What is REHS and who needs it?
REHS, also written REHS/RS, is the Registered Environmental Health Specialist / Registered Sanitarian credential from the National Environmental Health Association, and it is the recognised national credential for environmental health practitioners. Holders are the people who inspect and regulate the environmental conditions that affect public health: food service and retail food safety, drinking water and wastewater, recreational water, solid and hazardous waste, vector and pest control, institutional and housing sanitation, air quality complaints and emergency response to environmental health incidents. Eligibility rests on education rather than a licence — a bachelor's degree carrying a substantial number of science credit hours, or a degree from an accredited environmental health programme, with experience requirements varying by educational background. Candidates then sit a comprehensive examination that covers the full breadth of the field, which is what makes it demanding: a candidate whose whole career has been food inspection still faces questions on wastewater systems, vector control and hazardous materials. Two things frequently get conflated. Several states operate their own registration or licensure of sanitarians and environmental health specialists with statutory force, and those are separate legal requirements. The national credential is nonetheless widely recognised, is required or preferred in a large number of local and state health department postings, and in some states forms part of the route to state registration. It is maintained on a two-year continuing education cycle.
- REHS/RS is the National Environmental Health Association's national environmental health credential.
- Eligibility requires a science-weighted bachelor's degree or an accredited environmental health degree.
- The examination is comprehensive, covering the whole field rather than a specialism.
- Several states operate separate statutory registration of sanitarians — a distinct requirement.
- The credential is maintained on a two-year continuing education cycle.
REHS at a glance
| Cost | Application and examination fees are set by the association and differ for members — see its current fee schedule |
| Duration | A comprehensive computer-based examination, following the education and experience requirements |
| Issued by | The National Environmental Health Association |
| Format | Comprehensive computer-based examination spanning the full breadth of environmental health practice |
| Expiry | Maintained on a two-year cycle through continuing education contact hours |
| Who needs it | Environmental health specialists and sanitarians in local and state health departments, and environmental health consultants |
| Eligibility | A bachelor's degree with substantial science credit hours, or a degree from an accredited environmental health programme, with experience varying by background |
| State registration | Several states register or license sanitarians separately under their own statutes — a distinct requirement from this credential |
Sources: National Environmental Health Association — REHS/RS credential · National Environmental Health Association — credential renewal. Reviewed August 2026 by the GlobalCybers team.
One Examination Across the Whole Field
Specialists are examined as generalists
This is the defining difficulty. An inspector who has spent five years exclusively in retail food will still be asked about onsite wastewater systems, drinking water, vector control, hazardous materials and institutional sanitation. The examination reflects the reality that environmental health staff in smaller jurisdictions cover everything, and it forces specialists to relearn the parts of the field their current programme does not touch.
The subject areas
Where the credential sits in public health careers
Environmental health specialists work predominantly for local and state health departments, where hiring and promotion run on published classifications. The credential appears repeatedly in those classifications as a requirement or a preference, and in several states it interacts directly with statutory registration.
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What REHS Covers Across Environmental Health Practice
Food Protection
Hazard control, temperature and time management, inspection practice and the investigation of foodborne illness complaints.
Water
Drinking water sources and treatment, recreational water chemistry and hazards, and the sampling that supports both.
Wastewater
Onsite system siting, design and failure, and the soil and site evaluation work that decides whether a system can work at all.
Waste & Hazmat
Solid waste handling, hazardous materials identification, and the environmental health role in incident response.
Vectors
Mosquito, tick and rodent surveillance and control, and the public health programmes built around them.
Risk Communication
Explaining risk to the public, to operators and to elected officials — the skill that determines whether good technical work has any effect.
How do you become a Registered Environmental Health Specialist, step by step?
Check your degree against the science requirement
Eligibility rests on a bachelor's degree carrying a substantial number of science credit hours, or a degree from an accredited environmental health programme. Candidates with degrees light on science are the most common category turned away, so audit your transcript before applying.
Check your state's separate registration rules
Several states register or license sanitarians and environmental health specialists under their own statutes. Those are legal requirements distinct from this credential, and in some states the two interact — so establish what your state requires before planning your route.
Study outside your specialism
Because the examination is comprehensive, the preparation that matters is in the areas your current job does not cover. Food inspectors should study wastewater and vector control; wastewater specialists should study food protection. This is the single most consistent piece of advice from candidates.
Sit the comprehensive examination
The examination is computer-based and spans the full breadth of environmental health practice.
Maintain on the two-year cycle
Continuing education contact hours are required across a two-year cycle, readily earned from association conferences, state affiliate training and health department in-service programmes.
A National Credential Alongside State Schemes
Environmental health is regulated unevenly. Several states operate their own registration or licensure of sanitarians and environmental health specialists, with statutory requirements for education, examination and continuing education, and in those states registration is what legally authorises the regulatory role. The national credential is separate: it is a professional certification recognised across jurisdictions, frequently written into local and state health department job classifications, and in some states accepted as part of the route to state registration. Practitioners need to know which of the two their own position actually requires.
REHS, Frequently Asked Questions
Environmental health credentialed? Health departments are hiring.
Local and state health departments recruit environmental health specialists continuously. Tell us your programme area.
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