The completed packet is sent to two members of the IACS Board of Accreditation for a First Board Review. The evaluators fill out a checklist that is based on the Standards. They send their reviews to the Executive Director who determines if your center is ready for the next phase of the accreditation process—an on-site review. If your center is not approved for the next phase, you will be notified why and what is needed to reach that phase.

Once your counseling center appears to meet the IACS Standards, then you are notified via email that scheduling an onsite review has been approved. Your information is passed on to the Coordinator of the IACS Field Visitation Program. When the site visitor team has been established, the IACS Executive Director will notify you. You are responsible for contacting the site visitor(s) to set up a mutually agreeable date for the visit. 

An onsite review is at least one full day in length. Once the visit takes place, the site visitors have one month to submit the report to the Chair of the Accrediting Board, who in turn sends the report to you as the center director and requests a written response within 30 days. Once your written response is received, the Chair will then approve the center for what is called the Final Board Review.

The Final Board Reviewers are two members of the Accrediting Board who have not seen your application materials before, which include the First Board Reviews, the Field Visit Report and the director's written response to the on-site review. The Board Members send their review forms to the Chair of the Board who makes the final decision regarding your center’s accreditation status.

Once accredited, centers are required to submit IACS annual report materials each year and to undergo a re-evaluation, including a site visit, every eight years. The Board of Accreditation can request that a re-evaluation review with a mandatory field visit be conducted prior to the 8-year re-evaluation if they feel it is warranted based on any paperwork submitted during this timeframe.