Get certified for life! Join the exclusive ranks of the permanently certified CompTIA professionals and save yourself time and money. CompTIA is changing its certification policy. Until recently, CompTIA has adopted a “Certify for Life” policy. This means once you earned your CompTIA certification, you were not required to renew it, ever.
Starting Jan 1, 2011, this will change. Those that get certified in CompTIA’s certification exam starting the new year will need to renew their certifications every 3 years to retain their certification.
If you have been planning to get CompTIA certified and want it to be a lifetime certification, you still have time. Get certified by Dec 31, 2010 and earn your lifetime certification.
Per CompTIA, if you are already certified in CompTIA’s A+, Network+ or Security+ exams, you will retain your “certified for life” status with no requirement to recertify or retest. Alternatively, get certified before Dec 31, 2010 to get the “certified for life” status.
FAQ
1. Why is CompTIA changing its “certified for life” policy?
Tthe new policy allows CompTIA to maintain their accreditation with internationally accepted standards for assessing personnel certification programs (ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024). The new policy is a way to assure employers that CompTIA certified professionals are staying current with technology.
2. I earned my CompTIA A+ certification two years ago. Do I need to get re-certified?
No. If you earned any CompTIA certification in the past or by Dec 31, 2010, you are certified for life by CompTIA.
3. What happens if I don’t get certified by Dec 31, 2010?
If you don’t earn your CompTIA certification by this date, you will need to renew your certification three years from the date your passed your certification exam.
4. What is the process for renewing my certification if I get certified next year?
If you get certified in CompTIA A+, Network+, or Security+ exams on or after Jan 1, 2011, you will need to renew your certification three years from the date you passed your certification, in order to retain it. You may retake the exam completely or complete Continuing Education (CE) units. The number of CE units required for renewal depends on the exam. For example, for a candidate to renew CompTIA A+ requires 20 CE units; to renew CompTIA Network+, 30 CE units; and to renew CompTIA Security+, 50 CE units.
5. How will a prospective employer know if I have a lifetime certification (or not)?
Starting Jan 1, 2011, CompTIA will launch ANSI accredited versions of their A+, Network+, and Security+ certification exams. The new programs will have a notation on the certificates: CompTIA A+ CE, CompTIA Network+ CE and CompTIA Security+ CE. CE stands for Continuing Education, and your certificate will carry a ‘valid through <Date>’, that is three years from the date of your certification.
6. Are the CE exams different than the current CompTIA exams?
No, the exams currently remain the same. There is no change in content or the corresponding objectives.