National Family Support
Certification Exam

The National Family Support Competency Exam costs $150 USD.

You must pay this fee when you schedule your exam with ProctorU.

Taking the exam

In order to maintain the integrity of the exam, a learner can only take the exam through ProctorU.

Register an account with the Institute.

Study

To be most prepared in the content covered in the exam, you are encouraged take the Pre-Assessment. After completing the Pre-Assessment, visit your Career Compass, then complete home visitor modules based on your Career Compass results. All Institute modules and the Career Compass are based on the National Core Competency Framework . You can keep track of your module progress by visiting Your Dashboard.

Tech ready

Visit ProctorU to make sure your equipment meets the requirements to take the exam: equipment requirements.
Please make sure your Internet browser is up-to-date before starting your exam. You can only take the exam with Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.

Register an account with the Institute, if you have not done so already.

Create an account with ProctorU.

When setting up your ProctorU account, select Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals as your institution. You will be required to accept the Terms and Conditions of ProctorU prior to signing up for the exam. Additionally, you will be required to agree to the Institute Non-Disclosure Agreement and Consent Form prior to accessing the test. Read the Institute terms here.

Schedule your exam through ProctorU.

These are the rules the learner will follow during the exam. If any of these rules are violated, it may result in a denial of a certification. This is a part of the
Non-Disclosure Agreement, which you must agree to prior to taking the exam.

You may not have any physical or digital materials during your exam.

Your physical exam environment must be clear—free of books, papers, office supplies, and other unnecessary items

Your computer must have all unnecessary software, files, and other browser windows closed.

You can only have one screen/monitor connected to your computer.

You cannot take any breaks (including bathroom breaks) during the exam.

You must be free of distraction - you will not be allowed to leave your workstation once you start the exam.

You are not allowed to have anyone in the room with you during the exam.

You cannot talk to anyone, nor can anyone talk to you while you are taking the exam.

You are not allowed to have your cell phone during the exam.

Non-religious head coverings or hats are not allowed.

You are allowed to use the text-to-speech (TTS) function in the exam to have the questions read out loud to you by the exam software

Agree to the terms at the start of the exam - if you do not agree to the terms, you will not be permitted to take the exam.

Due to COVID-19, there are an increased number of test-takers, which may result in longer wait times. Plan accordingly, as wait times may vary

Please visit ProctorU for instructions on what to expect the day of the exam.

Once you submit your exam, your results will be immediately shown and you will receive an email from noreply@institutefsp.org. However, a review will first be completed by ProctorU to ensure rules were not violated during the exam session. If there were no rule violations, then your certification application will be approved and the certificate will be sent via email. Please allow up to 1 month to receive notification of your approval.

You can review your certification status in My Certifications.

All learners who have been certified will be listed in the National Family Support Certification Registry. Everyone who passes the certification process will earn the title Certified Family Support Professional (CFSP), which they may use on their resumes, business cards, and e-mail signatures.
If you do not want your full information searchable, you may select this option in your account settings.

What happens if I lose internet connection during the exam?

Log back into ProctorU and resume your session. In extreme circumstances, you may need to reschedule your exam.

Why can't I select a term when I try to schedule my exam?

Make sure your institution is Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals. If it is not, you will need to click your name in top right-hand corner of the browser, then click account settings. Near the bottom of the screen, click add enrollment and select Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals. Make sure to click Update Account to save this information.

What happens if I do not pass the certification exam?

You must wait 6 months to retake the certification exam. At that time, you will be given one more opportunity to take the exam. Please contact the
Institute helpdesk if you need to retake the exam.

I took the exam, where are my results? 

Once you submit your exam, you will see your exam results. All exam sessions are reviewed by ProctorU and, if necessary, by Institute staff. If you passed the exam and review, you will receive an email notification within two weeks, which will include your certificate. If you passed the exam, but failed the review, you will receive an email notification with details of why you did not pass the review within two weeks.  

Where are my certification results?

You will receive an email once your certification request has been approved or denied. You can also check your certification requests in My Certifications.

Is the exam timed?

Yes, you have 3 hours (180 minutes) to complete the exam. You must complete the exam in one sitting.

Will my results or personal data be used for anything?

By participating in the exam, you agree to your answers being used to continue validation of the exam. If you pass the exam and ProctorU review, you will be registered in the National Family Support Certification Registry. This is a searchable database where it can be verified you passed the certification exam.