Exhibit 31.2



CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

REQUIRED BY RULE 13a-14(a) OR RULE 15d-14(a), AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 302 OF THE
SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002.



I, Lawrence R. Hoffman, certify that:



1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Covalent Group,
Inc.;



2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;



3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information
included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;



4. The registrants other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and
maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in the Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:



a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material
information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;



b. (Intentionally Omitted)



c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions
about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based upon such evaluation; and



d. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrants internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrants most recent fiscal
quarter (the registrants fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrants internal control over financial reporting; and



5. The registrants other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most
recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrants auditors and the audit committee of the registrants board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):



a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of
internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrants ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and



b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrants
internal control over financial reporting.



|                      |  |                                                                         
|--------------------- |  | ------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Date: August 16, 2004 |  | /s/ Lawrence R. Hoffman                                                 
|                      |  | Lawrence R. Hoffman Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer