Application Process

The Application Process for Botanist Certification

Examination dates and venues are below. Applicants are required to fill out the application form and provide current contact information, sign the Code of Ethics, and submit the examination fee.

Applicants will be notified on the next available examination (date and location). Upon successfully passing the examinations, the applicant will be required to pay the membership fee before receiving their certification number, certificate, and certification card.

*Cancellation Policy: Exams may be canceled if there is insufficient enrollment. Cancellation due to lack of enrollment will be determined 7 days (168 hours) prior to the date of the exam. If an exam is canceled as a result of insufficient enrollment, all fees will be refunded, or held for future use, at the discretion of the applicant.
Before registering, please review our full exam cancellation policy  and participant expectations. The last day to cancel your registration for this exam and receive any refund is generally two weeks out. For other ways to register, please see our full registration & payment policy.

• There will be two opportunities to take the tests each year:
  • One will be administered in Southern California
  • Another will be administered in Northern California
• Field Botanist and Consulting Botanist tests will be administered at the same location and date.

Application/Examination Fees
Price for full exam increases by $100 30 days out.
Field Botanist: $250
Consulting Botanist: $350
Retaking an exam: $115 per exam

Exam Registration

Online registration is available at the links posted on the main Botanist Certification page.

Certification Maintenance

Maintenance Fees
An annual fee of $70 for Field Botanist and $80 for Consulting Botanist must be paid by annual membership date each year to maintain certification.

Renewal
Renewal of certification is required every 5 years; however, reexamination is not required unless annual membership fees are not kept current.

• 50 Professional Development Credits (PDCs) must be completed before renewal
• PDCs will only be accepted from authorized providers (details coming) or courses pre-approved by the Board of Certification
• Subject areas include: professional ethics, taxonomy/plant ID, laws and regulations pertaining to plants, and methods in survey, assessment, and mitigation
• Certification at a higher level than previously certified requires the submission of a new application for certification and testing for that level

Pay your certification maintenance fee in the CNPS store:

Field Botanist Consulting Botanist