Professional Credentialing Information

Upon passing the national BOC exam, you must follow through on various items to be able to appropriately transition from ‘Eligible for Certification’ to officially recognized as an athletic trainer. Please note, that you may not legally use the credential ‘ATC’ until these items are completed, and processed by the BOC. For information on obtaining certification, please visit https://www.bocatc.org/candidates, and follow instructions accordingly.

Please recall that once you become formally certified, you must also obtain state/commonwealth certification, registration or licensure via the respective regulatory board (e.g. Board of Athletic Training, State Board of Medicine, State Board of Medical Examiners, etc.).  Regardless of BOC credentialing as an ATC, you may not legally practice as an athletic trainer in a state or commonwealth without obtaining certification or licensure in that specific state/commonwealth BEFORE rendering services (barring California at the moment). For a list of athletic training state regulatory boards, please click: https://members.nata.org/gov/state/regulatory-boards/map.cfm to process this requirement.

Lastly, while transitioning from candidate to athletic trainer, it is also strongly recommended that you to obtain a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number. An NPI number is issued to health care professionals, and covered entities that transmit standard HIPAA electronic transactions. For details on obtaining an NPI number, please go to: https://www.nata.org/practice-patient-care/revenue-reimbursement/national-provider-identifier-npi.