These are not marketing copy. Every answer here is the public rendering of a decision the Committee has recorded, and carries the decision's identifier so it can be traced. Where an answer changes, the register records what superseded what.
Who decides whether my CE credit is approved?
The ATFA CE Review Committee. The Director prepares and recommends, but no decision takes effect until the Committee has ratified it.
What does it mean that decisions are ratified by negative consent?
The full Committee receives the report with all supporting evidence and has five business days to object. If no one objects, the decisions stand. Any objection pulls that item out for discussion at the next meeting.
Does the Committee review every single submission?
Not individually. Where a program has already been approved and tiered by the Committee, applying that existing decision is administrative. New programs and anything raising a policy question go to the Committee.
How long until my submission is approved?
Submissions are ratified at standing meetings held at least quarterly. Time-sensitive items can be ratified between meetings.
My submission was denied as "not verifiable." Does that mean it did not qualify?
No. It means ATFA could not independently confirm the program occurred as described. If you can supply an agenda, certificate, or other documentation, you are invited to resubmit.
I accidentally submitted the same program twice and one was denied. Did I lose those hours?
No. The duplicate record is denied but the original stands and the hours are counted once.
I attended in January but did not submit until August. Which cycle does it count toward?
The cycle covering the date you completed the program, not the date you submitted it.
Does ATFA accept continuing education from providers who are not accredited CE sponsors?
This question is currently before the CE Review Committee and has not yet been decided.
How does a program become pre-approved?
The Committee assigns each provider a tier, with the reasoning recorded. Programs from tiered providers are then processed administratively against that standing decision.
How do I know an email from ATFA is genuine?
All mail from atfacertification.com is cryptographically signed and published with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Messages failing these checks did not come from ATFA.
Something not answered here?
Write to submissions@atfacertification.com. Questions that turn out to need a ruling become register entries themselves, which is how this page grows.