Certified Municipal Officer (CMO)

Getting Started

• Qualifications

  To apply for the CMO Program you need the following:

  • Must be a current AMCTO member in good standing
  • Must be employed by a municipality (or related organization) with at least three (3) years of municipal management/leadership experience
  • Must have completed the AMCTO Municipal Administration Program (MAP) or an acceptable equivalent. Find out if you are eligible for an exemption by reviewing Section 5 in the Diploma in Municipal Administration (DMA) Terms of Reference.
• Competency Requirements

  In order to be granted the CMO designation, you must be able to demonstrate applied knowledge and skills in eight (8) areas of competency, using municipal experience and practical examples:

  1. Municipal Operations
  2. Communication
  3. Service Delivery
  4. Government Relations & Citizen Engagement
  5. Strategic & Organizational Management
  6. Human Resources Management
  7. Financial Management
  8. Leadership

  Review the CMO Competency Framework (PDF)

• Program Fees

  $203.00 (plus HST) 

• Register

  Register online as a CMO candidate through the AMCTO website. 

  Payment will be required following the verification of your prerequisites. Once paid, registered candidates will receive access to the CMO accreditation program in AMCTO’s online learning platform, AMCTO Connect. It will contain program information, resources and the prescribed forms you will need to complete your application.

  Once registered, you will be assigned a mentor. Mentors have gone through the accreditation process themselves and while not mandatory to connect, most candidates find their insight (planning and approach, overcoming hurdles, general guidance) incredibly valuable as they work through their submission.

  Register Now

• Preparing your Application

  We encourage those who are pursuing their CMO for the first time to review the CMO Manual and sample application below prior to completing and submitting their own. This is to help ensure that all applicants have a thorough understanding of all application areas and have time to provide the relevant supporting documents to have their application be successful. 

  Our accreditation team will do a preliminary review of your application once submitted and provide any additional feedback or tips to help ensure your final application is successful. 

  Review Sample Application (PDF)

• Review Process

  Once you have completed and submitted your application, members of our AMCTO Accreditation Review Teams will review and provide their recommendations on your application:

  • Three CMO-certified reviewers will independently review your submission
  • If you meet the threshold of 85% approval from 2/3 reviewers, you will be recommended for approval for accreditation
  • Granting of the designation by the AMCTO Board of Directors at their next meeting
• Maintenance of Designation Process

  The CMO Maintenance Program replaces the CMO recertification requirement. As a current, active AMCTO member who holds the CMO designation, you are not required to prove competency again, however, you will be required to maintain the designation within the established three (3) year professional development unit (PDU) maintenance program. This will require you to participate in professional development activities over a three (3) year cycle and report the activities to AMCTO in a PDU Log.

  You will receive a notice from our accreditation team every three (3) years asking for submission of the PDU Log in order to maintain your CMO designation. You are required to keep supporting documentation for all PDUs claimed, as random audits will be conducted, however, supporting documentation will not be required at the time of submission of the PDU Log.

  60 PDUs are required in one (3) year cycle. PDUs claimed must relate to one of the eight (8) competencies. There must be a minimum of 30 PDUs claimed under continuing education and professional development and the other 30 can be claimed in any category. The categories in which PDUs may be claimed are:

  • Continuing education and professional development (1 hour of activity = 1 PDU)
  • Professional writing (1 hour of activity = 1 PDU)
  • Knowledge-sharing (1 hour of activity = 1 PDU)
  • Teaching and presenting (1 hour of activity = 1 PDU)
  • Community involvement (1 hour of activity = 1 PDU)
  • Self-directed, non-structured learning (2 hours of activity = 1 PDU)

  Review PDU Log FAQs (PDF)

• Professional Development Unit (PDU) Sample and Template Log

  Review PDU Sample Log (PDF)

  Download PDU Template Log (PDF)

  For questions about PDUs and/or the CMO maintenance requirements, please contact us.