Congratulations on maintaining your Certified Bariatric Nurse (CBN) credential. Recertification is a critical step in demonstrating your ongoing competence and commitment to safe, ethical, and effective patient care in our evolving field.
Your CBN credential is valid for four years. Recertification must be completed prior to your expiration date to ensure continuous use of the CBN designation.
Eligibility Criteria
Before applying for the CBN Recertification, the following eligibility criteria must be satisfied:
- Candidates must hold a current, valid license as a Professional Nurse (RN or equivalent for international nurses) issued by one of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico.
- Acceptable international nurses’ licensure will be determined on an individual basis by the Recertification Subcommittee.
- Applicants must have at least 1,000 hours of professional nursing practice within the past four years, primarily involving the care of patients undergoing metabolic and bariatric surgery.
- This may include Registered Nurses who serve in roles such as education, administration, leadership, quality improvement, or advanced practice, provided their work involves caring for or supporting the bariatric patient population.
- If there is uncertainty regarding an applicant’s eligibility, the CBN Certification Committee will conduct a review to determine qualification.
- Adhere to the CBN Certification Standards of Conduct.
Review the Recertification section of the 2025-2026 CBN Candidate Handbook for to find additional information.
Questions? Email: CBN@LearningBuilder.com
Successful Recertification & Grace Year
If your recertification requirements are completed before your credential expires, your registry number will be renewed for an additional four-year period.
Certificants whose credentials have expired may still complete recertification within one year (the “grace year”) without retaking the examination. However, you may not use the CBN designation during this period. After the grace year, recertification can only be achieved by retaking and passing the CBN examination.
Recertification Methods
CBN certificants may maintain their credential through one of the following two options:
Option 1: Re-examination You may choose to recertify by re-taking and passing the CBN examination at any time during your current four-year certification cycle.
Option 2: Continuing Education & Professional Development To recertify via this option, you must earn a total of 80 points within the 48 months prior to your certification expiration.
- At least 40 points must be from continuing education contact hours.
- The remaining 40 points may be earned through a mix of approved professional development activities.
All applications for this option must be submitted online and will be reviewed by the CBN Recertification Subcommittee.
The Professional Development Point System
To ensure the quality and relevance of recertification activities, we use a point-based system. Please see the CBN Handbook for the full point breakdown.
- Approved Activities:
- Continuing Education: Credits offered by a certified or accredited provider of nursing continuing education will be accepted. The content of continuing education programs should be relevant to one or more of the five domains of the CBN Examination Content Outline, as well as aligned with the corresponding Knowledge Statements.
- Professional Development: This includes activities like serving as a preceptor, authoring publications or book chapters, presenting at conferences, participating in peer review, earning academic credits, or serving on professional organization committees.
- What is NOT Approved:
- Routine Job Duties: Activities that are a routine part of your daily responsibilities—such as regular patient education, in-services, or orientation for new hires—are not accepted.
- Mandatory Employment Training: Activities solely related to employment requirements, like BLS, PALS, or ACLS certifications, are not acceptable.
- General Topics: General continuing education topics unrelated to bariatric nursing, such as nursing ethics or a general pain management conference, are not approved unless you can show they directly relate to the care of bariatric patients.
For specific details regarding continuing education and professional development activities, please see the CBN Handbook.
Application Process & Timelines
We encourage you to begin submitting your recertification activity documentation as you complete it throughout your four-year cycle by logging into the LearningBuilder platform.
Recertification applications generally take six weeks for review, but may take longer if additional committee review is required. To avoid a lapse in your certification, we highly recommend submitting your application as early as possible.
Get Started
Click the link below to begin complete your CBN Re-Certification.
https://cbn.learningbuilder.com
Audit Policy
To maintain program integrity, a subset of recertification applications (5%) is randomly selected for an audit. If your application is selected, you will be required to provide additional documentation to verify the information you submitted. Candidates are responsible for maintaining all supporting documentation for the full four-year certification cycle. Submission of fraudulent or misleading information will result in disciplinary action, including the denial of recertification or revocation of your CBN credential.
Retired Status (CBN-Ret)
The CBN-Ret designation is a formal recognition for certified bariatric nurses who are retiring from practice. It honors your contributions to the field and does not require continuing education or renewal.
To qualify, you must:
- Hold a current, unrestricted RN license and a CBN certification in good standing at the time of your retirement.
- Be fully retired from nursing practice, with no plans to return.
- Submit the Retired Status application online at least 30 days prior to, or within one year of, the expiration of your most recent CBN certification.
Use of the Designation: You may use CBN (Ret) on your resume or business card to recognize your past achievement. However, this designation does not represent active certification and must not be used on patient charts or in any context that implies you are currently practicing.
Request a Printed Certificate or CBN Pin
All approved CBN recertifications will receive one printed certificate mailed to the address on file in LearningBuilder. Please ensure your home address is listed and up to date in the system. Requests for replacement certificates will incur a $25 fee and must be submitted using the form linked below.
If you would like to receive a printed copy of your certificate by mail, please click here to submit your request. All submissions are verified to confirm eligibility. Please allow up to three weeks for processing and delivery. If you have not received your certificate within four weeks, please contact us at certificates@asmbs.org.