The American Board of Toxicology, Inc. was incorporated in the District of Columbia on April 17, 1979, as a self-sustaining not-for-profit corporation. The purpose of the ABT is to encourage the study of the science of toxicology, to stimulate its advancement by establishing standards for professional practice, to prepare and administer procedures including tests for the implementation of such standards, and to confer recognition by certificates or otherwise upon those members of the profession who, measured against such standards, demonstrate competence.