Governance
Standards and governance
NBCSS publishes the rules it applies. The certification scheme below is the record in force; where a value is interim, the page says so. NBCSS is a professional membership organization, not an accrediting body and not a government-approved school; it makes no claim of regulatory approval or exemption.
- SchemeCertified Cost Segregation Specialist (CCSS)
- Statusadopted 2026-09-24
- ScopeResidential cost segregation practice
- Cut scoresinterim pending pilot standard setting
Experience standard (experienced route)
2 years of practice and 10 personally performed studies, evidenced by two authorized, client-redacted sample reports plus the work-history hours. Evidence is reused from the membership review; nothing is uploaded twice.
Assessment parts
- Knowledge examination. Timed on the platform (180 minutes in the pilot form), server-enforced deadline, autosave with server revisions, locked submission with a receipt. Interim passing standard: 70% scaled, pending the pilot standard-setting session. Unscored pilot items never affect a result.
- Practical exercise. A worked case (6–8 hours of effort). Interim rule: all deterministic checks pass and rubric score of at least 3 of 4 on every criterion.
- Oral defense. About 30 minutes before two examiners; pass/fail.
- Decision. A human decision-maker records the award or the decline with the evidence snapshot. Automated scoring assists; it never adjudicates.
Attempts, retakes and appeals
- 3 attempts per rolling year; a 14-day interval after a failed attempt; retake fee $195.00.
- Results are released by a technical reviewer who is not the appeal reviewer; appeals are free and rescored reproducibly from the locked submission.
- Accommodation requests are reviewed privately; approved extra time is applied to the deadline automatically.
Professional development
Credential holders complete 12 hours of professional development in each 12-month cycle, recorded on the platform. This is an internal NBCSS requirement, not CPE credit and not a NASBA or state CPE claim.
Who decides
The certification committee adopted the scheme on 2026-09-24. Certificates are signed by Kristen Castillo, on behalf of the Board of Directors. Reviewers, examiners and the decision-maker hold recorded roles; a person never reviews their own work or decides their own appeal.
Verification, ethics and records
- Every credential is publicly verifiable at /verify; standing changes (suspension, expiry, revocation) show immediately.
- Scope and ethics acknowledgement is required before eligibility; the directory rejects unverifiable credential claims.
- Records are kept under the Retention Schedule and the Privacy Notice; the Terms of Membership govern membership.