Apply for Accreditation

Thank you for your interest in accreditation by the National Accreditation for Breast Centers (NAPBC). The NAPBC provides the structure and resources you need to develop and operate a high-quality breast program. NAPBC-accredited programs follow a model for organizing and managing a breast program that facilitates multidisciplinary, integrated, and comprehensive breast disease and breast cancer services.

Achieving accreditation by the NAPBC shows your breast care team is committed to providing the best care available through the entire course of treatment.

Key Application Dates

If your breast program is submitting an application for a site visit, your program will need to:

• Be able to demonstrate compliance with Optimal Resources for Breast Care (2024 Standards) for calendar year 2024.
• Be prepared to schedule an in-person initial site visit to take place after March 1, 2025.

New Program Checklist

An application should not be submitted until the program demonstrates one calendar year (January 1–December 31) of compliance with all standards.

Pre-Submission

• Download the and review Optimal Resources for Breast Care (2024 Standards).
• Appoint a Breast Program Director and establish a Breast Program Leadership Committee.

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 annual accreditation fee invoice after the Site Profile has been completed.
• Receive full access to the Quality Portal (QPort) upon payment receipt  including  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.
• Submit the completed PRQ 60 days before the site visit. Undergo an in-person  site visit by a NAPBC-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.
• 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 detail
• Promote your NAPBC accreditation.

Education and Training

Web-based education and in-person workshops to educate about the standards, best practices to support compliance with the standards, and tips and techniques for preparing for the site visit. 

Tools and Templates

Resources to assist you in recording and tracking your breast program activity for select standards in between, and in preparation for, site visits.

Program Support

Access to the CAnswer Forum online community to ask questions, search topics, and connect with breast program colleagues across the country to share best practices. 

Marketing Resources

Promote your NAPBC-accreditation to your community with a variety of resources made available to accredited programs including certificates, posters, and banner stands. Your breast program is also promoted to the public through the American College of Surgeons Find an Accredited Program tool.