Ethics Questions

To become a candidate for certification and registration, you must demonstrate good moral character. Learn more about our ethics requirements.

You need to report potential ethics violations (including state licensing issues, and criminal charges and convictions) within 30 days of the occurrence, during your annual renewal process, or when you apply for an additional ARRT credential, whichever event comes first. Make sure to also submit a written explanation and hard copies of any supporting documents. 

Learn more about the different types of violations in the ethics section of our website. 

To self-report and/or report someone for a potential or actual violation please use the Ethics Violation Report Form. (Students shouldn't use this form; instead, follow the student process outlined here.)

Not necessarily. Although reporting a violation might worry you, only a small percentage of ethics cases result in revocation. For example, of 1,837 ethics violations we investigated in 2020, only 18 cases (less than 1%) resulted in revocation.

You only need to report a violation once. If you've reported a charge, however, and you’re later convicted, you must report the conviction as explained in our reporting requirements. Remember, even if you report a violation to your state, you still need to report the same violation to ARRT. 

It’s never a good idea to try hiding an ethics violation from ARRT. Failure to report a potential ethics violation breaks our rules. In fact, nondisclosure can be more serious than the violation itself, because it might involve falsifying an application (or renewal) for certification and registration.

If you can't obtain records from the Clerk of Court or your attorney, we'll accept a notarized statement attesting to the charge, sentence, and status or completion of court conditions.

Learn more about reporting someone else for a potential ethics violation.

In most cases, we allow R.T.s to maintain their certification and registration while they go through an ethics review.

If you let your credentials lapse or voluntarily surrender them during an ethics review, you will not be certified and registered. Even so, we’ll proceed with the ethics review.

An ethics review can take a significant amount of time—sometimes three months or more. You can help keep the process moving along by responding to our correspondence and requests for information in a timely manner.  

Each case is unique and requires an outcome appropriate to the offense. We can’t say which sanction, if any, we'll impose until we’ve conducted a full review. You can review each type of sanction in the ethics section of our website.

Learn more about the sanction removal process.

If ARRT revokes your credentials but later removes your sanction, you may then pursue reinstatement of your certification and registration under the policies and procedures in place at that time. You’ll be subject to our Continuing Qualifications Requirements, even if you were previously exempt because your original certification and registration date took place before Jan. 1, 2011.  

You'll find more information in the ethics section of our website. You can also call us at 651.687.0048, then choose the option for ethics information. Or, if you have an ARRT account, you can send us a message.