Guidelines: Apply for a Cisco Partner Specialization

If you meet the specified role and lab requirements and would like to apply to become a Converged Business Specialized Partner, you may request an application.

Becoming a Registered Partner is the first step in developing a Channel relationship with Cisco and is a pre-requisite for becoming a Cisco Certified or Specialized Partner. For more information, please visit becoming a Registered Partner.

Before applying for your Specialization, please follow these guidelines to ensure that all contacts can be allocated to specialization job roles and that the application can be successfully submitted. Do not begin an application until you have verified that you and your contacts are in compliance with all Specialization requirements using the guidelines below. If you start an application prior to completing the steps below, application processing cannot occur. Failure to follow guidelines may cause your application to be deleted by Cisco. Applications that remain "in progress" for 90 days or more will be deleted and you will be required to begin a new application (see step 7).

1. If you are new to the Cisco Channel Partner Program, please visit becoming a Registered Partner.
2. Please do not start a specialization application until 10-15 business days AFTER certified contacts have completed all exams and requirements. It takes 10-15 business days on average for Cisco to validate with its respective testing agencies that all exams have been passed. You must verify that the certified contacts have completed all Specialization requirements a minimum of 10 business days prior to starting the application or the application status will remain "in progress". Applications that remain "in progress" for 90 days or more will be deleted and you will be required to start a new application (see step 7).
3. Verify that the certified contacts fulfilling job roles are allocated to your company..
   
   If the certified contact that now works for your company is associated with a different company, Cisco will need to move this certified contact from their current company to your company. Manage profile information and company data in the Partner Self Service tools.
   
   After verifying the information, the certified contact will be moved to your company within five business days with the exception of CCIE. For CCIE individuals fulfilling Specialization job roles, please note that if the CSCO ID has been used under a different company for specialization in the last 365 days, the CSCO ID cannot be used toward Specialization for your company.
4. Verify that the Individuals who have taken proctored exams at Pearson VUE have approved the Certification v7.0 release to have their exam scores released.
5. Verify that the certified contacts have only one CSCO number. If an individual has more than one CSCO number, they must be merged under the same individual; exam information under separate CSCO numbers will not merge into the Channel Partner application. Request merging two or more CSCO numbers associated with a certified contact.
6. Complete and submit the Specialization application request form. Choose ONLY the Specialization that is complete and for which you have verified all certified contacts following Steps 1-4. Opening several applications without completing all requirements will prevent you from submitting completed specializations. (E.g.: You have verified and followed Steps 1-4 for Cable and successfully submit the Cable Specialization application. You begin a VPN/Security application prior to four weeks post exam completion and are unable to allocate contacts resulting in an "in progress" application status. Cable Specialization application will not be processed due to incomplete status of VPN/Security Specialization application.)
7. Contact Cisco if you have followed Steps 1-5 and are unable to allocate any contact whose company information, career certification, and 10-15 business days have passed since completing ALL exams. Send e-mail to specialization@cisco.com. E-mail must include the following details to initiate an investigation:
   A. Name of Company
   B. Name of Specialization
   C. First and Last name of contacts for each job role
   D. CSCO ID of contacts for each job role
   E. Exam completion dates for each contact per job role
8. Applications must be completed and submitted within 90 days or the application will be automatically deleted from the system. No qualifications are lost when the application is deleted, however, the information will need to be re-entered by the partner.