January 1, 2011, CompTIA implemented the CompTIA Continuing Education (CE) Renewal Program. CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Linux+, CompTIA Cloud+, CompTIA PenTest+, CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) and CompTIA Advance Security Practitioner (CASP+) certifications are now valid for three years from the date the candidate is certified. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an international body which standardizes the procedures used by personnel certification bodies, requires that candidates have a way to renew the currency of their certification on a regular basis. In CompTIA’s case, that renewal will occur every three years. This change in policy is in line with the practice of other major providers of certifications for IT professionals. In today’s IT environment it’s important for IT professionals to demonstrate that their knowledge and skills are current.
The CompTIA CE Renewal Program gives eligible certification holders a range of ways to keep their CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Linux+, CompTIA Cloud+, CompTIA PenTest+, CompTIA CySA+ and CASP+ certifications current without necessarily having to take a new exam. These certifications will be denoted with a “ce” designation which means they will expire three years from the date certified. If the certification is not renewed within the three years, candidates will no longer be certified and must retake the most current release of the exam to reactivate their certification. (Note: Certified Professionals may not take and pass the same exam twice) A grace period of 90 days is allowed for certification holders to pay any outstanding CE fee balance and/or upload additional continuing education units (CEUs). All CE activities must be completed within the three-year renewal cycle to be valid for CEUs.
CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Linux+, CompTIA Cloud+, CompTIA PenTest+, CompTIA CySA+ and CASP+ are global certifications; therefore, this policy is applicable to all certified candidates worldwide.
The renewal policy is only applicable for CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Linux+, CompTIA Cloud+, CompTIA PenTest+, CompTIA CySA+ and CASP+. If other certifications are added candidates pursuing those certifications will be advised of any renewal policy implications.
The certifications affected by this change – CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Linux+, CompTIA Cloud+, CompTIA PenTest+, CompTIA CySA+ and CASP+ - are accredited under ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024.
As a not-for-profit association for the IT industry, CompTIA reinvests the money it earns into new programs that serve the industry and the people who work in IT. This is certainly true for our certification programs. The process of developing and delivering high-stakes certification exams carries with it significant costs in time and resources. Likewise, the development and ongoing management of our Continuing Education Program has costs associated with it. The dollars paid for our certification exams are rolled back into the industry in the form of new and updated certification offerings and Continuing Education options for the IT workforce.