Certification / Affiliation Bodies.

What is NLP Certification? Which trainings are certified? Which affilliation should I look for? These questions are often asked by people wanting to study NLP. The following page attempts to answer some of these questions and provides details of the current schemes available.

In the world of NLP training, there is no official government or legal affiliation or certification standard, no ‘official' course content, duration of training or levels of competency (this applies within the UK and outside). NLP is an un-regulated field and currently there are no ‘official' guidelines in terms of regulation, certification, standardisation or affiliation.

There are a number of groups, organisations, associations, boards and bodies who have set up their own standard by creating certification / affiliation schemes in order to reflect how they believe NLP should be taught and practiced. These organisations often differ in their opinion. Each organisation has a different judgment and none are mandatory to join or achieve training through. Many training providers choose not to affiliate themselves with any certification or affiliation bodies.

Certification and Affiliation has, for over 20 years, been debated within the field as to how it should be organised and structured, thus there are many varying models. Confusion often arises from the public when trying to decide on which NLP training provider to train with or which training provider has the ‘right' certification / affiliation scheme and is ‘recognised by' which group. The simple answer is that there is currently no ‘right' answer. Its all down to personal choice.

The BBNLP / GONLP have set out to explain the differences between each of the groups, organisations, associations, boards and bodies who have set up their own standard by creating certification / affiliation schemes. The following list explains the differences in standards, member benefits, prices and levels. Should you wish to seek authenticity from any of these groups, organisations, associations, boards and bodies we have provided links to their websites and they can be contacted directly.

The following is not an exhaustive list of NLP ‘standards' bodies.

American Board of NLP (ABNLP)
Association of NLP (ANLP)
International NLP Training Association (INLPTA)
Professional Guild of NLP

American Board of NLP (ABNLP)

Owned by: Tad James
Head Office: Honolulu, USA
www: http://www.abh-abnlp.com Email: abnlp@nlpcoaching.com

ABNLP Standard
Prerequisites: None
Practitioner Standard: Minimum of 120 hours total training.
Master Practitioner Standard: Minimum of 120 hours total training. A minimum of 15 hours of direct trainer supervision.
NLP Trainers Training Standard: Minimum of 120 hours of advanced training taught by a certified Master Trainer. A minimum of 15 hours of direct trainer supervision.
NLP Master Trainer standard: A Minimum of 3 years as lead trainer in Practitioner and Master Practitioner Trainings taught certified Trainer. A minimum of 60 hours of direct trainer supervision by a Master Trainer.
Certificates: Must be signed by an ABNLP Trainer.
Cost: Practitioner and Master practitioner membership: $75. Trainers membership $125.
Membership Benefits: Regular convention, regular newsletters, refferal service.

Association of NLP (ANLP)
Owned by: Karen Moxom
Head Office: Hatfield, UK
www: http://www.anlp.org

ANLP Standard
Prerequisites: None
Associate Level: None
Certified or Competent level: Must hold a NLP Practitioner Certificate. Encouraged to attend an Accreditation scheme.
Able practitioner (Bronze): Must hold a NLP Practitioner Certificate with 2 years + Practice. 70 hours of ANLP accredited CPD evidence. Have attended at least two ANLP conferences (counts towards CPD) or equivalent. Demonstrate active practicing of skills by providing 3 independent testimonials about their work, preferably from people who were seen at least six months previously.
Able practitioner (Silver): Hold an NLP Masters Certificate and be recognised at APMB (bronze) level. Have at least three years practice. 105 hours CPD evidenced by signature in CPD manual. Have attended at least three conferences (counts towards CPD) or equivalent. Demonstrate active practicing of skills by providing 3 independent testimonials about their work from people who were seen by applicant at least 6 months previously (in addition to those previously submitted).
Able practitioner (Gold): Hold a Trainers Certificate and be recognised at APMS (silver) level. Have at least three years practice. 105 hours CPD evidenced by signature in CPD manual. Have attended at least three conferences (counts towards CPD) or equivalent. Demonstrate active practicing of skills by providing 3 independent testimonials from students trained at least 6 months to 1 year previously (in addition to those previously submitted). Actively promoting ANLP International Membership to trainees.
Distinguished Practitioner: The highest award in ANLP International, the Distinguished Practitioner Member is awarded to an APMB, APMS or APMG who has:
Maintained four years continuous membership of ANLP at the date of application. introduced NLP into at least two major sectors such as Education, Medicine, Business, etc. spoken at ANLP Conferences.Is a published author and /or made a significant contribution towards the development, understanding and evolution of NLP and actively encourages and contributes to Research and Development in the field. Assisted on a training course, attended practice group consistently, can demonstrate ongoing practice. ANLP International may waive membership requirements at their discretion if the applicant is a recognised leader and developer in the field of NLP and personal development. ABM Gold and DPM levels are awarded by an independent panel appointed by ANLP International.
Cost: Associate level: £60, Certified or Competent:£65, Able Practitioners £80, Distinguishes practitioner £135,
Members Accreditation: Activation fee £600 + Accreditation renewal (every 2 years) £325 + Certification fee £95 each.
Membership Benefits: Rapport magazine every quarter, referral scheme with online profile, members access to website, mentoring scheme.

International NLP Training Association (INLPTA)
Created by: Wyatt Woodsmall.
Head Office: Virginia, USA
www: http://www.inlpta.co.uk/index.html

INLPTA Standard
Prerequisites: None
Practitioner Standard: 130 hours tuition over a period of 15 days formal classroom training.
Master Practitioner Standard: 130 hours tuition over a period of 15 days formal classroom training.
NLP Trainers Training Standard: Minimum of 150 hours tuition over a period of 19 days.
NLP Master Trainer standard: Minimum of 150 hours tuition over a period of 19 days.
Certificates: Must be signed by an INLPTA Trainer.
Cost: Per training course
Membership Benefits: News letters, Unknown

Professional Guild of NLP
Created by: Fran Burgess & Derek Jackson.
Head Office: Lancashire, UK
www: http://www.professionalguildofnlp.com

Professional Guild Standard
Prerequisites: NLP Training Organisation teaching 120 hours contact time practitioner courses.
Practitioner Standard: NLP Practitioner Training Programmes are a minimum of 120 contact hours.
NLP Trainers Training Standard: NLP Training Organisation teaching 120 hours contact time practitioner courses.
Cost: £250
Membership Benefits: Inclusion to their web database with company profile. Active promotion through web-links to interfacing Bodies. Marketing materials to include logo artwork, Certificate Seals, Learner Passport Stamp. Marketing materials to give to your learners, past present and future.