Our Story
It has been nearly five decades since President Lyndon Johnson's Committee on Highway Traffic Safety recommended the creation of a national certification agency to establish uniform standards for training and examination of personnel active in the delivery of emergency ambulance service. The result of this recommendation was the inception of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (The Registry) in 1970. Prior to the 1970’s, a national certification standard for emergency medical care did not exist.
Since then, The Registry has certified over two million EMS providers. Today, over 330,000 individuals are Nationally Certified at the Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Advanced-EMT (AEMT), or Paramedic level. Entry requirements for national EMS certification include completing a state-approved EMS education course, and passing the National Registry cognitive and psychomotor examinations.