So, you’ve received a notification from CE Broker that you were chosen for an audit by the State Board. The message may seem scary, but there’s really no need to panic.
Audits are your State Board’s way to make sure that the licensed professionals under their authority are compliant with the state’s continuing education requirements. Receiving an audit notification does not mean that your CE requirements have not been reported to the board. It only means that the Board wants to check your documents.
Still, if you want to make sure that you will get through the State Board’s audit without a hitch and without penalties, you should know what to do and what to prepare to properly respond to an audit notification.
This article will tell you all that you need to know about audits by the State Board.
What is a State Board Audit?
As mentioned, your State Board conducts audits to determine your compliance with the requirements for continuing education for license renewal. An audit consists of a review of documentation of continuing education.
Most State Boards implement random audits among their licensed professionals. As the name suggests, random audits are done randomly. With random audits, a specific number of licensees are randomly selected for audit each month. The purpose of this audit is to determine whether the continuing education requirement has been met. When renewing online, you may receive notification that you have been selected for an audit at the end of the renewal process.
If your state uses CE Broker for CE compliance management, you will receive a link to CE Broker where you can put in proof of your CE compliance. The State Board staff will verify completion of required CE through CE Broker, so you don’t need to print or send anything to your State Board. However, this is not the case for every state. It is best to check with your State Board to know how and when you should submit your documentation.
When Do I Need To Respond To A State Board Audit Notification?
It is always best to respond to an audit notification as soon as possible. For many states, you are only given a set number of days to respond to an audit notification. For some states, you are given a specific deadline to respond. To ensure you meet the deadline for an audit response, review your audit notification or check with your State Board.
What Do I Need To Provide In My Audit Response?
Documentation of completion of CE activities should be supplied to you by the provider of the activity. The most common documentation asked by State Boards are the following:
- Licensee’s name
- Title of the education activity or course
- Approval code or course number
- Date of program completion
- Name of the provider/instructor
- Name of the organization which approved the program for CE
- Contact hours
For academic credit, some states require a college transcript or your grade report showing the licensee’s name, the name of the school, the number of credit hours completed, and the dates attended.
How Long Do I Need To Keep My Documentation?
State Boards have differing advice on how long you should keep a record of your CE certificates and documentation. Many State Boards require their licensees to keep a record of their documents for 4 to 6 years. Keeping physical and digital copies of your CE certificates for such a long time might be challenging for licensees. Luckily, certificates from AchieveCE are stored indefinitely for free! Message us if you have any trouble locating your old certificates from AchieveCE.
What Will Happen If I Refuse To Respond To An Audit Notification?
Failure to comply with the requests for documents, or submits false, inaccurate, or incomplete evidence of meeting continuing education requirements will be subject to disciplinary action by the Board.
