concern in construction contexts, such as fungal spores released by dust-generating work
- Patient populations at highest risk, including immunocompromised individuals
- Worker protection issues, including bloodborne pathogen exposure under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030 and respirator selection concepts drawn from NIOSH Respirator Selection Logic
Domain 2: Principles of Infection Control During Construction, Demolition and Renovation
This is the signature topic of the credential. It addresses how to keep construction hazards away from patients and occupied spaces.
- Risk assessment concepts that match the type of work to the patient population affected
- Containment strategies such as barriers, negative air pressure, and controlled access routes
- Ventilation and air handling considerations in healthcare spaces
- Dust control, moisture control, and cleaning practices before, during, and after work
- Guidance from the CDC environmental infection control guideline (2003, updated 2019)
Domain 3: Infection Control Project Management
Knowing the science is not enough; you must also coordinate people, permits, and procedures so the controls actually happen on a live project.
- Planning and documentation for projects that touch occupied healthcare areas
- Communication among facilities staff, infection prevention teams, contractors, and administrators
- Monitoring, inspection, and corrective action during the work
- Recordkeeping that proves controls were in place, which also supports your own project sheets
Domain 4: Effective Infection Control Practices
This area covers the practical, day-to-day habits and standards that make controls reliable.
- Standard operational practices that reduce transmission risk in healthcare settings
- Applying published guidance consistently rather than improvising on site
- Professional conduct expectations, including the ACAC Code of Conduct
- Verifying that controls remain effective as conditions change
For a deeper treatment of each area, see CEICC Exam Domains: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.
Fees at a Glance
| Fee Type | Amount (USD) |
|---|---|
| Examination fee | $100 |
| Certification fee | $400 |
| Initial total | $500 |
| Retake | $100 |
| Renewal | $400 |
The $500 initial total combines the exam fee with the certification fee, and a retake costs only the $100 examination fee. Budget separately for any study materials and for the time needed to compile project documentation. A broader breakdown lives in CEICC Certification Cost, and you can weigh that spending against career outcomes in Is the CEICC Certification Worth It?
Keeping the Credential Active
The certification is valid for two years. Renewal requires 40 recertification credits (RCs), made up of:
- 10 RCs for continued field activity
- 30 hours of professional development
ACAC can audit your records, so keep certificates, attendance logs, and project documentation in one place from day one. The renewal fee is $400.
Reading the Pass Ratio and Holder Data Carefully
ACAC publishes small pass-ratio reports. The 2024 report shows 3 passes out of 3 examinations, and the 2023 report shows 1 out of 1. Both read as 100%, but these cohorts are tiny, and the reports include retakes and state-license-only examinations. They are not first-attempt success estimates, and you should not read them as a prediction of your own outcome.
Similarly, ACAC's December 31, 2025 activity report lists 25 current CEICC certifications. That is a count of people currently holding the credential, not a measure of how many people sit the exam each year. It does suggest this is a niche, specialized credential rather than a mass-market one. For a fuller discussion, see CEICC Pass Rate: What the Data Shows.
Sequencing Your Preparation
Because there is no required course, you decide how to structure your preparation. One sensible approach is to order your review by how the domains build on one another, and to start gathering project-sheet material early, since verification takes time. Here is an example sequence for a candidate with several months before testing:
Domain 1 and document gathering
- Review transmission routes and vulnerable populations
- Skim the OSHA bloodborne pathogen standard and NIOSH respirator selection logic
- Begin drafting the four project sheets while details are fresh
Domain 2, the heaviest practical area
- Work through the CDC environmental guideline sections on construction and renovation
- Study containment, pressure relationships, and ventilation concepts, including ASHRAE 170 per the handbook
Domains 3 and 4
- Practice scenario-based reasoning about planning, communication, and monitoring
- Review the ACAC Code of Conduct
Integrated review
- Take timed practice sets at the three-hour, 120-question pace
- Revisit weak areas and confirm administrative deadlines with ACAC
Place Domain 1 first because the later domains assume you understand why a given control exists. For a complete method, see the CEICC Study Guide and the CEICC Cheat Sheet for a fast final review. When you are ready to test your recall under realistic conditions, try the CEICC practice tests.
Key Takeaway
Start your project sheets before you start heavy studying. The verification step depends on other people confirming your work, and that is the part of the process you cannot compress at the last minute.
Frequently Asked Questions
It shows that ACAC has verified your education, documented field experience, and project work, and that you passed an exam on environmental infection control topics. It signals competence in managing infection risks tied to construction and healthcare environments.
No. ACAC does not mandate a training course. You must meet one of the eligibility pathways, submit four project sheets, and pass the exam, but how you prepare is up to you. See CEICC Training for preparation options.
The exam has 120 multiple-choice questions with at least four answer choices each, delivered over three hours in closed-book format. The passing threshold is 75%, set using the Modified Angoff method.
The initial total is $500 ($100 examination plus $400 certification). A retake costs $100 and renewal costs $400. The credential is valid for two years.
Yes. ACAC offers computer-based testing at a test center or online with secure video proctoring, and results are available immediately. For a plain-language overview of the credential itself, see What Is CEICC?