As a minimum, applicants must meet one of the below requirements and have a minimum of five years of work at the professional level in meteorology or a related field. Substitution of a postgraduate degree below the doctorate is permitted for one year of experience, and substitution of the doctorate degree in meteorology for up to two years is allowable.

(A) Hold a Bachelor's (or higher) degree in meteorology or atmospheric science.

(B) Hold a Bachelor's degree (or higher) in "other sciences and engineering" and be engaged in an activity in which the applicant's knowledge is being applied to the advancement or application of the atmospheric or related sciences. Acceptable degrees will be determined after a review of the applicant’s college/university transcripts. Arts and humanities are not included; therefore, degrees in English, literature, philosophy, languages, journalism, communications and business administration would not lead to eligibility for CCM application. Applicants applying under this category should be aware that the written and oral exams are heavily focused on meteorology. Candidates should possess a strong understanding of dynamic and thermodynamic meteorology, synoptic meteorology, physical meteorology, as well as the fundamentals of calculus and physics.

(C) Have at least 20 semester credit hours in meteorology with 12 of the 20 credits in core classes (a minimum of 2 credits in each of 4 of the 5 core areas is required).

At least 12 of the 20 credits must be in areas of:

1. Atmospheric or Oceanographic Dynamics

2. Atmospheric or Oceanographic Thermodynamics

3. Physical Meteorology or Physical Oceanography

4. Synoptic Meteorology (or Weather Systems) or Synoptic Oceanography

5. Hydrology

Missing a few courses? Browse our Schools and Distance Learning page to find a college/university with a meteorology program near you and a list of distance learning courses.

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.

Webinar on the CCM Application Process

Written examination

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.

Consulting Essay Guidelines

Written examination grading procedures as of 1 November 2020

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.

Oral examination

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.

Read full procedures

Appeals process

Report Guidelines prior to 1 January 2020

APPLICATION & FEES

• CCM application
• College/university transcript(s)
• Application Fee: $330 for AMS Members; $660 for Non-members*; Reapplication Fee: $100 for AMS Members; $200 for Non-members

*Non-members may apply for AMS membership and pay the member rate.

The annual renewal fee for the CCM is $134 for AMS Members and $515 for Non-members.

Acceptable payments: Check (made payable to AMS) or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or American Express)

Certification is for a period of one year, and can be renewed annually. Renewals are billed by the AMS in conjunction with annual membership and subscription notices. If an individual fails to renew certification or fails to achieve an acceptable level of continuing professional development during the five-year period following certification or the completion of the most recent continuing professional development period, the certification will be considered Inactive.

Inactive Status

Inactive CCMs can’t practice as a CCM or market themselves as CCMs. Those wishing to acknowledge their past active CCM status in resumes may do so, but must list the years from initial certification to when they lapsed into Inactive status.

Retired Status

Retired CCMs may request that their status be changed to 'retired'. CCMs with a retired status are no longer required to pay the CCM renewal fee and do not need to complete the professional development requirement. Those wishing to acknowledge their past active CCM status in resumes may do so, but must list the years from initial certification to when their status changed to retired.

Reactivation

Reactivation of an Inactive certification can be obtained under the following situations:

1. If the certification has become Inactive due to failure to pay the renewal fee, and has been Inactive for less than three years, active status can be obtained by paying the renewal fee for the inactive year(s) and the current renewal.
2. If the certification has become Inactive because insufficient continuing professional development activities or insufficient documentation had been completed in the required five-year continuing professional development period, and the certification has been Inactive for less than three years, the certification can be reactivated upon completion of sufficient continuing professional development activities in the five year period preceding the request for reactiviation and with the payment of the renewal fee for the inactive year(s) and the current renewal.
3. If the individual has been inactive in the atmospheric, hydrospheric, or related sciences for three or more years or the individual’s certification has been inactive for some other reason for more than three years complete reapplication for certification may be necessary.  Individuals in these circumstances should contact the CCM Board chair for guidance.

CCMs must demonstrate exemplary qualities of character and devotion to high professional standards. Relations with fellow meteorologists, and with clients or employers, should be conducted in a spirit conforming in full to the Society’s Guidelines for Professional Conduct (Article XII of the Constitution). The applicant’s record of professional work should clearly indicate that he or she maintains those traits for conduct complying fully with the Society's Guidelines for Professional Conduct and applying generally in public contacts.

There will be one or more questions on ethics on the written examination and the oral exam may include a discussion of hypothetical situations that arise in professional practice including those related to ethics.

Recommended reading list to prepare for the CCM oral exam:

AMS Constitution, Article XII. Guidelines for Professional Conduct

Business Ethics for Professional Meteorology

AMS Statement: Professional Guideline on Use of the Term Meteorologist

Guidelines for Use of the AMS CCM Logo

Weather and Climate Service Providers Directory (Listing of CCMs by Specialization)

Learn more about the work of CCMs