07 · Credentials
Accreditation and credentialing
Four acronyms come up constantly in this industry, and they do four different things. None of them is a government license. Knowing what each one signifies — and what it does not — protects you from being sold compliance you did not buy.
First principle
No credential substitutes for code compliance.
Accreditation, personnel certification and FDA device clearance are three separate things, and none of them replaces the other. A chamber can hold a valid 510(k) clearance and still be installed in a room that fails NFPA 99. A facility can be UHMS-accredited and still need its authority having jurisdiction to sign off. And a technician can hold every certificate in the field and still owe you a written record of what was tested.
We hold training credentials of our own, listed on our about page. We describe them the way this page describes everyone else’s: as training and membership credentials, not as regulatory qualifications.
Not “are you certified?” but “certified by whom, in what, and what document does that certificate map to?” If the answer does not resolve to a published standard, a manufacturer’s training program, or a named certifying board, it is marketing.
UHMS
Facility accreditation, voluntary
The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society runs a voluntary accreditation program for clinical hyperbaric facilities, involving what it describes as rigorous evaluation of the adequacy of the facility, equipment, staff and training, with an on-site survey. UHMS states its program has surveyed and accredited over 267 facilities in nearly 20 years and that it is the only hyperbaric-specific accreditation recognized by The Joint Commission as a Complementary Accrediting organization under that body’s Cooperative Agreement Initiative (UHMS Hyperbaric Facility Accreditation Program).
| Full accreditation term | Three years, with sub-levels: Accredited; Accredited with a Plan for Improvement; Accredited after a Plan for Improvement has been completed; and Accredited with Distinction. |
|---|---|
| Provisional accreditation | Valid for one year, after which a full survey is required to retain accreditation. |
| Eligibility | The facility must have been providing hyperbaric treatment services for at least one year before an on-site survey, be a legally constituted entity, complete the presurvey questionnaire, and pay fees. |
| Published fees | Accreditation or reaccreditation survey: $2,500 non-refundable application fee plus $7,500 survey fee. Consultation survey: $2,000 plus $3,000. |
| Survey team | A physician experienced in hyperbaric medicine, a Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurse and a Certified Hyperbaric Technologist; some reaccreditation surveys use a two-person CHRN and CHT team. |
| “With Distinction” | Requires meeting a mandatory first criterion plus at least 6 of 10.5 possible points across nine criteria. |
Sources: the UHMS accreditation program page, the UHMS accreditation manual, 4th edition, the “With Distinction” criteria update and the published list of accredited facilities.
It is not a government license, not FDA clearance of the facility, and not a certification of any service company. It accredits clinical hyperbaric facilities, voluntarily. There is no such thing as a UHMS-accredited service contractor — including us.
NBDHMT
Personnel certification: CHT and CHRN
The Certified Hyperbaric Technologist and Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurse credentials issued by the National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology are the recognized personnel certifications in clinical hyperbaric operations. UHMS accreditation criteria require, for example, that hyperbaric chamber operations staff complete at least a 40-credit-hour NBDHMT- or UHMS-approved hyperbaric medicine introductory course, and that non-physician practitioners be board certified by the relevant board or the NBDHMT (UHMS accreditation manual). Real-world safety-director postings list CHT certification through NBDHMT as a requirement (a UHMS classifieds posting).
A transparency note. The NBDHMT website blocks automated retrieval, so its own eligibility, examination and renewal terms were not read directly for this library. Every NBDHMT statement above is second-hand via UHMS documents. If you need the current requirements, go to the board directly rather than relying on this page.
IBUM and IHA
Private training and membership organizations
International Board of Undersea Medicine
By its own description, IBUM exists to train recompression chamber operators, diving medical technicians, advanced diving medical technicians, intermediate hyperbaric technicians, advanced clinical hyperbaric technicians and hyperbaric physicians and practitioners, as well as to educate and increase safety for those working in the field and to certify facilities to what it calls the highest international standard. Its stated mission is to offer training and credentials consistent with the current standard of care, and its board lists a Director of Training, a Chairman and named Facility Inspectors (IBUM’s About page).
What that means: IBUM is a private training and certification organization. Its statements about certifying facilities are its own. Nothing in the NFPA 99, ASME PVHO or FDA material reviewed for this library references IBUM, and IBUM certification is not a substitute for code compliance, authority-having-jurisdiction approval, or FDA device clearance. IBUM’s facility-certification criteria — the standard applied, the inspection scope, the intervals — were not located in public documents.
International Hyperbaric Association
Read the name carefully: two different organizations use similar names. The one usually meant describes itself as established in 2004 with the goal of increasing awareness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy among both the medical community and consumers, continuing through strategic initiatives, annual events, training certification, research grants and scholarships, with membership spanning 25 countries. Its published membership tiers include Prime Corporate, Provider, Corporate, General and Participating (its membership page). A separate entity at a similar domain, based in Madison, Wisconsin, states a vision centered on mental-health resources.
What that means: it is a membership and awareness association that also references training certification. It is not a standards-developing organization and not a government regulator, and it is not referenced by NFPA, ASME or FDA in any material reviewed here. Beyond its own self-description, the specific credentials it issues and their terms could not be verified from public pages. Treat any “IHA certified” claim — ours included — as a training and membership claim, not a compliance claim.
“IHA plus IBUM certification” is a package marketed by third-party vendors. It should not be represented as a regulatory qualification by anyone, and we do not represent ours that way.
FDA
Device clearance is about the device
Hyperbaric chambers are regulated as Class II medical devices under product code CBF, cleared through the 510(k) pathway, and the classification record lists them as life-sustaining or life-supporting (FDA’s product classification database). FDA states those devices can be identified by searching that product code in its 510(k) database (its 2025 letter to health care providers). A clearance is a finding of substantial equivalence to a predicate device for the indications named in that submission. It says nothing about the room the chamber sits in, the person who serviced it, or the company that installed it. UHMS accreditation criteria require the facility to hold a copy of the manufacturer’s clearance letter for the chambers in use (UHMS accreditation manual) — a good practice whether or not you pursue accreditation, and one of the documents we ask about on a first service visit.
Hyperbaric Service Pros installs, services, and maintains hyperbaric equipment. We are not a medical facility and do not provide medical advice or treatment. Technical information on this site is general reference only — always follow your chamber manufacturer's documentation and the codes enforced in your jurisdiction.
Sources
Every claim on this page, traced to its source
- UHMS Hyperbaric Facility Accreditation Programhttps://www.uhms.org/pt/accreditation/accreditation-for-hyperbaric-medicine.html
- UHMS Clinical Hyperbaric Facility Accreditation Manual, 4th ed.https://www.uhms.org/images/Accreditation-Documents/Fourth_Edition_UHMS_Accreditation_Manual_Final.pdf
- UHMS list of accredited facilitieshttps://www.uhms.org/accredited-facilities.html
- UHMS “With Distinction” accreditation criteria updatehttps://www.uhms.org/pressure-hyperbaric-facility-accreditation/1577-updated-with-distinction-accreditation-criteria-for-hyperbaric-facilities-new-caq-inclusion.html
- UHMS Safety Committee FAQ — accreditation and licensurehttps://www.uhms.org/el/resources/featured-resources/medfaqs-frequently-asked-questions-faq/safety-technical/accreditation-and-licensure.html
- UHMS classifieds — hyperbaric safety director posting (CHT requirement)https://www.uhms.org/resources/classifieds/employment-opportunities/ad/job-opportunities,5/hyperbaric-oxygen-chamber-safety-director,148.html
- IBUM (International Board of Undersea Medicine) — Abouthttps://www.ibum.org/about
- International Hyperbaric Association (ihausa.org) — membershiphttps://www.ihausa.org/member-portal/members.html
- FDA product classification database — “chamber, hyperbaric,” product code CBFhttps://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfpcd/classification.cfm?id=95
- FDA Letter to Health Care Providers, Aug. 25, 2025 — safe use of HBOT deviceshttps://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/letters-health-care-providers/follow-instructions-safe-use-hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-devices-letter-health-care-providers
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