Mississippi Administrative Code
Title 24 - Mental Health
Part 3 - Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH) Division of Professional Licensure and Certification (PLACE) Professional Credentialing Rules and Requirements
Chapter 14 - Certification Phases
Rule 24-3-14.3 - Certificate Issuance

1. Individuals who make successful application for provisional certification will be awarded a time-limited, provisional certificate attesting to the title of:

2. Individuals who make successful application for certification/licensure will be awarded a full certificate/license attesting to the title of:

3. CMHT, CIDDT, CAT, CCSS and LA credentials are renewable every two years.

1. The credential date of issuance for initial applications will be the applicant's date of hire, as reported by the state mental health system employer on DMH-prescribed application forms. (The employer must only report a single date of hire.) In order to receive this date of issuance, the initial application must be received by the DMH Division of PLACE within 30 calendar days of the reported date of hire, and the application must be complete. (The employer-reported date of hire will be counted as Day One.)

2. "Initial application," as referenced in this document, refers to provisional applications and applications submitted directly for full certification/licensure (thereby bypassing provisional certification), not upgrade applications.

3. Any applicant whose complete initial application is not received by the DMH Division of PLACE within the 30-day time frame referenced above will receive as the credential date of issuance the date of the PLACE Review Board meeting at which the initial application was recommended for approval.

4. All upgrade applicants (i.e., provisionally-certified individuals applying for upgrade to full certification) will have as their credential date of issuance the date of the PLACE Review Board meeting at which the upgrade application was recommended for approval.

5. Provisional certification period extensions will not automatically be granted due to variations in dates of issuance.

6. The credential date of issuance for initial applications (defined above) may be the applicant's date of transfer into a new position at the existing state mental health system employer, if the applicant has been promoted from a bachelor's level position to a master's level position within the same agency. The employer must report the date of transfer (rather than the date of hire) on the appropriate space on the DMH-prescribed application forms. (If the employer reports both the date of hire and the date of transfer, the date of hire will be used in calculating the credentialing date of issuance; only one date (date of hire or date of transfer) should be reported by the employer.) In order to receive this date of issuance, the initial application must be received by the DMH Division of PLACE within 30 calendar days of the reported date of transfer, and the application must be complete. (The employer-reported date of transfer will be counted as Day One.)

1. Wall certificates issued by the DMH remain the property of DMH and must be surrendered upon request.

2. DMH intends that each individual hold only one certificate/license per professional title. DMH does not provide multiple original wall certificates/licenses.

3. Certificates issued by the DMH reflecting credentialing as a PCMHT, PCIDDT, PCAT or PCCSS are valid for up to a maximum two-year (24 consecutive months) Provisional Certification Period. Dates of provisional issuance and expiration vary from person to person.

4. An individual's provisional certificate automatically becomes invalid once he/she has successfully upgraded to full certification; the individual will receive a new certificate as a CMHT, CIDDT, CAT or CCSS, as appropriate.

5. Certificates/licenses issued by DMH reflecting credentialing as a CMHT, CIDDT, CAT, CCSS or LA are valid for a maximum two-year Certification/Licensure Period established by the Division. The issuance date is indicated on the certificate/license. Full certification/licensure timelines are addressed in Chapter Fifteen. Full certificates/licenses are renewable.

6. Individuals holding a DMH professional credential who are currently practicing in the state mental health system should maintain a copy of proof of certification/licensure in their personnel file.

7. Upon separation from state mental health system employment, the credentialed individual should notify the Division accordingly, as outlined in Chapter Eighteen. Unless the separating individual is reemployed with another state mental health system program or requests and receives an appropriate credential status change, the certificate/license is invalid.

1. Only individuals in good standing who are currently employed in the state mental health system (or in Inactive Status) may request a replacement certificate/license.

2. Upon written (or email) request, an individual's certificate/license will be replaced at no charge due to a printing error.

3. Upon written (or email) request and payment of the certificate/license replacement fee, an individual may be issued a replacement certificate/license for any of the following reasons:

4. Once the new replacement certificate/license is issued, the previous certificate/license immediately becomes invalid. Possession and utilization of two certificates/licenses for fraudulent purposes is grounds for disciplinary action, including possible loss of credentialing.