Apply for Accreditation

The CoC is a multidisciplinary accreditation program. By working with our national partners, the CoC has developed comprehensive, patient-centered standards for cancer programs. Your cancer program will be evaluated against these standards to demonstrate compliance and your commitment to providing high-quality cancer care.

CoC-accredited cancer programs treat more than 74% of recently diagnosed patients with cancer annually. We encourage your cancer program to become part of this important network of accredited cancer programs dedicated to delivering high-quality cancer care.

Cancer programs providing care for pediatric patients may seek CoC accreditation as a Pediatric Cancer Program (PCP) or CoC Pediatric Specialty Accreditation (CoC-PS). More information about the unique characteristics of the pediatric programs is found in the Guidelines for Seeking Accreditation for Pediatric Services. Cancer programs seeking accreditation as a PCP apply through the online application and follow the below guidance for new programs. Cancer program seeking the CoC-PS apply through the CoC-PS Application. In most cases, the CoC-PS site visit must coordinate with the primary CoC site visit, so timing of the application submission should consider the due date of the primary CoC program’s next site visit.

Key Application Information

If your cancer program is submitting an application for a site visit in 2026:

Your program must be able to demonstrate compliance with all of the Optimal Resources for Cancer Care (2020 Standards) in calendar year 2025.
Be prepared to schedule an in-person initial site visit to take place after Janaruy 1, 2026.

The program must have established a cancer registry start date no later than January 1, 2023, in order to provide a complete calendar year of abstracted data from 2023 and a complete year of follow-up data.

Anticipated Site Visit	Standard Compliance Period	Cancer Registry Start Date (no later than)
2025	2024	January 1, 2023
2026	2025	January 1, 2024
2027	2026	January 1, 2025

Anticipated Site Visit	Standard Compliance Period	Cancer Registry Start Date (no later than)
2025	2024	January 1, 2023
2026	2025	January 1, 2024
2027	2026	January 1, 2025

Networks

If you are interested in applying as a new Integrated Network Cancer Program (INCP) or National Cancer Institute-Designated Network Cancer Program (NCIN), please review the Guidelines to Form an INCP/NCIN.

Important Accreditation Process Information

Before Accredited status is granted, corrective action must be completed for any non-compliant standards noted in the accreditation report.
Programs undergoing an initial site review that have five or more non-compliant standards will be rated Not Accredited and will need to reapply for accreditation after one calendar year.

Pre-Submission

The PRQ provides necessary information and documentation for site reviewers to assess compliance with the standards.

Program must meet compliance measures for all applicable standards.
Program must submit the complete PRQ through QPort at least 60 calendar days before the confirmed site visit date.

Site Visit

Undergo an in-person site visit by a CoC-trained site reviewer.
Initial CoC site visits review 1 calendar year (January 1–December 31) of compliance with all standards.

Outcome

Complete the Site Visit Experience Survey (SVES) within 14 calendar days.
Receive the Accreditation Report, which documents results, within 45 days of the site visit or as soon as practical thereafter.
Promote CoC accreditation once accreditation is achieved.
When accredited, the accreditation term is 3 years from the date of the initial site visit.

New Program Checklist

Applications should not be submitted until the program can demonstrate one calendar year of compliance.

Pre-Submission

Download the Optimal Resources for Cancer Care (2020 Standards) and review the current implementation timelines.
Form a cancer committee and begin documenting compliance.
Establish a cancer registry start date, collect 1 year of data, and conduct 1 year of patient follow-up.

Submission

Complete the online application.
Verify that the program has a current Business Associate and Data Use Agreement (BA/DUA) agreement with the American College of Surgeons. Programs that currently participate in any of the ACS quality improvement programs do not need to sign another BA/DUA agreement. If your program does not have a BA/DUA with the ACS, please send an e-mail requesting a blank BA/DUA for completion.
Complete the site profile once you receive notification that the application is processed.
Receive an initial accreditation fee invoice after the Site Profile has been completed.
Receive full access to the Quality Portal (QPort) upon receipt of payment, which includes access to the Pre-Review Questionnaire (PRQ) and the ability to submit four preferred dates for the initial site visit. (Please note that when submitting preferred site review dates, the PRQ will need to be submitted no later than 60 prior to the site visit.)

Post-Submission

Receive formal notification of the site visit date.
Undergo a site visit by a CoC-trained Site Reviewer.
Receive the Accreditation Report, which documents the site visit results, within 45 days of the site visit or as soon as practical thereafter.
Submit data to the National Cancer Database after receipt of the Accreditation Report indicating Accredited status.
Before Accredited status is granted, corrective action must be completed for any non-compliant standards noted in the accreditation report.
Programs undergoing an initial site review that have more than the allotted number of non-compliant standards will be rated Not Accredited and will need to reapply for accreditation after one calendar year. Please see the standards manual for more details.
Promote your CoC accreditation after achieving Accredited status.

Apply Today

Renewals/Reaccreditation Process (Currently Accredited Programs)

CoC accredited programs are required to undergo a site visit every 3 years to maintain accreditation. More information regarding reaccreditation can be found in the Resources section of the Quality Portal.

Preparation Resources

The following resources can help programs in preparing for the accreditation process