Initial Application for Board Certification Pay and Your Proof of Certification
Here is some info from BUMED about Board Certification Pay (BCP) for those applying for it the first time:
Please make sure that the date on the proof of board certification that you submit is reflective of the true date of your certification. The Special Pays team has encountered a few packages in which the date on the letter from the respective board is later than the actual date of certification. This particularly seems to impact the Internal Medicine community. Currently, the “fix” is for the individual to reach out to the board and ask for a revised letter reflecting the actual date of certification.
For awareness, BCP is retroactively paid to the date of board certification, so any disparity could result in forfeiture of hundreds/thousands of dollars.
We in the Corps Chief’s office are working to see if we can find a less administratively intensive way of getting the dates right, but in the meantime, it is in everyone’s best interest to make sure they are getting all the pay to which they are entitled.
Any question about special pays should be directed to your command’s special pays coordinator.