How to Order AHA Course Certification Cards
Where do you buy AHA certification cards? After completing an AHA certifying course, the student should receive a course completion card within 20 business days of course completion work being submitted. Usually, certifications are sent much sooner especially because many need the record for licensing requirements. We will discuss how AHA certification cards an be acquired.
Who can buy AHA Course Completion Cards?
AHA student and instructor materials are readily available to anyone. You can easily shop Vitali Training Supplies and find all manuals, DVD’s, etc. However there is one thing you won’t find on our site. AHA Course Certification Cards are kept under lock and key.
According to the AHA Program Administration Manual (PAM), “Only a Training Center Coordinator (TCC) can use the confidential security code to order eCards or course completion cards for approved disciplines. The TCC must keep this code confidential… The AHA may change the code if deemed necessary to maintain the confidentiality of the code. Misuse of the confidential security code could result in termination of the ITC Agreement.”
If you are rereading that last paragraph because it was hard to read, don’t worry. We’ll break it down. The AHA only sells course completion cards through two vendors: Shop CPR and Worldpoint. The only people that can buy AHA certification cards through these vendors are the AHA designated Training Center Coordinators. These TCC’s use a special code to unlock the ability to order these cards at what is essentially wholesale pricing.
How do I buy AHA eCards if I’m not a Training Center?
If you are not an AHA Training Center, you simply must purchase your certification cards through a Training Center. To ensure quality in training, the AHA tasks Training Centers with vetting smaller training sites and individual instructors to make sure their courses follow the guidelines to issue course completion cards.
Depending on your Training Center, you may purchase your cards a myriad of ways through them. Some Training Centers may give permission to instructors or Training Sites to pre purchase an inventory of certifications that they send at their discretion. Other Training Centers or Training Sites may require individual instructors to submit documentation of course work and then send the certifications directly to the instructors students.
To find out how to purchase certification cards, ask your AHA Training Center for their process. Generally, this information should be covered in your AHA Instructor Class. However, if you choose to align with a different Training Center then the one you were taught through you will need to learn their process.
How Much are AHA Certification Cards?
There are a few factors that determine the price you will pay for AHA certification cards. Anyone can go to ShopCPR and see the ‘wholesale’ pricing of AHA certifications. The price list, updated in 2022, is as follows:
- Basic Life Support Provider: $2.95
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support: $6.25
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support: $6.25
- Heartsaver First Aid & CPR/AED: $17.00
- Heartsaver First Aid: $17.00
- Heartsaver CPR/AED: $17.00
- Heartsaver for K-12 Schools: $2.20
As we discussed earlier, this wholesale pricing is only available to Training Center Coordinators. If you operate a Training Site or teach as an individual instructor in the community, you will discuss a pricing agreement with your Training Center Coordinator. Each Training Center may set their own pricing based on their costs.
Factors of Certification Card Pricing
The price you will pay to buy AHA certification cards as an instructor will be determined by you and your AHA Training Center or AHA Training Site. Factors that play a role in the cost charged to instructors for certification include:
- Training Center Alignment Fee
- Alignment Fee for each discipline (BLS, Heartsaver, ACLS, & PALS) v. one alignment fee for all
- Transfer Fee’s
- Instructor Renewal/Monitoring Fee
- Roster Fee’s
- Volume of Certifications Issued
As the instructor, you should ask your Training Center about these different fee’s and make sure to consider the total cost of instruction. Some Training Centers may charge a fee for you to join them and then charge fees for every roster submitted. If you’re teaching a lot of classes, Training Centers with a low certification fee may be enticing but if they also have a fee per roster, it may not be cost effective.
Likewise you may find a Training Center with no roster fees, and low card prices but then be surprised by they yearly alignment fees or renewal fees. One big catch instructors will be caught off guard by is when their Training Center charges an alignment and renewal fee for every discipline. If you teach ACLS, BLS, and PALS this can really add up.
Additionally, if you are a Training Site with many instructors teaching, it is up to your Training Center if they charge an alignment fee for each instructor individually or if there is a flat fee for all instructors.
How Much do Instructors Pay for AHA Certification Cards?
Okay, it’s time to cut to the chase. If you skipped reading the above, please go back and read for context because these numbers are useless otherwise!
Some Training Center’s may pass along their wholesale pricing for certification cards. (Do not expect this, we are just saying it can happen) For BLS, this means it’s possible to pay $2.95 per certification. This is very rare and almost unheard of these days. However, some hospital systems or community organizations may opt to take a financial loss as a service to the community. Usually these Training Center’s only align people in their local communities and not people from outside their city.
The typical price range for BLS certification cards from a Training Center is anywhere from $5.50-$12.00. Heartsaver Certification Card Prices range $20-$30. ACLS and PALS certifications range from $8-$15. Remember to keep in mind that certification card prices should be viewed alongside other fees, such as alignment costs, charged.
Volume can play a big factor in the cost that you will pay for certification cards. Instructors only teaching a couple of classes a year can take up more administrative time and hand holding from the Training Center than instructors teaching 1,000 or more students a year.
How Do I find an AHA Training Center?
When you become an AHA Instructor, you will be given an instructor ID in the AHA Instructor Network. In the AHA Instructor Network you will align with a Training Center, usually the one you took your class through. If you choose to look for another Training Center you can see a list of them in the AHA Class Connector. You buy AHA certification cards through whichever Training Center you are aligned with.
If you are teaching in one of the U.S.’s 50 states, reach out to Vitali Instructor Advantage. You can fill out an alignment form here and hear back within one business day. Additionally, you can partner with Vitali to teach American Red Cross and Health & Safety Institute courses.
