Recently, I have received numerous questions about our compliance certifications so I want to take a moment to clear this up for you. First, please understand we have 2 different designations we administer…
- the Site Compliance Specialist (SCS) designation which is meant for people who do the day-to-day site compliance work, and
- the National Compliance Professional (NCP or NCP-E) which is a more advanced designation that covers everything from allocation & development down to site compliance responsibilities and is meant for supervisors, Compliance Directors, owners, State Agency staff, investor, asset managers or anyone striving to obtain such a position.
RECOMMENDATION: If you are new to the field,
we recommend you begin by earning your
Site Compliance Specialist (SCS) designation
and then, if needed or desired, earning your
National Compliance Professional (NCP or NCP-E) designation.
To become a Site Compliance Specialist (SCS)…
- Step #1: Pass the Site Compliance Exam. You don’t have to take any courses if you think you can pass the exam without them.
CLICK HERE
to learn more details about the
Site Compliance Exam
- Step #2: There is no step 2!! You earn your SCS designation simply by passing the Site Compliance Exam. There are no continuing education requirements or membership groups associated with this designation.
To become a National Compliance Professional (NCP/NCP-E)…
- Step #1: Meet the Education Requirement in 1 of 2 ways…
- Pass 1 of the 3 advanced level compliance exams: (**See below for exam info**)
- our National Compliance Exam,
- the Home Builder’s HCCP test, OR
- Spectrum’s C3P test.
- Earn your Compliance Diploma
- Accrue 22 credits through
- Any of our online courses or live workshops (not conferences or boot camps)
- Pass 1 of the 3 advanced level compliance exams: (**See below for exam info**)
- Step #2: Meet the Experience Requirement. The Experience Requirement is met when you have 6 months or more experience working in the Tax Credit field. Doesn’t matter the position just that you have worked with Tax Credits specifically.
- Step #3: Complete NCP Membership Application. Complete a simple 1 page application and pay an annual membership fee. There are 3 different membership fee levels… Regular, Silver or Gold. Regular memberships include a 1 year membership only. Silver & Gold memberships include a 1 year membership PLUS additional tools that change each year.
- Step #4: Annually Renew Your Membership & Designation. All designations/memberships expire on 12/31. NCPs must earn 4 CEUs and NCP-Es must earn 6 CEUs as part of the renewal. We send out renewal notices in November.
** 
Meeting the NCP’s Education Requirement by Taking an Exam **
If you decide to take our National Compliance Exam: The cost is $199 and you take it online at the Housing Credit Training Center. You do not have to take any courses prior to taking the exam if you think you can pass it without. This is an advanced compliance exam so the testable areas go beyond site compliance and into the advanced topics. The best course to take to fully prepare you for this exam, or for that matter the Home Builder’s HCCP or Spectrum’s C3P is HC445. By the way, if you take HC445, you will earn 22 credits, which is also enough to earn your Compliance Diploma. Please understand, the Site Compliance Exam is a different exam and passing it does not meet the NCP educational requirement as the Site Compliance Exam only focuses on day-to-day compliance and does not touch on the advanced compliance issue.
If you decide to take the Home Builder’s HCCP or Spectrum’s C3P tests: We do not administer these tests. The respective links above will take you to the information pages on those exams.
If you have already passed either the HCCP and/or the C3P tests, you have met the NCP’s Education Requirement. We do NOT make you take our exam specifically if you passed one of these two. This means you can earn multiple industry designations simply by passing the HCCP or C3P test and using those credentials to meet the NCP requirements.
If you meet BOTH of the educational requirements — meaning you passed 1 of the advanced compliance exams AND earn your Compliance Diploma — you are eligible to become a National Compliance Professional-Executive (NCP-E) after you meet the experience requirement discussed next.