Certified Threat Manager™

In order to be eligible to sit for the CTM® examination, an individual must:

• Possess five (5) years of qualifying professional experience in the field of behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM), or
• Two (2) years of membership in good standing in ATAP as defined in the Association Bylaws and three (3) years of qualifying professional experience, which may be concurrent. 

Candidates are reminded of their continuing obligation to self-reveal civil actions, criminal convictions, regulatory action, or violations of the Code of Ethics. We will continue to keep you posted throughout as we make updates to the program. These announcements will also be sent by email and over ATAP Connect.

*Effective immediately, all new applications will be subject to the following policy:

Before a candidate can be approved to sit for the Certified Threat Manager Examination, they must have qualifying professional experience over a three- or five-year period, depending on Association membership, as required in the Certification Program Policy Manual. Qualifying experience meets the following criteria:

• It is a function of your qualifying position of professional employment; and the candidate had a significant role in an average of six or more full behavioral threat assessments per year over the required duration. Significant means the candidate personally contributed to the analysis of relevant behavioral cues and to the ultimate judgment regarding the probability of violence.
• The methodology used must, in the judgment of the Candidate Assessment Subcommittee, reasonably comport with the Association’s understanding of behavioral threat assessment and management.

Candidates are required to separately estimate their experience with personally participating in triage versus full assessments. Both “triage” and “full” behavioral threat assessments are a multi-source inquiry and analysis of a matter using an empirically-based and practice-supported methodology to estimate a level of concern for targeted violence. Triage assessments are conducted quickly upon intake and are based on facts available at the time a case is first referred. Full assessments encompass a deeper investigation and analysis of the totality of case facts which can feasibly be gathered under the circumstances. Cases which are assessed on multiple occasions over time in response to evolving facts constitute a single full assessment.

Note: A quick review of a situation or communication that only allows for a risk impression, because of time constraints or lack of sufficient behavioral cues or initial facts, is not an assessment and should not form a part of an applicant’s case estimates.

Applications already pending in Certemy will not be affected by this policy. To be pending, an application must have been fully submitted and the application fee paid. A previous approval to sit for the exam, granted prior to the implementation of this policy, will not be a relevant factor in evaluating a new application.

For the benefit of applicants' understanding of eligibility criteria, the following information is provided in reference to “compensated professional experience:

• Threat assessment is defined as the use of a fact-based method of assessment/investigation that focuses on an individual's patterns of thinking and behavior to determine whether, and to what extent, he or she is moving toward an attack on an identifiable target.
• Threat management is defined as managing a subject's behavior through interventions and strategies designed to disrupt or prevent an act of targeted violence.
• Experiences which meet this criterion form a substantial part of the applicant's employment, rather than representing occasional incidents within a larger experience that is, overall, not Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM). The Association recognizes that various job categories involve individual or occasional aspects of BTAM, such as policing or clinical social work. However, it is mastery of the Body of Knowledge combined with substantial, ongoing, and robust performance of BTAM, as defined on this page, that the Association seeks to measure with its certification program.

Documentation: Candidates must provide a curriculum vitae or exhaustive resume that documents such experience, and any other supporting documentation as needed to establish substantial, ongoing, and robust performance of BTAM. Candidates' documentation must include an estimate of the number of BTAM cases the candidate has worked on during each professional experience. Examples of supporting documentation can include that which substantiates involvement in organizational or community-based threat assessment teams, documentation about threat assessment team meetings attended, letters of verification of professional duties from employers or professional peers, or other materials which substantiate the candidate's experience.

In general, those who pass the exam tend to report having studied rigorously for several months. Some worked with study groups and others studied alone; what's important is that you should make your own judgments about what is important to know rather than relying on the judgment of others. A study group can be a beneficial method for keeping up your study pace but it should not be relied upon for providing you with the information needed to pass the exam. We recommend you read and master the material for yourself. For those who prefer to or must study alone, it is definitely not necessary to join a study group; a great many current CTMs studied alone for their exam.

There is no sanctioned study course, however, sample questions may be found in the CTM® Program Overview.

You may apply using the "ATAP Member" or "Non-Member" application links found on the Certification main page.

Not at this time.

Yes. You have one calendar year from the date of approval in Certemy to take the exam for the first time. You will find this and other important information in the policy manual. Please consult the policy manual regarding the timing of retakes.

You may apply using the "ATAP Member" or "Non-Member" application links found on the Certification main page.

It is not necessarily uncommon for applicants to receive one or more requests for additional information, having submitted resumes or professional statements that are simply too vague or describe work other than BTAM or that is not clearly BTAM. The Candidate Assessment Subcommittee (CAS) will generally require applicants further clarify or substantiate their experience, though the CAS will not supply response templates or spoon-feed correct responses.

Experiences which meets this criterion form a substantial part of the applicant's employment, rather than representing occasional incidents within a larger experience that is, overall, not BTAM. The Association recognizes that various job categories involve individual or occasional aspects of BTAM, such as policing or clinical social work. However, it is mastery of the Body of Knowledge combined with substantial, ongoing, and robust performance of BTAM, as defined herein, that the Association seeks to measure with its certification program.

In 2011, the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) Board of Directors determined the time had arrived to create a threat assessment and management (TAM) professional certification program. This program was originally envisioned in 2002, when it was clear that a rigorous professional certification program would be the next step in ensuring a solid foundation for threat assessment and management as a professional focus. The process began with the creation of the Risk Assessment Guideline Elements for Violence, the RAGE-V, which created a universally applicable interdisciplinary process for the assessment of targeted violence in organizational, community, and public agency settings. The next step was the formulation of an ethical conduct standard to offer threat assessment and management professionals guidance to practice BTAM in a professional and defensible way. With those two frameworks in place, the creation of certification program became possible. Inasmuch as threat assessment professionals come from a variety of fields which may or may not have their own, more narrowly focused, certifications programs, the Board concluded it was important to offer a professional certification which allows a person to demonstrate strong foundational knowledge as well as a reasonable level of experience to perform a specific role as part of a threat assessment and management team.

The Certification Committee and other experts, volunteers, board leaders and staff have spent countless hours creating and updating the Certified Threat Manager certification program in a thoughtful, comprehensive, science/research-driven way. The qualification criteria, the application process, the program's policies and procedures, and the examination itself, have been carefully developed by the Certification Committee and are subject to periodic review.

In April 2015, ATAP's Certified Threat Manager™ certification program became available for candidates and it has been active since its launch. Passage of the exam results in certification by the Association that the professional has a minimum level of knowledge and endorses professional and ethical standards in their practice. The goal of this certification is to elevate the professional standards of this field and enhance individual performance by identifying those who strive to be the “best in the business.” These individuals not only have a solid knowledge of the core competencies tested by the examination but are also committed to remaining abreast of new trends, research and public policies thereby maintaining certification.

Candidates must first apply for eligibility to sit for the examination, which will continually be offered at ATAP national conferences. Local chapter offerings may also be available. CTM® examination dates and locations are available on the ATAP event calendar (must be logged into to view) or request information by emailing certification@atapworldwide.org

The ATAP Certified Threat Manager™ program is rigorous and comprehensive, requiring mastery of an expert-selected body of knowledge and demonstrated professional experience in the field for a period of years prior to the examination. It is, increasingly commonly, being required by employers to be hired as a threat assessment professional.

Behavioral threat assessment experience is defined such as the use of a fact-based method of assessment, anchored by a multi-sourced investigation that focuses on an individual`s patterns of thinking and behavior to determine whether, and to what extent, he or she is moving toward an attack on an identifiable target. Threat management is defined as managing a subject's behavior through interventions and strategies designed to disrupt or prevent an act of targeted violence. Applicants cannot be approved to sit for the exam without demonstrating this experience, usually involving a detailed description of duties, activities and thought processes in conducting this work.

Yes, All CTMs, whether members of ATAP or not, must agree to be governed by the ATAP Code of Ethical Conduct, found here.

If you wish to submit an ethics complaint about a current CTM™ or applicant to the CTM™ program, please use this form. The first four fields are for your information; please note anonymous complaints cannot be accepted. The last three fields pertain to the CTM™ or applicant about whom the report is made. Please provide as much detail as you can about the factual basis for the complaint. You may upload as many documents as you wish, though no uploads are required to submit a complaint.

Click here to submit a complaint for CTM® Committee review.

First, we strongly recommend you read this entire page including the overview presentation linked at the very top and the policy manual linked in the middle. If you have questions after that, please email the program at certification@atapworldwide.org; you will receive a response from Staff or a member of the Certification Committee, depending on the nature of the question. Please do not directly contact members of the Committee. Members of the Certification Committee cannot directly hold individual or small group discussions about the substance of the program due to the potential appearance of impropriety in offering information or coaching to one/a few that is not available to everyone.