It is doubtful whether Freud's (1914) definition of a psychoanalyst as one who makes transference and resistance basic to theory and therapy would be adequate today, although these two concepts do jointly imply some of the other core ideas (e.g., the unconscious, defense, conflict, importance of early life experiences). Certifying competence to practice psychoanalysis presupposes the empirical reality of a technical taxon, a question researchable by taxometric methods. Verbal, conceptual knowledge of classical and deviationist theory can be assessed by achievement test. Performance in conducting a psychoanalytic session can be cheaply and conveniently judged from tapes and protocols mailed to evaluators. Increasing heterogeneity and the unanswered challenges to technique and doctrine suggest that psychoanalysis may be a degenerating program, in which case ABPP should not embark on certification of analytic practitioners.