Fast-track your recertification process with Continuing Education credits.
As an active Associate, Specialist, Professional, or Expert certification holder, you have flexible options and a variety of eligible training items to help you recertify through the Cisco Continuing Education Program. Stay in step with the certified professional community; retain your active certification status by keeping your skills sharp and evolving with technology.
All requirements for recertification must be completed by your certification expiration date. Credits accumulate until you recertify your highest level of certification, at which point all certifications at that level and below become recertified. Individuals who allow their certification(s) to expire must complete the full examination process again to earn active status. Any 'Pending' CE credits at the time of expiration will retroactively apply towards recertification based on the activity completion date once your claim is validated.
Certification level & duration | Continuing Education only | Combination of Continuing Education & Exam |
Associate - 3 years | Earn 30 CE credits | |
Specialist - 3 years | Earn 40 CE credits | |
Professional - 3 years | Earn 80 CE credits |
|
CCIE – 3 years | Earn 120 CE credits |
|
CCDE – 3 years | Earn 120 CE credits |
|
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Upon the retirement of any certification, no new certifications will be issued or available for recertification. The certification will remain active until the candidate’s unique expiration date. See Retired Certifications.
The table above outlines the options for recertifying through the Continuing Education Program. Certified individuals can also recertify at any time by passing certification exams and/or advancing to the next level of certification. To view our full policy and a complete list of recertification options, visit the recertification policy page.
To recertify via Continuing Education, complete the following steps before your current certification becomes inactive:
Below are the 3 categories of qualified continuing education items. Expand each section for additional details. All CE eligible activities are reviewed by the Continuing Education Technical Committee for technical rigor and assigned a specific credit value. Active certification holders can complete any combination of eligible CE activities to achieve the number of Continuing Education credits required for your certification. You do not need to earn credits in the same technology area as your certification. For example, credits you earn from taking a Security course can apply to recertify an Enterprise certification.
Eligible trainings are produced by Cisco or by Learning & Certifications Authorized Learning Partners/Providers. The assigned credit value can range from 4 to 64 credits, depending on the training.
Training types include:
The current list of eligible Continuing Education items can be found in the CE Portal Item Catalog (*note, you must have an active associate, specialist, professional, or expert certification to access the CE portal).
Important:
Please be advised that inadequate completion violates the spirit and values of the Continuing Education program. Although a certificate of completion may be provided by your learning platform/provider once a certain threshold is met, to preserve the integrity of Cisco Certifications, the Continuing Education program has the right to enact a higher standard of completion. To avoid any potential sanctions, you are strongly encouraged to review and complete all materials and labs included in a training course.
A candidate can earn Continuing Education (CE) credits by participating as an Item Author for the development of Cisco Certification exams. This includes all Associate, Professional, and Expert level tracks. Credits will be granted for each item that is accepted according to the schedule below.
CE Credit for Item Writing/Exam Development |
Credits per accepted item |
CCIE Labs Performance items (all items) |
12 |
Tech Core/ Specialist Exams Performance items |
6 |
Associate Performance items |
4 |
Specialist Exams items |
3 |
Technology Core items |
3 |
Associate items |
1 |
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Interested in authoring items for Cisco Certification exams? Apply to be a Subject Matter Expert (SME) today!
Note: Only items authored directly for Cisco through our SME program above are eligible for CE credits. Items authored through external vendors (VAIs) are not eligible for CE credits.
Cisco Live events are a great way to earn continuing education credits.
A candidate who attended Cisco Live can earn credits for attending approved sessions.
Cisco Live eligible sessions include:
Sessions must require attendees to badge-in and must be a minimum length of 45 min.
Credits are granted to candidates per the matrix below:
Session Type |
Level |
Credits per session |
Technical Breakout / DevNet Workshops |
1000 Level Eg: DEVWKS-1020, BRKAPP-1005 |
1 |
2000 Level Eg: BRKCCT-2406, BRKCOL-2019 |
2 |
|
3000 Level Eg: BRKCRT-3008, DEVWKS-3020 |
3 |
|
Instructor-led Lab |
1000 Level Eg: LTRSEC-1257, LTRPRG-1125 |
3 |
2000 Level Eg: LTRENT-2496, LTRCCT-2336 |
4 |
|
3000 Level Eg: LTRCRT-3000, LTRACI-3123 |
5 |
|
4-Hour Technical Seminar | 1000 Level Eg: TECOPS-1000, TECOPT-1101 |
3 |
2000 Level Eg: TECSEC-2181, TECIOT-2022 |
4 | |
3000 Level Eg: TECCRT-3406, TECIP6-3600 |
5 | |
8-Hour Technical Seminar |
1000 Level Eg: TECSEC-1273 |
6 |
2000 Level Eg: TECDCN-2002, TECRST-2166 |
8 |
|
3000 Level Eg: TECSEC-3672, TECCCT-3002 |
10 |
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As a requirement of the validation process, you must badge into eligible Cisco Live sessions on site. Credit will not be granted to candidates who have not badged in. You must attend at least 75% of the session to earn credits.
Steps to claim credits for attending Cisco Live technical sessions: *please allow 2-3 weeks, after each event, for the corresponding Cisco Live item to be available in the CE portal for submissions
Credits for completing eligible CE activities are NOT automatically awarded at this time. You must log in to the CE Portal to submit a claim and credits will be awarded when the relevant content provider validates your claim submission. Most claims are validated within seven days, but it can take up to 30 days.
You must submit your finalized item(s) (e.g., training completion, Cisco Live attendance, etc.) for credit via the Continuing Education portal within 365 days of completion, however we encourage you to submit claims promptly to avoid potential delays in your recertification. Recertification is based on activity completion date, NOT the date you submit your claim. Waiting doesn't pay, submit today!