If you work on hospital construction, CHC is one of the clearest ways to show you know the rules of building in patient-care spaces. I’d look at it this way: the credential usually costs $400 to $570 for the exam, takes about 2 hours with 115 multiple-choice questions, and fits best for people with healthcare jobsite experience, not general construction alone.
Here’s the short version:
What matters most is fit. If your work includes infection control planning, utility shutdowns, phased hospital renovation, or life safety measures, CHC lines up well with your day-to-day job. If not, the return may be lower.
| Item | Key Detail |
|---|---|
| Exam length | About 2 hours |
| Question count | About 115 |
| Member exam fee | $400 |
| Non-member exam fee | $570 |
| Renewal cycle | Every 3 years |
| Renewal path | 45 contact hours or retest |
Bottom line: I’d treat CHC as a targeted credential for healthcare construction work. It can help with hiring, role fit, and employer confidence, but the value is strongest when your job already involves active healthcare projects.
ASHE CHC Certification: Costs, Exam Facts & Eligibility at a Glance
CHC confirms that a person can handle healthcare construction with a strong grasp of safety, planning, and money management. In an occupied hospital, that matters a lot. Work still has to move forward, but patients also need to stay safe.
The exam is split into four main domains: Healthcare Industry Fundamentals; Planning, Design, and Construction Process; Healthcare Facility Safety (additions and renovations); and Financial Stewardship [2][5]. It also tests key U.S. codes such as NFPA 99, NFPA 101, and NFPA 241 [2].
On top of that, candidates need to know topics like infection control risk, life safety, interim life safety measures, and utility shutdowns [3][4]. Put simply, these domains spell out what you need to know before you can even start mapping out a study budget.
CHC is aimed at people who manage construction in active healthcare settings. That group includes:
Eligibility is based on education, related construction experience, and healthcare project work [1]. Every candidate must have at least 3 years of management, supervisory, or administrative experience. You also must have worked on a healthcare construction project within the last 3 years [1].
| Education Level | Total Associated Construction Experience | Healthcare-Specific Experience | Management/Supervisory Experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's Degree or higher | 5 years | 5 years | 3 years |
| Associate Degree | 7 years | 5 years | 3 years |
| High School Diploma or GED | 10 years | 5 years | 3 years |
You apply through the AHA Certification Center. Start by reviewing the CHC Candidate Handbook and Application, then send in your materials so your eligibility can be checked. After approval, you can schedule the exam through PSI, either at a testing center or through live-remote proctoring [1].
Results and certificates usually arrive within 2 to 4 weeks.
Once eligibility is confirmed, the next step is budgeting for exam and prep costs.
Once you're eligible, the next step is simple: map out the cost. Start with the fixed fees, then layer in prep costs and renewal.
The exam fee is the biggest direct expense. ASHE members pay $400, and non-members pay $570 [1]. That $170 difference is big enough that it's smart to compare membership costs before you register [1].
If you take the test at a PSI center, you may also need to pay for travel and parking. Remote proctoring cuts those costs, but you’ll need a private space that meets the testing rules [1][2]. Eligible veterans can get the full exam cost reimbursed through VA benefits by using VA Form 22-0803 [1][2].
Prep costs can stack up fast. Seeing the main numbers side by side makes planning a lot easier.
| Item | ASHE Member | Non-Member |
|---|---|---|
| CHC Examination Fee | $400 [1] | $570 [1] |
| CHC Exam Review Course (Live Online) | $345 [7] | $435 [7] |
| Recertification Fee (Every 3 years) | $135 [1] | $225 [1] |
The CHC Exam Review Course is a full-day live online option [7][8].
One smart move is to join ASHE before signing up for anything. The member savings on the exam fee ($170) and review course ($90) can be more than the cost of membership [1][7]. Members may also pay less for reading materials, e-learning courses, and some technical monographs [2].
After the exam, renewal becomes the next recurring expense. You can renew by logging 45 contact hours within three years or by taking the exam again [1]. If you renew with contact hours, budget $135 for members or $225 for non-members [1]. If you renew by retesting, plan for the full exam fee again: $400 to $570 [1].
Miss the deadline, and there’s a $50 late fee during the 30-day grace period. One catch: contact hours earned during that grace period don’t count [1].
Before you apply, verify current fees with AHA-CC.
With the cost out of the way, the next step is simple: understand the test and study in the same sequence it expects.
The CHC exam is a computer-based exam given by PSI. It includes about 115 multiple-choice questions and gives you about 2 hours to finish [1].
The test is split into four main domains tied to the kind of work healthcare construction teams handle on active jobsites [2][5]:
| Domain | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Healthcare Industry Fundamentals | Regulatory compliance, patient safety, and the hospital regulatory environment |
| Planning, Design, and Construction Process | Project lifecycle, commissioning, MEP coordination, and utility shutdowns |
| Healthcare Facility Safety (including additions and renovations) | ICRA, PCRA, ILSM, and fire/life safety compliance |
| Financial Stewardship | Capital spending, budget allocation, and project management efficiency |
A lot of candidates spend extra time on Healthcare Facility Safety because that domain leans hard on ICRA, PCRA, ILSM, and fire/life safety. Planning, Design, and Construction also matters a lot, especially commissioning, MEP coordination, and utility shutdowns.
Once you know the domains, study them in the same order the exam follows. That keeps your prep clean and easier to track.
ASHE points candidates toward a study path that starts with the Working in Health Care course, then moves to the Health Care Construction Workshop, and finishes with the CHC Exam Review course [2]. For most people with a full-time job, 8 to 12 weeks is a solid runway.
In Weeks 1-2, download the CHC Candidate Handbook and take the CHC Self-Assessment Exam (SAE). That gives you a clear read on weak spots before you sink hours into topics you already know [2]. At this stage, review the main study materials too: Construction Management of Health Care Projects, The Facility Manager's Handbook for Health Care Project Management, NFPA 241, and the CDC Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control [2].
In Weeks 3-7, spend most of your time on the Planning, Design, and Construction Process and Healthcare Facility Safety domains. That means PCRA and ICRA protocols, Interim Life Safety Measures (ILSM), utility shutdowns, and the coordination work that shows up all the time on occupied healthcare projects [3][4]. This is where the exam starts to feel like the day job.
In Weeks 8-10, move into Financial Stewardship and the code-heavy topics, including NFPA 99 and NFPA 101 [2][5]. Then use Weeks 11-12 for final review with the CHC Exam Review course. It comes as a 90-day e-learning module and costs $235 for members and $289 for non-members [5]. The course focuses on core concepts, practice questions, and test-taking approaches [5].
Take the Health Care Construction Workshop before the review course. It helps lock in PCRA, ICRA, medical gas systems, fire/life safety, and MEP coordination [4]. It also helps if you tie your study to the work you already do, like utility shutdowns, ILSM, commissioning, and ICRA/PCRA. That connection tends to make the material stick.
After you know what the exam covers, the next step is figuring out whether the credential pays off in your role.
Passing the exam is one thing. What happens after that is why CHC gets attention in the first place.
For many employers, CHC works as a hiring signal. It shows healthcare job-site knowledge that general construction experience alone doesn't confirm. That carries more weight on occupied hospital projects, where patient safety, shutdown planning, infection control, and compliance shape who gets hired and who gets trusted with the work.
CHC points to healthcare-specific skill in a way a resume by itself may not. Someone may have years in the field, but that doesn't automatically show they can handle the demands of an active hospital project. And that's the part employers care about.
As Brian Crissman, Vice President of National Healthcare Services at The Christman Company, puts it:
"ASHE CHC certification is a respected benchmark that healthcare facilities should look for when considering construction companies." [6]
That quote gets to the point. CHC gives employers a clear, standardized way to assess candidates, while also showing healthcare-focused competency [1][2].
It tends to matter most for roles such as:
CHC has the most impact in roles tied directly to active healthcare construction. The payoff is strongest in occupied hospital and healthcare infrastructure work, especially on complex, multi-phase renovations where employers are more likely to prefer or require CHC-certified staff [1][4].
Yes - if you want to focus on healthcare construction.
The CHC can help your reputation because it shows you understand the issues that come with healthcare projects, like infection control, life safety, and utility shutdowns.
That matters because healthcare construction is heavily regulated. Owners and contractors often look for people who can show they know this space well.
If you already have the required healthcare project experience, the credential can support long-term career growth and earning potential.
Your hospital project experience helps, but the CHC exam is still a tough benchmark. It tests more than what you deal with on day-to-day site work. You’ll be tested across healthcare basics, construction processes, facility safety, and financial stewardship.
That means you need working knowledge of specialized areas like infection control, life safety, and utility system management. If some of those topics feel less familiar, that’s normal. ASHE’s self-assessments, candidate handbook, and review courses can help you spot weak areas and close those gaps.
Yes. Your employer can pay for your CHC exam and renewal costs. Many professionals have their organization cover these fees as part of professional development and facility certification goals.
If you need payment or reimbursement, work with your employer’s HR or finance team. And if they need paperwork for the process, you can request a receipt from the AHA-CC.
