If you’re getting into sterile processing — or you’re already in it and trying to finally get certified — you’ve probably hit the same wall every SPD tech hits. There are two main certifications. They both let you do the same job. They both cost money. They both require studying. And nobody can give you a straight answer about which one you should actually get.
I went through this exact decision a few years ago, and I’m going to give you the answer I wish someone had given me. No marketing copy. No “they’re both great in their own way” non-answers. Just the real-world breakdown.
Let’s get into it.
The One-Line Answer
If you only read one sentence of this article, read this one:
- CRCST is named more often in hospital job postings and has slightly broader employer recognition.
- CBSPD is easier and cheaper to maintain long-term because it only needs to be renewed every five years instead of every year.
Both are NCCA accredited. Both will get you hired. You genuinely cannot make a “wrong” choice — but the right choice depends on your situation, and that’s what the rest of this article is for.
What Each Certification Actually Is
Let’s clear up the alphabet soup first.
CRCST stands for Certified Registered Central Service Technician. It’s offered by HSPA, the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association. If you’ve been around the field for a while, you might know HSPA by its old name — IAHCSMM (International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management). They rebranded a few years back. Same organization, easier acronym.
CSPDT stands for Certified Sterile Processing and Distribution Technician. It’s offered by CBSPD, the Certification Board for Sterile Processing and Distribution. When people in the field say “I’m CBSPD certified,” they almost always mean they have the CSPDT.
Both certifications are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), which is the gold standard for credentialing in the U.S. So when somebody tries to tell you one is “more legitimate” than the other — they’re not. They’re both fully accredited and both prove you can do the job.
The Requirements, Head-to-Head
This is where the two certifications start to differ in ways that actually matter.
CRCST requirements:
- 400 hours of hands-on experience in a sterile processing department
- Those 400 hours can be completed before you sit for the exam (full certification), or you can take the exam first and complete the hours within 6 months of passing (provisional certification)
- Hours must be completed within the past 5 years
- Pass the exam: 150 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, computer-based
CBSPD CSPDT requirements:
- 12 months of full-time SPD employment, OR
- 6 months of SPD employment plus 6 months in another allied health role, OR
- Completion of a sterile processing training course with a grade of 70 or higher
- Pass the exam: 150 multiple-choice questions (125 scored, 25 unscored pretest), 3 hours, scaled passing score of 70
Here’s the practical difference that nobody explains clearly:
CRCST has a provisional pathway that lets you study, pass the exam, and then go get the hours. That’s huge if you’re trying to break into the field without prior experience — you can walk into a hiring manager’s office with a provisional CRCST and they know you’re serious.
CBSPD doesn’t really have an equivalent. You either need to already have the work experience, or you need to have completed a training program. If you’re a career-changer with zero SPD background, CRCST is the friendlier on-ramp.
The Renewal Difference — The Biggest Gap Nobody Warns You About
This is the single biggest practical difference between the two certifications, and almost no one talks about it before you’re locked in.
CRCST renewal:
- Renewed annually
- Requires 12 continuing education (CE) credits every single year
- $50 renewal fee plus HSPA membership dues
- If you miss a year, you start dealing with reinstatement fees and headaches
CBSPD CSPDT renewal:
- Renewed every 5 years
- Requires 100 contact hours over the full 5-year period (averages out to 20 hours/year, but you can do them whenever)
- Renewal fee, no annual membership requirement
- One big renewal sprint instead of an annual grind
In real life, this means different things for different people.
If you’re the kind of person who likes to chip away at things steadily and you’re already plugged into HSPA’s CE pipeline (they make it easy), the annual CRCST renewal isn’t bad. You knock out one or two webinars a quarter and you’re done.
If you’re the kind of person who forgets about your certification renewal until you get the threatening email two weeks before it expires, CBSPD is more forgiving. You have five years to get your CEs together, and there’s no annual membership nagging you. You can disappear into your work for years at a time and as long as you handle business before the 5-year mark, you’re fine.
I’ll be honest — the annual renewal is the single most common reason I hear techs complain about CRCST. It’s not the cost. It’s the constant administrative tax.
Which One Do Employers Actually Prefer?
This is the question that really matters, so let me give you the honest answer.
CRCST shows up more often in job postings. If you scroll through Indeed listings for sterile processing tech jobs at large hospital systems, you’ll see CRCST specifically named more often than CBSPD. That’s just the reality. HSPA has been more aggressive about marketing to hospital systems, and a lot of large health networks defaulted to CRCST in their HR systems.
But most hospitals accept either. Almost every job posting that names CRCST will also accept CBSPD as an equivalent credential. I pulled up a recent listing for a sterile processing position at NewYork-Presbyterian, and the required criteria literally read: “CRCST from HSPA or certified by CBSPD.” That’s typical.
Some states actually require certification:
- New York: mandates certification for all SPD techs (accepts either)
- New Jersey: requires CRCST or CSPDT
- Connecticut and Tennessee: require certification within a set timeframe after you start working
- Other states like Massachusetts, Florida, and Minnesota strongly encourage it and have legislation in the works
The honest test you should do before picking:
Pull up Indeed. Search “sterile processing technician” in your zip code. Look at the first 10 job postings. Count how many require CRCST specifically, how many require CBSPD specifically, and how many accept either.
Whichever certification gets named more in your local job market — that’s your answer. This 10-minute exercise will tell you more than any comparison article (including this one) can.
Cost Over Time
People always look at the exam fee when they’re picking a certification, but the exam is the cheap part. The expensive part is maintenance.
CRCST over 5 years (rough estimate):
- Initial exam fee
- HSPA membership dues × 5 years
- 12 CEs × 5 years (some free, some paid)
- $50 renewal fee × 5 years
- Reinstatement fees if you ever miss a year
CBSPD CSPDT over 5 years (rough estimate):
- Initial exam fee
- 100 contact hours over 5 years (many free)
- One renewal fee at the 5-year mark
- No annual membership
CBSPD almost always wins on total cost over a career. It’s not a massive gap, but if you’re stacking certifications and managing your professional development on a tight budget, the math matters.
When CRCST Is the Better Pick
Go with CRCST if:
- You work (or want to work) at a large hospital system, especially in a major metro
- Job postings in your area specifically name CRCST more often than CBSPD
- You’re a career-changer with no SPD experience — the provisional pathway lets you get hired faster
- You want the most widely recognized name on your resume no matter where life takes you
- You don’t mind the annual CE grind, or you actually like the structure of annual deadlines
- You’re already at a facility that pays for HSPA membership (a lot of hospitals do — ask)
When CBSPD Is the Better Pick
Go with CBSPD if:
- Job postings in your area accept both equally
- You absolutely hate paperwork and would rather handle one big renewal every five years
- You’re trying to minimize long-term cost
- You’re working in ambulatory surgery, doctor’s offices, or non-hospital settings (CBSPD also offers a specialized CASSPT certification for ambulatory surgery techs)
- You’re later in your career and just want a maintainable credential that doesn’t nag you every January
- You already have the 12 months of experience and don’t need the provisional pathway
Can You Hold Both?
Yes. Some techs do. The reasoning is usually one of two things:
- They started with one, switched jobs to a facility that prefers the other, and decided to grab both rather than pick a side
- They want to maximize their resume and aren’t bothered by maintaining two sets of CEs
Honestly? For most people it’s overkill. The two certifications cover almost identical content, and any employer that accepts one will accept the other. The only situation where holding both genuinely helps is if you’re applying for management roles or you’re trying to teach SPD courses — at that point, having both signals serious commitment to the field.
For 95% of working techs, pick one and run with it.
The Real Answer Nobody Gives You
I’ll give you the same advice I’d give my own sibling if they asked.
Stop reading comparison articles like this one. Stop watching YouTube videos. Stop reading Facebook group threads where everyone is just defending whichever cert they happened to get.
Instead, do these three things, in this order:
- Pull up Indeed and search jobs in your zip code. Look at what 10 SPD job postings actually require. That’s your local market reality.
- Call the HR department at the hospital you most want to work at. Ask: “If I get certified, which one do you prefer?” They’ll tell you in 30 seconds. Most won’t even know they were asked.
- Ask current techs at that facility on Reddit or in a Facebook group. The people doing the job will tell you what their managers actually care about.
Ten minutes of that research is worth more than every comparison article on the internet combined. Because at the end of the day, the “best” certification isn’t the one with the better marketing — it’s the one that gets you hired at the place you want to work.
The Bottom Line
There’s no wrong answer here. CRCST and CBSPD are both legitimate, both NCCA accredited, both respected. The choice comes down to:
- Where you want to work (CRCST for major hospital systems, either for most other settings)
- Whether you need a provisional pathway (CRCST wins here)
- How you feel about annual paperwork (CBSPD wins here)
- Your local market reality (whichever your area’s job postings name more often)
Pick one. Pass the exam. Get the job. The certification matters less than the experience you build with it.
And once you do start applying — do not sign on at a facility without checking what techs who actually work there think first. The hospital’s website is going to tell you they value their team and have a great culture. The recruiter is going to tell you the same thing. Both of them are paid to say that. The people actually scrubbing instruments in the decontam room at 2 a.m. will tell you the truth.
That’s what ScrubInformer is for. Real reviews from sterile processing techs and other healthcare workers who’ve actually been there, on the specific hospitals and facilities you’re considering. So you can make the call with your eyes open instead of finding out the hard way after you’ve already signed.
Know before you go.