How to Apply

The Lamaze Childbirth Educator Certification Examination is administered twice annually, once in the spring and once in the fall. Candidates interested in taking the exam must submit their application and exam fees to the Lamaze Administrative office by the prescribed deadline. In order to qualify for the Lamaze Certification Exam, candidates must meet the required criteria for one of three Pathways to Certification. Candidates will receive notification from the Lamaze Administrative Office upon receipt of their application to indicate that the review process has begun. Upon approval, candidates will be issued a test site voucher by e-mail along with further instructions about registering for an exam site. Candidates who submit incomplete applications will be notified by the Lamaze Administrative Office and will be subject to any and all necessary fees.

The application process is carried out online, which can be done through the Certification Center; all applications are reviewed in the order in which they are received. Candidates should allow 3-4 weeks from the date submitted for applications to be processed. You will receive electronic communications from the Certification Center upon submitting your application and when it has been approved. Please contact the Administrative Office at 800-368-4404 or 202-367-1128 or e-mail us if you need further assistance.

Exam Administration

Within the United States and parts of Canada, English and Spanish versions of the exam are offered via SofTest at computer-based testing facilities managed by ACT. ACT offers more than 230 test sites in the United States. To locate a test center near you, visit http://act.org/actcenters/locate/ . Please note: You cannot register for your test site until you receive your voucher ID# from the Lamaze Administrative Office via e-mail (see the "How to Apply" tab for details).

The official language of the exam is English. The exam will be translated for the April administration based on the required minimum of 5+ candidates. The exam will be translated into the official language of the country in which it is given if a valid translation has been completed and approved. Currently, select languages for translation are Spanish, Chinese (Simple Mandarin), Korean and Romanian. Candidates who wish to take the exam in one of these alternate languages must submit their applications by the Foreign Language Application Deadline noted above. Lamaze International will only approve a translation for the October exam in any of the aforementioned languages if 15 or more candidates apply by the deadline.

Exam Fees

All fees are payable in U.S. dollars to Lamaze International and must be paid in full by the application deadline. Exam fees are based on membership status as well as data provided by the World Bank relative to the Gross National Income (GNI).

Group A*: Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, United States
Beginning July 1, 2009
Member Price: $250
Non-Member Price: $380

Group B*: Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Romania
Beginning July 1, 2009
Member Price: $235
Non-Member Price: $350

Group C*: China, India, Philippines
Beginning July 1, 2009
Member Price: $225
Non-Member Price: $330

Group D*: Haiti, Kenya, Nigeria
Beginning July 1, 2009
Member Price: $215
Non-Member Price: $315

Re-Examination Fee
Beginning July 1, 2009
Member Price: $155
Non-Member Price: $255

*To determine the pricing structure for additional countries please click here or contact the Administrative Office.

Incomplete or ineligible applications, or applications submitted without appropriate fees will be returned and are subject to all policies, fees and deadlines as indicated in the Certification Exam Brochure.

If an exam candidate needs to cancel or transfer to the next exam administration she/he must submit a request at least two weeks prior to the exam date through the certification center.  Candidates are permitted to defer or transfer their exam application and fee for two exam administrations only. Each exam deferment will incur a $75 deferment fee and must be paid prior to the next exam administration.  Exam cancellations and transfers are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

A $29 fee will be assessed on all returned checks.  All Lamaze International Childbirth Educator Certification policies, fees and requirements are subject to change without notice.

Exam application fees are non-refundable.

Exam-at-a-Glance

The certification exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions. The questions reflect essential information that a childbirth educator should know. Three hours are allotted for completion of the examination. Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educators from around the world work together to develop the test items. The Certification Council makes the final selection of questions for the item bank. The level of difficulty of the item is identified at the time the items are written. In general, the items that require some level of analysis, rather than simple recall of information, are considered more difficult. In addition, the distracters for each question are rated. A question that has more “sophisticated” distracters that require a higher level of knowledge is rated as more difficult. At least 30 percent of the questions on the certification exam are application questions that require analysis, rather than simple recall of information.

The passing score for the certification exam is different each time the exam is given. After each administration, a psychometrician completes a statistical analysis. The committee reviews the statistics for each test question and if a particular question does not “perform” well, it is eliminated from the scoring. The level of difficulty of the remaining items determines the passing score. An important feature of this exam is that those who take the exam are not compared to each other. Rather, individuals are compared to a standard, which is based on the level of difficulty of each test item. The passing score on the exam has ranged from 70% to 79% in the past. More detailed information regarding scoring is provided on the score report that each candidate receives following the test administration. Historical information is available in the annual Certification Exam Report, which can be viewed online.