yt-icon ig-icon twitter-icon linkedin-icon fb-icon

Steps to Transition from the EPI to the QEP

Individuals holding the Environmental Practitioner In-Training (EPI) designation are considered “Certificants,” but not Diplomates, because the EPI is a “designation” that is a stepping stone to the QEP credential, but it is not a credential in and of itself.  EPIs are required to adhere to the professional, enforceable BGC Code of Ethics; however, BGC has no requirement for EPIs to document their ongoing professional development during the seven years that they are allowed to hold the certification, because the expectation is that the EPI is learning through work experience, mentoring, coursework, and other professional actives in order to grow as an environmental professional in preparation for taking the QEP exam.

All BGC certifications include a yearly fee to maintain them after they are awarded. Normally, your annual fee is paid by the beginning of each year. Your first annual fee may be prorated depending on the month or window in which you sit for the exam.

To qualify for admission to the BGC examinations as an applicant for the QEP credential, you must comply with all Board requisites. Documents and forms sent by you and third parties will be needed to assess your eligibility to sit for the exam(s). BGC will evaluate all applicants using the criteria established for the certification eligibility and will not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, national origin, religion, age, disability, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, or marital, parental, military, or any other legally protected status. We may ask you for additional documentation when an initial review of your application (or reapplication) indicates that pertinent information is missing or unclear. In that case, a review of your application or reapplication will not proceed until we receive the requested information.

Submitting your application well in advance of deadlines may give you sufficient time to provide additional information without delaying your approval to sit for the exam. Your application packet is active for two years. If you do not pass the exam within the two years, you are required to submit an updated supervisory reference and pay a reapplication fee every two years to keep your application active.

Step 1:  Meet annual certification requirements:

  • Abide by the BGC Code of Ethics
  • Maintain up-to-date contact information
  • Maintain documents to demonstrate your work experience
  • Maintain contact with individuals who will provide your professional references
  • Pay annual fees

Step 2:  Within 7 years of being awarded the EPI certification:

If you successfully meet the requirements of both steps, you will be sent a new certificate, a digital badge, and be allowed to continue to identify yourself as a QEP.

Certificant Identification

A BGC Certificant is a person who does not hold a full credential but has met the qualifications for education, experience, and examination and has continued to meet obligations, which include practicing ethically and paying annual fees.  Certifications such as the EPI may only be held for 7 years, after which the Certificant must sit for the QEP exam.

It is BGC policy that the names and certification types of all Certificants in good standing are listed in the BGC Practitioner Rosters. The term in good standing means that the Certificant is paid up on all fees and is not involved in an ethics dispute.

A practitioner who has less than seven years of environmental practice, has not been awarded the Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) credential, and has an environmental certification from BGC by passing the General Environmental Science (GES) exam is allowed to use the BGC-awarded certification term:

Environmental Professional In-Training® (EPI®)

The above terms are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as is the BGC logo and the terms Board for Global EHS Credentialing® and BGC®.

EPI CM Handbook