NIMS/NIC Training Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Who has to take NIMS and ICS training?

A. All Federal, State, Tribal, and Local entities, Private Sector and Nongovernmental personnel with a direct role in emergency management and response must be NIMS and ICS trained. This includes all emergency services related disciplines such as EMS, hospitals, public health, fire service, law enforcement, public works/utilities, skilled support personnel, and other emergency management response, support and volunteer personnel, as follows:

Entry Level
FEMA IS-700: NIMS, An Introduction
ICS-100: Introduction to ICS

First Line, Single Resource, Field Supervisors
IS-700, ICS-100 and ICS-200: Basic ICS or its equivalent

Mid-level Management: Strike Team Leaders, Division Supervisors, EOC Staff, etc.
IS-700, IS-800.A NRP, ICS-100, ICS-200 and ICS-300*

Command and General Staff; Area, Emergency and EOC Managers
IS-700, IS-800.A, ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-300* and ICS-400*

* NOTE: Not all persons required to take ICS-300 and ICS-400 will need to take IS-800.A. Emergency managers or personnel whose primary responsibility is emergency management must complete this training.

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Q. What level of NIMS training is required Elected Officials?

A. The National Integration Center (NIC) Incident Management Systems Division strongly recommends that all elected official who will be interacting with multiple jurisdictions and agencies during an incident at the minimum, complete IS-700: NIMS, An Introduction and ICS-100: Introduction to ICS. These courses provide a basic understanding of the National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System. Everyone directly involved in managing an emergency should understand the command reporting structures, common terminology and roles and responsibilities inherent in a response operation.

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Q. What training do I need to be an ICS instructor?

A. All lead ICS instructors should have training and experience in adult education and have served as Incident Commander or in a command staff or general staff position. Specific requirements for ICS-100 through ICS-400 are as follows:

ICS-100
ICS-100 Lead and Unit Instructors should have successfully completed ICS-100, ICS-200 and IS-700.

ICS-200
ICS-200 Lead Instructor should have successfully completed ICS-300. Unit Instructors should have successfully completed ICS-200.

ICS-300
ICS-300 Lead Instructor should have successfully completed ICS-400, have served as served as Incident Commander or in a command staff or general staff position in an incident that went beyond one operational period or required a written Incident Action Plan (IAP). Unit Instructors should have successfully completed ICS-300, have served as served as Incident Commander or in a command staff or general staff position; or, have specialized knowledge and experience appropriate for the audience, such as public health or public works.

ICS-400
ICS-400 Instructors should have successfully completed ICS-400 and IS-800 National Response Plan. Lead Instructor should have served as served as Incident Commander or in a command staff or general staff position in an incident that required multi-agency coordination and went beyond one operational period or required a written IAP. Unit Instructors must have served as served as Incident Commander or in a command staff or general staff position in an incident that went beyond one operational period or required a written IAP; or, have specialized knowledge and experience for the audience, such as public health or public works.

IMPORTANT NOTE: An instructor's qualifications must be verified by the agency sponsoring the training.

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Q. I still have not received my training certificate for a course I took on the EMI website. What should I do?

A. All inquiries regarding certificates or EMI online courses, please contact the Emergency Management Institute's Independent Study Office at: (301) 447-1200 or e-mail them at: Independent.Study@dhs.gov

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Last Modified: Thursday, 12-Jul-2007 15:55:37 EDT