NAACLS publishes one fee schedule for programs based in the United States and a second for programs located outside it. Both name the same five fee types: an application fee, a prorated status fee, a site visit preparation fee, a site visit fee billed at actual cost, and an annual accreditation fee. The figures below come from the NAACLS, Accreditation Fees page, opened October 3, 2026. Verify current fees with NAACLS.
Last reviewed: October 2026.
What NAACLS publishes and where
Everything on this page traces to one NAACLS page, NAACLS, Accreditation Fees (page opened October 3, 2026). It holds the two tables, a short billing explanation and a payment address for checks. Its U.S. table is headed July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. That period had ended before the date IHS opened the page, and the page still showed that heading.
The fee tables
Programs based in the United States
| Fee | Amount as listed | Condition shown on the page |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Application Fee | $600.00 | No condition stated. |
| Serious Applicant Status / Doctoral Candidacy Status Fee | Prorated, no figure | Tied to reaching the status. The page gives no formula. |
| Site Visit Preparation Fee | $750.00 | No condition stated. |
| Site Visit Fee | Actual cost, no figure | The page does not say what the cost covers. |
| Annual Accreditation Fee, schedule year July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 | $3,117.00 | Billed annually once billing starts (see below). |
Upcoming annual fee figures listed by NAACLS
Below the U.S. table, NAACLS lists three later annual figures under the heading Upcoming Annual Accreditation Fee Changes. NAACLS presents them as upcoming changes. The page does not say whether they are final, and IHS treats them as NAACLS's forward figures, not as billed amounts.
| Year | Annual Accreditation Fee |
|---|---|
| 2026-2027 | $3,273 |
| 2027-2028 | $3,437 |
| 2028-2029 | $3,609 |
Programs located outside the United States
The non-USA table is separate and carries no dated heading of its own. For a program outside the United States, the page makes the program responsible for its own application fee, annual fees and visit costs, and it gives business class airfare as an example of a visit cost.
| Fee | Amount as listed |
|---|---|
| Initial Application Fee | $1,000.00 |
| Serious Applicant Status / Doctoral Candidacy Status Fee | Prorated, no figure |
| Site Visit Preparation Fee | $1,000.00 |
| Site Visit Fee | Actual cost, no figure |
| Annual Accreditation Fee | $3,117.00 |
| Upcoming annual figures listed by NAACLS, labeled 2026, 2027 and 2028 on the page | $3,273, $3,437 and $3,609 |
Verify current fees with NAACLS.
How the fee structure works
Two charges come early and are tied to events: the application fee, and the preparation fee for the site visit. The visit itself is priced separately at actual cost. The annual fee is the recurring one, and it does not begin when a program applies. For a program, billing starts at Serious Applicant Status or Doctoral Candidacy Status, so the status date matters more than the application date.
The first bill depends on when the status date falls. NAACLS invoices in two cycles, January and July, and each cycle picks up programs whose status date landed in the six months before it. A program picked up in January gets a partial first bill built from the previous year's fee and running through July, then the full current fee each July after that. A program picked up in July gets that year's full fee at once, then the current fee each July after that.
The page sorts programs by where they are based, so location decides which table applies.
What the schedule does not include
- A figure for the status fee or the site visit fee. Both appear as prorated or actual cost with no amount, and the page does not say what the site visit cost is made of.
- Any fee for reconsideration, appeal, reinstatement, late payment, refunds or program changes. None is listed on the page, and its silence does not mean none exists.
- A statement of whether the annual fee applies per program, per discipline or per sponsor. The page shows a single amount.
- Your program's own costs, such as educator time, clinical site agreements and self-study preparation, or any consultant's fee. The schedule covers NAACLS charges only.
Questions your program can put to NAACLS
- Which schedule year governs our next invoice?
- How is the status fee prorated for our status date?
- What does the site visit fee cover, and who arranges the visit travel?
- Does the annual fee cover one program or each discipline we run?
Reading the schedule
This is arithmetic on the published figures. Verify current fees with NAACLS. It is not a quote or an estimate of any bill, since the status fee and the site visit fee have no published amounts and billing depends on the status date.
- U.S. fixed one-time figures: $600 plus $750 is $1,350. The non-USA equivalents are $1,000 plus $1,000, or $2,000, which is $650 more.
- The $3,117 annual fee plus the three upcoming figures NAACLS lists, $3,273, $3,437 and $3,609, add to $13,436. The sum assumes a full year is billed in each of the four years, which a program reaching status mid-cycle may not see.
- Year-over-year steps in those annual figures are $156, $164 and $172, each about 5.0 percent of the previous year.
Where this fits
This page covers the fee schedule only. The parent page, NAACLS clinical laboratory science program accreditation consulting, covers what NAACLS accredits, who needs it and what triggers it, the timeline NAACLS gives, a readiness checklist and how IHS helps with the self-study evidence and agreements.
What this is not
- It is not a copy of the NAACLS page. Fee labels and figures are reported with a link, and everything else is IHS's own wording.
- It is not IHS pricing. IHS scopes each engagement after a free introductory call.
- IHS does not set, collect or pay NAACLS fees, and does not correspond with NAACLS for a program. IHS drafts, and the program submits.
Frequently asked questions
What does NAACLS charge for accreditation?
For a program based in the United States, NAACLS lists a $600 Initial Application Fee, a $750 Site Visit Preparation Fee and a $3,117 Annual Accreditation Fee under a schedule headed July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. It lists the status fee as prorated and the site visit fee as actual cost, with no figure for either (page opened October 3, 2026). Verify current fees with NAACLS.
When does NAACLS start billing a program?
NAACLS starts billing at a program's Serious Applicant Status or Doctoral Candidacy Status, not at application. Invoices go out twice a year, in January and July, and each one picks up programs whose status date fell in the prior six months. A January pickup gets a partial first bill built from the previous year's fee and running through July, then the full current fee each July. A July pickup gets that year's full fee first, then the current fee each July (page opened October 3, 2026).
What are the annual fees NAACLS lists for later years?
NAACLS lists $3,273 for 2026-2027, $3,437 for 2027-2028 and $3,609 for 2028-2029 under the heading Upcoming Annual Accreditation Fee Changes. The page does not say whether these are final, and IHS treats them as NAACLS's forward figures, not billed amounts. Each is about 5 percent above the year before, which is IHS's arithmetic on the published figures (page opened October 3, 2026). Verify current fees with NAACLS.
Are NAACLS fees different for a program outside the United States?
Yes. The non-USA table lists $1,000 for the Initial Application Fee and $1,000 for the Site Visit Preparation Fee. Its annual fee is the same $3,117, and it carries the same three upcoming figures, labeled 2026, 2027 and 2028 rather than as year ranges. For a program outside the United States, the page makes the program responsible for its own application fee, annual fees and visit costs, and it gives business class airfare as an example of a visit cost (page opened October 3, 2026). Verify current fees with NAACLS.
Is the site visit fee a fixed amount?
No figure is published. NAACLS lists the Site Visit Fee as actual cost on both schedules, and the page does not say what the cost includes or how it is calculated.
The schedule is headed July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. Which fees apply now?
When IHS opened the page on October 3, 2026, it still carried that heading and listed 2026-2027 as upcoming. The page does not say which row NAACLS will apply to a given invoice, and IHS cannot tell you. Ask NAACLS which schedule year governs your program's next invoice.
Does IHS set, collect or pay NAACLS fees?
No. NAACLS sets its fees and bills the program, and payment instructions are on the NAACLS page. IHS scopes each engagement after a free introductory call.