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Certification Types and Requirements

Full Certification

To qualify for Full Certification, applicants must:

  • Be a psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or LCSW* in Oregon.
  • Submit all required materials and pay the application fee.
  • Successfully complete the multi-day Oregon Forensic Evaluator Training Program
    • If an applicant would like to perform juvenile competency and/or criminal responsibility evaluations, they must also successfully complete the specialized juvenile segment of the training program.
  • Receive approval of their submitted reports from the review panel.
    • The Forensic Evaluator Review Panel is responsible for reviewing forensic evaluation reports submitted for certification and as complaints. Reports submitted for certification must meet or exceed standards outlined in OAR 309-090-0025. The review panel may request to review an additional evaluation report if necessary to make a determination.

Full certification has a maximum duration of 24 months from issuance and evaluators must apply for recertification prior to its expiration.

*LCSW are limited to performing juvenile competency evaluations.

OAR 309-090-0010(1)

Temporary Certification

Temporary Certification may be granted to applicants who have submitted their application materials and fee, but have not yet successfully completed the Oregon Forensic Evaluator Training Program and/or submitted three reports for review.

  • Successful completion of the training program means attending the entire Oregon Forensic Evaluator Training Program and passing the examination given at the conclusion of the training.

Temporary Certification has a duration of up to one year and is meant to provide evaluators with the time to complete the required evaluation reports for review and approval by the Forensic Evaluator Review Panel (FERP).  

Evaluators with Temporary Certification may not perform evaluations for those charged with murder, aggravated murder, or Measure 11 offenses. This limitation will be removed once the evaluator submits the required reports for review.

Temporary Certification may include additional conditions based on the applicant's experience, training, or whether they will be working under supervision.

OAR 309-090-0010(2)

Supervision Programs

Individuals who are not yet certified forensic evaluators (CFE) may perform forensic evaluations under supervision if all of the following conditions are met:

  1. They are directly supervised by a psychiatrist or psychologist with full, unrestricted certification.
  2. They complete Oregon's Forensic Evaluator Training, and the juvenile segment if they plan to perform juvenile evaluations.
  3. They are one of the following:
  • A psychiatrist enrolled in an ACGME-accredited residency training program;
  • A psychologist resident or fellow who graduated from an APA-accredited program and APA-accredited clinical-forensic internship; or
  • A doctoral psychology intern enrolled in an APA-accredited internship with a clinical-forensic focus

The supervising CFE assumes all responsibility for abiding by these rules, and any consequences of non-compliance will fall on the CFE.

Supervisor's responsibilities:

Attend every evaluation interview conducted by a doctoral psychology intern.

Attend interviews conducted by residents or fellows until the supervisor determines the trainee is competent to conduct interviews independently.

If supervising a psychologist resident, have an Oregon Board of Psychology–approved Resident Supervision Contract and meet all related OAR 858-010-0036 requirements.

  • Provide the Authority with a copy of the approved contract within one month of approval.

Co-sign all evaluation reports completed under their supervision and ensure reports meet all rules and statutes.

Ensure the trainee complies with all applicable rules and statutes.

OAR 309-090-0010(3)

Conditional Certification

A psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or LCSW evaluator may be granted conditional certification by a court in a particular criminal or delinquency case for exigent circumstances (e.g., out of state expert or unusual expertise required).

Conditional certification is limited to that specific criminal or delinquency matter and ends at the disposition of that particular case and the conditional certification.

The evaluator must provide a copy of the court order granting them conditional certification to the Forensic Evaluator Certification Program within 14 calendar days of that order. 

Notice of Conditional Forensic Evaluator Certification

OAR 309-090-0010(4)