Background and Objectives: Health care facilities are required by ANSI standards to ''credential'' their own Laser Safety Officers and Laser Operators according to their own internal criteria. Because of the rapid proliferation of laser use in both medical and spa/cosmetic type settings the need to develop standardized criteria for Laser Certification of operators and safety officers is becoming paramount for patient safety. Study Design/Materials and Methods: Organizations such as the National Council on Laser Excellence (www.LaserCertification.org), Academy of Laser Dentistry (www.laserdentistry.org), Laser Institute of America (www.laserinstitute.org), and others have implemented Laser Certification programs to varying degrees. Results: The developing certification standards consider the educational background, experience level and specific laser training of each applicant who must successfully complete a proctored examination on the subject area. Current classes for Laser Certifications involve Safety Officers, nursing, technical, and cosmetically related laser operators, but do not involve ''Certification'' of physicians in any way. These developing certifications do not reflect clinical competency by the professional end user, but denote a baseline level of knowledge and/or competency by those responsible for the Laser Safety programs and setup and operation of the equipment. The Laser Certification is then used as a foundation for other clinical credentialling and licensing agencies. Conclusions: This presentation provides an overview of the status of these programs, the organizations involved and discusses the need for active involvement with these programs by professional societies such as the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.