National candidates for the Member Awards progress through three rounds of review:

State Round: Candidates begin the application process by nominating themselves (or being nominated by a peer) for their state award. Candidates must hold the appropriate position at the time of initial nomination (ex. be a secondary school CTE teacher if applying for the Teacher of the Year.) Applications are due by the state deadline (deadlines vary).

Region Round: State winners move forward for consideration within their Regions. All state winners must have their applications uploaded to the ACTE Awards Portal and be ACTE members by the March 1 Region deadline (nonmembers are not eligible to receive Region or national awards). Region winners are selected by their Region awards committees and announced during their Region conferences.

National Round: Region winners' applications are forwarded to the final round of review via the Awards Portal by their Region committee chair. The national ACTE Awards Committee selects the national winners, which are announced at the ACTE Awards Banquet during ACTE's CareerTech VISION.