ONCC Changing Name of BMTCN® Certification to TCTCN™

The Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC) has announced its Blood and Marrow Transplant Certified Nurse (BMTCN®) program will be renamed the Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Certified Nurse (TCTCN™) program beginning in 2026. 

Michelle Payne, DNP, RN, OCN®, BMTCN®, and ONCC President explains, “The name change reflects the evolution of treatment and nursing practice in the transplantation and cellular therapy specialty.” 

The certification examination will be offered under the BMTCN® program name through the end of 2025. Nurses who wish to take the BMTCN® examination before the end of the year must apply by September 1, 2025. Beginning in January 2026, the examination will be offered under the TCTCN™ program name. Registration for the TCTCN™ examination will open in late 2025. 

ONCC Executive Director, Tony Ellis, MSEd, CAE, ICE-CCP notes, “It is important to understand the BMTCN® program is being renamed, not retired. Nurses who hold BMTCN® certification when the name changes will be transitioned to the new TCTCN™ credential.” Ellis also notes the program will continue to be accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies after the name change to TCTCN™. 

ONCC will implement the name change in phases, beginning in the fall of 2025 and continuing into 2026. Nurses can expect to see the name change and related activities completed along this tentative timeline.

  • September 1, 2025 – The deadline to apply to take a BMTCN® examination by December 31, 2025. 
  • Fall 2025 – Examinations offered under the BMTCN® name through December 31, 2025. 
  • Fall 2025 – TCTCN™ test information published in the 2026 ONCC Test Registration Manual and on oncc.org.
  • Late Fall 2025 – Registration opens for TCTCN™ examinations.
  • January 2026 – The BMTCN® credential officially becomes the TCTCN™ credential.
  • January 2026 – Examinations begin being offered under the TCTCN™ name. 
  • January 2026 – Nurses may begin using the TCTCN™ credential in place of the BMTCN® credential 
  • March 2026 – ONCC will send BMTCN®-certified nurses new credential certificates reflecting their status as a TCTCN™-certified nurse. Their certification expiration date will remain unchanged; only the credential name will change. 

ONCC has compiled Frequently Asked Questions about the name change. If you have any questions about the name change, please contact oncc@oncc.org.