Print Page | Report Abuse | Sign In | Register
Certification Exam

2025 applications will be open May 15 through August 15, 2025.

Please note: The 2025 exam is utilizing the new 9th Edition of the Corr, Corr, & Doka book "Death & Dying, Life & Living"

The exam will be administered October 17 from 9:00 AM EST to October 18 at 9:00 AM EST.

Please contact credentialing@adec.org with any questions.

 

ADEC’s Thanatology Certification Exam

 

Further detail on all information listed on this page, including exam administration, policies, candidate rights, study resources, and more can be found in our 2025 Exam Handbook and Study Guide


Table of Contents:
How do I sign up for the exam?
What’s on the exam?
     Exam Design
     Content Reference Books
     Content Outline
     Study Guide
     Does ADEC offer a preparatory course?
Testing Accommodations
Exam Day Information
     When is the exam?
     What if I’m not able to take the exam?
          Exam Postponement Request
          Exam Cancellation Request
     How do I access the exam?
     Exam Day Policies
How is the exam scored?
When will I receive my results?
     What happens if I pass?
     What if I don’t pass?
          Retesting Request
          Appeal of Exam Results
          Request for Situational Review

 

 

 

How do I sign up for the exam?
Candidates must submit an application to be approved to sit for the exam. Once the application is approved, candidates will receive instructions on how to access the exam.

  • Click here to see application requirements for the CT credential
  • Click here to see application requirements for the FT credential

 

 

What’s on the exam?

Exam Design

The certification exam is

  • written and administered in English

  • contains 150 multiple choice questions

  • 70% of the questions require knowledge / recall skills

  • 30% of the questions require applied knowledge skills

Content Reference Books

All exam questions are written from the two reference books listed below, and studying for the exam is best accomplished through an independent, self-motivated study of these books. 

Please Note: Candidates are not required to purchase the reference books, nor does purchasing the books guarantee a passing score on the exam.

  • Servaty-Seib, H.L. and Chapple, H.S., (Eds). (2021). Handbook of Thanatology: The essential body of knowledge for the study of death, dying, and bereavement (3rd ed.).  Association for Death Education and Counseling®; The Thanatology Association®. ISBN: 978-1-736117-0-0
    • Click here to purchase

 

Content Outline

This table summarizes the general topics included on the exam. Please refer to the 2025 Exam Handbook and Study Guide for more details, which includes the Body of Knowledge Outline that provides more detail on the topics within each content area.

 

Content Areas

Dying and Foreseen Death; Traumatic and Unforeseen Death; Death Matters

  • Research: theories, models, terms, and definitions that inform practice
  • Practice: practice settings, assessment and interventions (including education and resources)
    • Considerations: cultural, religious, developmental, personhood/individual, family systems
    • Professional Practice Issues: behavioral, moral, ethical, legal

End of Life Preparation and Decision Making

  • Research: theories, models, terms, and definitions that inform practice
  • Practice: practice settings, assessment and interventions (including education and resources)
    • Considerations: cultural, religious, developmental, personhood/individual, family systems
    • Professional Practice Issues: behavioral, moral, ethical, legal

All Loss: Grief, Mourning and Memorialization

  • Research: theories, models, terms, and definitions that inform practice
  • Practice: practice settings, assessment and interventions (including education and resources)
    • Considerations: cultural, religious, developmental, personhood/individual, family systems
    • Professional Practice Issues: behavioral, moral, ethical, legal

History of the Field of Thanatology and Evolution of Death Education

  • Important theorists, researchers, clinicians, educators, and authors who have shaped the field of thanatology
  • Social movements and social representations of death that have contributed to our changing awareness and perceptions of death and the evolution of death education.


Study Guide

Please download the 2025 Exam Handbook and Study Guide, which includes source chapter references for the major content areas, an expanded outline of topics within each area, and a short sample exam.



Does ADEC offer a preparatory course?

ADEC does not offer a prep course. Candidates are expected to develop a self-directed study plan using the content reference books and resources in the study guide.

 

 

Testing Accommodations

In accordance with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 1991 U. S. Civil Rights Act, the ADEC Certification Program does not and shall not discriminate against applicants on the basis of age, race, religion, national origin, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

To request testing accommodation, our policy states:

  • At the time of submitting the application, applicants who require testing accommodation requirements must submit the testing accommodation request found here.

  • Documented proof of need for testing accommodation is required

  • Applicant will be notified of accommodation status within 30 days of request whenever possible

  • Exam score reports will not reveal that any testing accommodation was provided

 

 

Exam Day Information

When is the exam?

  • The certification exam is administered once a year

  • The exam will be administered October 17th, 2025 from 9:00 am ET to October 18th at 9:00 am ET

  • You choose your exam log-in time within this 24-hour period

  • Once logged in, you must complete the exam within 3 hours

    • NOTE: The exam will close at the designated time regardless of your 3-hour time limit - be sure to account for differences in time zones when starting the exam.

 

What if I’m not able to take the exam?

Exam Postponement Request 

Candidates may submit a request to postpone their exam to the following year. Requests must be made at least 24 hours before the exam opens. 

If approved, the candidate will: 

• be allowed to complete the exam the following year without having to reapply 

• be required to pay a $25 non-refundable administrative fee 

A candidate may only postpone the exam for 2 consecutive years before being required to reapply. All fees will be relinquished if the exam is not taken within 2 years of the initial postponement. 

Exam Postponement Requests must be submitted here.

 

Exam Cancellation Request 

Candidates may submit a request to cancel their exam. 

• Candidates who submit a cancellation request at least 14 days prior to the exam will receive a refund equal to the application fee minus a $75 administrative fee. 

• Candidates who submit a cancellation request less than 14 days prior to the exam are not eligible for a refund. 

• If a candidate cancels their exam, they must reapply if they elect to pursue certification in the future. 


Exam Cancellation Requests must be submitted here.

 

How do I access the exam?

About 2 weeks before the exam date, candidates will receive via email: 

• Detailed instructions on how to access the exam 

• Access to a “familiarization exercise” designed to help you practice navigating the exam platform prior to the exam date 

Exam Day Policies

  • Candidates are responsible for ensuring they have adequate equipment and internet service/bandwidth required to complete the exam.

  • With the exception of the exam instructions, no other books, notes, devices, etc. are permitted in the room where you take the exam. Human assistance is also not permitted.

  • The exam has a fixed 3-hour time limit. There is no pause button, so any time you divert away from the exam is deducted from the time limit.

  • The exam will close at the designated time regardless of your 3-hour time limit - be sure to account for differences in time zones when starting the exam. 

 

How is the exam scored?

Post exam, our Test Consultant conducts an in-depth, analytic review of each question on the exam. Questions that were incorrectly answered by many test takers are then scrutinized by a team of professionals to determine if any of the questions were ambiguous, invalid, or unfair. If so, those questions are excluded from the scoring and the pass score is determined based only on the remaining questions. This important process ensures reliability, fairness, equity, and credibility of our exam. 

 

The actual percentage that constitutes the pass score is determined by the degree of overall difficulty the exam represents in comparison to previous exams.

 

When will I receive my results?

  • Results are not instantly generated once you submit your exam 

  • Results are reported via email as pass/fail within 6 weeks of the exam date

  • Feedback is not provided on incorrectly answered questions

What happens if I pass?

Successful candidates will receive a signed printable digital certificate that shows they have been awarded the CT or FT.

What if I don’t pass?

Retesting Request 

Candidates who do not achieve a passing score on the exam remain eligible to retest two times without having to reapply. 

  • Retesting requests must be submitted on or before the general application deadline of the year you intend to retest.
  • Retesters are required to pay a $150 fee for each retest attempt.
  • Resting requests are limited to the two consecutive years after the initial testing attempt.
  • All fees will be relinquished after 3 unsuccessful attempts to pass the exam. 

Retesting Requests must be submitted here.


Appeal of Exam Results 

Candidates have the right to appeal if they believe their outcome was the result of errors within the exam content or testing process. 

 

• Candidates must file the appeal within 10 days of receiving the exam results. 

• Candidates will be notified of the decision within 45 days of the appeal. 

 

Appeals of Exam Results must be submitted here.


Request for Situational Review 

Candidates who experienced technical difficulties during the exam or have experienced another concerning situation that does not fit within the other appeals and requests offered have the right to a peer review of the situation. 

 

• To ensure a fair review, candidates may be contacted by phone, email, or receive a meeting request to provide clarification 

• ADEC aims to reach a decision within 45 days of the request. However, some situations may require more extensive investigation. 

 

Requests for Situational Review must be submitted here.