Cisco Continuing Education Program

Fast-track your recertification process with Continuing Education credits.

Cisco U.

Tech learning, shaped to you.

Cisco U.

Tech learning, shaped to you.

Getting started

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.

Continuing Education requirements

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
  • Earn 40 credits AND pass one professional level exam
CCIE – 3 years Earn 120 CE credits
  • Earn 40 credits AND pass one technology core exam
  • Earn 40 credits AND pass any two professional level exams
  • Earn 80 credits AND pass any one professional exam
CCDE – 3 years Earn 120 CE credits
  • Earn 40 credits AND pass one technology core exam
  • Earn 40 credits AND pass any two professional level exams
  • Earn 80 credits AND pass any one professional exam

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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.

Continuing Education process

To recertify via Continuing Education, complete the following steps before your current certification becomes inactive:

Choose your recertification path

  • Review recertification options and determine how many credits you need to recertify
  • Active certification holders log in to the Continuing Education program portal and accept the terms and conditions
  • Explore the catalog

Earn/Claim Continuing Education credits

Track your progress

Recertification

  • Recertification occurs automatically once criteria are satisfied.

Qualifying Continuing Education item categories

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 training

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:

  • Instructor-Led/virtual Instructor-Led Trainings (ILT/vILT): in-person or virtual trainings delivered through Cisco or external authorized providers
  • Digital/Self-paced e-learning (ELT/CDL/CPL), with labs (note: digital training courses labeled 'lite' or "NO LABS" are NOT eligible for CE credits)
  • Derivative Works (custom instructor-led trainings developed by authorized learning partners using partial Cisco content)
  • Workshops & Automation Bootcamps (focused technology specific instructor-led training events)
  • Other trainings pre-approved by the Continuing Education Technical Committee

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:

  • Credits will not be granted for items not included in the catalog.
  • The Item Catalog is continuously updating and evolving; therefore candidates are encouraged to check the catalog often for new or updated items.
  • There may be a delay in an item being listed or removed in our catalog for a specific training, version, or delivery option.
  • CE eligible trainings are eligible regardless of delivery modality
  • Credit values for a training may change between versions, and you can only claim credits for the same training more than once if you complete a new major version of that training. For example;
    • You cannot claim credits for v1.0, v1.1, and v1.2 of the same training, but you can claim credits for completing v1.0 and v2.0.
    • You cannot claim credits for both partner & customer facing versions of the same training where applicable.
  • Only authorized deliveries are eligible for CE credits. Good resources for finding an authorized delivery include Cisco Digital Learning, the Cisco Learning Network Store, and the Cisco Learning Locator.
  • In the context of the Continuing Education Program, “Cisco Direct Delivery” refers to any training delivered internally or externally through Cisco, regardless of modality. This includes:
    • All e-Learning/digital training (ELT) courses; even if purchased through an external learning provider
    • All Instructor-led trainings delivered by Cisco Learning Services, High-Touch Delivery, or other groups in Cisco not designated by their own item type in the CE Portal
  • 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.

Item authoring

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 granted per accepted item

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 technical sessions

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:

  • Technical Breakouts (BRK)
  • DevNet Workshops (DEVWKS) *other DEV classes are NOT eligible for credits
  • Instructor-led Labs (LTR)
  • Technical Seminars (TEC)- 4 & 8-hour sessions

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

  1. After attending Cisco Live, ensure you can login to the CE Portal from the Cisco.com account used to register for Cisco Live Event.
    • Cisco.com ID must be associated with Certification profile in the CertMetrics Tracking System. See our FAQs for more information.
  2. Submit your claim for CE credits by selecting the Cisco Live item that matches your event location and date (e.g., Cisco Live US 2022)
    • Only submit ONE (1) claim. The system will award the total number of CE credits earned based on badge-in data from eligible sessions.

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!

Continuing Education program policy and rules

  1. Users must log in to the CE portal and accept the terms and conditions of the Continuing Education User Agreement to submit a claim for CE credits.
    • For validation purposes, CE claims MUST be submitted from the Cisco.com account used to complete the eligible activity. See FAQ for more info.
  2. The Continuing Education program is open to individuals with associate, specialist, professional, or expert Cisco Certification(s) in active status.
    • Continuing Education activities must be completed prior to certification expiration.
    • If you've previously accessed the CE portal, you can submit a CE claim after your certification has expired, in accordance with the policies herein.
      • Any credits claimed after certifications have expired (for activities completed before expiration) will retroactively apply towards recertification based on the activity completion date.
  3. Claims must be submitted for Continuing Education credit within 1 year (365 days) of completing an eligible activity. Claims cannot be submitted beyond the one-year window.
  4. Continuing Education credits can only be claimed for completing the same training more than once if there has been a major revision since last completed/claimed. No credit can be claimed a second time for completing minor version updates of a training.
    • If credits were previously granted for v1.x, then credit CAN be claimed for later completing v2.x, v3.x, etc. of the same training (Ex. PRNE 1.0 and PRNE 2.0).
    • If credits were previously granted for v1.0, then credit CANNOT be claimed for later completing v1.1, v1.2, etc. (Ex. ENCOR 1.0, ENCOR 1.1, ENCOR 1.2).
    • Credits CANNOT be claimed for both Customer and Partner facing versions of the same course (e.g. A-SDA-FASTSTART/P-SDA-FASTSTART, or CUST-SDA-ISE/P-SDA-ISE).
    • Credits will be granted for completing Alpha trainings. Continuing Education credit will not be awarded for submissions of the formally released version of the same course.
  5. Earned CE credits are valid for 3 years from the date the activity was completed.
  6. Once criteria are met, recertification(s) will be automatically processed based on the date that the last qualifying activity is completed (see the recertification policy web page for the full recertification policy).
  7. Credits will roll over or expire if a new recertification cycle starts:
    • CE credits are automatically applied towards recertification in the order in which they are earned and cannot be held for future use.
    • CE credits are first applied in increments of 5, followed by a smaller increment of 1-4 credits when necessary. Increments cannot be split and applied towards multiple recertification cycles.
    • Unapplied Continuing Education credits totaling 5 or more will roll over into the next recertification cycle and remain active until the credit expiration date.
    • Unapplied Continuing Education credits totaling 4 or less may not roll over.
  8. There is no cap on the number of Continuing Education credits that can be earned from any item category.
  9. Cisco reserves the right to reject, deny, or revoke any claims for CE credit that we deem to be inconsistent with the spirit of continuous learning or the values of the Continuing Education Program.