CompTIA A+ CE – Renewal Guide
CompTIA A+ is the most popular tech support certification. Once you earn it, there are certain CompTIA A+ CE (Continuing Education) requirements to keep your certification in good standing. We have listed the CompTIA A+ renewal requirements, how to earn CEUs, and free CompTIA CEU resources in this article.
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📌 Hint: Do not skip this article, you will find FREE CompTIA CEU credit resources throughout the article.
CompTIA A+ CE Renewal Requirements
CompTIA A+ is the IT world’s most renowned tech support certification. Therefore, once you earn it, keeping your certification in good standing is crucial to have the benefits of an A+ certified professional.
CompTIA certifications require certain renewal requirements and these are explained in the CompTIA CE (Continuing Education) policy. Each certification has a different set of requirements. However, the renewal period is the same and three years for all certification tracks.
The following table summarizes the CompTIA A+ CE requirements.
| CompTIA Certification | Required CEU Credits | Renewal Period | Annual CE Fee | Total Fee for 3 Years |
| A+ | 20 | 3 years | $25 | $75 |
CompTIA A+ renewal requires you to earn 20 CEU credits every three years. Besides, there is an annual fee of $25 for every year. In total, you will pay $75 for a three-year CompTIA A+ renewal period.
CompTIA A+ CE Renewal Course Program – Renew Your CompTIA Certification
San Francisco Business School offers an online, self-paced comprehensive CompTIA CEU Online training program.
Enroll in the CompTIA CEU Online Program. Complete three self-paced online CEU courses. Earn 60 CEU credits. Renew your CompTIA certification. CompTIA approved renewal process for Security+, A+, CASP+, and other CompTIA certifications.
The program offers three self-paced business training programs: Executive Leadership, Strategy Creation & Execution, and Marketing Strategy. For each course in the program, SFBS awards a certificate of graduation. While earning CEUs, you will earn reputable business merits to highlight in your resume and LinkedIn.
CompTIA A+ Renewal Fee
CompTIA requires certified professionals to pay an annual CE fee. For the A+ certification, we have listed above, the annual CE fee is $25 and the total fees you will pay for three years will be $75.
If you pay the annual CE fees for your certification, there will not be an additional renewal fee at the end of three years. There are certain conditions that you do not need to pay CE fees if you choose one of these renewal options:
- Pass the latest release of your CompTIA exam
- Earn a higher-level CompTIA certification
- CompTIA CertMaster CE
Note that, CE Fees are not waived if the higher-level CompTIA certification does not fully renew the lower-level certification.
13 Ways to Earn CompTIA A+ Renewal CEU Credits
CompTIA has a three-step renewal process and focuses on the three-year CE renewal period each year. In the first year, the certification holder gets familiar with the CompTIA renewal requirements, and CE types and pays the annual CE fee. In the second year, the certification holder starts earning CEUs, reports them, and pays the annual fee. Finally, in the third year of the renewal process, CompTIA-certified professional completes the missing CEU credits in their renewal cycle, pays the CE fees, and renews their certification.
The CompTIA A+ certification renewal process starts on the day you earned the certification. CompTIA requires you to earn the required CEUs within three years after you earn your certification. For instance, if you earned your A+ certification on Jan 15, 2024, you have to earn the required CEUs and pay the annual CE fees until Jan 15, 2027, to keep your certification in good standing.
Therefore, it is better to start earning CEUs right after earning your A+ certification. CompTIA lists 13 different ways of earning CompTIA CEU credits. These are:
- Attending Training Courses (e.g. CompTIA CEU Course Program)
- Attending Conferences
- Attending Live Webinars
- Work Experience
- Publishing a Blog
- Publishing an Article or White Paper
- Publishing a Book
- Complete a College Course
- Teach or Mentor
- Create Instructional Materials
- Participate as a SME in a CompTIA CEU Exam Development Workshop
- Complete an American Council on Education (ACE) Course
- Earn a Non-CompTIA IT Industry Certification
Note that, some of these activities have maximum limits for submitting CEUs. For instance, you can submit a maximum of 3 CEUs per year as work experience. So, in a three-year CompTIA renewal cycle, you can submit a maximum of 9 CEUs through work experience. You can read all the details, and limits for CompTIA A+ CE credits in our CompTIA Continuing Education (CE) article.
CompTIA has a CertMaster CE program as well. In this program, you attend a self-paced course, and your certification is renewed automatically. Note that, this program is only available for A+, Network+, and Security+ certifications.
Watch How Andrea Renewed Her CompTIA Certification
Andrea Zelaya is a CompTIA Security+ Certified Professional. Andrea enrolled in the CompTIA CEU Online Course from SFBS and renewed her CompTIA certification. Watch now her CompTIA renewal journey.
What is the Most Popular and Easiest CompTIA A+ Renewal CEU Earning Way?
The most popular way to earn CompTIA A+ CEU credits is by attending a training course. Typically, a one-hour length of course activity earns one CompTIA CEU credit towards renewing your CompTIA A+ certification. You can attend an in-person course, a virtual course, a self-paced course, or a hybrid delivery. However, the most convenient option for working professionals is attending a self-paced course. In a self-paced course, you can follow the lectures at any time your schedule allows. For virtual or in-person courses, you must set a time and activity must fit your schedule.
Why are the CompTIA A+ CE Online Courses Popular?
While there are several benefits of renewing CompTIA A+ certification through CompTIA CEU courses, here are the top five reasons.
- No Caps: There is no maximum limit for the education category, so, you can earn all CompTIA A+ CEU credits in one program, and renew your CompTIA A+ certification. You do not need to go elsewhere to find additional CEUs.
- Self-Paced: You do not need to attend an event, conference, or seminar. You can follow the courses at your place, at your pace.
- Affordable: Depending on the program content, you can enroll in a self-paced CompTIA CEU Online course bundle for ~$200-300. However, seminars or conferences start from $1,000, not only that, you cannot earn all CEU needs in one event.
- Requires less effort: When you enroll in CompTIA Continuing Education courses, all you have to do is follow the curriculum, earn CEUs, and renew your CompTIA. However, other CEU earning ways require significant effort from the CompTIA-certification holder such as creating content, sharing a presentation, volunteering, etc.
- Less prone to CompTIA audit: Since the CEU training programs are used by many CompTIA-certified professionals, CompTIA already has a track and record of the activities. However, for other categories, CEU submissions are more unique and may be more likely to hit a CompTIA audit.
San Francisco Business School offers a self-paced Free CompTIA CEU Course Online Program as well. If you attend this program, you can earn 3 Free CEU credits and submit them in the training category.
Summary
CompTIA A+ CE (Continuing Education) policy requires that A+ certified professionals should earn 20 CEUs every three years to renew their certifications. Besides, there is a $25 annual CE fee that must be paid to CompTIA. For a three-year renewal period, the total CE fee is $75 and there are no other fees to renew A+ certification.
While there are 13 different ways of earning CompTIA CEU credits, the most popular way is attending CompTIA CEU online courses. Professionals opt for CEU online courses because they are affordable and easy to attend. You can follow self-paced CEU courses on your schedule and earn CEU credits. Other benefits of earning CEUs through courses are there are no caps for earning CEUs through education and less prone to CompTIA audits.