Strength & Conditioning Certification

Strength and conditioning certification · 2026

Strength and conditioning certifications, side by side

“Strength and conditioning certification” covers credentials that have little in common beyond the name. Some need a degree and a supervised practicum, one needs only a high school diploma, and one is an open-book course exam taken at home. The first table lists the coaching credentials, the second the health and clinical exams that share the weight room with them. Each row is checked against the body’s own handbook or exam page.

Updated Oct 27, 2026 · Not affiliated with NSCA, ACSM, BOC, CSCCa, ISSA or USAW.

  • 9credentials in the tables
  • 5certifying bodies
  • Oct 2026facts last checked

Credentials for coaching athletes

Checked Oct 27, 2026. Sources are numbered and listed under Sources. Not a ranking. Prices as of Oct 2026 (member and nonmember); the SCCC adds a practicum fee and the ISSA price changes with promotions. Pass rates are for 2025. Only the CSCS and the TSAC-F have questions on this site so far.
CertificationCertifying bodyAccreditationEligibilityExam priceWhere you testPass ratePracticeSourceChecked
CSCSNSCANCCABachelor’s (any field) + CPR/AED$340 / $475Test center only50% (2025)Practice test
Exam facts 		[1][2][3][4][5][6]
SCCCCSCCaNCCABachelor’s + 4 courses + 640 h practicum$340 / $470Written + practical69% (2025)—[7][8][9][10]
TSAC-FNSCANCCA18+, diploma, CPR/AED$300 / $435Test center or online (US)78% (2025)Practice test
Exam facts 		[1][2][3][4][5][6]
CPSSNSCANot NCCAGraduate degree or bachelor’s + 3 years$340 / $475Test center only68% (2025)—[1][2]
ISSA SCCISSANot NCCACourse enrollment$639 courseas of Oct 27, 2026 · course price as listed on the check dateOnline, open-bookNot published—[11][12]

Next to the weight room: health and clinical credentials

Checked Oct 27, 2026. Sources are numbered and listed under Sources. Prices as of Oct 2026. ACSM prices include its application fee; the BOC charges its exam fee and a separate application fee. ACSM pass rates cover July–December 2025, the BOC’s the 2024–25 exam year.
CertificationCertifying bodyAccreditationEligibilityExam priceWhere you testPass ratePracticeSourceChecked
ACSM-EPACSMNCCAExercise science bachelor’s + CPR/AED$350 / $460Test center or online70% first-time (2025)Practice test
Exam facts 		[13][14][15][16]
ACSM-CEPACSMNCCAMaster’s + 600 h or bachelor’s + 1,200 h$350 / $460Test center or online55% first-time (2025)Practice test
Exam facts 		[13][14][16][17]
BOC (ATC)BOCNCCACAATE program graduate$375 + $75/$100Test center, 2-week windows74.6% first-time (2024–25)Practice test
Exam facts 		[18][19][20][21]
CSPSNSCANot NCCANSCA/NCCA cert or degree route$340 / $475Test center only57% (2025)—[1][2]

Which credential for which job

CSCS

NSCA

School, college, pro and private performance coaching. Any bachelor’s degree qualifies until the CASCE rule starts.

  • Who it is forCoaches of athletes
Practice test

TSAC-F

NSCA

Tactical facilitators: military, fire, police and rescue. The no-degree entry point of the NSCA.

  • Who it is forTactical facilitators
Practice test

ACSM-EP

ACSM

Fitness and wellness settings with apparently healthy adults; screening and exercise for health.

  • Who it is forHealthy and controlled-disease clients
Practice test

ACSM-CEP

ACSM

Cardiac, pulmonary and other clinical rehabilitation programs.

  • Who it is forClinical populations
Practice test

BOC (ATC)

BOC

Injury care in schools, colleges, clinics and pro teams; a licensed health-care role, not a coaching credential.

  • Who it is forAthletic training graduates
Practice test

Two coaching credentials in the first table have no practice set here yet:

  • SCCC (CSCCa): collegiate and professional staffs, earned through a mentored practicum plus a written and a practical exam.
  • CPSS: sport scientists who run athlete monitoring and testing; graduate study, or a bachelor’s plus years of work, comes first.

Online options

Studying online and testing online are separate questions. Of the nine credentials above, four can be tested from home, and only one of those without a live proctor:

  • Live remote proctoring: the TSAC-F, for candidates living in the US, and both ACSM exams, the ACSM-EP and the ACSM-CEP, through Pearson OnVUE. A webcam session has its own rules; on the TSAC-F, leaving the computer ends the exam.
  • Open-book at home: the ISSA strength and conditioning exam, taken after the course quizzes. ISSA does not claim NCCA accreditation for it.
  • Test center only: the CSCS, CPSS and CSPS at Pearson VUE, the BOC exam at Meazure Learning sites, and the SCCC, whose written part is at PSI centers and whose practical is hands-on.

So the only NSCA route to an at-home exam is the tactical credential, and only for US residents. What each option costs is on certification cost.

NSCA or ACSM

The two associations certify different jobs more than competing versions of one job. The NSCA’s exams are about performance: athletes for the CSCS, tactical personnel for the TSAC-F. ACSM’s exercise physiologist exams are about health: low-risk adults for the EP, patients for the CEP. If your clients are teams, the NSCA is the body to look at; if they are adults exercising for health or patients in a clinical program, ACSM.

Two degree rules split them further:

  • CSCS, US candidates: CASCE degree from 2030.
  • ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP: CAAHEP degree from Aug 2027, the earlier of the two.

One exercise science program can hold one of these accreditations without the other, so check the program, not just the major. Renewal asks for about the same amount of study on both sides: a full NSCA cycle is 6.0 CEUs, which at 0.1 CEU per contact hour is 60 hours, and ACSM asks for 60 CECs every 3 years. The difference is the calendar: the NSCA runs every holder on one shared cycle, while ACSM counts three years from your own certification date if you certified in 2025 or later. Each body’s full catalog: NSCA certifications and ACSM certifications.

Choosing in four steps

  1. Name who you will train

    Athletes: CSCS or SCCC. Tactical personnel: TSAC-F. Healthy adults: ACSM-EP. Patients: ACSM-CEP. Injured athletes: athletic training and the BOC exam.

  2. Check the degree you hold

    No degree leaves the TSAC-F or a course-based credential. A bachelor’s in any field opens the CSCS for now. The SCCC adds a transcript check: four science courses, or an exercise science or kinesiology degree from an accredited program. ACSM asks for an exercise science degree, the CPSS for graduate study or a bachelor’s plus years of full-time work, and athletic training for a CAATE master’s program.

  3. Look at the employer’s rule

    Since August 1, 2015, NCAA Division I has made a nationally accredited strength and conditioning certification a condition of the job for strength coaches (Bylaw 11.1.5). Read job posts in your target setting for the exact credential named.

  4. Count the cost over a cycle

    Exam fee, membership, a possible retake and the renewal fee add up differently for each body: certification cost.

Other credentials you will see

  • USA Weightlifting Level 1: a coaching course followed by the Level 1 exam, for coaches who teach the Olympic lifts. It requires an Individual+ membership and SafeSport training, can be done online, and is kept current through the membership, SafeSport and a short recertification quiz (USAW). It complements a strength and conditioning certification rather than replacing one.
  • NCSF, IUSCA, NHSSCA: other associations with their own strength credentials. We have not checked their current handbooks yet, so they are left out of the tables rather than filled in from secondhand figures.
  • Personal trainer certifications such as the NSCA-CPT and ACSM-CPT certify one-on-one training of the general public, not team or athlete programs, and are outside this site.

Each exam in detail

Practice for the one you choose

CSCS practice questions with every answer explained, in a study app. Not affiliated with NSCA, ACSM, BOC, CSCCa, ISSA or USAW.

Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle PlayGet the CSCS app

TSAC-F app

TSAC-F practice questions with every answer explained, in a study app. Not affiliated with NSCA, ACSM, BOC, CSCCa, ISSA or USAW.

Download on theApp StoreAndroid: practice in the browser Get the TSAC-F app

BOC (ATC) app

BOC (ATC) practice questions with every answer explained, in a study app. Not affiliated with NSCA, ACSM, BOC, CSCCa, ISSA or USAW.

Download on theApp StoreAndroid: practice in the browser Get the BOC (ATC) app

ACSM-EP app

ACSM-EP practice questions with every answer explained, in a study app. Not affiliated with NSCA, ACSM, BOC, CSCCa, ISSA or USAW.

Download on theApp StoreAndroid: practice in the browser Get the ACSM-EP app

ACSM-CEP app

ACSM-CEP practice questions with every answer explained, in a study app. Not affiliated with NSCA, ACSM, BOC, CSCCa, ISSA or USAW.

Download on theApp StoreAndroid: practice in the browser Get the ACSM-CEP app

Every exam with a practice set here also has an app with more questions and explanations.

Sources

  1. NSCA Certification Handbook, effective July 1, 2026 (PDF) nsca.com · checked Oct 27, 2026
  2. NSCA exam report, 2025 exams (Wayback copy of Jun 15, 2026) web.archive.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  3. NSCA exam report, 2024 exams (Wayback copy of Apr 30, 2025) web.archive.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  4. NSCA exam report, 2023 exams (Wayback copy of Nov 3, 2024) web.archive.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  5. NSCA exam report, 2022 exams (Wayback copy of Apr 19, 2024) web.archive.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  6. NSCA Certification Handbook, 2022 edition (PDF, superseded) nsca.com · checked Oct 27, 2026
  7. CSCCa: SCCC certification statistics and exam dates cscca.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  8. CSCCa: SCCC fees and requirements cscca.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  9. CSCCa: practicum/internship cscca.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  10. CSCCa: SCCC certification exam cscca.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  11. ISSA: Strength and Conditioning certification issaonline.com · checked Oct 27, 2026
  12. ISSA: FAQs issaonline.com · checked Oct 27, 2026
  13. ACSM Candidate Handbook, July 2025 (PDF) acsm.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  14. ACSM: updated ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP requirements and accreditation (revised Feb 6, 2026) acsm.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  15. ACSM: Certified Exercise Physiologist acsm.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  16. ACSM: about ACSM certification (scoring, pass rates, audits) acsm.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  17. ACSM: Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist acsm.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  18. BOC: exam candidates bocatc.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  19. BOC 2026–2027 Certification Exam Candidate Handbook 7f6907b2.flowpaper.com · checked Oct 27, 2026
  20. BOC: maintain certification bocatc.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
  21. BOC 2024–2025 Annual Exam Report (PDF) bocatc.org · checked Oct 27, 2026

Questions about strength and conditioning certification

Is a degree required for strength and conditioning certification?

For most of them, yes. The TSAC-F asks for a high school diploma, age 18 and CPR/AED, but no degree, and the ISSA course has no degree rule. The CSCS needs a bachelor’s degree; the SCCC needs one too, plus four science courses or an accredited exercise science degree; the CPSS asks for a graduate degree or a bachelor’s plus several years of work.

Which strength and conditioning certifications are NCCA-accredited?

Of the coaching credentials in the first table, the CSCS, the SCCC and the TSAC-F. The CPSS is not, and ISSA does not claim it for its course. In the second table the ACSM-EP, ACSM-CEP and BOC exams are accredited; the CSPS is not.

Which one is the hardest to pass?

Of the credentials on this page, the CSCS had the lowest headline 2025 pass rate, 50%. Rates are counted on different bases, so treat the comparison as rough; its section-by-section figures are listed under exam facts.