Training and Higher Education

You can earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) by completing various training and educational activities, including the following:

How Many CEUs You Can Earn

Review the chart below to see the maximum number of CEUs you can earn for each qualifying activity during your three-year renewal cycle.

Activity

A+

Data+

DataSys+

Network+

Security+

Linux+

Cloud+

PenTest+

CySA+

CASP+

Total CEUs Required for Renewal

20 CEUs

20 CEUs

30 CEUs

30 CEUs

50 CEUs

50 CEUs

50 CEUs

60 CEUs 

60 CEUs

75 CEUs

Complete a training course

20 CEUs

20 CEUs

30 CEUs

30 CEUs

50 CEUs

50 CEUs

50 CEUs

60 CEUs 

60 CEUs

75 CEUs

Attend a live webinar

4 CEUs

4 CEUs

6 CEUs

6 CEUs

10 CEUs

10 CEUs

10 CEUs

15 CEUs 

15 CEUs

20 CEUs

Attend a conference

4 CEUs

4 CEUs

6 CEUs

6 CEUs

10 CEUs

10 CEUs

10 CEUs

15 CEUs 

15 CEUs

20 CEUs

Complete a college course

20 CEUs

20 CEUs

30 CEUs

30 CEUs

50 CEUs

50 CEUs

50 CEUs

60 CEUs 

60 CEUs

75 CEUs

Complete an American Council on Education (ACE) course

20 CEUs

20 CEUs

30 CEUs

30 CEUs

50 CEUs

50 CEUs

50 CEUs

60 CEUs 

60 CEUs

75 CEUs

How to Earn and Receive Your CEUs

Complete a Training Course

You can earn 1 CEU for each hour of training. Follow these requirements to earn and receive CEUs.

  • Timing: You must complete the training course during your three-year renewal cycle, and the same course can only be submitted once.
  • Relevance: At least 50 percent of the course content must relate to one or more of the exam objectives for the certification you’re renewing. It is important to keep in mind that CompTIA does not only look at content “topics” to determine whether a course relates to exam objectives. There are other variables, including cognitive level of course content, that is taken into account during our internal review. *
  • Documentation: Submit the following documentation to receive CEUs for a training course:

    1. Detailed description/outline of the training content

    2. Completion certificate containing the following:

      • Your name
      • Name of the course
      • Name of the training provider
      • Date the course was completed
      • Number of hours

CompTIA has preapproved some of the most widely recognized IT industry training courses. Other IT industry training is accepted, if at least 50 percent of the content relates to one or more of the exam objectives for the certification you’re renewing.

Select the certification you intend to renew to see the list of CompTIA preapproved IT industry training courses.

Pre-Approved Training Courses for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)

If you are a DoD civilian, contractor or government employee CompTIA has pre-approved the most widely used training for CEUs. Other DoD training is accepted if at least 50 percent of the content relates to one or more of the exam objectives for the certification you’re renewing.

DoD Cybersecurity Fundamentals Training

The DoD Cybersecurity Fundamentals (IAF) and the Cyberspace Operations Fundamentals (CCFC) courses are approved for the following CompTIA certifications only and must be submitted using the Completed DoD Cybersecurity Fundamental Training activity.

CompTIA A+ 10 CEUs
CompTIA Network+ 15 CEUs
CompTIA Security+ 25 CEUs

The system will automatically populate CEUs depending on the Certification you are renewing.

AFCEA 

BAI - Risk Management Framework (RMF)
See pre-approved courses

Center for Development of Security Excellence (CDSE)
See pre-approved courses

Cyber Defense Training Cloud (CDTC) and Private Cyber Training Cloud (PCTC)
See pre-approved courses

Cybrary
See pre-approved courses

DC3 Cyber Training Academy
See pre-approved courses

DoD Annual and Miscellaneous
See pre-approved courses

FedVTE
See pre-approved courses

Pluralsight
See pre-approved courses

Skillsoft
See pre-approved courses

Defense Acquisition University
See pre-approved courses

Attend a Live Webinar

You can earn 1 CEU for each hour you attend. Follow these requirements to earn and receive CEUs.

  • Timing: You must attend the webinar during your three-year renewal cycle.
  • Relevance: At least 50 percent of the course content must relate to one or more of the exam objectives for the certification you’re renewing. It is important to keep in mind that CompTIA does not only look at content “topics” to determine whether a course relates to exam objectives. There are other variables, including cognitive level of course content, that is taken into account during our internal review. *
  • Documentation: Submit the following documentation to receive CEUs for a webinar:

    1. Detailed description/outline of the webinar content

    2. Completion certificate or registration email containing the following:

      • Your name
      • Name of the webinar
      • Date of the webinar
      • Number of hours
On-Demand Webinars and YouTube Videos: On-demand webinars and YouTube videos are only valid for CEUs if you can provide proof of registration or completion certificates. 

Attend a Conference

You can earn 1 CEU for each hour you attend. Follow these requirements to earn and receive CEUs.

  • Timing: You must attend the conference during your three-year renewal cycle.
  • Relevance: At least 50 percent of the course content must relate to one or more of the exam objectives for the certification you’re renewing. It is important to keep in mind that CompTIA does not only look at content “topics” to determine whether a course relates to exam objectives. There are other variables, including cognitive level of course content, that is taken into account during our internal review. *
  • Documentation: Submit the following documentation to receive CEUs for a conference session:

    1. Detailed description/outline of the session content

    2. Completion certificate or registration email containing the following:

      • Your name
      • Name of the conference session
      • Date of the conference session
      • Number of hours

Complete a College Course

You can earn 10 CEUs for each 3 to 4 credit-hour class. Follow these requirements to earn and receive CEUs.

  • Timing: You must complete the college course during your three-year renewal cycle.
  • Relevance: At least 50 percent of the course content must relate to one or more of the exam objectives for the certification you’re renewing. It is important to keep in mind that CompTIA does not only look at content “topics” to determine whether a course relates to exam objectives. There are other variables, including cognitive level of course content, that is taken into account during our internal review. *
  • Documentation: Submit the following documentation to receive CEUs for a college course:

    1. Detailed description/outline of the college course content

    2. Transcript containing the following information:

      • Your name
      • Name of the college
      • Name of the course
      • Date and semester the course was completed
      • Number of credit hours

Complete an American Council on Education (ACE) Course

You can earn 10 CEUs for each 3 to 4 credit-hour class. Follow these requirements to earn and receive CEUs.

  • Timing: You must complete the ACE course during your three-year renewal cycle.
  • Relevance: At least 50 percent of the course content must relate to one or more of the exam objectives for the certification you’re renewing. It is important to keep in mind that CompTIA does not only look at content “topics” to determine whether a course relates to exam objectives. There are other variables, including cognitive level of course content, that is taken into account during our internal review. *
  • Documentation: Submit the following documentation to receive CEUs for an ACE course:

    1. Detailed description/outline of the ACE course content

    2. Transcript containing the following information:

      • Your name
      • Name of the course
      • Date and semester the course was completed
      • Number of credit hours

*CompTIA reserves the right to make a final determination about whether training course content may or may not relate to exam objectives, up to 50%, and leverages an unbiased third party to ensure accuracy throughout the review process.