In keeping with its mission to promote excellence in the profession of diabetes education through the development, maintenance, and protection of the Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist^® (CDCES^®) credential, the Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education (CBDCE) is issuing this public awareness advisory. The CDCES^® credential conferred by CBDCE means that the certified health professional has met specific eligibility requirements and passed the Certification Examination for Diabetes Care and Education, thereby demonstrating that he or she possesses comprehensive and specialized knowledge and experience that can be used to provide quality care and education to persons with diabetes.

Formerly known as CERTIFIED DIABETES EDUCATOR^® and CDE^®, these marks are federally registered certification marks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It is also important to note that national organizations in Canada and other countries use the CDE mark. Moreover, certain states and private companies grant certificates with designations that may be similar to and thus confused with the CBDCE-granted CDE^®/CDCES certification. At this time, CBDCE does not have reciprocity agreements with any organization in Canada or any other country that uses CDE^® as a credential of recognition for diabetes educators. All interested parties are therefore encouraged to request verification of CDE^®/CDCES^® credentials by CBDCE. They can do so by using the CDCES self-service online verification tool.