Athletic Rehabilitation Therapy Ireland (ARTI) is excited to announce the launch of the new International Arrangement (IA). The IA for the profession of athletic training and therapy plays a key role in optimising care, injury prevention, rehabilitation and supporting the rights of patients and the public to achieve their potential to live well. The IA ensures comparable best practices, quality education and professional standards. The IA provides an opportunity for Athletic Trainers, Athletic Therapists and Sports Rehabilitators to be mobile on a global scale by creating a pathway to challenge each other’s credentialing exam.
The current credentialing organizations included in the IA are Athletic Rehabilitation Therapy Ireland (ARTI), British Association of Sport Rehabilitators (BASRaT), BOC (USA) and Canadian Athletic Therapists Association (CATA). If you are ARTI certified in good standing, you qualify to apply for exam eligibility through the IA to become credentialed by BASRaT, BOC or CATA.
For more information regarding the application process, visit the website of the organisation with whom you would like to be credentialed:
As part of the IA, a credentials evaluation will be performed by a third party, International Consultants of Delaware, Inc. (ICD)*. Applicants can access the application portal here. To review educational areas that will be addressed in the evaluation for each organisation, see Education and Credentialing on the BOC website here.
*ICD, a charter member of NACES (National Association of Credential Evaluations Services), is a globally recognised expert in credentials evaluation for education, employment, immigration, licensure, and certification. (ICD website: http://www.icdeval.com/)
Where the International Arrangement can afford certified professionals the opportunity to work in another jurisdiction, it does not infer work visa or immigration rights to the successful candidate. It is the responsibility of each candidate to apply for and acquire the correct immigration and work visa documents in order to seek employment in another jurisdiction.
For further information regarding Irish Immigration regulations, please go to:
1. visas
2. work permits
For further information on the profession of Athletic Therapy in Ireland, (job market, regulation etc), please read “About Athletic and Rehabilitation Therapy”.
The International Arrangement (IA) for the Profession of Athletic Training and Therapy
The IA, launched August 3rd 2021, currently allows anyone credentialed (certified or registered) by an IA organisation (ARTI, BASRaT, BOC, CATA) to submit an application to challenge the exam of any other IA organisation.
Anyone credentialed (certified or registered) by an IA organisation (ARTI, BASRaT, BOC, CATA) qualifies and may submit an application to challenge the exam of any other IA organisation.
You must also be in good standing with the organisation in which you are credentialed.
For ARTI member applicants wishing to obtain certification from an IA partner (e.g. BASRaT, BOC or CATA), you will need to become a member of that association first. Each IA partner will have a membership fee. For more information regarding each IA partners application process, visit the website of the organisation you would like to be credentialed:
After you become a member of an IA partners organisation, you will then be directed to submit an application for an evaluation of your credentials through International Consultants of Delaware (ICD).
In your application to ICD, you will utilise the online portal to input information and collect documentation. To help with your application, the IA partners have developed a step-by-step tutorial.
The IA organisations, in collaboration with ICD, participated in an analysis of education and credentialing standards. The IA organisations, via cooperation and collaboration, established its minimum educational standards for the IA. These standards serve as a benchmark during the process of credentials evaluation conducted by ICD to ensure that entry-to-practice skills and competencies as an athletic training and therapy profession have been acquired by the applicant. This is done through a detailed analysis of academic courses, syllabi, continuing professional education, and other related activities that describe the applicant’s cumulative knowledge, abilities, behavior, and expertise.
The outcome of the evaluation identified a number of areas that are considered gaps. Awareness of the gaps identified may be helpful as you prepare to apply for an IA organisation exam:
Once all requirements have been met, ICD will produce a report to the applicant’s intended IA partner. That IA partner will review the ICD report and will contact the applicant to discuss the next steps.
Each IA partner may have additional requirements that need to be met prior to challenging their certification process. This requirement is at the discretion of each individual IA partner. Emergency Care Certification is an additional requirement that can vary between organisations. For more details, see the website of the international organisation you wish to apply to.
Anyone credentialed (certified or registered) by an IA organisation (ARTI, BASRaT, BOC, CATA) qualifies and may submit an application to challenge the exam of any other IA organisation. An announcement will be made once BASRaT gains full acceptance into the IA.
You must also be in good standing with the organisation in which you are credentialed.
In order for an international applicant to obtain certification from ARTI, you will need to become a member of ARTI first. This is a three-step process:
Step 1 – Become a member
Step 2 - Pay your membership fees
Step 3 - Login and update your profile
After you become an ARTI member, you will then be eligible to submit an application for an evaluation of your credentials through International Consultants of Delaware (ICD).
In your application to ICD, you will utilize the online portal to input information and collect documentation. To help with your application, the IA partners have developed a step-by-step tutorial.
The IA organisations, in collaboration with ICD, participated in an analysis of education and credentialing standards. The IA organisations, via cooperation and collaboration, established its minimum educational standards for the IA. These standards serve as a benchmark during the process of credentials evaluation conducted by ICD to ensure that entry-to-practice skills and competencies as an athletic training and therapy profession have been acquired by the applicant. This is done through a detailed analysis of academic courses, syllabi, continuing professional education, and other related activities that describe the applicant’s cumulative knowledge, abilities, behavior, and expertise.
The outcome of the evaluation identified a number of areas that are considered gaps. Awareness of the gaps identified may be helpful as you prepare to apply for an IA organisation exam:
Yes, you are required to carry valid First Responder (or equivalent) certification at the time of application to ARTI that has an expiry date past the date of the examination.
Applicants must have graduated from an accredited international degree programme and be a current certified member of an international organisation (BASRaT, BOC, CATA). The previous internship programs (e.g., NATA) does not qualify.
Yes there is a timeline for certification. You have one year to attempt the exam after being accepted as a member of ARTI.
No, there are no limits to the number of times you can attempt the certification exam.
Currently, the ARTI Certification Exam are held in person on three occasions per year. The exam schedule, including location, exam dates and application deadline dates, will be posted on the ARTI website.
The certification exam is currently hosted in person. International candidates may be eligible to complete the exam online, but this is at the discretion of the Certification Committee. An application must be submitted to the committee and a final decision will be made. Candidates in Ireland (i.e., non-international applicants) are not eligible to complete the exam online.
Becoming a Certified Athletic Therapist (CAT) does not have any legal status as per your eligibility to work in Ireland if you are not an Irish or EU citizen. For more details please regarding visas and employment permits, please see the details on the International ARTI webpage.
To get more information on the application process and how to register, see ARTI certification process.
Please direct all questions related to certification to – certification@arti.ie