The ONC-AA accredits certification bodies for the ONC Health IT Certification Program, and oversees the ONC-Authorized Certification Bodies (ONC-ACBs).

The National Coordinator may approve only one ONC-AA at a time. The ONC-AA’s status will expire not later than 3 years from the date its status was approved by the National Coordinator. The National Coordinator will accept requests for ONC-AA status at least 180 days before the current ONC-AA's status is set to expire.

The National Coordinator will publish a notice in the Federal Register to announce the period during which organizations may submit requests for ONC-AA status. An organization must submit a timely request in writing to the National Coordinator which includes the information required at §170.503 and §170.504 of the Establishment of the Permanent Certification Program Final Rule [PDF - 534 KB].

In June 2011, ANSI was selected as the first ONC-AA; effective June 2017, ANSI started their third 3-year term as the ONC- Approved Accreditor.