At a special meeting of trustees on 11 March 2025, the Board for Certification of Genealogists approved a draft of a new 2025 Application Guide. The final text of the guide is expected to be reviewed and approved at the 21 May 2025 board meeting with an anticipated release date of 1 July 2025. At the same meeting, trustees approved a two-part portfolio application process for the Certified Genealogist® credential. This process will be incorporated into the 2025 Application Guide as the method by which all CG applications will be submitted and evaluated.
The 2025 Application Guide consolidates changes made to the certification application and renewal processes for the Certified Genealogist, Certified Genealogical Lecturer, and Certified Genetic Genealogist credentials. Two committees of trustees and BCG associates met over the past two years to consider revisions to the 2021 Application Guide and the application process. The Application Process Committee considered other issues related to the application process.
The Application Process Committee carefully considered the pros and cons of a double-blind evaluation system. The committee found that the practical challenges outweigh the theoretical benefits of a double-blind review. Redactions might impact the applicant’s ability to meet documentation standards. Using their own family or DNA evidence could reveal the applicant’s identity, thus limiting options for portfolio work samples. BCG's robust evaluation already involves multiple independent judges. In the new two-part application process, up to eight judges evaluate a portfolio using standards-based rubrics. The current system allows judges to focus on work quality while maintaining an appropriate professional distance.
Also at its 11 March meeting, BCG trustees added language to the Code of Ethics to further define obligations that genealogists have to their clients. The revised Code is posted on the BCG website at https://www.bcgcertification.org/ethics-standards#genealogists-code-of-ethics
Significant revisions to the Certified Genealogist credential include
• New in the 2025 Application Guide, the kinship-determination project must be a descending narrative lineage.
• Adoption of the two-part application process as the single way of applying for the CG credential. Current preliminary applicants and those who submit preliminary applications by 1 July may submit the full portfolio (under the 2021 Application Guide) until their current due date. They may choose to submit under the 2025 Application Guide after 1 July.
• The two portfolio parts include the development activities, document work, and the kinship-determination project in the first part, and the research report and case study in the second part. Both parts include signing the Code of Ethics.
• Previously adopted revisions to renewal requirements have become effective with the 2025 guide. Renewal portfolios include one or two work samples that meet the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). Non-GPS work samples will not be accepted.
• Incorporation of revised requirements for permissions from DNA match list owners.
Certified Genetic Genealogist credential details include
• Requirements for CGG renewal portfolios and provision for simultaneous submission of CG and CGG renewal portfolios.
• Incorporation of revised requirements for permissions from DNA match list owners.
