Certification Eligibility Requirements

This certification is for individuals who have met both the education, experience, and licensing/permitting (if applicable) requirements needed to become a Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator.

• Complete CWR™ application.
• Meet 50 hours education requirements across 13 disciplines- See below.
• Meet 5,000 hours of wildlife rehabilitation related experience requirements- See below for more details.
• Proof of permitting/licensure if applicable.
• For “At Home” Independent rehabilitators: Two letters of recommendation from either a wildlife veterinarian, licensed wildlife rehabilitator or active CWR™ speaking to your knowledge and experience, as well as at least 3 annual reports documenting patient records.
• Pass CWR™ exam with 80% or higher.
• Make the payment for certification.

All education and experience requirements must be submitted via the online application and generally will not be accepted via email.

Experience requirements for CWR™

5,000 hours of wildlife rehabilitation experience are required for certification. Examples of what qualifies are listed below.

• Wildlife, veterinary, ecology, or conservation related internship/externship
  • Submit letter from supervisor stating duties and amount of hours performed as proof of completion 
• Participation in wildlife, veterinary, ecology, or conservation related research
  • Requires a submitted letter from a supervisor that states duties and amount of hours performed by applicant as proof of completion
• Employment or volunteer work at a wildlife rehabilitation center
  • Partial credit may be awarded with the certification body’s approval for employment or volunteer work at zoos, education, nature centers. 
• At home wildlife rehabilitation
  • At home rehabilitation will be reviewed by the Certification Review Board (CRB) and/or the CWR Director, and hours granted will be awarded based on their judgement.

All experience must be documented with clear description of time spent and duties completed. All employment or volunteer work requires a submitted letter from a supervisor that states duties and amount of hours performed by applicant as proof of completion.

The following are required for proof of experience for at-home/independent rehabilitation:

All “At Home” Independent rehabilitator applicants are required submit at least 3 annual reports.

• A copy of an annual governmental report will suffice if includes all items noted below.
• Annual report must include the following:
  • List of all patients rehabilitated
  • Dates in care
  • Reason for rehabilitation
  • Final disposition 
  • Description of how many animals and of what species cared for each year
  • Description of what types of conditions patients are being treated for
  • Pictures of the at home rehabilitation set up including:
    • Indoor caging
    • Outdoor caging
    • Supplies 
    • Kitchen/diet area
  • 2 letters from either a wildlife veterinarian, licensed wildlife rehabilitator or active CWR™ including the following information:
    • Description of at home rehab set up
    • Volume of patients seen each year
    • Species of patients seen each year
    • Reason for rehab for your patients, eg. orphans, injuries, etc. 
    • The wildlife veterinarians or licensed wildlife rehabilitators recommending the applicant must have at least 5 years experience with wildlife, and are subject to further proof of experience at the discretion of the certification body.

*All applicants are subject to providing additional documentation including but not limited to non-licensed rehabilitator requirements listed below at the discretion of the certification body.

Approval of experience requirement fulfillment is at the discretion of the certification body.

Skills Assessment

All applicants are subject to a verbal and/or video skills interview at the discretion of the CWR Director upon reviewing submitted documents.

• Applicant will be notified by the CWR Director if an interview is requested.
• Applicant will be notified if they have passed or failed via email at a later time via email.

Education Requirements for CWR™

Successful completion of 50 hours of courses/workshops/conferences divided amongst the following disciplines:

• ID, Natural History & Behavior (4hrs)
• Handling, Restraint & Human Safety (4hrs)
• Basic Physiology (4hrs)
• Intake, Triage & Stabilization (5hrs)
• Euthanasia (3hrs)
• Hydration & Fluid Therapy (4hrs)
• Thermoregulation (3hrs)
• Wound Management (3 hrs)
• Medications (4hrs)
• Nutrition (4hrs)
• Captive Housing (4hrs)
• Release Criteria (4hrs)
• Calculations (4hrs)

Approved courses, workshops, and conferences will count towards meeting educational requirements.

Each applicant must submit documentation of successful completion of the educational requirements.

• Acceptable proof of completion includes a certificate of attendance or completion, transcript, a receipt signed and dated by a representative of the event coordinator, or an email or letter from the instructor or similar personnel confirming attendance and successful completion.
• Course/Workshops/Conference descriptions and links to information on these events must be included in documentation. 
• Any applicant that has successfully completed an A.S. degree or higher in Wildlife Rehabilitation at an accredited college or university is eligible satisfy all education requirements with transcript submission. This is subject to discretion upon review of transcripts and course content. Transcript submission will be required and all applicants are subject to being asked for syllabuses to be provided for any given course as needed.
• Science/Pre-Vet/Vet Technician courses taken at colleges and universities may be used for full/partial credit to meet educational requirements of certain disciplines. Credit value will be determined upon review of transcripts and course content. Transcript submission will be required and all applicants are subject to being asked for syllabi to be provided for any given course as needed.
• 8 hours per day will be awarded for approved wildlife, veterinary, ecology, or conservation related conferences and the hours may be distributed amongst multiple disciplines 

Applicants may split and distribute the education hours of one event that covers multiple disciplines into multiple categories;

• For example: 4 hours basic course on wildlife rehabilitation could potentially be used to satisfy 1 hour in handling, 1 hour in physiology, 2 hours in intake.
• An education event that only partially applies to a required discipline may be awarded at half credits to satisfy education requirements.
• The smallest unit of credit that may be distributed is one semester/quarter hour.
• A single credit segment cannot be duplicated into multiple categories.
• Comparable experience may be substituted for educational experience, however, the applicant must have at least one course/workshop/conference in each category.
  • Applicants should include the duration of time for professional experience and how the time spent qualifies for the discipline being submitted for.
  • Examples may include:
    • Presentation of a paper at an approved regional or national wildlife, veterinary, ecology, or conservation related conference
    • Publication of a paper in an approved peer-reviewed wildlife, veterinary, ecology, or conservation related journal.
    • Instructor of a wildlife, veterinary, ecology, or conservation related course (courses will each be approved one time only)

Please download and fill in Education Field Template to allocate which education criteria you would like submitted to each category. You will upload this completed template with your application in the designated field.

Approval of education requirement fulfillment is at the discretion of the certification body.

Attainment of Certification

Candidates who submit 50 hours of approved education, 5,000 hours of approved wildlife rehabilitation related experience, and pass the Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator™ examination will receive a certificate indicating their certification status. Those with this status will be permitted to use the trademarked designation CWR™ after their names. A registry of Certified Wildlife Rehabilitators will be maintained by the certification body and publicly displayed on the CWR™ website. Certification status is recognized for a period of 2 years at which time the candidate must either submit 16 hours of approved continuing education hours (CE) to retain certification.

AWR™ to CWR™ Upgrade Requirements

• Please complete the application Upgrade to CWR.
• Current AWR’s do not need to retake the exam to become a CWR.
• You will not be required to resubmit education requirements.
• Meet 5,000 hours of wildlife rehabilitation related experience requirements for CWR™ (see list)
• For “At Home” Independent rehabilitators: Two letters of recommendation from either a wildlife veterinarian, licensed wildlife rehabilitator or active CWR® speaking to your knowledge and experience.
• Submit proof of experience.
• Submit proof of permitting/licensure if applicable.
• Make the payment for certification.

Revocation of Certification

The CWR™ CRB reserves the right to revoke certification for any of the following reasons:

• Falsification of any part of an application
• Misrepresentation of certification status
• Violation of the IWRC Code of Ethics