Frequently Asked Questions (Certifications)
Initial Testing/Eligibility FAQs
Certification’s primary purpose is a formal process to recognize persons who meet the established knowledge, skill, and ability/competencies through the provision of an assessment (typically an exam). For candidates who successfully meet eligibility requirements and pass an examination, credentials (e.g., SANE-A and/or SANE-P) are awarded. It generally requires periodic renewal to demonstrate continued competence.
Certificates are typically awarded upon the completion of a non-degree granting training program or course/classwork. It signifies that a person has participated in and successfully completed specific learning objectives and requirements. There is generally no renewal process or credentials awarded; however, the program may provide a certificate of completion.
IAFN offers two certifications for sexual assault nurse examiners: the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner – Adult/Adolescent (SANE-A®) and the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner – Pediatric/Adolescent (SANE-P®). Certification as a SANE-A or SANE-P validates a sexual assault nurse examiner’s knowledge and skills within the specialty.
You must meet the eligibility requirements for each individual program at the time of application submission and successfully complete and pass the certification examination. See the eligibility requirements in the Candidate Handbook.
If the specific eligibility criteria is not met at the time of submitting your application, we recommend waiting to apply until the next testing window application period.
The SANE-A and SANE-P examinations are offered twice a year – during the months of April and September.
We partner with Meazure Learning to deliver our examinations. They offer a variety of in-person testing centers throughout the world, and through live remote proctoring.
Live remote proctoring allows test takers to complete their examination remotely with the involvement of a human proctor overseeing the examination process.
The IAFN Certification staff reviews your application to verify that you have met the eligibility requirements. If additional information is requested, the staff will reach out to you via email and/or phone to request this information. Initial testing applications are randomly audited. Once you have been approved to test, your information will be passed along to our testing vendor. Approximately one month before the specific testing window opens, you will receive an email from our testing vendor, Meazure Learning. This email will provide you with instructions on how to schedule your examination. Information about what to expect and bring with you on test day can be found in our Candidate Handbook.
It is suggested to retain the following if your initial testing application is selected for random audit:
- A copy of your current nursing license.
- A copy of your SANE didactic course certificate of completion (including an accreditation statement).
- An unofficial transcript (if you are using academic course credit ).
- Signed verification of practice hours form.
Upon submitting your application, you should see a success page as indicated in the exam or renewal application instructions. Most importantly, you will receive a confirmation email from certification@forensicnurses.org immediately after submitting your application. If you do not find the confirmation email in your inbox, please check your Spam, Delete, and Inbox folders. If you still cannot locate the confirmation email, please contact us immediately at certification@forensicnurses.org. Please note that incomplete or unsubmitted applications or unpaid fees will not be granted exceptions to application and fee deadlines.
Reasonable accommodations provide candidates who speak English as a second language (ESL) and/or have a disability a fair and equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skill in the essential functions that the exam is designed to measure; these accommodations do not include steps that fundamentally alter the purpose or nature of the examination. Reasonable accommodations are based on the individual’s specific request, ESL status and/or disability, submitted documentation, and the appropriateness of the request. To apply for reasonable accommodations, complete this request form and submit to: certification@forensicnurses.org.
- “Missing Requirements” indicates that your application has been completed, and your certification or recertification requirements are awaiting manual review by our team.
- “Approved” means that a reviewer has verified that the information provided in your application meets the requirements for the exam or renewal.
- “Activated” signifies that your application has fulfilled all the requirements for certification or recertification, and your new or renewed certification is now active.
- “Draft” indicates that you have started but not completed the application yet.
- “Rejected” means that our review determined your application to be ineligible for the testing window you applied for or that your renewal application did not meet the renewal criteria. You will receive official notification explaining the reason(s) for ineligibility.
If you have any questions regarding any of the above status explanations, please feel free to contact us at certification@forensicnurses.org.
The best place to start to prepare for your examination is to review the Candidate Handbook. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the program test content outline to better identify subject areas and the weighting of these areas on an examination. Use that information along with a personal assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, planning to focus on content that you may be less familiar with the weighting of a subject area. For instance, on the SANE-A examination Domain 1: Assessment and Documentation is weighted at 32%. If you take that weighting and multiply by the number of total scored items it will provide you with the number of items you can expect related to those tasks/topics. Using the same example, if 32% (domain weighting) is multiplied by 150 (total scored items), one could anticipate 48 scored questions related to Domain 1.
A reference list is also provided for each program’s examination, which is a list of the primary resources used to develop items (questions) on an examination. The certification examinations are based on a broad body of knowledge and not on the content of one single resource. It is a good practice to use a current, general resource and supplement your study with resources about specific topics you may have less experience or knowledge about. Note that the use of the resources will not guarantee a passing score on the examination, and test candidates are not required to purchase or review any of these resources.
Only nurses who have achieved a passing score on the SANE-A and/or SANE-P examination may use those designations. The nurse who holds one or both of these professional certifications should designate each certification separately after their name, typically in the following order: name, highest degree, licensure, and certifications (e.g., Jane Smith BSN RN SANE-A SANE-P).
You are permitted up to four (4) hours to complete the SANE-A and/or SANE-P examination.
The passing score for each examination is based on the number of test items that are answered correctly. A passing score is 500 on all IAFN certification exams. This is a scaled score on your score report. This is a way of standardizing a raw score to a more comparable and meaningful result. The scaling process applies a mathematical transformation that takes into account variations in test form difficulty. This ensures fairness across multiple versions of a test and makes interpretations easier by use of a consistent scale. This transformed score represents your performance on a common scale ranging from 200 – 800.
Pass rates can vary slightly from one exam administration to another due to differences in candidate groups and normal statistical fluctuations, without impacting the fairness or validity of the examination. We use standardized scoring methods, statistical equating techniques, and expert psychometric reviews to ensure fairness across all test administrations. Each candidate’s score is based on their performance against predetermined competency benchmarks.
View our historical trends here or contact the certification office for details.
Renewal of your certification is required every three (3) years.
Accreditation FAQs
Nurses who are employed by ANCC Magnet-designated hospitals are operating under new Magnet certification guidelines as of January 1, 2024. ANCC Magnet made the determination that they would not recognize any certification exam that had not achieved accreditation through The American Board of Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC); the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA); ANSI National Accreditation Board (ISO/IEC 17024); or the International Certification Accreditation Council (ICAC) on their Demographic Data Collection Tool (DDCT). We understand that this impacts those nurses with SANE-A and SANE-P certifications working in Magnet-designated hospitals. IAFN is actively seeking accreditation and will provide updates on this process as soon as they are available. Each one of these accreditors have a rigorous list of standards and an application process that can take many months for both application, review, and subsequent approval/denial decisions. We continue to work with our testing vendor to ensure the development and delivery of psychometrically sound examinations that adhere to best practices in design, development, delivery, and maintenance.
Yes, IAFN works with a third-party organization responsible for ensuring a psychometrically sound exam. In brief, that means the exam must be designed, developed, delivered and maintained based on best practices that are defined by measurement theory. Our third-party partner is Meazure Learning.
Renewal FAQs
You can find the most comprehensive information about SANE certification renewal in the current Certification Renewal Handbook.
Your CE start date is individualized. That date is the earlier of either November 2 of the year you certified OR the date on IAFN’s last certification congratulatory letter (for either the exam or renewal). For example, if you certified (by either exam or renewal) in May – and your letter is dated May 6, 2021 – you may accrue CE starting May 6, 2021.
All continuing education hours must be earned by October 1, 5:00 pm, ET the year of your certification expiration. Submit your application by the filing deadline of October 1; late filing is October 2 – October 15 of the year in which your certification expires. Additional fees are assessed for late filing. Please retain a copy of all records, including a copy of your completed renewal application, as applications are randomly audited.
You need 45 contact hours to renew. A minimum of 30 of those hours must be in Category A, and at least 15 of those hours must be granted from an approved/accredited provider of continuing nursing education (unless the applicant is outside the United States).
IAFN, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and many state nursing organizations are approved providers of continuing nursing education. Information about the organization providing the continuing education credits should be listed in the course brochure.
Category A activities include: attendance at webinars, workshops, seminars, conferences and conventions, and programs that provide contact hours for completing an online continuing education course. Category B activities include; attending or teaching SANE-related academic classes, publishing SANE-related content, giving SANE-related professional presentations or SANE poster presentations/preparation and precepting new SANE nurses. Refer to the Renewal Handbook for more details.
Yes–as long as the educational activities you completed are relevant to the SANE test content outline for which you are seeking renewal.
No. The maximum number of hours in Category B is 15 hours.
All CE events submitted must relate to the appropriate test content outline (SANE-A test content outline for SANE-A renewal, and SANE-P test content outline for SANE-P renewal) which can be found in the Renewal Handbook. For example, the SANE-A test content outline has 5 domains listed with specific topics under each domain. Check the description of the CE activity to see that it falls under one of the topics listed within each domain.
Other professional CE activities such as BCLS, ACLS, TNCC, ENPC, and SANE-A and/or SANE-P certification prep courses are NOT eligible for certification renewal. Please read the list of CE that is NOT eligible for renewal in the Renewal Handbook. It is just as important to understand what is NOT eligible as what IS eligible for certification renewal.
Yes–as long as the educational activities you completed are relevant to the test content outline for which you are seeking renewal. For instance, if you attended a 2-hour session on “Techniques for Testifying,” those 2 hours may be listed on both your SANE-A and SANE-P renewal applications; trial testimony is a topic that appears on both test content outlines.
No. Because SANE training is considered basic preparation rather than continuing education, you may apply one-quarter (25%) of the credits you received for the training toward your certification renewal. For example, if the course was awarded 40 hours, you can use 10 hours toward your certification renewal.
Yes. Single-topic training courses/workshops/sessions are credited at a maximum of 10 Category A hours per topic for certification renewal. For instance, if you attended a 15-hour training on human trafficking, you could apply 10 of those hours toward renewal requirements.
Yes. You must achieve a “C” or higher to use the course toward certification renewal. If your renewal application is selected for audit, a copy of your unofficial academic transcript will be requested to fulfill the audit process requirements.
Apply and pay online (by credit card) through IAFN’s web portal. Once you have logged in, begin the renewal process, including payment, by following the steps outlined in the Renewal Application Instructions.
Please provide the following upon request:
- A copy of your active nursing license.
- Signed verification of practice hours form.
- Any certificates of completion for continuing education activities (including the name of the participant, the dates of the course, the length of the activity, the title of the course, accreditation statement, and contact hours provided).
- An unofficial transcript (if you are using academic course credit).
- If you author a book: a copy of the title page, the number of pages, and the table of contents.
- If you author a chapter: a copy of the title page and the table of contents with the chapter name and author. If you publish a journal article: the table of contents with the title and author.
- If you present a poster: the meeting syllabus, or the table of contents listing the presenter and the title of the poster.
- If you taught a class: the syllabus, course outlines, handouts, and other course materials. Preceptorship hours require documentation by log as noted in the previous question.
While you cannot delete a CE activity, you can edit it. To update a CE activity, follow these steps:
- Log in to the member portal.
- Navigate to the Certifications menu.
- Click on “My Certification Activities.”
- Locate the activity that needs editing and click on it.
- In the upper right corner of the page, click the “Edit Activity” button.
- Make the necessary changes to the activity.
- After making the edits, click “Next” at the bottom of the page.
- Finally, click “Save Changes” to save the updated activity.
Certification renewal may be denied or revoked for any of the reasons listed in the CFNC’s Disciplinary and Complaints Policy.
To print or download your updated SANE-A or SANE-P certificate, follow these steps:
- Log in to the member portal.
- Navigate to the Certifications menu.
- Click on “My Certifications.”
- Look for the blue program link (SANE-A® or SANE-P®) that corresponds to the certificate you need and click on the program link.
- On the page that opens, click the “Print Certificate” button in the upper right corner to generate your certificate.
IAFN sends certified nurses reminders and other communications through email and social media. It is important to keep your current contact information in your IAFN profile at all times.
If you have unsubscribed from bulk emails, or use a workplace email address, you may not receive email messages as intended. Please use a personal email address or request your employer not to block IAFN emails. Ask your email administrator to add hello@forensicnurses.org and certification@forensicnurses.org to your whitelist. Also, be sure to check your spam or junk mail folders regularly for communications from IAFN. Use this link to resubscribe to emails and send a notification to our team at certification@forensicnurses.org