How Much Does Accreditation Cost, and Is the Consultant's Fee Separate From the Accreditor's Fee?
Last updated: November 6, 2026. Sources were retrieved on November 1, 2026. Fees and requirements change and must be verified with the issuing body.
Yes. In IHS's reading, the accreditor and the consultant are separate payees under separate agreements, and each consulting firm sets its own fee. The sources fetched for this page do not support one accreditation cost range that holds across programs, and in IHS's reading a general market range would not help you budget. A useful budget starts with the exact program and the work your organization has to do.
Keep the accreditor's charges and any consulting engagement separate in the budget. Staff time belongs there too, even though it will not appear on either external invoice. The examples below show specific fee components, not a total-cost estimate or a consulting price. What an accreditor charges comes from the accreditor's own pages; the budgeting and contract advice is the author's recommendation.
What accreditation cost range can I use for planning?
Budget from the fee page or written quote for your exact program, because the sources fetched for this page establish no cross-program range to borrow. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) publishes Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) pricing publicly at ncqa.org. NCQA's single site pricing also reaches beyond one location: it covers an organization with one or two sites, and a larger organization that misses NCQA's multi-site criteria. NCQA's table lists these per-clinician fees for Patient-Centered Medical Home recognition under that pricing, which NCQA says took effect January 15, 2025: an initial recognition fee of $928 for 1-2 clinicians, $562 for 3-12 clinicians and $66 for 13 or more clinicians, then an annual reporting fee of $185 for 1-12 clinicians and $19 for 13 or more clinicians. NCQA prices multi-site practices separately. These amounts were read from NCQA's page on November 1, 2026. Verify current fees with NCQA before you budget.
These are PCMH recognition charges, not prices for any other NCQA program. A per-clinician amount is a unit price, not an organization's total. In IHS's reading, the tier labels alone do not show how clinicians are counted across tiers, so confirm your total with NCQA.
Which fees should I ask the accreditor to identify?
Ask the accreditor to identify application charges, review or survey charges, and any recurring fees for your exact program. Do not assume every category applies. The Accreditation Commission for Health Care's (ACHC) FAQ page, in its ACHC Process section, says it charges no annual fees to stay accredited and no surveyor expenses, and calls the cost of accreditation one inclusive fee. Its Specialty Pharmacy process document, revised April 4, 2023, separately describes a nonrefundable deposit applied toward the accreditation fee and postponement and refusal fees, so verify current terms for your program with ACHC.
Ask for a written explanation of what the quoted amount covers. Specify the program, locations and services in your request. Ask what could trigger another charge and when each payment falls due. Different fee structures make these questions more useful than comparing an isolated application price with another body's inclusive charge.
Where should I look for current accreditor fees?
Start with the accreditor's own fee page for the exact program, if it publishes one, then request clarification directly from that body. NCQA's PCMH page identifies site categories and clinician-based pricing. ACHC's Healthcare Staffing Services Certification FAQ directs readers to obtain a personalized quote; that answer concerns that certification program.
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) publishes fees for its Digital Pharmacy and Specialty Pharmacy accreditation programs on its own pricing pages and says those fees are subject to change. No NABP amount appears on this page; verify current fees with NABP.
Save the applicable fee page or written quote with your budget, including its date and scope. Ask the body to confirm what applies before authorizing payment.
What should the consulting agreement put in writing?
Ask the firm to put scope, deliverables, review rounds, scope-change procedures, and responsibility for paying accreditor fees directly in writing. The consultant's fee belongs to a separate contract from the accreditor's fee. Do not treat a consulting proposal as a quote from the accreditor.
Name the programs and locations covered. Define whether the engagement includes reviewing existing materials, drafting documents, preparing staff, or supporting responses after a review. Ask how many review rounds are included and what ends the engagement. Identify who authorizes additional work and how a changed scope becomes a revised agreement. For help assessing the proposal itself, see how to choose a consulting firm.
Why does consulting scope affect the cost?
Consulting cost depends on scope, readiness and the number of programs involved because those factors change the work to be done. This is a planning inference, not an accreditor's fee rule. Reviewing a functioning process is a different assignment from helping a team develop one.
Before requesting a proposal, describe what exists and what is missing. Identify the people who will make decisions and the materials available for review. Ask the firm to explain the assumptions behind its proposed work. If readiness is uncertain, define how that uncertainty will be assessed before committing to a broader assignment. Keep the resulting scope attached to the agreement.
Do I need a consultant, and what work stays internal?
You may not need a consultant if your team has the knowledge and capacity to complete the work; that is IHS's judgment, not an accreditor rule. Buy help for a defined gap. Hiring outside support also does not eliminate the internal time needed to make decisions and prepare evidence.
ACHC's home-care FAQ, for example, calls for staff availability during survey and key personnel for interviews. That is a home-care statement, not a universal staffing rule. It illustrates why internal staff time remains a real cost outside the accreditor's and consultant's invoices. Assign internal owners when you define the project.
What this is NOT
This is not a universal fee schedule, a quote from Integral Healthcare Solutions, or a total-cost estimate. It explains how to separate the purchasing decisions.
This is not legal advice. Have the proposed agreements reviewed for your organization's circumstances before signing.
The PCMH example concerns recognition. It does not establish pricing for other NCQA programs, and no example here establishes what a different body charges.
Frequently asked questions
Does paying the consultant also pay the accreditor? Not by default. In IHS's reading, the consultant and accreditor are separate payees under separate agreements. Ask the consulting firm to state who pays accreditor fees directly and to identify any payment-handling arrangement in writing.
Can I budget only for the initial fee? An initial fee alone is insufficient for planning until you confirm the full payment schedule and internal work. Ask for the applicable recurring charges and assign staff time separately.
About the author
Thomas G. Goddard, JD, PhD is Chief Executive Officer of Integral Healthcare Solutions, which he has led since 2002. He was Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of URAC from 1998 to 2000.
Sources
PCMH Pricing — National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA): https://www.ncqa.org/programs/health-care-providers-practices/patient-centered-medical-home-pcmh/pricing/
ACHC FAQs — Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), general process, Healthcare Staffing Services Certification and Home Care sections: https://achc.org/faqs/
ACHC Specialty Pharmacy Accreditation Process, revised April 4, 2023 — ACHCU: https://achcu.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ACHCU-Specialty-Pharmacy-Process.pdf
Digital Pharmacy pricing — National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP): https://nabp.pharmacy/accreditation-inspections-pricing/digital-pharmacy/
Specialty Pharmacy pricing — National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP): https://nabp.pharmacy/accreditation-inspections-pricing/specialty-pharmacy/