Approved by the Accreditation Commission on December 3, 2004; effective January 1, 2005.

To participate in the Alliance’s Accreditation Program, a museum must:

• Be a legally organized nonprofit institution or part of a nonprofit organization or government entity

• Be essentially educational in nature

• Have a formally stated and approved mission

• Use and interpret objects or a site for the public presentation of regularly scheduled programs and exhibits

• Have a formal and appropriate program of documentation, care, and use of collections or objects

• Carry out the above functions primarily at a physical facility or site

• Have been open to the public for at least two years

• Be open to the public at least 1,000 hours a year

• Have accessioned 80 percent of its permanent collection

• Have at least one paid professional staff with museum knowledge and experience

• Have a full-time director to whom authority is delegated for day-to-day operations

• Have the financial resources sufficient to operate effectively

• Demonstrate that it meets the Core Standards for Museums

• Successfully complete the Core Documents Verification Program