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to Navy COOL
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Voucher
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Credentials
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to Navy COOL
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Voucher
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Credentials
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to Navy COOL
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Report Your Results
Upon completion of the credential exam, you must provide the results to:
- Credentials Program Office (pass or failure) (within 30 calendar days of taking exam).Please include score when possible. Email (pass or fail) results to: navycool@navy.mil.
- Your supervisor (pass or fail)
- Your local Approving Official (pass or fail)
- Enlisted– please visit your local PSD for pg-4 entry (pass only) and your local Navy College office for SMART/ETJ entry (pass only)
- Officer– please ensure entry into OSR/ODC (pass only)
- DON Civilians– please ensure copy of certification is provided to your local Human Resources/N1 (pass only)
In most cases, the member must schedule and take the credential exams within 60 calendar days from receipt of your voucher (date the exam was funded). If the member's certification exam process takes longer than 60 days he/she must call or email the Navy's Credentials Program Office (navycool@navy.mil) [(850) 452-6683/6664] in order to request a time waiver for going beyond the 60 calendar day limit. Vouchers not used in the approved timeframe will be recalled and the member will no longer be authorized to use the voucher.
The exam voucher/funding is non-transferable and may only be used by the individual specifically issued, towards the specific exam in which it was funded for. The member may be subject to administrative and/or disciplinary action if he/she attempts unauthorized use of the voucher.
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Apply for the Credential and Take the Exam
It is important to note that Navy COOL is not a credentialing organization– you do not sign up for or take exams from Navy COOL. Once you have an approved exam voucher, you are responsible for contacting a credential exam test center (i.e. Pearson VUE, ProMetric, New Horizons, LaserGrade, etc…) to schedule the exam. You must schedule and take your exam within 60 days of issue of the Navy-funded voucher or the voucher expires (unless specifically coordinated with the Navy's Credentials Program Office). The following is a list of test vendors. Navy COOL does not endorse any of the following vendors, but lists them here for your convenience.
Test Vendors
- CATS
- Certiport
- Comira
- KRYTERION
- LaserGrade
- Pearson Vue (off-base testing)
- Pearson Vue (military on-base testing)
- Pearson Vue (map of on-base testing locations)
- Prometric
See the Credential Exams Frequently Asked Questions for anwers to many questions related to credential exams.
Once you have taken the exam and received your results, see step 4 above, "Report Results to Navy COOL" for information about reporting your results.
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Voucher
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Navy-Funded Exam Voucher Requests
After you have chosen a credential, you will need to request an exam voucher. The Navy's Credentials Program Office has a limited amount of certification/license exam voucher funds each year. These vouchers will be issued on a "first-come, first-served" basis.
To receive a certification or license exam voucher:
- Review the Frequently Asked Questions.
- Make sure you are familiar with the detailed Navy-funded Exam Voucher Program information.
- Apply for a voucher, using the Voucher Eligibility tool below.
- Read the items, and check each box to confirm that you meet each criteria.
- Click Get Form to download the Voucher Request Form Word document.
- Open the form in Microsoft Word, fill it out, and save your changes.
- Request that your Commanding Officer or designated E7 or above Command Representative email the completed form to the Credentials Program Office (navycool@navy.mil), or fax it to the Credentials Program Office - (850) 452-6897.
For further explanation of eligibility rules and the Navy-funded Exam Voucher Program, see the Costs and Resources page.
Once you have an approved exam voucher, go to step 3 above, "Apply for Credential and Take Exam" for instructions on applying to take the exam with the credentialing agency or testing service.
Pre-Approved Reimbursement Requests
For information on obtaining reimbursements for exam fees, see Exam Reimbursement Program information, or refer to the Costs and Resources page.
Navy COOL Voucher Eligibility Tool
You must receive approval for a voucher from the Navy Credentials Program Office BEFORE registering for, scheduling or taking an exam, or taking any other action that requires payment. Failure to receive voucher approval in advance may mean that you have to pay for an exam yourself, without reimbursement from the Navy.
Check off each item below to affirm you are eligible to request a voucher, then click Get Form.
Some jobs have certain professional and technical standards. Credentials – certifications and licenses – show that you meet these standards. For example, a welder can show his welding certifications to an employer to document that he has specific skills and knowledge. In the civilian world, credentials may be required for a job, or can make you much more likely to be hired for a job.
For a Sailor, civilian credentials are important for two reasons.
- The Navy has made them part of its workforce professionalization, so getting certified can help you in your Navy career while you're still in service.
- When you transition back to civilian employment, credentials help you translate your military training and experience into something civilian employers can easily recognize. That can help you get hired, get a better job, or be promoted sooner.
To learn more about the topics below, click on a box. Information for that topic will display below the boxes.
![Certification icon](images/ico_cert.png)
Licenses and Certifications – The Basics
Learn more about the types of credentials and their requirements
![Certification icon](images/ico_cert.png)
Do I Need a Credential?
Learn what to consider when deciding if you need or want a civilian credential
![Certification icon](images/ico_gears.png)
Training and Experience Documentation
Learn how to verify your military training and experience for civilian credentialing boards
![Certification icon](images/ico_gears.png)
Listing Credentials on your SMART Transcript
Learn how to get civilian credentials included on your SMART transcript
Credential Types
Licensure and certification are the two primary types of credentialing.
- Licensure – Governmental agencies—federal, state, or local—grant licenses to individuals to practice a specific occupation, such as a medical license for doctors. State or federal laws or regulations define the standards that individuals must meet to become licensed. Licenses are typically mandatory.
- Certification – Non-governmental agencies, associations, and even private sector companies may grant certifications to individuals who meet predetermined qualifications. These qualifications are generally set by professional associations (for example, National Commission for Certification of Crane Operators) or by industry and product-related organizations (for example, Novell Certified Engineer). Certification is typically an optional credential, although some state licensure boards and some employers may require certification. For many occupations, more than one organization may offer certifications.
Why is Credentialing Important?
Credentialing is important for several reasons:
- Federal, state, or local law may require specific credentials to legally perform some jobs.
- Employers may choose to hire only employees who have certain credentials, or to pay those employees more.
- Credentials may improve an employee's prospects for promotion.
- Credentialed Service Members demonstrate to prospective civilian employers that their skills are on par with their civilian peers.
- Civilian credentialing can contribute to military career development, and may be accepted for self-development requirements and in performance evaluations.
Credentialing Requirements
Credentialing boards determine the requirements for licensure and certification. Typically they require a combination of the following:
- Education
- Training
- Work or professional experience
- Examinations
- Other unique job-related requirements
For some credentials, boards may have requirements related to:
- Residency
- How recently the training or experience took place
- Periodic renewal, typically every one to three years
- Continuing education requirements or reexamination requirements associated with renewal
State-Specific Requirements
While most certifications are national (have the same requirements in every state), requirements for occupational licenses vary by state. Not all states license the same occupations and for those that do, requirements can differ substantially. If you hold a license in one state but plan to relocate to another state, you need to find out if that state requires a license for your occupation and if it recognizes your license.
Some states will give consideration to individuals licensed in another state. For example the licensing board may:
- Recognize licenses granted by other states as equivalent, called “reciprocity.”
- Issue a license based on the individual having met similar requirements out-of-state, called “endorsement” or “license by credentials.”
- Credit equivalent out-of-state training, education, and examinations.
Even if a state recognizes another’s license, you may still need to take an exam or pay a fee. Check with the state licensing board to find out more about the specific requirements.
You can obtain state licensing board contact information from the “Licensed Occupations” section of the U.S.Department of Labor’s America’s Career Information Network.
I'm Active Duty
The Navy certainly thinks you'd benefit from having civilian credentials – that's what COOL is all about! The Navy supports civilian credentialing for active duty members because it improves the professionalism of Sailors. In fact, if a credential is related to your duties, the Navy pays for credential exams, and it has incorporated civilian credentials into the Navy Learning and Development Roadmaps (LaDRs) to encourage Sailors to earn specific certifications at certain points in their Navy careers. LaDR-designated credentials are considered during promotion evaluations, for example.
So you can increase your effectiveness as a Sailor and improve your chances for promotion while on active duty, and at the same time better prepare yourself for civilian employment when you do get out. Also note that Navy stops paying for tests if you have less than a year in service left, so it's a good idea to take care of credentialing sooner than later.
If you're still undecided, you can use the following information to help decide whether or not to pursue a credential while on active duty:
- Ask yourself if you like what you are doing in the military and if you expect to pursue a civilian career in this field.
- If you do expect to continue in your military occupational field, search COOL using "Find & Select Credentials" at the top of the page to determine whether the civilian counterpart for your field requires a license or certification.
- If there are license or certification requirements, determine whether the Navy requires or encourages you to obtain the credential while in the military. Make sure you keep your credential current and renew it, if necessary, during your military career.
- If the Navy does not require the credential during your military service, then consider obtaining it on your own during your military service.
- If you don’t expect to continue in your military occupational field, search COOL using "Find & Select Credentials" at the top of the page to determine whether the civilian occupation you are interested in requires a license or certification. Consider what would be required to obtain the credential during military service.
- Some factors you might consider when thinking about credentialing are:
- What are my prospects for obtaining civilian employment without the credential? Remember, licensure is typically mandatory while certification is usually optional.
- What delays in obtaining civilian employment might I face if I wait until after I leave the military to obtain the credential?
- What will obtaining the credential while in the military entail and will I be able to fulfill the requirements while carrying out my duties?
- What costs are associated with the credential and will the military or VA subsidize any of them? Refer to the COOL Credentialing Costs section for more information.
- Will I need to renew my license or certification during military service and, if so, what is required?
I'll Be Transitioning Soon
First note that there are time of service requirements you must meet before you can get a voucher for a credential exam payment. Even if you do not meet these requirements, you can still get civilian credentials, the exams just won't be paid for by Navy.
It is a good idea to identify what credentials you need as soon as possible before transitioning, because obtaining a credential may take some time. Ideally, you'd have your credentials in hand by the time you leave the service.
In deciding if you want or need a civilian credential when you transition out, it might help to consider the following five basic scenarios:
- The civilian equivalent of your Navy rating, job, designator, or collateral duty/out of rate assignment does not require a license or certification.
- You do not necessarily need to pursue credentialing, but having a credential may still give you an advantage.
- Your military training and experience provides all of the necessary credentials to practice the occupation as a civilian.
- For example, the Navy requires Information Systems Technicians (IT) to obtain their A+ Certification as part of the IT "A" School. In this case, you should be good to go– of course, there may be additional credentials that give you added advantage.
- Your military training and experience provide certification in the field, but not a license.
- Your transition to the civilian workforce may be relatively seamless because certification and licensure requirements are often similar. However, you may still need to obtain a license from the appropriate government agency.
- Your military career provides education, training, or experience necessary to become licensed or certified, but not the formal license or certification from the credentialing board.
- You may have to follow an administrative process that typically requires completing an application, documenting military training and experience, and possibly taking an exam.
- Your military education, training, or experience may need supplementation to meet licensure and certification requirements.
- If you are in this situation you may experience a period of unemployment or underemployment until you are able to meet the requirements. See the COOL Costs and Resources page to learn about available resources.
I'm Already Out
If you are already out of the service, Navy will not pay for credential exams. But outside of that, your decision-making process regarding credentials is very similar to what is described in the I'll Be Transitioning Soon topic. Note that you may be able to use your GI Bill benefits to pay for necessary training, education and exam fees related to credentials. Refer to the Credentialing Resources topic on the Costs & Resources page for details.
Credentialing boards may require different types of documentation. Some credentialing boards are familiar with military documentation and have explicit requirements for military documentation of education, training, and experience.
Other boards may not be familiar with military documentation. If the credentialing board is not familiar with or has questions related to your military training or experience, inform them about the types of documentation that you have or can obtain. They may be more willing to consider your training and experience if they are aware of these documents.
The Navy provides three types of education, training, and experience documentation: two official military forms and a military transcript.
- Sailor Marine American Council of Education (ACE) Registry Transcript (SMART) – is a computerized transcript system that produces official transcripts for eligible personnel upon request by combining a Service member's military education, training and experience with descriptions and credit recommendations developed by ACE. The transcript is available to personnel who entered the service after 1981. Eligible Service members or veterans can access the SMART Web site. Active duty personnel can request a transcript through the Navy College Office.
- Verification of Military Experience and Training (VMET) (DD Form 2586) – The DD Form 2586 is created from a Service member's automated records on file. It lists military job experience and training history, recommended college credit information, and civilian equivalent job titles. Verification documents are provided to transitioning Service members from the VMET Defense Manpower Data Center Web site.
- Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214) – The DD Form 214 is a source of significant authoritative information used by civilian and governmental agencies to validate veteran eligibility for benefits. It is issued to every Service member at time of discharge. The National Archives and Records Administration provides information on DD Form 214.
Process
Once you have passed your exam and received your certificate from the credentialing agency, take the original document or certified copy to the Navy College office, or contact the VEC office listed below if a Navy College Office doesn't exist in your location. Fill out the necessary document for adding items to your SMART that is provided by the Navy College office.
What can be added
Credentials (licenses or certifications) that are NOT from Department of Education (DOE) approved schools (i.e., colleges or universities) may be added onto the SMART. It must be noted on the credential document that it is a certification or license. As an example, it must state "Certified in Homeland Security." Other examples of certifications and licenses would be: Mechanic (Airframe & Powerplant), Certified Safety Professional (CSP) or Certified Anti-Terrorism Specialist (CAS).
Contact Information
For other questions on SMART, use the following contact information:
Telephone:
Center for Personal and Professional Development, Toll Free: 1-877-838-1659, DSN: 492-4684
Fax:
757-492-5095 DSN: 492-5095
Mail:
ATTN: Virtual Education Center
1905 Regulus Avenue, Ste 234
Virginia Beach, VA 23461-2009
Web site: