Certification Requirements

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Certification Requirements

Neonatal Therapy Certification™

  • Requirements for neonatal therapy certification™ include a minimum of 3 years as a credentialed professional (physical therapist, occupational therapist, or speech-language pathologist), 3500 hours of experience in the NICU*, 40 hours of education about NICU-specific content within the last 3 years, 40 hours of mentored experiences, and a passing score on the Neonatal Therapy Certification™ Examination.
  • *Up to 1000 hours (of the 3500 hours) can come from service to infants< 3 months corrected age in other areas of the hospital or follow-up clinics.
  • Applicants who fulfill all of the requirements of Neonatal Therapy Certification™ will earn the credentials of Certified Neonatal Therapist™.
  • Certification is valid for 5 years from the date of certification.

Neonatal Therapy Certification™ Application Process

  • Download the NTCB Applicant Checklist and the application instructions before you get started.
  • Each applicant will have access to an individual portal after establishing a username and password and paying the application fee. This portal will allow applicants to create a professional portfolio where all required documentation for certification will be submitted to the certification board.
  • Technical problems with the application website can be addressed by emailing support@rsnlcreative.com

Neonatal Therapy Certification™ Examination

  • Applicants who have submitted their completed certification application will be notified within 90 days of their application submission.
  • The certification examination is computer-based and administered by a third party professional testing center. Testing centers are located throughout the United States and abroad. The Pearson VUE website will always offer the most up-to-date testing center list. You can visit their website and select “Find a test center” on the page menu. 
  • To meet the final requirement for certification, applicants must receive a passing score during administration of the Neonatal Therapy Certification™ Examination.
  • The exam is 90 – 100 questions and takes 2 hours to complete. Refer to the NTCB Certification Examination Manual for more details.

The NTCB abides by the US Treasury Department embargoes and sanctions in accepting applications from outside of the United States. 

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Applications are now open and close on November 15th

*Please note that recertification is on a different schedule. If you are due to complete recertification, please follow the instructions provided in your notification email.

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Testimonials

See what others have to say about their experience with us!

“I feel like I come to the NICU with a wider breadth of knowledge and appreciation for all the aspects of developmental care.”
Julie Ecclestone
MA, CCC-SLP, CNT
“I pursued the Certified Neonatal Therapist Certification because working with infants in the NICU is a passion of mine. It has grown exponentially through the years and I felt the time was right to prove to myself, my team, and my management staff that I had the skills and competency to lead in the NICU.”
Cameron Harris
OTR/L, NTMTC, CNT
Heidi Stubb
OT, CNT
“I was so worried that I would fail the exam (and be embarrassed) that I did not tell my boss I was taking it. Then I took it and found out right away that I aced the exam.It helped me be more confident in myself as a clinician. Reading the literature that was provided was great in helping me prepare and helped me understand what parts of my practice are evidence based.”
Ruth Wilkerson
OTR, CLC, NTMC, CNT
Before the exam:
“The Neonatal Therapy Certification process has made me a more well rounded developmental care specialist. It has forced me to step out of my feeding/dysphagia bubble and I have been able to apply my new knowledge every time I interact with a baby and their caregivers.”

After the exam:
“The test was a challenging yet fair representation of what an advanced NICU therapist should know. I strongly encourage every NICU therapist to pursue certification. You owe it to your patients to be the best therapist you can be!”
Chelsea Moss
MA, CCC-SLP, IBCLC, CNT
“As a new therapist, I was passionate about achieving certification to demonstrate competence and promote our profession as an advanced area of practice. Following extensive mentorship in the NICU, and after meeting the minimum requirements for certification, I became a certified neonatal therapist! I am thrilled to be a part of a growing profession who now has a successful pathway for developing competency that will continue to establish our profession as an essential component of NICU care.”
Lisa Olsen
OTDR/L, CNT
“I have spent many days fighting for respect and proving myself to other professionals in the NICU. Earning the title of Certified Neonatal Therapist has helped minimize that fight.”
Casey Manning
M.S. CCC-SLP, CNT, NTMTC
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to become a Certified Neonatal Therapist (CNT) in 2018, through the Neonatal Therapy Certification Board (NTCB).I believe this qualification is very relevant to practice in the United Kingdom (UK) as it helps raise the profile of neonatal therapy and also promotes a core knowledge base and practice. I truly believe that all neonatal therapists should have the same theory and knowledge base when working with this high-risk population, their intervention and level of involvement for each patient may well be slightly different. The certification process requires collaborative working. I am extremely fortunate in my setting to have a speech and language therapist who was prepared to relentlessly ask me questions on neonatal feeding, until she felt I was competent enough to the take the exam. I hope that more neonatal therapists in the UK consider taking this examination, the more people who talk about neonatal therapy, the louder our voices will be. I hope that one day every family and their baby who enter the neonatal unit continue to have access to good medical and nursing care, but also have access to all neonatal therapy; occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. I hope that every therapy discipline has the credentials to highlight their specialty and knowledge and that no family is asked to choose between receiving occupational therapy or physiotherapy or speech and language therapy again. I believe that becoming certified in neonatal therapy is definitely a step in the right direction.”
Emily Hills
OT, MSc, CNT, NTMC
“As a speech pathologist in the NICU, I was initially hesitant to become a CNT because I thought it would be more geared towards OT/PT studies. What I learned in my journey towards the certification is that everyone who comes in contact with an infant in the NICU benefits from the complex knowledge of neuro development. A different mindset, apart from simply “safe feeding” engulfed my daily practice. My OT coworker (and also CNT) and I began to tag-team ways to incorporate gentle, kind touch into each interaction with the infants. Often our efforts “rubbed off” on other coworkers and parents. My feeding skills have been enhanced by my all-in focus when encountering each baby. It’s not just safe feeding with no aspiration, it’s enjoyable experiences at each feeding time, whether bottle feeding or tube feeding. It’s preventing severe oral aversions in complex cases instead of undoing negative feeding experiences for years to come. I am a better therapist because of my studies to become a CNT.”
Cynthia Armstrong
M.S., CCC-SLP, BCS-S, CNT
Vanessa Nimon
PT, CNT
“The process of preparing for the neonatal therapy certification exam was as beneficial as taking the examination because of the knowledge gained. The resource list is invaluable and I refer to it almost daily.”
Lauren Adams
PT, PCS, CNT

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