Certified Member vs. Certificate-Holder Only

🚧 Certified Member vs. Certificate-Holder Only: what you're actually paying for

Short answer: the CCC and ASHA membership are two separate things that ASHA bills together. You can keep the CCC and drop membership. ASHA calls this "Certificate-holder only" (you may also hear "certified nonmember"). It costs $221 a year instead of $250, and your CCC is exactly the same. The $29 difference buys member perks like journals, discounts, voting, and ASHA's insurance program. If you don't need the CCC at all, you can drop both.

This page explains each status, what you keep and give up, and exactly how to switch before your 2027 dues are due on December 31, 2026.

Jump to: The statuses · Cost and your invoice · What membership adds · What stays the same · How to decide · How to switch · Dropping the CCC · Go deeper

The statuses

Certified Member

You hold the CCC and pay for ASHA membership. This is the default on your renewal invoice, and ASHA labels it "Recommended."

2027 cost: $250/year

Certificate-Holder Only

You hold the CCC but are not an ASHA member. Your CCC is just as valid for employers, licensing boards, Medicaid, and supervising students and CFs. You give up member-only perks.

2027 cost: $221/year

Member without certification

Membership with no CCC. ASHA only offers this to people who don't provide clinical services or supervise, such as researchers or some faculty. Most practicing SLPs can't choose it.

2027 cost: $90/year

Neither (license only)

You practice on your state license, which is the credential that legally lets you work. You pay ASHA nothing. Check your state, payers, and employer first, since a few still name the CCC.

ASHA cost: $0

Other statuses ASHA offers: Retired Certification Status is for certificate-holders who have retired from practice and have either held certification for 25 total years or are 65 or older. Graduate Student Membership ($150) is for certified members enrolled in a graduate or professional degree program who have paid member dues for at least one year. Life Membership is for current members age 65 or older with 25 continuous or 35 cumulative years of membership.

Every option still includes your state license fees. Your state license is what's legally required to practice in all 50 states and D.C. The CCC is an optional certification product unless your state, payer, or employer specifically requires it. Check your state on the State Resource Map.

What it costs (2027 ASHA dues)

Status	Annual dues	Late fee after Dec 31	Holds the CCC?	ASHA member?
Certified Member	$250 ($221 certification + $29 membership)	$52	Yes	Yes
Certificate-Holder Only	$221	$52	Yes	No
Member without certification	$90 (non-clinical roles only)	$26	No	Yes
Neither	$0	n/a	No	No

⚠️ Read your invoice before you pay. ASHA's 2027 renewal invoice lists "Certified Member or Member In Process of Certification" at $250, then adds optional payments that are already checked for you:

CE Registry Fee: $28 for members. It's optional and is not required to keep your CCC.
ASHFoundation donation: $36
ASHA-PAC donation: $36

With those left checked, a $250 renewal becomes $350. Uncheck anything you don't want, then click "Update Total & Continue" before you pay.

Figures are ASHA's published 2027 dues, due December 31, 2026. Confirm on your own renewal invoice or ASHA's dues page.

So what does the $29 membership actually get you?

When you switch to Certificate-holder only, ASHA makes you check a box next to everything you're giving up. Here's that list, in ASHA's words, with what it actually means for most clinicians.

What ASHA says you give up	What it means in practice
Voting in ASHA Board elections	True. If voting in ASHA elections matters to you, membership is the only way to do it.
Serving on ASHA volunteer committees, boards, and councils	True. This only matters if you want an ASHA leadership role.
Member-only content, including the ASHA Leader, ASHA journals, and Perspectives	Journal articles are often available through a university or hospital library, open-access versions, or by emailing the author. If you read ASHA journals often and have no other access, this one has real value.
Future Life Membership eligibility	Life Membership requires age 65 plus 25 continuous or 35 cumulative years of membership. Switching breaks the continuous count, but years you've already paid still count toward the 35-year route.
Discounted Graduate Student Membership if you return to school	Only matters if you're going back for another degree.
ASHA's Professional Liability Group Insurance Program (Proliability/AMBA)	You can buy malpractice insurance on your own, and your employer may already cover you. If you have this policy now, line up a replacement before you switch. Episode #95 walks you through it.
ASHA Mentoring Programs	Mentorship is available through state associations, employers, and colleague networks.
ASHA's National Outcomes Measurement System (NOMS)	Only matters if you or your facility submit NOMS data.
ASHA Communities	Online discussion forums. Many SLPs already connect through state associations, social media groups, and Fix SLP.
Member-only discounts: about $100 on Convention, $35 on ASHA Professional Development, $10 on the CE Registry, and no-cost Professional Development Hours	Only worth it if you buy those things. You can earn CE from many providers, and your state license doesn't require ASHA-approved courses. See our CE discounts.

Don't let the checkboxes sway you. ASHA labels Certified Member "Recommended" and warns that you'll lose "resources, advocacy support, and professional community." ASHA's advocacy with CMS, insurers, and states covers the whole profession, members or not. Ask yourself one question: did I actually use any of these this year? If not, the $29 isn't buying you anything.

What stays exactly the same either way

As long as you hold the CCC, member or not:

Your CCC is the same credential, with the same verification. It meets every employer, licensing board, and Medicaid rule that names the CCC.
You can still supervise grad students and CFs who want the CCC.
Certification maintenance: 30 professional development hours every 3-year interval. These must include at least 1 hour in ethics and 2 hours in cultural competency, cultural humility, culturally responsive practice, or DEI. If you supervise, 2 of the hours must be in supervision.
ASHA Code of Ethics: it applies to every CCC holder, not just members.
Annual renewal: you still pay every year by December 31 to keep the CCC current.
Your state license: its renewal cycle, fees, and continuing education rules are set by your state and have nothing to do with ASHA. CEU requirements by state.

How to decide: four questions

1. Does anything require the CCC?

Your state licensing board? Alaska, Delaware, Nevada, and Rhode Island name it for an initial license, and Nevada also requires keeping it current.
Medicaid or a payer you bill? Massachusetts Medicaid, some services in D.C., and SGD evaluations in Arkansas and Missouri.
Your employer or contract? This includes school district pay stipends tied to the CCC.

Check your state

2. Do you supervise?

If you supervise grad students or CFs who want the CCC, you need to hold the CCC. Membership is not required. Hours you supervised while certified stay valid for your students even if you drop the CCC later.

Supervision without the CCC

3. Did you use member perks this year?

Journals, Convention, ASHA CE, voting, ASHA Communities, ASHA's insurance program. If you used none of these, membership isn't earning its keep.

Listen: Membership vs. CCC

4. Might you need the CCC later?

Thinking about moving states, changing settings, or a job market that still asks for it? Weigh the reinstatement requirements below against the cost of renewing. If you aren't sure, Certificate-holder only is the low-cost way to keep your options open.

Listen: Reinstatement facts

Where you probably land

Your situation	Likely fit
Something requires the CCC, and you actively use journals, Convention, ASHA CE, or ASHA's insurance, or want to vote	Certified Member ($250)
Something requires the CCC (or you supervise), but you don't use member perks	Certificate-Holder Only ($221)
Nothing requires the CCC, but you might need it in the next few years	Certificate-Holder Only while you decide, or drop it and plan for reinstatement
Nothing requires the CCC, you don't supervise CCC-track students, and you're settled in your state and setting	License only ($0 to ASHA)
You don't see clients or supervise, and you want ASHA's journals and community	Member without certification ($90)

Fix SLP isn't here to tell you what to do. There is no shame in having the CCC, and no shame in not having it. The point is that it's your informed choice, and you can re-decide every renewal season.

How to switch to Certificate-Holder Only

Log in to your ASHA account at asha.org and choose My Account.
If you're thinking about dropping the CCC entirely: under Certification and Supervision, choose Request Verification Letter first. It's free, and it gives you proof that you held the CCC in case you ever need it.
Scroll down to Manage Your Account and choose Renew Your Dues.
At the top of your invoice, choose "Click here to learn more how to change your membership or affiliation level before renewal."
Skip past "Recommended: Certified Member." Under Certificate-holder Only, choose "Click here to remove Membership."
Check the boxes confirming you understand what you're giving up. Don't be swayed by the list. It's written to make you hesitate, and most of it is things you don't normally use or can get elsewhere (see the table above).
Click Submit.
Finish your renewal. Make sure your invoice shows $221, uncheck any optional payments you don't want (CE Registry, ASHFoundation, ASHA-PAC), and pay by December 31 to avoid the $52 late fee.

Questions before you switch? ASHA's membership team is at 800-498-2071 or membership@asha.org. Changed your mind later? Certificate-holders can add membership back by calling ASHA and paying the $29 difference, which ASHA allows through August 31 of the dues year, or at any future renewal.

If your employer pays your ASHA dues, ask whether they'll cover Certificate-holder only. Most employers that require the CCC don't require membership.

Dropping the CCC

Before you let it lapse

Request your free verification letter from My Account first (step 2 above), and keep it with your records.
If you don't pay by the deadline, your certification lapses, and you can no longer use "CCC-SLP" after your name.
You can't supervise students or CFs who are working toward the CCC.
Your state license is unaffected, but update any job, payer, or Medicaid enrollment that lists the CCC.
Tell your employer in writing if your job description names the CCC. Use our employer letter.

Reinstating the CCC later

A reinstatement fee: $400 with ASHA membership or $371 without.
Professional development hours, based on how long you went without the CCC:
1 year or less: 10 hours, completed within the 1 year before you apply.
1 to 2 years: 20 hours, completed within the 3 years before you apply.
2 years or more: 30 hours, completed within the 3 years before you apply.
A passing Praxis score, only if your CCC has been expired for more than 12 months. The score must be from no more than 5 years before you apply. Otherwise, you retake the Praxis.

Listen: I let my CCC expire

Go deeper

Podcast episodes

Fix SLP resources

Still have questions?

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for renewal-season breakdowns, or email team@fixslp.com. If ASHA tells you something different from what's on this page, send it to us in writing so we can update it.

Get the newsletter

Updated November 2026 from ASHA's 2027 renewal invoice, its "Changing Your Membership or Affiliation Level Before Renewal" page, its Certificate-Holder Only confirmation screen, and its reinstatement policies. This page is general information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements with your state licensing board, payers, and employer.