Certification Maintenance

Certification Maintenance Requirements for the ELS Credential

Beginning in January 2024, individuals who are certified as Editors in the Life Sciences, ELS, by the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) must renew their certification every 5 years. The renewal deadline will be December 31 of the fifth year from when the certification was earned, last renewed, or from the launch of the recertification requirement.

Certificants may renew their ELS certification by earning credits for qualified professional development and related activities (documented with a credit tracker) OR by retaking and passing the BELS exam.

Recertification Fees:

Recertify by Credits: The fee for recertification by credit tracking is $100 per 5-year cycle for dues-paying BELS members and $200 for nonmembers.
Recertify by Exam: Those who choose to recertify by taking the examination pay the current examination “retake” registration rate but not the fee for initial application.
Request an Extension: An additional fee of $50 can be paid to obtain a 6-month extension (that is, until June 30 of the year after the original renewal deadline) for submitting the renewal materials. This extension request must be received no later than January 31 of the year after the renewal deadline. All credits must be earned within the original recertification period, even if an extension is granted. In this instance, if certification is renewed within the extension period, it is done so retroactively such that the original 5-year cycle schedule will stand for the next renewal period.

Names of certificants who do not renew their certification will be removed from the online roster of current Editors in the Life Sciences, and these individuals may no longer use the ELS or ELS(D) credential after their names. At that point, taking the examination again is the only way to reobtain the credential. (Note that the usual application and registration processes and fees for the exam will apply).

Certificants who retire (and are no longer working as editors in the life sciences) are not expected to renew their credential. Instead, they may complete a form to notify BELS of their change in employment status, and their names will be moved to a “Retired” category of the ELS/ELS(D) roster, whereupon the credential should no longer be used professionally. Converting ELS status to “Retired” does not affect membership in BELS, which may continue upon payment of annual dues (including Emeritus membership for those who meet the criteria).

To renew certification through the credits system:

Certificants must complete a minimum of 50 credits to demonstrate ongoing professional growth through various qualified activities, each being worth a specified number of credits. For example, educational activities are granted 1 credit per hour of learning activity. Other types of activities are also assigned credit values, sometimes with a limit. For example, membership in a professional organization is limited to 1 credit per year (even if memberships exist in multiple organizations), with a maximum of 5 credits per 5-year renewal cycle.
All requirements and eligible activities must be complete when the renewal application and tracker are submitted, and credits must have been earned within the 5-year renewal period. For example, those who passed the BELS exam in 2023 may use credits earned for activities they complete between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2028.
Credits earned in one 5-year renewal cycle may not be carried over into the next renewal cycle if not applied to the cycle in which they were earned.
When renewing for the first time, certificants who are dues-paying BELS members and who earned their ELS before January 2024 may submit their renewals early for both a discounted fee and a reduced credit requirement. Early renewals may include eligible activities completed within the 5 years previous to the renewal application (e.g., activities from January 1, 2021, for a renewal application made by December 31, 2025), as follows:
- 25 credits submitted by December 31, 2024, for $50 (next 5-year renewal cycle begins January 1, 2025) – 13 credits from Education and Professional Development category
- 30 credits submitted between January 1 and December 31, 2025, for $60 (next 5-year renewal cycle begins January 1, 2026) – 15 of these credits must be from the Education and Professional Development category
- 35 credits submitted between January 1 and December 31, 2026, for $70 (next 5-year renewal cycle begins January 1, 2027) – 18 of these credits must be from the Education and Professional Development category
- 40 credits submitted between January 1 and December 31, 2027, for $80 (next 5-year renewal cycle begins January 1, 2028) – 20 of these credits must be from the Education and Professional Development category

Beginning in 2028, the standard 5-year renewal cycle will apply for these individuals (50 credits submitted by December 31, 2028, for $100, with the next 5-year renewal cycle beginning January 1, 2029).

To renew with credits, the application form and credit tracker must be completed and submitted via the BELS website or sent to BELS with the appropriate recertification renewal fee. No additional documents are needed. However, 10% of all renewal applications will be audited to ensure the integrity of the honor-based system. Upon request from BELS, applicants will be required to send the appropriate documentation electronically for each qualifying activity listed in the credit tracker.
Credits are awarded in 4 categories as described below. Refer to the credit tracker for detailed activity descriptions and examples. A minimum of 50 credits must be earned within each 5-year renewal cycle to demonstrate ongoing professional growth (with a one-time exception for those achieving the Diplomate designation, as noted below).

At least 25 of these credits (and no more than 40) must be earned through editing-related Education and Professional Development. Although many eligible activities are offered by multiple groups and organizations to earn credits in this category, each activity should relate directly or have some relevance to the work of editors in the life sciences.
Certificants may earn the remaining 10 to 25 credits through one or more of the remaining categories: Service, Contributions, and Experience.
Earning the Diplomate designation, ELS(D), fulfills the requirements for a full certification maintenance cycle. Certificants may select the “Diplomate” option within the credit tracker and return with the appropriate fee to renew certification for 5 years. When the ELS(D) was earned does not matter, but this option may only be used once by any individual to renew certification. For subsequent renewal cycles, required credits must be earned through the other 4 categories.

Category	Subcategories	Annual Max	Total Max	Notes
Diplomate	Diplomate Status	50	50	When the ELS(D) was earned does not matter, but this option may only be used once by any individual to renew certification.
Education and Professional Development	Presentation (Attendee)	30	40	1 credit is granted per hour of documented activity; additional time outside of the activity (for example, preparing for the activity or doing homework) do not count as additional credit hours. Eligible activities include seminars/webinars, workshops, conference sessions, etc., live or recorded, offered through BELS or other allied organizations that are relevant to the work of editors in the life sciences. For conferences with multiple educational sessions, list each session individually on the tracker with its course description and the duration/instruction time.
	Academic Course (Attendee)	30	30	Each academic course is worth 10 credits for a typical semester-long course. This category can also include a multi-session Certificate Program such as offered by AMWA or other groups; such a certificate program is also worth 10 credits.
	Self-directed Study	3	15	This activity encompasses any course with lessons/modules and tests taken at the certificant’s pace within a specified period. This category also captures articles/books read on relevant topics with title, author and topic noted.
	Mentorship (Mentee)	3	6	This should list the organization, program or profession for which you were being mentored.
Professional Service	Committee Volunteer	6	25	Includes active participation on a committee, task force, or board of directors (including as an officer) that meets at least quarterly. This is a maximum 6 credits per year regardless of the number of roles served.
	Portfolio Review	6	25	BELS ELS(D) Portfolios only.
	Membership	1	5	1 credit is granted per year of membership in professional organizations. This is a maximum of 1 credit per year regardless of how many memberships held.
	Recognition	1	5	Means any award or acknowledgement bestowed upon you for professional service.
Contributions to the Profession	Mentorship (Mentor)	4	20	Activities must be outside of day-to-day work activities, such as between senior team members or managers and junior team members or new hires.
	Presentation (Presenter)	25	25	Being a presenter is worth 3 credits per presentation.
	Writing Article	25	25	Each instance of writing an article for newsletters, trade publications, or peer-reviewed journals (including websites, blogs, etc.) is worth 5 credits. There is no word count minimum, but the article should be about a topic that relates to editing in the life sciences.
Professional Experience	Work Activity	5	25	Up to 5 credits can be awarded per year for full-time employment of at least 3 months or ~500 hours (roughly based on a 40-hour work week). For freelancers, 100 hours of billed work is required per 1 credit, with up to 5 credits maximum per year. For freelancers who are billed according to the number of edited words rather than hourly, 750 words will count towards 1 hour of editing. This value is based on calculations from Thomas A. Lang’s article, “Assessing the Productivity and Value of a Hospital Based-Editing Service,” featured in the AMWA Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1 in 1997.