Required Documentation for CPEA Applicants
U.S. and Canadian Degrees
Official transcripts must be submitted for each degree. An official transcript is one sent directly to BGC by your college or university through mail or as secure e-transcripts. Alternatively, you may submit official transcripts if they are in a sealed envelope with the registrar’s stamp across the seal. When a degree includes credits that were transferred from another college or university, official transcripts for those course credits must be sent upon if requested.
The Board will consider a U.S. college or university to be acceptable when it holds institutional accreditation from one of the six U.S. Regional Accrediting Bodies or the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which are recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the U.S. Department of Education. Your degree must be awarded during the time that the institutional accreditation is in effect.
A Canadian college or university will be considered acceptable if it is recognized under applicable provincial standards, depending on where the school is located. In addition, it may hold specialized program accreditation as noted by membership in Universities Canada (formerly the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada).
Where to Send Transcripts:
email: applications@gobgc.org
surface mail:
BGC attn: Applications
6005 W St Joe Hwy Ste 300
Lansing, MI 48917 USA
CPEA Candidate Handbook
International Degrees
A degree from a college or university that is located outside the United States or Canada will be considered for acceptability based on the institution’s accreditation status in the education system that has jurisdiction. Applicants with international degrees will be required to submit their transcript(s) for a credential evaluation unless the academic program is authorized by BGC or through a BGC-recognized accreditation agency to issue BGC verification statements. (BGC verification statements streamline and shorten the review for applicants. Please contact your program director to find out if your college or University has a relevant BGC verification statements.)
A member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, Inc. or a member of the Association of International Credential Evaluators must be used to prepare a credential evaluation report. You must request that the report be forwarded directly to BGC through the applications@gobgc.org portal. Below is a list of different services that our applicants have successfully used for transcript evaluations. BGC does not specifically endorse or recommend one service over another.
Documentation of Auditing Experiences
Your Statement of Audit Experience Form documents evidence of your audit experiences. The timeframe for completing your audits and the requirement depend on which specialty exam you are taking:
| CPEA Specialty Exams | Timeframe for Audits | Auditing Requirement |
| Environmental Compliance | Within four (4) years of certification | Conduct a minimum of 20 Environmental Compliance audits for a minimum of 100 days. Of the 100 days, a minimum of 20 days must be conducted on-site or virtually. |
| Health & Safety | Within four (4) years of certification | Conduct a minimum of 20 Health & Safety audits for a minimum of 100 days. Of the 100 days, a minimum of 20 days must be conducted on-site or virtually. |
| Management Systems | Within four (4) years of certification | Conduct a minimum of 20 Management Systems audits for a minimum of 100 days. Of the 100 days, a minimum of 20 days must be conducted on-site or virtually. |
Character References
An applicant must request two (2) character references from a responsible person such as a supervisor or a manager. Individuals providing references must have known the applicant for a minimum of two years and have knowledge of the applicant’s experience and skills relative to auditing.
Submitting References
References are required to document, from firsthand experience, the nature of your auditing practice using a Character Reference Form. A Character Reference Form must comply with the requirements of this section. Each Character Reference Form will remain confidential between the author and BGC.
- You must initiate communication with your references to request that they submit the completed electronic Character Reference Form that you will send them. BGC does not initiate communication with references for you.
- Each reference must be provided on the Board’s online Character Reference Form.
- It is unacceptable for you to provide the response on the form and then have it signed by your reference. We may use the contact information provided to verify the authenticity of the reference and confirm who prepared the text.
- Each Character Reference Form must be submitted on the BGC website by the person writing the reference.
It is your responsibility to communicate with your reference(s) as frequently as needed to assure that the Character Reference Form is submitted in time to meet BGC application deadlines.
Unqualified and Suspicious Documentation
Professional Reference Questionnaires (PRQs) that appear to have been prepared by any of the following individuals may result in your application being rejected or delayed:
- Your spouse or other relatives
- A person whom you supervise
- Yourself, preparing your own PRQ (even when it is for someone else to sign)
