General Guidelines for Documenting Continuing Education (CE) Credit

General CE Guidelines

Submission of CE credits

If an educational program is pre-approved by PEER, the program sponsor will submit your CE Recording Form to the PEER office and the CE earned will be documented in your account. CE credit for non-PEER approved programs must be submitted to your online CE account within 30 days of the completion date. Click here to submit CE credit or view your account. If an educational program is approved by PEER, the program sponsor will submit your CE Recording Form to the PEER office and the CE earned will be documented in your account.

One-Hour Session Minimum 

At least one (1) contact hour is required for CE credit. Programs of less than one hour will not receive credit.  CE credit will be awarded in 30 minute intervals for programs greater than one hour (i.e., a program that is 1 hour 45 minutes in length will be rounded down to 1 hour 30 minutes and awarded 1.5 contact hours).  Conferences and programs lasting multiple days may be totaled for all days. 

Official Verification of Attendance

Certificates of Attendance must be signed by the sponsor or program official.  

Thirty-Day Reporting Period for Programs NOT Pre-Approved by PEER

Every attempt must be made to submit CE documentation to PEER within 30 days of the date of the program attended.  If you are unable to do so, inform the PEER office (in writing) of the reason for the delay in order to receive your CE credit.

CE Recording Deadlines

1. PEER will only review up to 24 contact hours from non-PEER approved programs per two-year recording period.


2. Any program that occurs prior to November 1 (at the end of a two-year recording period) that is not approved by PEER must be submitted by December 1, or the Diplomate/Certificant will be required to pay a fee of $20 for each program not submitted by the deadline.


3. Individuals attending programs that occur during the months of November/December (at the end of a two-year recording period) are allowed a grace period (until January 31) of the following year to submit documentation of attendance.

CE Credit for Presenting Scientific Seminars and Workshops

CE credit will be awarded based on the number of contact hours during the presentation. CE credit will only be awarded the first time a particular topic is presented.

Poster Sessions

You are allowed one contact hour for viewing posters at scientific seminars and workshops. ABB/PEER does not award credit for presenting posters at scientific seminars and workshops.

Conversion and Acceptance of College Credits to Contact Hours

College credits acceptable to PEER may be substituted for contact hours. Two (2) semester hours or three (3) quarter hours are equivalent to 20 contact hours. An official transcript from the educational institution granting the college credit must be submitted to the PEER office directly from the Registrar's office of the college or university. The credits must be from an accredited college or university and must directly relate to the clinical, public health, or assisted reproduction laboratory.

Business or Health Management courses will be allowed for up to six (6) contact hours per recording period.

Programs Pre-Approved by PEER

If a program is pre-approved by PEER, the sponsor of the program is permitted to advertise that the program is “PEER approved.” Pre-approved PEER programs are assigned a unique identification number that should be printed on the program brochure.  If you attend a pre-approved PEER program you should receive, during the program, a CEU recording form and a sticker with the program's unique program identification number.  Complete this form, attach the sticker, and return the form to the program sponsor before you leave the program.  The program sponsor will submit your CEU Recording Form to the PEER office and the CEUs earned will be documented in your account.

The PEER program identification number should appear on the program brochure or informational literature. Without this number, the program has not been pre-approved by PEER.

Many programs offered by ASRM designed for laboratorians are pre-approved by PEER, including a number of "pre-congress" courses and other seminars at ASRM's annual conference. However, not all ASRM courses are approved by PEER.

View a current list of PEER-approved programs.

Programs Approved by Selected Agencies Associations

Programs Acceptable for PEER CEU Credit that are Approved by Selected State Agencies and Other Laboratory Associations:

Programs approved by the following state agencies and professional laboratory associations are acceptable for CE credit:

California Laboratory Field Services
Florida CE Broker
Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) 
Advances in Clinical Chemistry Education and New Technology (ACCENT) administered by the Association for Diagnostic & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) [formerly AACC]

Programs approved by these organizations must be entered electronically.  Click to “Submit and View Your CE Credits” to log in to your CE account and to find instructions for entering your CE credits.  You must submit a signed Certificate of Attendance that includes the title, date, and location of the program and the number of approved hours. However, you do not have to submit a course description or speaker qualifications.

Other CE Programs

CE Programs NOT Pre-Approved by PEER or selected State Agencies/Laboratory Associations

Programs not pre-approved by PEER or the selected State Agencies/Laboratory Associations and not approved by the State Agencies/Laboratory Associations listed above must be entered electronically by the applicant.  Click to “Submit and View Your CE Credits” to log in to your CE account and to find instructions for entering your CE credits.   

For these programs you must submit: 

• A Certificate of Attendance or letter signed by the sponsor that contains:

- Your name
- The title of the program 
- The date of the program 
- The location of the program 
- The number of contact hours 
- Name and credentials of the instructors/speakers 

• Program Brochure or Course Description containing:

- Title and course description
- Length of program (in hours)
- Date of program
- Location of program
- The name and credentials of the instructor(s)/speaker(s)

If you attend a multi-session program, you must document the sessions you attended. You may document your attendance by indicating on the program, or program schedule, those sessions you attended.

CE credit will NOT be awarded unless ALL the required supporting documentation is complete.