The National Family Support Professional Certification Exam will be down for maintenance September 16th
and will return October 1st.

Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals logo above image of exam on computer screen

National
Family Support
Certification Exam

The National Family Support Certification Exam tests the knowledge of family support professionals in each of the domains outlined in the National Family Support Competency Framework for Direct Service Professionals. The exam has been tested by family support professionals and validated by a team of testing experts to offer a quality and non-discriminatory exam.

Learn more below! Click each box to show more information.

Certification Exam now also available in Spanish! Click here for instructions in Spanish.

Prepare for the Exam

To prepare for the exam, take the Pre-Assessment to see how well you know the content covered in the National Family Support Competency Framework.

Once you have taken the Pre-Assessment, visit your Career Compass to view which Institute modules will help you complete your map in preparation for the exam.

To maintain the fidelity of the exam, the National Family Support Certification Exam is proctored. Please visit the RPNow test-taker site to learn about the proctoring experience and the 24/7 support provided by PSI.

Review our step-by-step guide we have created specifically for Institute learners taking the Certification Exam. If you have any questions about the process after reviewing our guide, please reach out to our support helpdesk at mail@institutefsp.org

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.

    • Day of the Exam

    The National Family Support Competency Exam costs $150 USD. Please read this short guide about payment options for your exam.
    You will pay this fee when you take your exam on the PSI website.

    Organizations who wish to pre-pay for exams, please complete this form. Once you've submitted the form, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow up to 3 weeks for your form to be processed. You will receive an email from the Institute once your form has been processed to coordinate the transfer of your access codes.

  • User ID and Password
    • The proctor browser software will not let your computer automatically fill the user ID or password, you will have to manually type this in. If you do not remember your password, please request a password reset before the day of the exam.

  • Photo ID
    • You will need a clear photo ID so the proctor service can verify your identity for the exam.
  • Environment
    • Make sure your environment is quiet and free of clutter and distraction.

    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.

    • IMPORTANT: Please read through the exam instructions, make sure you have your payment option ready, and have your username and password ready (you will need to reenter this when you enter the exam system).

    If you are ready to take your exam, sign in and return to this page to take the exam by clicking the "Register for the Certification Exam" button at the bottom of the page.

    After the exam

    Once you submit your exam, your results will be immediately shown.

    If you received a passing score (72% and above) you will receive an email from noreply@institutefsp.org. However, a review will first be completed by a proctor 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.

    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.

    Frequently Asked Questions
    (Spanish version)

    The Institute is not able to verify whether you are required to complete any learning or certification requirements. Please discuss requirements with your supervisor, state, or program home visiting leadership.

    You must wait 6 months to retake the certification exam. At that time, you will be given one more opportunity to take the exam.

    Once you submit your exam, you will see your exam results. All exam sessions are reviewed by PSI and, if necessary, by Institute staff. If you passed the exam and review, you will receive an email notification within 1 month 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 1 month.

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

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

    By participating in the exam, you agree to your answers being used to continue validation of the exam. If you pass the exam and proctor 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.

    The National Family Support Professional Certification Exam is down for maintenance.

    About the Institute   Contact

    This publication is partially supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $4,000,000 with 20% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.