How to Become a Chaplain: Requirements, Steps & Careers

Key Takeaways

• A chaplain is a spiritual professional who provides religious guidance and counseling in secular settings.
• Chaplains serve in a wide range of workplaces, from hospitals and prisons to the military and professional sports teams, each with its own training and endorsement requirements.
• Becoming a chaplain typically requires a bachelor’s degree, a graduate theology degree, and Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE).
• Chaplains are certified through the Board of Chaplaincy Certification, Inc. (BCCI) which requires a 72-semester-hour graduate degree, four CPE units, and 2,000 hours of chaplaincy experience.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $60,820 for clergy, including chaplains, with about 23,000 job openings projected each year nationally.

In the field of ministry, there may be no more diverse work than that of a chaplain. As spiritual support providers in secular settings, chaplains can work in almost any industry: healthcare, law enforcement, education, the military, travel and hospitality, and even corporate offices. For lay men and women who feel called to ministry beyond the traditional parish settings, chaplaincy provides almost endless opportunities to connect faith to a career. 

This guide walks through how to become a chaplain, including education and certification requirements, the different types of chaplaincy work, and what to expect from the career path.

What Is a Chaplain?

Perhaps best described as “ministers in the workplace,” chaplains are spiritual professionals who provide religious guidance and counseling in secular settings. Chaplains do not need to be affiliated with one particular church or religion and do not always need to be ordained; as long as they have the appropriate spiritual formation, training, and experience, chaplains can become highly valued members of the organizations and communities they serve. 

Chaplains can be employed directly by a company or work on contract as a representative of a religious organization. They can be employed by hospitals, police forces, the military, correctional facilities, universities — in short, any secular organization that has regular need for a trusted professional to provide spiritual or emotional support. To that end, chaplains are not limited to specific religious services or guidance; chaplains are equipped to provide non-denominational support and counseling to all, including those who identify as agnostic or atheist.

What Does a Chaplain Do? Day-to-Day Responsibilities

Chaplaincy can encompass a wide range of skills and services, but primarily involves bridging the gap between the spiritual and the secular. Common responsibilities include:

• Providing spiritual, emotional, and non-denominational guidance to members of secular workplaces or organizations.
• Leading prayer and interfaith worship services in a variety of non-church settings.
• Leading worship and administering sacraments or rites, such as baptisms, weddings, or funerals, for those unable to attend church services (if ordained).
• Providing grief counseling.
• Counseling survivors of traumatic events, recovering addicts, victims of crime or violence, and individuals suffering mental health crises.
• Providing spiritual formation and educational instruction to children and adults.
• Coordinating spiritual retreats and trainings.
• Mentoring those who wish to join a particular religion.
• Helping individuals and groups grapple with spiritual or existential questions.

While chaplaincy work varies by setting, most chaplains’ daily duties follow a similar rhythm: 

• The day often begins with a check-in or handoff briefing with staff or fellow chaplains to identify who needs a visit: a new patient, an incoming inmate, a grieving family, a struggling service member.
  
• From there, chaplains typically spend much of the day making rounds or one-on-one visits, responding to on-call pages for emergencies or crises as they arise, and documenting visits and care plans, particularly in healthcare, correctional, and military settings where interdisciplinary teams rely on these records.
  
• Chaplains also prepare and lead worship services or prayer groups on a set schedule, attend interdisciplinary team meetings alongside medical, counseling, or command staff, and set aside time for their own prayer, study, or supervision, since sustaining others spiritually requires sustaining their own spiritual life first. 

The balance of “scheduled” versus “on-call” work depends heavily on the setting: A hospital chaplain may carry a pager for overnight emergencies, while a college chaplain’s day may run closer to a standard academic calendar.

Important Chaplaincy Skills

Wherever they are employed, chaplains need to possess a skill set that includes maturity, patience, healthy self-care, and the ability to grow. Though their duties may vary widely across professional settings, all good chaplains need to be open, compassionate, adaptable, and able to remain composed during stressful or upsetting situations.

Practical skills chaplains need include:

• Strong communication (written and verbal)
• Active listening
• Analytical thinking
• Objectivity
• Public speaking
• Teaching
• Crisis intervention
• Stress management (both for themselves and others)
• Scriptural interpretation
• Working knowledge of world religions
• Adaptability

While many chaplains naturally possess these attributes, it’s important to cultivate these “softer” interpersonal skills:

• Compassion for others
• Empathy
• Motivational attitude
• Curiosity
• Sensitivity to confidentiality

Above all, chaplains should have a strong sense of spirituality, which will support many of the attributes listed above. A close relationship to one’s faith not only helps in ministering to others, but provides an anchor in times of great stress.

Types of Chaplains & Career Paths

According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary for a chaplain in the U.S. is $63,587 as of June 2026. Of course, income can vary depending on placement, geographic location, experience, and any additional benefits including a 401(k), parental leave, or relocation assistance.

Those interested in chaplaincy can find opportunities in a broad range of fields:

Healthcare Chaplains

Chaplains can work in hospitals, mental health facilities, rehabilitation centers, long-term care homes, and any number of other care settings. They provide on-call spiritual counseling and support for patients and their families pertaining to diagnosis, surgery, traumatic injuries or events, death, and crisis intervention. Hospital chaplains do not need to be registered healthcare professionals, but should have appropriate clinical support training.

Correctional Facility Chaplains

Chaplains who work in correctional facilities lead worship services, prayer groups, and provide spiritual instruction, guidance, counseling, and general support for incarcerated individuals.

Law Enforcement Chaplains

Police departments need on-call chaplains who can comfort anxious or grieving family members on active crime scenes and provide counseling services to police officers. While they do not need to be certified officers, police chaplains often need to complete crisis response training.

School Chaplains

School or campus chaplains work with students and faculty at the elementary, high school, or college level. Duties can range from individual counseling to teaching religious education courses to leading worship services. Chaplains are more often placed at religious grade schools (rather than secular), though many secular colleges and universities employ campus chaplains.

Military Chaplains

Military chaplains are commissioned officers in the U.S. military, and, though they cannot hold command, can achieve the rank of major general or rear admiral. They lead worship services, provide spiritual support to troops, administer sacraments, perform rites, and advise commanding officers and other personnel on religious and moral matters. The U.S. military prefers chaplains to be ordained.

Athletics Chaplains

Many professional sports teams travel with their own team chaplain. A sports chaplain provides spiritual support on the road, leading worship services and prayer in between training and games.

Workplace and Community Chaplains

Veterinary practices, corporations, disaster relief organizations, the travel and hospitality industry, environmental groups, media outlets, government agencies, and more can employ chaplains to provide spiritual and emotional support to their communities.

Are Chaplains Ordained?

Chaplains do not need to be ordained to administer counseling or lead worship services. However, they do need to be ordained to perform religious sacraments such as the Eucharist or baptism.

Routes to chaplaincy vary. Depending on the setting, chaplains can either be lay people currently employed by an organization who have completed the appropriate theological and ministerial training; or they may be ordained individuals who are recruited by an organization and appointed to chaplaincy.

Many chaplains choose to wear plain clothes or the uniform of their organization, though they occasionally will wear vestments or more formal attire for public-facing occasions. If a chaplain is ordained in the Christian faith, especially if they are Catholic or mainline Protestant, they may sometimes wear a white collar.

At a Glance: Chaplain Types, Settings & Requirements

How to Become a Chaplain

While there are many paths to chaplaincy, many organizations require candidates to have specific educational or spiritual preparation and training.

1. Talk to a trusted advisor.

If you’re new to the possibility of chaplaincy, talk to your local pastor or contact a seminary or theological school to hear their recommendations for education and training.

2. Earn a bachelor’s degree.

If you have yet to choose or complete an undergraduate program, consider a concentration in religious studies, theology, ministry, counseling, or philosophy. These subjects will provide an ideal foundation for the types of work chaplains are called to do.

If you don’t have a bachelor’s degree in any of these fields, it is still possible to become a chaplain — as long as you complete additional training. Also consider volunteering in the kind of organization you’d like to serve, such as a hospital, police department, or rehabilitation program.

3. Earn a master’s degree.

While most, if not all, organizations that employ chaplains require candidates to have at least a bachelor’s degree, many prefer candidates with a master’s or doctoral degree. Common advanced degrees for chaplains are a Master of Divinity (MDiv), Master of Theological Studies (MTS), or a Master of Arts in theology or ministry.

If chaplaincy is a career goal, graduate students should consider specializing in pastoral counseling, social, professional, and theological ethics, interfaith ministry, or other applicable areas. 

4. Complete Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) training or a residency.

Clinical Pastoral Education training is designed specifically for chaplains who may work in a medical or healthcare setting, and is often provided by hospitals and medical groups. CPE trains chaplains not only in interfaith and non-denominational spiritual support, but also as caregivers in a clinical (and sometimes unpredictable or upsetting) environment.

Hospitals and healthcare organizations frequently require chaplaincy candidates to complete CPE training accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). Additionally, candidates may need to complete a supervised residency, which can be coordinated through a seminary or theological school (like the Franciscan School of Theology).

5. Meet ordination and endorsement requirements (if needed).

Ordination — the process of formal approval to enter the clergy — is optional for chaplains of many faiths, especially if they do not intend to administer sacraments or perform rites. However, some institutions (like the U.S. military) do require chaplains to be ordained before serving.

It is not always necessary for Catholic and other Christian chaplains in secular workplaces to become ordained. Many lay men and women become chaplains without ever seeking ordination. That said, most certifying bodies still require an ecclesiastical endorsement — a formal letter from a recognized faith group affirming a candidate’s readiness to serve — even for chaplains who are not ordained. 

6. Earn a chaplaincy certification.

Some institutions require chaplains to earn a certification recognized by the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). Chaplain organizations have differing criteria for certification depending on their particular faith or denomination, so it’s best to earn a broadly recognized certification first. The process typically requires an interview and a written component, as well as the candidate’s ability to produce proof of education or ordination (if applicable).

7. Consider board certification. 

Board certification is the highest professional credential in the field, awarded by the Board of Chaplaincy Certification, Inc. (BCCI), an affiliate of the APC. Becoming a Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) requires:

• A qualifying master’s degree (72 graduate semester hours in theology, philosophy, or psychology)
• Four units of CPE accredited by ACPE or another BCCI-approved provider
• A minimum of 2,000 hours of work or volunteer experience as a chaplain
• An ecclesiastical endorsement from a recognized faith group
• A written portfolio and interview demonstrating competence across 29 national chaplaincy skills, evaluated by a peer certification committee

Chaplains who don’t yet meet every requirement can pursue the Associate Certified Chaplain (ACC) credential instead, which requires fewer CPE units (two) and graduate hours (48).

8. Become a member of a professional chaplain organization.

In addition to membership in a large organization like the APC, aspiring chaplains should consider joining professional networks that align with their faith practice, such as the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC).

How to Become a Chaplain in California

Chaplaincy is not a state-licensed profession in California, meaning there’s no state board or exam specific to chaplains. Instead, requirements are set by individual employers and certifying bodies. 

Law enforcement chaplaincy programs in California counties, for example, typically require a valid California driver’s license, a clean background check, and an ecclesiastical endorsement, in addition to the national certification standards outlined above. For those pursuing chaplaincy through a Catholic or Franciscan lens, FST’s on-campus location in San Diego offers direct access to local field placements and supervised ministry opportunities throughout Southern California.

Chaplain Career Outlook & Opportunities

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics places chaplains in the broader “Clergy” occupational category, which also includes pastors, priests, rabbis, and imams. As of 2023, this field earned a median annual wage of $60,820.

The BLS projects clergy employment to grow slower than average — about one to two percent — from 2024 to 2034. That said, the field still generates an estimated 23,000 job openings per year nationally, since most openings come from the need to replace clergy members who retire or leave the field rather than from new positions being created. For chaplains specifically, opportunities tend to be steadiest in fields with consistent institutional demand (such as healthcare systems, correctional facilities, and the military) since these settings have an ongoing, structural need for spiritual care that isn’t tied to a single congregation’s growth or decline.

Career advancement in chaplaincy typically comes through credentialing rather than promotion in the traditional sense. Chaplains who pursue board certification, additional CPE units, or specialized training in trauma care, hospice, or disaster response tend to qualify for higher-responsibility roles, supervisory chaplaincy positions, or CPE educator roles training the next generation of chaplains.

Benefits of Becoming a Chaplain

Chaplaincy is not for everyone; depending on the placement, the work can be stressful, challenging, and potentially dangerous. But for many, the benefits of becoming a chaplain far outweigh the risks.

• Perpetual learning opportunities. Chaplains encounter people from all walks of life, which means that they will likely meet people of different religious and cultural backgrounds. Chaplaincy work provides invaluable opportunities to learn about life experiences that are vastly different from one’s own. 

• Diverse work environment. Since many chaplains are adjacent to service professions, their work environments are often multiracial, multicultural, and representative of a wide range of socioeconomic statuses.

• Job security. Hospitals, prisons, police forces, and the military will always need chaplains, so chaplains can usually count on long-term employment.

• Competitive benefits. Chaplains are usually entitled to the same workplace benefits as healthcare professionals, military personnel, and government employees, depending on where they work. 

• The chance to improve the lives of others. Most importantly, chaplaincy work can have a profound effect on people in some of their darkest moments. While some of the work can be difficult, the opportunity to help people in times of need is extremely gratifying — a major reason why people enter chaplaincy in the first place.   

Tips to Prepare for a Career in Chaplaincy

If you follow the recommended educational path described in this post, you will be well on your way to laying the foundation for a career in chaplaincy. There are some additional (and less straightforward) preparations to make as you explore placements.

• Volunteer. Outside of academics, volunteer your time at the types of organizations that interest you. Ask your local police station if they offer internships or apprenticeships, or see if your local pastor would be willing to let you shadow them on hospital calls. When choosing field placements in your undergraduate or graduate program, choose opportunities that align with your post-graduate professional interests. 

• Identify support resources. Chaplains bear witness to death, disease, trauma, conflict, and people in crisis, not to mention difficult conversations about faith and purpose. Seeking spiritual counsel and mental health resources for oneself is crucial to maintaining overall wellbeing in and outside the workplace. At the very least, it’s important to have a strong emotional and spiritual support system.

• Practice self-preservation. When chaplains have access to mental health and spiritual resources, they are well equipped with the tools to protect themselves on the job. Personal boundaries, as well as the ability to separate one’s own feelings from the work, can help chaplains put others before themselves while protecting their own heads and hearts.

Answer Your Call to Chaplaincy With an Advanced Degree at FST

If you feel called to chaplaincy work, a Master of Divinity (MDiv) program provides the ideal preparation for ministering to diverse populations. At the Franciscan School of Theology (FST), we place emphasis on meeting the spiritual needs of people from all backgrounds, ensuring that our students appreciate everyone’s lived experience and can meet people wherever they are, however they come. Fieldwork is a fundamental aspect of the MDiv program, and students are encouraged to choose placements that align with their spiritual and professional goals. 

Explore the opportunities at FST, and put your heart of service to work in the world. 

FAQs About Chaplaincy