CHMM®

IHMM’s Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM ®) credential is an “Environmental Professional” under EPA regulation 40 CFR §312.10 and recognizes your expertise and the significant impact you make on your community and your country. Corporations, universities, and government depend on the CHMM certification to identify environmental professionals like you. By earning the CHMM credential, you join a unique community of over 17,000 of your peers who have demonstrated their commitment to professional excellence and protecting the environment and the public’s health and safety. The CHMM is IHMM’s first credential, the first recipients of which received their credentials in May 1, 1984.


My credential has given me more credibility and allowed me to develop a national network of similarly skilled and trained personnel.

James Harless, CHMM, Soil and Materials Engineers Inc.

Benefits of a CHMM® Credential

Employers face an increasingly challenging task of proving their regulatory compliance and safety to suppliers, customers and enforcement agencies. With a CHMM®, not only are you personally recognized for your competence in the laws and regulations of hazardous materials, but it demonstrates the company’s high standard of regulatory compliance, as well. With demand for CHMM® professionals, the credential positions you for a career of growth and impact.

Furthermore, under federal regulation 40 CFR § 312.10, the United States Environmental Protection Agency defines the IHMM CHMM as an “Environmental Professional.”

Who Hires CHMMs?

Here is a small example of the thousands of private companies and government entities who hire CHMMs. You are about to embark on an amazing career advancement with the IHMM CHMM.

Eligibility Requirements

A candidate must meet all eligibility requirements before scheduling and taking their exam. These include (1) file an application; (2) transcript (upload a copy of your transcript/diploma if applicable to the application) (3) third-party employment verification, (4) submit an application and pay the application fee, and (5) move on to pay for and schedule your examination. Finally, pass the exam and pay the annual fee to be issued the credential. The following are the prerequisites…

1

Prerequisites

  1. Baccalaureate degree (or higher) from an accredited college or university, with a preference for disciplines in applied science or related field, chemistry, biology, geology, hazardous materials management, environmental science, environmental management, physical or life science or environmental technology, and
  2. A minimum of four years of relevant experience in the field of hazardous materials management or a related field.

2

College Transcript

Your official transcript or diploma must be uploaded to your application before it can be submitted. To find out whether a college in the U.S. is accredited, check with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Degrees from colleges or universities outside of the U.S. are acceptable if they are documented as equivalent to a BS/BA degree issued in the U.S. Candidates with degrees from colleges and universities outside of the U.S. must upload a copy of their statement of equivalency from a recognized evaluating agency. For a list of recognized agencies, see https://www.naces.org/members. Once there, select an entity under CURRENT MEMBERS, and then do your research on your degree.

3

Relevant Experience

Relevant experience includes, but is not limited to, the following examples:

  1. Hazardous materials identification and handling in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
  2. Planning and preparing for and responding to hazmat emergencies and incidents.
  3. Sampling and analysis (of air, water, soil, waste) for potential contaminants.
  4. Site investigation and remediation.
  5. Hazmat program or project management.

4

Submit an Application, Pay the Application Fee

Submit an application and pay the application fee. See below under Let's Start Your Application! There is also a fee for the test and, if you pass, an annual maintenance fee. If you need assistance with the CHMM application contact Kortney Tunstall at [email protected] or call 301-244-4864

5

Move on to Schedule and Take the Examination

Having submitted your application, paid your application fee, and been approved, then you move on to purchase your examination. Move down to the next section of this site for information about taking the exam. If you need assistance with the CHMM examination contact Kortney Tunstall at [email protected] or call 301-244-4864

Examination Preparation

Having successfully completed and submitted your application and paid your application fee, then you move on to request to take your examination and pay the examination fee. The IHMM staff member who assisted you with the application will now also assist you with paying for and scheduling your examination.

Candidates need to be familiar with relevant laws and regulations, relevant scientific principles and their application, and best management practices. Many candidates attend overview courses or use self-study materials to prepare for the examination. IHMM does not require any specific type of exam preparation or training and the exams are not based on any single reference.

IHMM credentialing programs and examinations are based on an Exam Specifications "blueprint.” The blueprints govern the competency requirements for each credential and provide the outline of topics for the examinations. Examination questions are developed from the blueprints and applicants base their examination study on the blueprint.

 Please see the Candidate Handbook for additional information

Find a Course to Prepare for the Exam

Preparing for your CHMM examination is important as the CHMM examination is challenging. Your CHMM examination is derived from the CHMM blueprint, so downloading the CHMM blueprint and understanding the domains and their contents is a good first start. If you seek a course to take in which to prepare for the CHMM examination, you will find a course in our companion foundation, the Hazardous Materials Society.

A CHMM examination preparation course may be found here.

CHMM Blueprint

The CHMM examination is a testing instrument designed to evaluate candidates seeking professional certification in the field of hazardous materials management. This Specification Blueprint is intended to offer guidance to candidates by outlining reasonably expected duties and tasks based on surveys of what hazardous materials managers do in practice. As your CHMM examination is drawn directly from the CHMM blueprint, if you understand the blueprint you will understand what is on your CHMM examination.

Accreditation
and Recognition

The measure of the quality and strength of a certification program is to evaluate its accreditation status. Accreditation is a form of certification for the certifying organization, requiring conformance with strict standards of validity, reliability, and impartiality.

A key feature of IHMM credentialing programs, accreditation is essential because of the nature of work performed by IHMM certificants. The handling and management of hazardous materials and the transport of dangerous goods are governed by model regulations published by the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Transportation, committees of the United Nations as well as a network of state, national and international organizations.

Accredited credentials allow professionals to not only gain knowledge to use and implement these regulations but to be recognized for their competency to properly manage and perform the functions of the profession.

Apply or Pay a Fee

If you are a first-time user and want to make an application to take an exam, or if you are an existing certificant wanting to pay a fee, everything is done through our online Portal MYIHMM.

Existing certificants use their username/password to log in. New users set-up an account and then make an application from the menu.  If you need assistance in any way contact Kortney [email protected] or Rosie [email protected] or Jim [email protected]  or Kaylene [email protected] and one of them will be glad to help you.

When you have your user/pass and can enter MYIHMM, Click on MENU and you will see this display. Select what You want to do from the menu and proceed…

A collaborative culture is important for every business but is especially important for our hazardous materials, dangerous goods, environment, health and safety communities of practice. IHMM credentialed professionals are at the top 1% of their professions and their reach is global. We are at the forefront of environmental protection, health, and safety and this is where collaborating with the best people in their fields, always willing to help one another, lessens the stress of our jobs and where we strive as a team to make a difference of which we are proud.

Policies and
Code of Ethics

Per the guidance of our accreditation authorities and our internal leadership, IHMM has a variety of policies that bear on our impartiality, our Code of Ethics, our regard for the privacy of your information and data, nondiscrimination, and additional federal guidelines for access to our tests and facilities. Everyone needs to be familiar with these policies as every applicant will be asked to affirm having read, understood, and agrees to be bound by all of these policies in the application process.

Recertification of Your Credential

Congratulations. After hard work and dedication, you earned your professional credential. Now, every 5 years you will need to recertify your valuable credential. Over 5 years you need to earn 200 certification maintenance points or CMPs. You receive 100 CMPs for the job you perform, and then need to earn a minimum of another 100 CMPs in a variety of ways demonstrating your commitment to continuous improvement and remaining current with the demands of your profession and our communities of practice.

Considering everything you did to achieve certification, don’t let it go to waste by failing to recertify.

IHMM will remind you, fairly often, about your impending recertification deadline. If you follow the steps outlined below you will find this process fairly easy to accomplish. Start with the advice in Step #1!

Step 1

Be proactive and enter your CMPs as you earn them. CMPs must be claimed following the guidelines in the IHMM Recertification Handbook.

Step 2

In your MYIHMM account, start your recertification application now to track CMPs as you go. Go to MYIHMM > then MENU > then Recertification > then Create a New Recertification Application.

Step 3

Keep your employment status and professional information current in your MYIHMM account. Please make sure your annual fees are also up-to-date.

Step 4

In your 5th year, make sure all information is correct, confirm your minimum of 200 CMPs, and submit application. Don’t worry, we’ll remind you along the way, too!

Step 5

Audits. Keep records of employment and CMPs requested. We may check in from time to time to assure accuracy.

Following these simple steps will make your recertification simple and easy to complete. Go to your online MYIHMM account, using your unique username and password.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact Jimmy Nguyen at [email protected] or Jelian Labri at [email protected] and someone will assist you.

IHMM Recertification Videos

IHMM has prepared these step-by-step videos for you to watch as you prepare your recertification application. Start with Video #1 and then move on to Video #2.

Recertification Video #1 - Start Here
Recertification Video #2 – Finish Here

Reinstatement

An individual who previously held an IHMM certification that has not been decertified on ethical grounds may apply to have his or her certification reinstated if their annual fees have been expired for less than five (5) years and/or their decertified certification has been expired for less than five (5) years.

If either condition is not met, the individual must go through the full certification process to become certified again.

Reinstatement is not a reversal of decertification. All time in service is lost at the time of decertification. For more information regarding the reversal of decertification, please refer to IHMM’s Decertification Appeal Policy.

Evidence of knowing continued use of a decertified certification after having been provided notice of decertification by IHMM is a violation of your certification agreement and is unethical, and will render the individual ineligible for reinstatement.