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To earn the CCM credential, a meteorologist must make application for the designation, be recommended by three associates, pass a stringent written examination, and pass an oral examination before a national board of examiners. The CCM designation is granted only to those who demonstrate a broad background in meteorology together with detailed knowledge in a particular field of specialization.
The written examination consists of several standard questions intended to test the applicant's general meteorological background and several questions intended to probe more deeply into their own area of specialty or expertise. There are 8 mandatory questions and 7 (out of 10) candidate choice questions on the exam as well as a consulting essay scenario. Candidate's choose one scenario out of a choice of three or submit their own previously written consulting essay that meets the essay requirements. In the written examination process, candidates must provide their own work and may not receive assistance from others. Any instance of plagiarism, including but not limited to the use of artificial intelligence (AI), is strictly prohibited and will result in a Code of Conduct complaint. All written answers should be in the candidate's own words. Use of appropriate peer-reviewed or professional reference material is required in your answer to each question, and should be properly cited in the body of the answer. Any text, equations, figures or other content taken from other publications should be properly cited. A references list should be appended to the end of each answer. The AMS Code of Conduct’s “Research Conduct” standards apply to this written examination. Each question has a base score of 100 points, and passing is 70 percent or more. Most questions but not all use a scoring rubric for Correctness (30 points) and Methodology (70 points). Other questions have specific rubrics designed to assess all essential elements of an answer. Answers should be well written and logical and free of grammatical and spelling errors. A period of 90 days is normally suggested as sufficient to complete the written part of the examination.
To pass the written portion of the exam, the candidate must fulfill the following three steps: (1) the average score for the 15 written questions must be 70 or higher; (2) the candidate must score an average of 70 or higher on at least 9 of the 15 questions; and (3) the candidate must score an average of 70 or higher on the consulting essay portion of the written material. If the outcome of the above three steps are not met, the exam is deemed a failure and no oral review will be conducted for that applicant.
Applicants achieving a passing grade on the combined written exam and technical report are qualified for an oral exam. The oral portion of the examination is normally conducted through a virtual testing process. Commonly the full Board participates, but a panel of at least 3 Board members is required.
The oral examination may cover any hydro-meteorological topic. It usually consists of a discussion of the applicant’s written examination materials, his or her technical report and summary, and any other topics deemed appropriate by the Panel. Questions also are used to explore the candidate’s knowledge of areas identified by the candidate as their area of specialization. The Board, at their discretion, may pose questions using visual material such as isobaric maps, Doppler radar maps, satellite maps or numerical weather prediction products. The oral exam always includes a discussion of hypothetical situations that arise in consulting activities and a discussion of professional ethics.
Applicants will be given a list of any questions and/or consulting essay sections for which their aggregate score across all graders was less than 70, to assist them with preparing for the oral exam. No information on the identity of, or scoring from, individual graders will be provided. Immediately prior to the oral examination the candidate will be given a short written quiz on basic meteorological knowledge.
Following each examination the participating members vote individually on their recommendation for each candidate. The ballot contains a statement that “To the best of his or her knowledge, the voting Board member has no conflict of interest with this applicant.” The ballot asks each grader to assess the candidate in three categories: knowledge, communications, and ethics. Grades are assigned on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) in each category. For each category, there is a space for remarks explaining the grade assigned. At the end of the ballot, there is a signature and date block. Certification will be recommended if the majority of graders give the candidate a score of 7 or higher in each of the three categories.
Results of the Board’s vote are communicated to the Commissioner on Professional Affairs.
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Appeals process
Report Guidelines prior to 1 January 2020