Credentials
Once you have selected a credential, reviewed any requirements, and obtained any additional training or experience needed, you are ready to apply for and take the credentialing exam. Follow the credentialing boards' application procedures which often include:
- Submitting an application
- Submitting documentation of military training and experience
- Taking an exam
- Possibly paying application and exam fees
After you've earned the credential, make sure you are aware of any requirements to keep your credential active. Check with the credentialing agency regarding the following items:
- Is there a renewal period for the certification and if so, how long is it? Many certifying agencies require you to renew your certification after a period of time, for example every three years.
- Are there renewal requirements? Credentialing agencies may require additional training or education, commonly called continuing education, after you earn a credential to demonstrate up-to-date knowledge. Others may require that you take the certification exam again at the end of the renewal period. Renewal requirements, and costs, will vary by credentialing agency.
Most certifications and licenses have fees associated with them that are charged by the credentialing board or agency such as application fees and exam fees. In addition, you may need to pay for additional training or education if you do not meet the requirements set by a credentialing board or certification agency. To prepare for a credential, consider the following questions:
- Do you need additional training and experience to qualify for licensure or certification?
- Do you need financial assistance to pay for additional training or for credentialing exam fees?
There are resources available to help Service members cover some of the costs associated with credentialing. For example, eligible service members and veterans can use the Montgomery GI Bill to pay for fees for approved civilian occupational licensing and certification exams. GI Bill benefits can also be used for costs associated with an undergraduate degree at a college or university, a certificate or diploma from a business, technical or vocational school, training programs, and apprenticeships.
See the Cost & Resources on COOL for more information on the resources available.
After using the Find and Select Related Credentials search to find the credentials related to your MOS, learn about credential requirements by following these steps:
- Look for the certifications marked as D (directly related) or S (skill related) in the Related Credentials table. These certifications have the most potential for you to take advantage of the training and education you've received in the Army by using the knowledge and skills you've learned to help you earn a civilian credential.
- Click on the certification name in the table to open up a Credential Snapshot page. The Snapshot pages contain a brief description of the certification, a summary of the credential requirements, and links to the certification agency's web page for additional information.
- Review the Summary and Eligibility tabs on the snapshot page to get an overview of what is required by the certification agency (on the Summary tab) and specific details (on the Eligibility tab), if applicable. 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
- Contact the credentialing agency to confirm applicable licensure or certification requirements and request application forms and exam preparation materials if available. If the COOL snapshot page is under development, find out if exam, experience, or education requirements are involved. Inquire about any fees associated with applying for a credential.
- Determine if the Army training or experience you already have is accepted by the credentialing agency.
- Determine what additional steps, if any, you need to take to become licensed or certified.
- If the credentialing agency does not explicitly recognize military training and experience in its written requirements, it may be necessary to contact the board directly to ask.
- If the credentialing agency indicates that military training and experience are not automatically recognized, find out if they can conduct an individual assessment of your military training and experience, and what you need to do to initiate the assessment.
COOL (Credentialing Opportunities On-Line) helps Army Soldiers find information on certifications and licenses related to their Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs). COOL explains how Soldiers can meet civilian certification and license requirements and provides links to numerous resources to help get them started.
COOL is a resource for:
- Soldiers who want to know what civilian credentials relate to their MOS and how to obtain them.
- Education, Career and Transition Counselors providing guidance on education, professional growth, and career requirements and opportunities.
- Army Recruiters who want to show potential recruits the opportunities for professional growth and civilian career preparation available through Army service.
- Employers and Credentialing Boards interested in how military training and experience prepares Soldiers for civilian credentials and jobs.
The topics below will help you learn more about what kind of information is on COOL and how to use the website. Click a topic to view its content below.
What can I find on COOL?
Find out what's COOL
How is COOL Organized?
Find out what is where
What is COOL For?
Find out what COOL is, and isn't
Understanding Search Results
Get the most out of your COOL results
Resource Icon Overview
What do they all mean?
COOL contains a variety of information about credentialing and licensing. COOL can be used to:
- Get background information about civilian licensure and certification in general and specific information on individual credentials including eligibility requirements and resources to prepare for a credentialing exam.
- Identify licenses and certifications relevant to Army MOSs for enlisted soldiers and Warrant Officers.
- Learn how to fill gaps between Army training and experience and civilian credentialing requirements.
- Learn about resources available to Soldiers that can help them gain civilian job credentials.
Credentialing requirements information on COOL currently includes enlisted and Warrant Officer MOSs. Officers seeking credentialing information for civilian occupations can use the following U.S. Department of Labor Web sites:
The COOL site is both a search tool and an information source. Soldiers can find information on a specific credential searching by MOS or by the name of a specific credential or agency. Soldiers can also find general information on credentials and licenses, and on resources to help cover credentialing costs or work on an education plan. Throughout these pages, COOL provides links to resources for additional information.
Credential Searches by MOS:
The Find and Select Related Credentials step at the top of each page is the place to start a credential search by Enlisted MOS or Warrant Officer MOS. The Search results or Summary page will return a page for the selected MOS that shows:
- Credentials that are related to the selected MOS
- Occupational equivalents in the civilian sector
- Information on continuing education related to the selected MOS
- Links to credential snapshot pages that contain information specific to a credential including eligibility requirements, exam topics, contact information and links to the credentialing agency web site.
- Links to gap analysis pages, if available, that also contain credential specific information and a gap analysis between exam topics and Army training.
Finding General Credentialing Information:
From the navigation bar at the top of each page, Soldiers can go to pages with general credentialing information including:
- COOL Overview: An overview of the COOL site and how to navigate through it.
- What can I find on COOL?
- How is COOL organized?
- What is COOL for?
- Understanding search results
- Resource icon overview
- About Credentialing: Learn about what credentials are and why they are important.
- Why are credentials important?
- Do I need a credential?
- Training and Experience Documentation
- Costs and Resources: Learn about the typical costs of pursuing a credential and resources available to help.
- What does a credential cost?
- Are there financial resources available?
- Training and education resources
- Links to Related Sites: Find links to other websites related to credentialing and military issues.
COOL is for finding certifications and licenses that are related to your military occupation. COOL also has a lot of great information about credentialing in general, why it can be important to you, and what resources are available to help pay for training and testing.
Note that COOL is not a credentialing or testing agency. You don't register for or take credential exams on COOL— but you do learn about where you can. Read the following subtopics for more details.
Searching for Credentials
On COOL, you generally look at things from the perspective of what you do in the Army. So when you search, you're looking for your MOS. The results you get include the certifications and licenses related to your MOS, plus a lot of other good information (such as related civilian occupations).
You can also search by civilian career area (what Army MOSs are related to, say, Human Resources?), credential name, and credentialing agency name.
Choose Your Search
At the top of every page on COOL you can click "Find & Select Related Credentials" to display the COOL search boxes. (These same boxes are smack in the middle of the home page.)
First choose a search box by clicking on it – Search for Enlisted or Search for Warrant Officers. Within each box you can choose the type of search. For example, in the Search for Enlisted box, you can search by MOS or Civilian Career Area. You can also search by credential name or credentialing agency name.
Select an item from one of the drop-down lists, click "Go" and you're on your way. The page you most often go to is called a "Summary Page," because it summarizes information about the credentials and occupations, and other related information. There is quite a bit of information on these pages– we recommend reading the Understanding Search Results section also on this page to help you understand it all.
Learning About Credentialing
If this is your first time on COOL, taking a few minutes to read about the Basics of Licenses and Credentials and Do I Need a Credential on the About Credentials page will help you understand the different types of credentials and why they are important. That knowledge will help you sort through the information displayed on a credential search page to find the credentials that are most relevant to you. The Costs and Resources page provides information on what costs might be associated with licenses and certifications, and what financial resources are available to help Soldiers pay for them.
No matter where you begin the search, the format of the results is similar. The information on COOL is organized by MOS and the results page of the search will have the information listed below. Hovering over icons and on the page will provide definitions and additional information to help you understand the results.
To show or hide single topics below, click on the plus/minus symbols next to each heading below. So show or hide all the subtopics at once, click on "Show Subtopics" or "Hide Subtopics" above.
Army Duties
The top of the results page includes a brief summary of the Army duties for the specific MOS, and a link to the MOS page on goarmy.com.
Related Credentials
The first tab in the Related Credentials section on the results page lists national certifications and federal licenses that are related to an MOS. Inside the tab are five possible sections: 1) Related Certifications, 2) Related Licenses, 3) Other Certifications, 4) Other Licenses, and 5) Promotion Points Only.
Related Certifications and Related Licenses have been determined to be related to the MOS either directly or by skill. Other Certifications and Other Licenses include credentials that may also be of interest to persons in the MOS, but may require significant additional training or experience to obtain. The Promotion Points Only section lists credentials that have been approved for Promotion Points but are not included in the other sections.
Each section may include the following information:
- Credential name and agency. Hovering over the credential name will bring up a box containing a short description of the credential. Clicking on the credential name will take you to a Snapshot page with more information about the credential.
- Type. Each credential in the Funded Certifications table is designated as either Directly Related (D) or Skill Related (S).
- Directly Related Certifications – Certifications that are directly related to at least 80 percent of the major duties associated with a Soldier's MOS.
- Skill Related Certifications – Certifications that are directly related to at least one critical task associated with the duties of a Soldier's MOS.
- Promo Points. For Enlisted personnel, promotion Points icons
identify credentials that have been approved for Promotion Points for the MOS. Clicking on the icon will open a Promo Points fact sheet. - GI Bill. The presence of the GI Bill icon
indicates that reimbursement for exam fees has been approved for payment through the GI Bill. - ANSI/NCCA. Icons in the ANSI
or NCCA 
column indicate that a credential has been accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). - College Credit. The presence of this icon
indicates that the content, scope and rigor of the course or examination for this credential is equivalent to a college-level course and has been recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE).
The second tab in the Related Credentials section (if applicable) includes information on state licenses.
Related Occupational Equivalents
The middle section of the search results page shows occupational equivalents that are related to the specific MOS returned in the search. Occupational equivalents are shown for the civilian sector in general and for federal occupations. Each tab is described below:
- Civilian Occupational Equivalents. This tab lists the civilian jobs that are similar to the selected MOS.
- Civilian Job.The first column is an alphabetical listing of civilian jobs that have been determined to be similar to the selected MOS. Clicking on the civilian job titles will open a new window from the My Next Move for Veterans website that will show a summary of the civilian occupation including knowledge, skills, and abilities needed, the job outlook, and average earnings.
- Bright Outlook. The presence of the Bright Outlook icon indicates that new job opportunities are very likely in the future for this job. Bright Outlook occupations are expected to grow rapidly in the next several years, will have large numbers of job openings, or are new and emerging occupations. This designation is determined by the Department of Labor.
- Green Occupation. The green economy icon indicates that this work is part of the green economy. The "green economy" may change the work tasks and skills needed for jobs in response to green economy activities and emerging technologies.
- Local Salary Info. Clicking on “find local salary” will open a new window on the My Next Move for Veterans website (mynextmove.org) website for the related civilian occupation. This snapshot page highlights states and areas with the highest employment numbers and wages for this occupation, and provides a link to download salary information for all states.
- Find Jobs. Clicking on “find jobs” in the last column in the Civilian Occupational Equivalents tab also opens a window from the My Next Move for Veterans website (mynextmove.org) where you can search for a civilian job in this area on three job search databases: mySkills myFuture, Veterans Job Bank, and state and national job banks from Career One Stop.
- Federal Occupational Equivalents. The Federal Occupational Equivalents tab lists federal occupations that are similar to the selected MOS. Clicking on the job titles brings up a description of the federal job series, and links for more information.
- Other Services. If applicable, the Other Services tab shows the military occupational codes from other Services that are similar to the MOS in the search results.
Continuing Education/Additional Information
The final section of the results page provides information and links for Continuing Education and Additional Information related to the selected MOS.
Throughout the COOL website, there are a number of icons that are used to quickly communicate information to the user at a glance. When displayed, you can hover over the icon for a brief description of what they represent. Some icons are clickable and direct you to an outside source for additional information. The resource icons used on COOL are described in the following table:
| Icon | Meaning |
|---|---|
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For occupational equivalents, the occupation has been classified as "Bright Outlook." Bright Outlook occupations are expected to grow rapidly in the next several years, will have large numbers of job openings, or are new and emerging occupations. |
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For occupational equivalents, the occupation has been identified as a "green occupation." Green occupations will likely change as a result of the "green economy." Green economy activities and technologies are increasing the demand for occupations, shaping the work and worker requirements needed for occupational performance, or generating new and emerging occupations. |
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The credential has been approved for Promotion Points for enlisted Soldiers. Click on the icon to the left to go to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command Web site for more information. |
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Reimbursement for credential fees has been approved for payment through the GI Bill. Click on the icon to the left to see the information page. Note: see the COOL Costs & Resources page for further information and details pertaining to Reservists. |
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Army e-Learning – Certification preparation courses are provided, at no cost to the Soldier, through Army e-Learning. Click on the icon to the left to go to the Army e-Learning Program page. |
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College credit recommendations for this credential have been made by the American Council on Education (ACE). Click on the icon to the left to go to the ACE College Credit Recommendation Service. |
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This credentialing program has been accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). Click on the icon to the left for more information from the NCCA Web site. |
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This credentialing program has been accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Click on the icon to the left for more information from the ANSI Web site. |
