Candidate Examination Administration

Exam Fees & Scheduling

Review certification-package fees, examination components, authorized retake and administrative charges, payment requirements, and candidate examination-access procedures.

Initial Certification

Published Certification Package Fees

All amounts below are in United States dollars (USD).

Certified Christian Counselor

$300 USD

Complete initial certification package.

Certified Pastoral Counselor

$350 USD

Complete initial certification package.

Certified Chaplain

$500 USD

Complete initial certification package, including applicable chaplain credential items.

Board Certified Christian Counselor

$500 USD

Advanced initial certification package.

Board Certified Chaplain

$650 USD

Advanced initial certification package, including applicable chaplain credential items.

Annual Renewal

$150–$200 USD

$150 for standard certifications and $200 for Board Certified designations.

Important fee clarification: The published initial certification price is the complete package price. The $50 application component and $100 examination component are included within that package and are not additional charges when paid as part of the initial certification package.
Administrative Charges

Examination & Review Fee Schedule

These amounts apply where the corresponding administrative action is separately required.

Fee Amount Purpose Important Note
Certification Application Component $50 USD Application and document-review administration. Included within the initial certification package price.
Certification Examination Component $100 USD Examination administration, access, scoring and record handling. Included within the initial certification package price.
Authorized Retake Examination $75 USD Additional examination attempt after formal authorization. Payment alone does not authorize a retake.
Rescheduling $40 USD Approved change to an examination appointment or assigned completion arrangement where applicable. May be waived where GAOCPC approves documented exceptional circumstances.
Appeal Review $75 USD Administrative processing of an eligible formal examination appeal. The appeal must meet the published grounds and procedure.
Credential Verification / Record Update $25 USD Applicable administrative credential-record review or update. May apply after certification where a separate administrative action is requested.
Examination Access

How Scheduling and Access Work

GAOCPC's online examination system primarily uses candidate-account access rather than an unrestricted public examination link.

1

Submit Application

Complete the certification application and provide required supporting documents.

2

Payment & Review

Complete the applicable certification payment and wait for eligibility review.

3

Candidate Account

GAOCPC records the Candidate Reference Number, approved certification, and examination status.

4

Common Core Access

Eligible candidates complete the Common Core through their protected examination pathway.

5

Specialty Access

After an official Common Core pass, the assigned specialty examination becomes available.

6

Review & Certification

Examination results are recorded before the candidate proceeds to final credential review.

Candidate Responsibilities

Payment and Examination Access

Use Your Own Account

All payments, examination records and attempts must correspond to the correct candidate record and Candidate Reference Number.

Do Not Self-Authorize

Payment does not authorize an additional attempt, specialty examination, rescheduling request or appeal by itself.

Check Your Dashboard

The Candidate Dashboard shows your official Common Core and specialty examination status.

Certification notice: Payment and successful examination performance do not automatically guarantee certification. Final approval remains subject to GAOCPC's complete credential, ethics, competency and administrative review.

Ready to Continue?

New applicants should begin with Available Certifications. Existing candidates should use their Candidate Dashboard rather than requesting an examination through a public page.