Eligibility

All Certified Anti-Terrorism Officer (cATO™) candidates are required to meet the following eligibility conditions:

• Active membership in the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals (IACSP)
• Experience and/or education as follows:
• Four years of experience in one or more of the following fields:
• Security Management
• Risk Management
• Emergency Management
• Law Enforcement
• Emergency Services
• Military
• Intelligence
• Engineering, with four or more years of specific experience in security and life safety engineering

- OR -

• Bachelor's degree or higher, with major in Criminal Justice, Emergency Management, Intelligence Science, or Homeland Security.

All cATO™ candidates are also required to testify their compliance with specific character standards to ensure that a candidate's prior and future conduct does not reflect negatively upon the profession and the cATO™ designation.

Application and Certification Process

Becoming designated as a Certified Anti-Terrorism Officer (cATO™) is a four-step process.

Step One: Pre-qualification

Step One begins by completing the online Pre-Qualification Questionnaire to screen your eligibility for certification. After successfully completing the Pre-Qualification screening, Step One concludes by creating a user account on the cATO™ Certification Portal and paying the cATO™ Application Fee.

Step Two: Application

Once the application fee is paid, you will be able to access the Application for Certification through your My cATO™user account page. Complete the application by providing all information requested including contact information, IACSP membership status, employment history, education, and declarations. You will also be requested to propose the names of two eligible professional colleagues to serve as your exam proctor.

Once your application is received, the cATO™ administration team will review your application and determine if your submitted credentials meet essential eligibility requirements and validate the status of your IACSP membership. The cATO™ administration team will also contact your proposed proctor(s), advise them of the policies and procedures for supervising the cATO™ Certification Examination, and guide them through the proctor registration process.

Once your eligibility status has been verified and your proctor(s) has/have registered, you will receive notification that you have been approved for examination with further instructions for payment of the cATO™ Examination and Certification Fee.

Step Three: Examination

Once we have received payment of the cATO™ Examination and Certification Fee, the cATO™ Certification Examination will be available for testing.

Your examination proctor must be present to witness and supervise administration of the certification examination. Once your proctor(s) has/have completed the registration process, they will be provided with a unique identification code for use in verifying that the examination is administered under their supervision. You will not be able to start the examination without your proctor's presence to enter this code.

The cATO™ Certification Examination is administered online through the cATO™ testing portal as a 100-question exam randomly generated from a pool of multiple choice questions developed and peer reviewed by the Certifying Board of the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals.

Candidates are required to pass the examination with a score of 80% or greater in order to receive award of the Certified Anti-Terrorism Officer designation. Notification of the exam results is provided immediately upon completion.

Step Four: Certification

Upon passing the cATO™ Certification Examination, you will receive official notification of award of your designation and instructions for facilitating shipment of your cATO™ certificate.

Fees

• cATO™ Application Fee: US $50.00
• cATO™ Examination and Certification Fee: US $220.00
• Shipping Fee: $ [Variable based on choice of shipping method and location]