How the two main sonography accreditors differ, what each reviews, and why both can lead to a certification-eligible credential.
Two bodies accredit most diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) programs in the United States: the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). They are sometimes treated as competitors, but they review programs in different ways. Understanding the difference helps a prospective student read a program’s claims accurately.
CAAHEP — programmatic accreditation
CAAHEP is a programmatic accreditor: it reviews a single program — diagnostic medical sonography specifically — against the standards of that profession. It does not do the detailed review itself. The Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS) reviews each program and recommends accreditation to CAAHEP, so a program is “CAAHEP-accredited on the recommendation of JRC-DMS” (CAAHEP; JRC-DMS). CAAHEP’s standards focus on whether the program prepares competent entry-level sonographers, and graduating from a CAAHEP-accredited program is, in many cases, what makes a person eligible to certify.
ABHES — institutional accreditation with DMS standards
ABHES is primarily an institutional accreditor: it reviews an entire school rather than a single program. It also publishes its own diagnostic medical sonography standards, so a sonography program at an ABHES-accredited school is held to ABHES’s DMS requirements (ABHES). For sonography, ABHES’s standards cover the same kinds of areas as CAAHEP’s — curriculum, clinical training ratios, faculty qualifications.
What this means for a prospective student
The practical takeaway is that both routes exist and both can lead to a certification-eligible credential. The difference shows up in where to confirm a program’s status: a CAAHEP-accredited program appears in the CAAHEP directory, while an ABHES-accredited school appears in ABHES’s listings. How to Verify a Program’s Accreditation covers the directory check.
Two things matter more than which of the two a program holds. First, that the program is actually accredited by one of them, confirmed at the source. Second, that completing it makes a graduate eligible to sit for the certification exam in the specialty they want — a separate check with ARDMS or CCI. Accreditation covers the eligibility link, and Programmatic vs Institutional Accreditation covers the underlying distinction, including how it connects to federal financial aid.
Last verified: 2026-06-14. Accreditor standards and program statuses change; confirm current details with CAAHEP, JRC-DMS, and ABHES directly. This page is informational and does not recommend a program or accreditor.