Training and Higher Education

How to earn and receive your CEUs

Complete a training course 

You can earn one 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% 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 the cognitive level of course content, that are 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 pre-approved some of the most widely recognized IT industry training courses. Other IT industry training is accepted if at least 50% 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 pre-approved IT industry training courses.

• CompTIA A+

• CompTIA Data+

• CompTIA DataSys+

• CompTIA DataX

• CompTIA Network+

• CompTIA Security+

• CompTIA Linux+

• CompTIA Cloud+

• CompTIA CloudNetX

• CompTIA PenTest+

• CompTIA CySA+

• CompTIA SecurityX

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% 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 (CDSKE) 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 one 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% 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 the cognitive level of course content, that are 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 one 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% 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 the cognitive level of course content, that are 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% 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 the cognitive level of course content, that are 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% 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 the cognitive level of course content, that are 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