Wisconsin Peer Specialist Certification

Take your Peer Specialist Certification exam electronically at several sites around the state or online through UWM’s School of Continuing Education.

A Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) provides peer support to people receiving services related to mental health and/or substance use challenges. Whether a CPS works in a peer-run organization on a team entirely composed of other peer support professionals or as part of a treatment or recovery team including clinicians and other service providers, the CPS is an active participant and colleague with his/her own valuable expertise and skill set.

A Certified Peer Specialist is a person who has his/her own lived experience of mental health and/or substance use challenges and has completed formal training and certification in the peer specialist model of mental health and substance use-oriented peer support. They use their unique set of lived experiences and recovery in combination with comprehensive skills training, including continuing education, to support people living with mental health and/or substance use challenges. The specialists actively center peer support and associated principles in their work while operating under a clearly defined role and collaborate in a complementary fashion as part of an agency’s team support structure.

A Certified Parent Peer Specialist (CPPS) combines knowledge gained from parenting children and youth with social, emotional, behavioral, mental health and/or substance use challenges and training to increase their skills to support other parents or those in a parenting role. Much like a Certified Peer Specialist, CPPSs can work in a variety of settings and center values and skills of peer support in their work to support family resiliency.

COVID-19 Exam Considerations Update:
All exams will be offered online until further notice.

The School of Continuing Education office is closed for delivery. Please mail your application ensuring it is postmarked by the due date. Do not use an expedited delivery service such as FedEx or UPS.

Upcoming Peer Specialist Trainings

Accommodations:
If you require a reasonable accommodation while taking the exam due to a disability, please see our Reasonable Accommodations Request Application.

Reasonable accommodations requests for CPS/CPPS exams must be submitted two weeks prior to the exam date.

Assessments/Exams Schedules
150 applications maximum per exam date.

Certification Peer Specialist assessments/exams are scheduled for the following dates:

September 27, 2023: 8:30am-9pm – available online. Help sessions 8:30am-4:00pm.
(application must be postmarked by August 30, 2023)

November 15, 2023: 8:30am, 11:30am, 2:30pm or 5:30pm, Zoom proctored
(application must be postmarked by October 18, 2023)

January 17, 2024: 8:30am, 11:30 am, 2:30pm or 5:30pm, Zoom proctored
(application must be postmarked by December 13, 2023)

March 20, 2024: 8:30 am, 11:30 am, 2:30pm or 5:30pm, Zoom proctored
(application must be postmarked by February 21, 2024)

May 15, 2024: 8:30 am, 11:30 am, 2:30pm or 5:30pm, Zoom proctored
(application must be postmarked by April 17, 2024)

September 25, 2024: 8:30 am, 11:30 am, 2:30pm or 5:30pm, Zoom proctored
(application must be postmarked by August 28, 2024)

Certification Parent Peer Specialist assessments/exams are scheduled for the following dates:

September 13, 2023: 8:30am-9pm – available online. Help sessions 8:30am-4:00pm
(application must be postmarked by August 16, 2023)

February 21, 2024: 8:30am, 11:30 am, 2:30pm or 5:30pm, Zoom proctored
(application must be postmarked by January 24, 2024)

April 17, 2024: 8:30am, 11:30 am, 2:30pm or 5:30pm, Zoom proctored
(application must be postmarked by March 20, 2024)

September 13, 2024: 8:30am, 11:30 am, 2:30pm or 5:30pm, Zoom proctored
(application must be postmarked by August 14, 2024)

An email will be sent out one week prior to the exam date to inform applicants of the assigned exam time.