San Francisco Business School

ISC2 CPE Requirements – 3 Things You Must Know

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:33:38 +0000

ISC2 CPE Requirements – 3 Things You Must Know

If you hold an ISC2 certification, you must earn CPE credits every three years to keep your certification in good standing. ISC2 has specific CPE requirements for each activity, and rules you should follow to ensure you earn the required credits to maintain your ISC2 certification. In this article, we have listed all the details about the ISC2 CPE requirements and how you can complete the required CPE credits to renew your ISC2 certification.

📌 Hint: Do not skip this article; you will find FREE ISC2 CPE resources throughout the article.

Note that this article is related to all ISC2 CPE requirements. If you hold a CISSP certification, you may be interested in reading our CISSP Renewal article.

3 Things You Must Know About ISC2 CPE Requirements

There are three crucial aspects of the ISC2 CPE requirements, and we will be exploring each of them in this article.

ISC2 CPE Credit Requirements for each certification track
Difference between Group A and Group B activities, and the maximum cap for Group B Activities
Paying the AMF

We’ve summarized it in the following infographic.

ISC2 CPE Requirements #1 – Each Track Requires a Different Number of CPE Credits

The first thing you should know about the ISC2 CPE requirements is that there are several different types of ISC2 certification tracks. You must fulfill the requirements for the certification you are holding. The following table provides a clear view of the ISC2 CPE requirements.

Certification	Type	Suggested Annual	3-year Total
CC	Group A	15	45
	Group A or B	–	–
	Total Required	15	45
CISSP	Group A	30	90
	Group A or B	10	30
	Total Required	40	120
CCSP, CSSLP	Group A	20	60
	Group A or B	10	30
	Total Required	30	90
CGRC, HCISPP, SSCP	Group A	15	45
	Group A or B	5	15
	Total Required	20	60
CISSP-ISSAP, ISSEP, ISSMP	Group A	–	20
CISSP-ISSAP, ISSEP, ISSMP	Total Required	20	20

In this table, you can see, for each certification track, the type of CPE credits that must be earned (we will describe the difference between Group A and Group B credits in our next heading), the suggested annual CPE amount, and the three-year total CPE credits. One CPE Credit typically counts for one hour of professional activity or education. Let’s go through a specific certification track to you give you insight into how these ISC2 CPE requirements work.

For instance, if you hold CCSP certification, you must earn a total of 90 ISC2 CPE credits to renew your certification. However, there are further requirements as well. You can see that the table shows the 3-year total:

Group A: 60 Credits
Group A or B: 30 Credits

This means that a CCSP certification holder must earn at least 60 CPE credits from Group A activities. You can earn all required 90 CPE credits from Group A activities as well. However, there is a maximum limit for earning CPE credits from Group B activities. For CCSP, the maximum CPE credits you can earn from Group B activities is 30.

Can I Earn All Required CPE Credits from Group A Activities?

Yes, there is no maximum cap in ISC2 CPE requirements for Group A activities. You can earn all the required CPE credits for your certification track from Group A activities. The maximum cap is only for Group B activities. For instance, for CCSP certification, you cannot submit more than 30 CPEs for Group B activities.

What Happens If I Cannot Earn the Suggested Annual CPE Credits?

You can earn all required CPEs in one year, or over three years. It does not make any problem for earning or reporting the CPE credits as long as you keep paying the Annual Management Fee (AMF), which we will be explaining further in this article.

ISC2 divides the total three-year CPE requirement into three and suggests an annual CPE credit amount that each certification holder should earn every year. However, this is just a suggested amount. Typically, one CPE is earned if you perform or attend a one-hour professional activity or education. If you consider the total CPE credit amount, it requires a significant amount of time to invest.

For instance, if you hold a CISSP certification, you need to earn 120 CISSP CPE credits to renew your CISSP certification. This roughly means 120 hours of activity to satisfy ISC2 CPE requirements. If you can spend roughly 6 hours a day, it makes 20 days for a three-year cycle- a month, actually. Considering a full-time professional, it is not easy to spare a month to complete these CPE credits in a year. That is why ISC2 recommends earning CPE credits every year instead of leaving it to the end of the cycle. However, as long as you can earn and report within the three-year cycle, there is no problem with that.

What Happens If I Earn More Than Required CPE Credits?

If you earn more than required CPE credits, you can use them for your next three-year cycle. For instance, if you already completed required CPE credits to renew your ISC2 certification, you can keep that activity or training for your next three-year cycle and submit it when the new cycle begins.

If I Hold More Than One ISC2 Certification, How Many CPEs Should I Earn?

In CPE reporting, one activity can fulfill multiple ISC2 certifications if you have more than one certification. For instance, if you hold CISSP and CCSP certifications, when you submit a CPE activity (or when ISC2 automatically adds credits from official webinars/events), you select all applicable credentials. For example, attending a 2-hour information security webinar counts as 2 CPEs toward your CISSP and 2 CPEs toward your CCSP at the exact same time. Once you complete the required CPE credits for each track, you can renew them.

What Is The Easiest Way to Earn ISC2 CPE Requirements Credits?

As we’ve mentioned above, earning one CPE credit requires a one-hour activity. For full-time professionals, it is not easy to find time to attend professional activities, conferences, or seminars. Even if you can find time to attend, they might be in other cities or expensive to attend. ISC2 CPE webinars can be easy to attend from home or work; however, typically they count for one CPE credit. So, it will be very hard to find tens, if not hundreds, of webinars to attend and earn CPE credits. Also, you must arrange your time to attend the webinar as well.

The Easiest Way to Earn Group A 120 ISC2 CPE Credits

We’ve explained the easiest, most comfortable, and affordable way to earn 120 ISC2 CPE Credits in our video.

Earning ISC2 CPE credits through the online ISC2 CPE courses category is the most popular way for professionals. We’ve summarized the “why” in the following figure.

While there are several benefits of earning ISC2 CPE credits through ISC2 CPE courses, here are the top five reasons:

No Caps: There is no maximum limit for the Education category, so you can earn all ISC2 CPE needs in one program, satisfy the ISC2 CPE requirements and renew your certification. You do not need to go elsewhere to find additional CPEs to renew ISC2 certification.
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 ISC2 CPE Online Training for ~$200-300. However, seminars or conferences start at $1,000; not only that, you may not earn all the CPEs needed in one event.
Requires less effort: When you enroll in CPE Courses, all you have to do is follow the curriculum, earn CPEs, and renew your ISC2 certification. However, other CPE credit-earning ways require significant effort from the ISC2 certification holder, such as creating content, sharing a presentation, authoring, etc.
Less prone to ISC2® audit: Since the ISC2 CPE training programs are used by many certified professionals, ISC2 already has a track record of the activities. However, for other categories, CPE submissions are more unique and may be more likely to hit an audit.

ISC2 CPE Online Courses to Renew ISC2 Certification

San Francisco Business School offers ISC2 Certification Renewal Course programs. The ISC2 CPE Training Programs by SFBS come with six self-paced cybersecurity and business training programs: AI & Cybersecurity, Machine Learning Principles for Secure Systems, Cybersecurity Best Practices for AI Systems, Executive Leadership, Strategy Creation & Execution, and Marketing Strategy. For each course in the programs, SFBS awards a certificate of graduation. While earning CPEs, you will earn reputable business merits to highlight in your resume and LinkedIn.

There is a CPE rule for Education CPE credits. You can submit a maximum of 40 CPE credits per entry. While you can earn all required CPEs through the education category, you must submit separate CPE entries for each course.

ISC2 CPE Requirements #2 – Group A and Group B Difference

We have seen the Group A and Group B difference in the ISC2 CPE Requirements table above in the beginning of the article. Let’s explain the difference between Group A and Group B activities now. ISC2 classifies continuing education activities in two main groups: Group A or Group B.

Group A activities must be directly related to the certification track’s main focus.

For instance, if you are a CC certified professional (Certified in Cybersecurity), only cybersecurity or information security-related activities will count as Group A activity. You can earn Group A ISC2 CPE Credits through the following example activities:

Education: Taking an online course such as ISC2 CPE Courses (*Most Popular)
Reading (a cybersecurity or information security paper or article)
Publishing (if you are authoring a blog or writing a book)
Attending ISC2 Security Congress
Presentation (if you are preparing a presentation about information or cybersecurity or teaching)
Performing a unique work-related project that is not part of your normal work duties (for instance, if you are invited for a research project)
Self-study related to research for a project or preparing for a certification examination (if you are working for another cybersecurity certification)
Volunteering for government, public sector, and other charitable organizations (for instance, if you are helping a charity to improve their cybersecurity applications)
Taking a higher education course

Group B activities may be related to professional or soft skill development.

For instance, if you attended a leadership course or a communication course, this is not directly related to cybersecurity; however, it counts as professional development, and you can satisfy the ISC2 CPE requirements from these activities as well. You can earn Group B ISC2 CPE Credits through the following example activities:

Attending non-security events, such as leadership conferences
Participating in non-security education courses such as Business Strategy Training.
Preparing for non-security presentations/lectures/trainings
Non-security government/private sector/charitable organization committees

Watch How Kathy Renewed Her ISC2 Certification

Kathy Buckley is a CISSP-certified Professional. Kathy enrolled in the 120 ISC2 CPE Course Program from SFBS and renewed her CISSP. Watch her CISSP renewal journey now.

How Can I Know If a CPE Activity Belongs to Group A or Group B?

There are certain criteria to understand if an activity belongs to Group A or Group B.

Look at the definition: Group A activities are related to information security or cybersecurity, which is actually the core of ISC2. Group B activities are more soft-skill courses such as leadership, strategy, communication skills, etc.
Ask the question: Does this activity help to improve my technical skills or soft skills? Typically, technical activities belong to Group A, and soft skill activities belong to Group B.

When you are fulfilling your ISC2 CPE requirements, you can use the following matrix to identify if an activity belongs to Group A or Group B.

Feature	Group A: Directly Related / Technical	Group B: General Professional Development
Definition	Activities directly related to the specific domains and skills covered by your certification.	Activities that enhance your general professional, managerial, or soft skills, but are outside your certification’s core domain.
Focus Area	Core technical domain, industry standards, threat modeling, security architecture, audit, hands-on labs.	Leadership, communication, project management, non-security IT skills, foreign languages, interpersonal skills.
Relevance Test	“Does this directly build or maintain knowledge in my certification’s official syllabus/domains?”	“Does this make me a more capable professional, manager, or leader overall?”
Contribution Cap	No cap. You can fulfill 100% of your required CPE credits using Group A alone.	Capped. Usually maximum 25–30% of total required CPEs (e.g., max 30 out of 120 CPEs over a 3-year CISSP cycle).

Can I Satisfy ISC2 CPE Requirements for Free?

While you can earn a few ISC2 CPE credits for free from webinars and free activities, it is practically not easy to complete all required CPE credits through free activities. Besides, entering several CPE reports may trigger an audit by ISC2, as you will enter several 1-2 CPE credit activities in your reporting. We also offer a Free ISC2 CPE Credit Course Online. You can attend and earn three CPE credits for free. No credit card is required.

San Francisco Business School offers a self-paced Free ISC2 CPE Course Online Program as well. If you attend this program, you can earn 3 Free ISC2 CPE credits and submit them in the education category. Considering you are a full-time working professional and looking to earn ISC2 CPE credits in one step, look into our ISC2 CPE Online Courses.

You can read more about earning Free CISSP CPE credits.

ISC2 CPE Requirements #3 – Pay Annual Management Fee (AMF)

ISC2 requires certification holders to pay an annual management fee (AMF) to keep their certification status active. We’ve created the following table to summarize the ISC2 Annual Management Fee (AMF) structure.

Category	Applicable Certifications	AMF Rate	Payment Due Date
Standard Member Fee for Single Certification Holders	CISSP, CCSP, SSCP, CGRC, CSSLP, ISSAP, ISSEP, ISSMP	135 USD / year	Earliest certification anniversary
Entry-Level Fee for CC Certification Holder	Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) only	50 USD / year	CC certification anniversary
Multiple Certification Holder	Any combination of ISC2 credentials	135 USD total (Single fee covers all)	Earliest certification anniversary

If you hold a CC (Certified in Cybersecurity) certification, the AMF is 50 USD per year. For all other ISC2 certifications, members must pay 135 USD per year. The payment due date is the anniversary of the certification you earned. For instance, if you earned CISSP certification on 15th of April, you will pay the AMF until 15th of April every year. If you hold more than one ISC2 certification, you pay only one AMF, which is 135 USD per year, and it will cover all your certifications.

Why Do We Pay AMF?

ISC2 reinvests its revenue – including AMF – back into the association. AMF ensures the long-term viability of the association and its certifications, while also enabling ISC2 to provide benefits and value to members. Members and Associates of ISC2 also gain access to a wide array of valuable, rewarding professional development opportunities and membership benefits that deliver a robust return on this annual investment.

Summary

We’ve gone through the ISC2 CPE requirements in this article. Basically, there are three important aspects that you must be aware of when satisfying the ISC2 CPE requirements.

First, know the CPE credit requirements. There are different ISC2 CPE requirements for different types of ISC2 certification tracks. You must be aware of the CPE credits you need to earn to renew your certification, report as you earn CPE credits, and follow up the deadline for the three-year cycle.

Second, be aware of the Group A and Group B difference. Group A activities are core domain activities typically related to information security or cybersecurity. However, Group B activities are more related to soft skills such as leadership, business, communication, etc.

Third and last, pay AMF to keep your membership active. The AMF fee is 135 USD per year for all ISC2 certifications except CC. CC certification holders only pay 50 USD per year. Make sure you keep on paying the AMF to ISC2 until your certification anniversary to keep your CPE credits and ISC2 certification active.

The post ISC2 CPE Requirements – 3 Things You Must Know appeared first on San Francisco Business School.

Renew ISC2 Certification in 5 Steps – Free Resources Available

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 14:10:23 +0000

Renew ISC2 Certification in 5 Steps – Free Resources Available

You’ve worked hard to earn a reputable ISC2 certification. Whether you have a CC, CISSP, CCSP, or any other ISC2 certification, you must renew ISC2 certification every three years. There are five simple steps to renew your ISC2 certification, and we have identified them in this article.

📌 Hint: Do not skip this article, you will find FREE ISC2 Certification Renewal resources throughout the article.

We have a specific article about CISSP certification renewal. If you have a CISSP certification, you can continue reading our CISSP renewal article. Note that we will be covering all ISC2 certification tracks, including CISSP, in this article. Let’s go through the steps to renew ISC2 certification now.

1- Know ISC2 Certification Renewal Requirements

Each ISC2 certification has different renewal requirements. Therefore, it is better to know what kind of ISC2 CPE requirements you need to fulfill to renew your ISC2 certification. ISC2 requires certification holders to keep their knowledge and experience up to date with industry standards. To do this, each certification holder must have cybersecurity-related experience or attend a cybersecurity event, seminar, education, or similar kinds of activities. This is called ISC2 Continuing Education for Professional Growth.

Typically, a one-hour activity counts for one ISC2 CPE credit (Continuing Professional Education). For instance, if you attended a one-hour cybersecurity-related webinar, you will earn 1 CPE credit. If you attended a 4-hour self-paced cybersecurity-related online course, you will earn four ISC2 CPE credits.

Group A or B Difference in ISC2 CPE Credits

ISC2 classifies continuing education activities in two main groups: Group A or B.

Group A activities must be directly related to the certification track’s main focus. For instance, if you are a CC certified professional (Certified in Cybersecurity), only cybersecurity or information security-related activities will count as Group A activity.
- You can earn Group A ISC2 CPE Credits through the following example activities:
  - Education: Taking an online course such as ISC2 CPE Courses (*Most Popular)
  - Reading a cybersecurity white paper
  - Publishing an article on cybersecurity
  - Attending ISC2 Security Congress
  - Preparing for a presentation or teaching information related to cybersecurity
  - Performing a unique work-related project that is not part of your normal work duties
  - Self-study related to research for a project or preparing for a certification examination
  - Volunteering for government, public sector, and other charitable organizations
  - Taking a higher education course

The Easiest Way to Earn Group A 120 ISC2 CPE Credits

We’ve explained the easiest, most comfortable, and affordable way to earn 120 ISC2 CPE Credits in our video.

Group B activities may be related to professional or soft skill development. For instance, if you attended a leadership course or a communication course, this is not directly related to cybersecurity; however, it counts as professional development, and you can earn CPE credits from these activities as well.
- You can earn Group B ISC2 CPE Credits through the following example activities:
  - Attending non-security events, such as leadership conferences
  - Participating in non-security education courses such as Business Strategy Training.
  - Preparing for non-security presentations/lectures/trainings
  - Non-security government/private sector/charitable organization committees

We’ve created a table for you to understand the differences between Group A and B activities.

Feature	Group A: Directly Related / Technical	Group B: General Professional Development
Definition	Activities directly related to the specific domains and skills covered by your certification.	Activities that enhance your general professional, managerial, or soft skills, but are outside your certification’s core domain.
Focus Area	Core technical domain, industry standards, threat modeling, security architecture, audit, hands-on labs.	Leadership, communication, project management, non-security IT skills, foreign languages, interpersonal skills.
Relevance Test	“Does this directly build or maintain knowledge in my certification’s official syllabus/domains?”	“Does this make me a more capable professional, manager, or leader overall?”
Contribution Cap	No cap. You can fulfill 100% of your required CPE credits using Group A alone.	Capped. Usually maximum 25–30% of total required CPEs (e.g., max 30 out of 120 CPEs over a 3-year CISSP cycle).

ISC2 CPE Requirements to Renew ISC2 Certification

ISC2 requires certification holders to earn a certain number of CPE credits every three years and renew their certification to keep their certification status active. Each certification track has different requirements. The table below lists all ISC2 certification tracks and the number of Group A or B CPE credits required to renew each track.

Certification	Type	Suggested Annual	3-year Total
CC	Group A	15	45
	Group A or B	–	–
	Total Required	15	45
CISSP	Group A	30	90
	Group A or B	10	30
	Total Required	40	120
CCSP, CSSLP	Group A	20	60
	Group A or B	10	30
	Total Required	30	90
CGRC, HCISPP, SSCP	Group A	15	45
	Group A or B	5	15
	Total Required	20	60
CISSP-ISSAP, ISSEP, ISSMP	Group A	–	20
CISSP-ISSAP, ISSEP, ISSMP	Total Required	20	20

For instance, if you hold CCSP certification and you want to renew your ISC2 certification, you must earn 90 ISC2 CPE credits in three years to renew your certification. While all 90 CPEs can be from Group B, you can earn up to 30 CPEs from Group A activities and earn 60 CPEs from Group B activities. ISC2 also suggests earning CPEs annually. For instance, for CSSP certification, the annual CPE suggestion is 30 CPE credits.

2- Earn Required CPE Credits to Renew ISC2 Certification

As you learned about the ISC2 CPE requirements for certification renewal and the differences between Group A and B, the next step is planning your three-year cycle to earn CPE credits. It is a fact that almost all ISC2-certified professionals have a busy work life. Therefore, finding several hours of activity to earn ISC2 CPE credits is not easy. If you consider attending seminars or conferences, you may have to travel to another city, and a one-day activity will earn you around 6 CPE credits. Preparing a presentation, delivering a presentation, or volunteering at work will require a significant amount of time, and also you may have to take some days off work to spend time on these activities.

Therefore, as we’ve highlighted in the previous section, earning ISC2 CPE credits through the Education category is the most popular way for professionals. We’ve summarized the “why” in the following figure.

While there are several benefits of earning ISC2 CPE credits through CPE courses, here are the top five reasons:

No Caps: There is no maximum limit for the Education category, so you can earn all ISC2 CPE needs in one program and renew your certification. You do not need to go elsewhere to find additional CPEs to renew ISC2 certification.
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 ISC2 CPE Online Training for ~$200-300. However, seminars or conferences start at $1,000; not only that, you may not earn all CPEs needed in one event.
Requires less effort: When you enroll in CPE Courses, all you have to do is follow the curriculum, earn CPEs, and renew your ISC2 certification. However, other CPE credit-earning ways require significant effort from the ISC2 certification holder, such as creating content, sharing a presentation, authoring, etc.
Less prone to ISC2® audit: Since the ISC2 CPE training programs are used by many certified professionals, ISC2 already has a track record of the activities. However, for other categories, CPE submissions are more unique and may be more likely to hit an audit.

ISC2 CPE Online Courses to Renew ISC2 Certification

Watch How Kathy Renewed Her ISC2 Certification

Kathy Buckley is a CISSP-certified Professional. Kathy enrolled in the 120 ISC2 CPE Course Online Program from SFBS and renewed her CISSP. Watch her CISSP renewal journey now.

3- Report Earned CPE Credits through ISC2 CPE Dashboard or Portal

The ISC2 CPE Portal (or Dashboard) is the centralized tracking platform where ISC2 credential holders monitor, manage, and report their Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits and Annual Maintenance Fees (AMFs). Key Functions of the CPE Dashboard are as follows:

Cycle Progress Tracking: Shows your current 3-year certification cycle dates, total CPE credits required, and progress toward your annual/cycle goals.
Credit Breakdown: Displays your earned Group A (domain-specific) vs. Group B (general professional development) credits so you can easily see how many CPEs needed to renew ISC2 certification.
AMF Status: Tracks the payment status of your Annual Maintenance Fees.
Automated & Manual Logs: Displays both auto-submitted CPEs (from ISC2 webinars/events) and manual submissions.

If the CPEs you earned are auto-submitted, ISC2 automatically adds credits to your CPE dashboard within 1 to 4 weeks. No manual logging required. ISC2 Webinars (BrightTalk), Security Congress, Express Courses, Insights Quizzes are examples of auto-submitted CPE credits.

The other type of entry is manual entry. In this type of CPE reporting, you must log into the portal, enter the details, and upload/store verification documentation. Third-party courses, vendor webinars, security conferences, and podcast listening are examples of manual entry type CPEs.

How to Report CPE Credits (Step-by-Step)

There are five basic steps to report CPE credits to renew ISC2 certification.

Log In to the ISC2 CPE Portal: Access your member dashboard. Navigate to the ISC2 Member Portal (isc2.org) and log in. Select CPE Portal or CPE Dashboard from your profile overview.
Select Credit Category: Choose Group A or Group B. Click on Submit CPEs. Choose whether the activity qualifies as Group A (directly related to your certification domains) or Group B (general professional skills like leadership or non-security IT).
Choose the Activity Type: Specify how you earned the credits. Select the appropriate activity category from the dropdown menu:Education: Courses, webinars, conferences, self-study, reading whitepapers. Contributions to the Profession: Writing articles, speaking at events, serving on committees, exam development.Unique Work Experience: Non-routine security projects (max 10 CPEs per project).
Enter Event Details and Hours: Precision and domain mapping. Title & Provider: Enter the course/event name and issuing vendor or organization.Completion Date: Select the date the activity ended.CPE Hours: Input the total hours spent. Calculate as 1 hour = 1 CPE credit (allowed in 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 increments).Domain Alignment: Select which specific certification domain(s) the activity maps to.
Submit and Save Documentation: Audit compliance. Review your entries and click Submit. Keep your proof of completion (completion certificates, course agendas, or transcripts) saved for at least 12 months after your 3-year cycle ends in case of a random audit.

Considering you are a full-time working professional and looking to earn ISC2 CPE credits in one step, look into our ISC2 CPE Online Courses.

You can read more about earning Free CISSP CPE credits.

4- Pay the Annual Management Fee and Renew ISC2 Certification

Other than completing the required CPE credits to renew ISC2 certification, there is also an annual management fee (AMF) that each certification holder must pay to ISC2 to keep their certification status active.

ISC2 members pay a single AMF, which is due each year upon the anniversary of their certification date. Members only pay a single AMF regardless of how many certifications they earn. AMF for members with multiple certifications is due on their earliest certification anniversary.

For members who hold the following certifications, CISSP, SSCP, CCSP, CGRC, CSSLP, ISSAP, ISSEP, or ISSMP, there is an AMF of U.S. $135. For members who only hold CC certification, the AMF is U.S. $50. You can pay the AMF using one of the following methods:

Online via credit card, PayPal, or voucher through the ISC2 Dashboard. To pay AMF using a voucher, log in to your ISC2 dashboard and add your AMF to the cart. When you reach the checkout screen, enter your voucher code for a $0 purchase.
By check via mail or by wire transfer. You need to contact ISC2 Member Services for this option.

You can ask further questions to ISC2 about membership and payment through membersupport@isc2.org.

5- Renew Your ISC2 Certification

You’ve earned the required three-year cycle CPE credits for your ISC2 certification, reported them through the ISC2 dashboard, and paid the annual management fee (AMF). Now, you are ready to renew your ISC2 certification. Once you renew your ISC2 certification, your new three-year cycle will start. Keep on earning CPE credits and reporting them regularly.

Some of the professionals wait until the end of their three-year cycle to earn CPE credits and renew ISC2 certification. However, this is risky, as some activities may be audited, or you may not find suitable time to spend on courses or activities to earn CPE credits. As suggested by ISC2, try to earn the annually required CPE credits every year, and report them through your ISC2 dashboard or portal.

Summary

We’ve outlined the five steps to renew ISC2 certification in this article.

First, you must be aware of the ISC2 CPE requirements. Be aware of the difference between Group A and B activities. Group A activities are generally personal development or soft skill activities while Group B activities are more related to information or cybersecurity. While there is no cap for Group B activities, there is a cap for Group A activities. Each certification track requires a different number of total CPE credits to renew ISC2 certification.

Second, attend CPE activities and earn CPE credits. While there are different activities to earn CPE credits, the most affordable and convenient way to earn CPE credits is by attending ISC2 CPE Credits Course programs. You can earn all required CPE credits from one resource, in the comfort of your home. If you attend self-paced programs, you can easily manage your time to follow the courses as well.

Third, report the earned CPEs to ISC2. You will report the earned CPE credits through your ISC2 Portal or Dashboard.

Fourth, pay the annual management fee (AMF). If you hold a CC certification, you should pay $50 annually; for all other ISC2 certifications, you should pay $135 annually.

Fifth and last, renew your ISC2 certification. You’ve earned the required CPE credits, you reported them, paid the AMF, and now you are ready to renew ISC2 certification. Renew your reputable ISC2 certification and start a new three-year ISC2 recertification cycle.

The post Renew ISC2 Certification in 5 Steps – Free Resources Available appeared first on San Francisco Business School.

PMI-ACP Certification Renewal Guide – Earn PMI-ACP PDUs

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:35:12 +0000

PMI-ACP Certification Renewal Guide – Earn PMI-ACP PDUs

If you hold a PMI-ACP certification, you must earn 30 PMI-ACP PDU hours every three years to renew your PMI-ACP certification. There are further PMI-ACP certification renewal requirements as well. In this article, we have gone through all the steps you need to go through to renew your PMI-ACP certification.

📌 Hint: Do not skip this article, you will find FREE PMI-ACP Certification Renewal resources throughout the article.

💡Julia Boyer earned 60 PMP PDU hours and renewed her PMP certification. Read Julia’s PMP renewal story!

According to Forbes, the famous business website, PMI-ACP is ranked as one of the six most demanded agile certifications. Once you earned your PMI-ACP certification, it is important to maintain it as it is a reputable and demanded professional certification by employers. Let’s look at the PMI-ACP certification renewal requirements first.

💡 If you hold a Scrum Alliance certification, you can read our Scrum Alliance CSM Renewal in 3 Steps article.

PMI-ACP Certification Renewal Requirements

PMI, Project Management Institute, awards the PMI-ACP certification to professionals who are working in the field of agile project management after they pass an agile management test. Once you earn the PMI-ACP certification degree, you can hold it forever as long as you satisfy the PMI-ACP renewal requirements. We have summarized the PMI-ACP certification renewal requirements in the following table.

PMI-ACP PDU Hours Required	Education PDUs (min)	Giving Back PDUs (max)	Renewal Cost
30	18	12	$60 for PMI Members $150 for non-Members

Let’s explain these requirements in detail. PMI dictates for every PMI-ACP certified professional to earn 30 PMI-ACP PDU hours every three years. Typically, one hour of education or one hour of professional activity counts as one PMI-ACP renewal PDU hour. The following three are the fundamental PMI-ACP renewal PDU requirements:

A minimum of 18 PDUs must be earned through the Education category. (There is no maximum limit, all 30 PDUs can be earned through Education PDUs)
A maximum of 12 PDUs can be earned through the Giving Back category. You cannot claim more than 12 PDUs for renewing your PMI-ACP certification.
A maximum of 4 PDUs can be earned by working as a practitioner.

As long as you satisfy these PDU requirements, PMI will approve your PMI-ACP PDU claims, and you will proceed to renew your PMI-ACP certification. Now, let’s explore these PMI-ACP PDU Categories.

PMI-ACP PDU Categories for Renewing PMI-ACP Certification.

There are two main categories to earn PMI-ACP PDU hours. Education and Giving Back. Education PDUs can be earned at professional seminars, webinars, classes, or even self-directed learning. Giving Back to the Profession PMI-ACP PDUs can be earned through volunteering, mentoring, working with professional groups, and more. Each of these are the ways to earn PMI-ACP renewal PDU hours.

The following table summarizes the 11 ways to earn PMI-ACP Renewal PDUs.

11 Ways to Earn PMI-ACP Renewal PDUs
Education (Min 18 PDUs)	Giving Back (Max 12 PDUs)
*1-Course or Training (Most Popular)**	1- Work as a Practitioner
2- Global Events	2- Create Content
3- Local Meetings	3- Give a Presentation
4- Online or Digital Media	4- Share Knowledge
5- Reading	5- Volunteer
6- Informal Learning

You can watch our 11 PMI Approved Ways to Earn PMI-ACP PDU videos on YouTube.

Let’s go through each way and explore the details.

1st Way – PMI-ACP Renewal PDU Courses

As we’ve highlighted in the table, PMI-ACP renewal PDU course programs are the most popular way to earn PDUs among PMI-ACP certified professionals.

While there are several benefits of renewing PMI-ACP certification through PMI-ACP renewal PDU courses, here are the top five reasons:

No Caps: There is no maximum limit for the education category, so, you can earn all 30 PMI-ACP PDUs in one program, and renew your PMI-ACP. You do not need to go elsewhere to find additional PMI-ACP PDU hours.
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 PMI-ACP Renewal PDU course bundle for ~$150. However, seminars or conferences start from $1,000, not only that, you cannot earn all PMI-ACP PDU needs in one event.
Requires less effort: When you enroll in PMI-ACP Renewal PDU Courses, all you have to do is follow the curriculum, earn PDUs, and renew your PMI-ACP certification. However, other PDU earning ways require significant effort from the PMI-ACP certification holder such as creating content, sharing a presentation, volunteering, etc.
Less prone to PMI audit: Since the PDU training programs are used by many PMI-ACP certified professionals, PMI already has a track and record of the activities. However, for other categories, PDU submissions are more unique and may be more likely to hit a PMI audit.

San Francisco Business School offers PMI Certification Renewal Course programs.

Enroll in the PMI PDU Credits Course Online Program. Complete three self-paced online PDU courses. Earn up to 60 PDU credits. Renew your PMI certification. PMI-approved renewal process for PMP, CAPM, PMI-ACP, and other PMI certifications.

Course or Training Programs Accepted by PMI as Source of PMI-ACP PDU

PMI accepts instructor-led formal education courses or classes held in-person or online. Here is a list of courses accepted by PMI as a source of PMI-ACP PDUs.

Virtual and in-person instructor-led courses from PMI Training
Online courses are available on demand
Academic education through programs accredited by the PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC)
Training courses offered by PMI Authorized Training Partners
Disciplined Agile or PMI-ACP® certification training courses offered by a PMI Authorized Training Partner
Courses from other third-party providers (SFBS 30 PMI-ACP PDU Course Online program belongs to this category).

San Francisco Business School offers a comprehensive 30 PMI-ACP PDU Online Course program. 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 PDUs, you will earn reputable business merits to highlight in your resume and LinkedIn.

2nd Way – Attending Global Events

Several project management conferences, events, and activities are organized throughout the year. You can attend these events and earn PMI-ACP Renewal PDU credits. Typically, a one-day activity earns 6 PMI-ACP PDUs. So, if you attended a two-day event, you will earn around 12 PMI-ACP PDUs.

Attending global events has benefits like expanding your professional network and learning the changing trends in your domain. However, there are some pitfalls to these events.

Typically organized in big cities. If you are living in a relatively smaller city, you might not see any events to earn PMI-ACP PDUs.
Requires in-person attendance. Many of the events take a few days, and you have to take days off from your work to attend these events.
Expensive. Typically, these events are charged $1,000/day. So, for a two-day event, you need to pay around $2,000. Travel and accommodation, if needed, are not included in these fees.
Does not earn 30 PMI-ACP PDUs at once. Although it requires a significant amount of time and money, you cannot earn all 30 PMI-ACP PDUs through one event.

Considering you are a full-time working professional and looking to earn 30 PMI-ACP Renewal PDU hours in one step, we do not recommend this way for earning PDUs.

3rd Way – Local Meetings

PMI has an extensive network in many countries and cities. In many major cities, there are PMI chapters and they organize 1-2 hour events every month. Typically, one presenter talks about a topic for 1-2 hours and the attendees follow the activity. These activities typically earn 1-2 PDUs.

4th Way – PMI-ACP Renewal PDU Online or Digital Media

PMI accepts self-paced learning activities as a source of PDUs. You can find several PMI-ACP renewal PDU programs online, many offering limited PDUs. San Francisco Business School offers a self-paced Free PMI PDU Course Online Program. If you attend this program, you can earn 3 Free PMI-ACP PDUs and submit them in the Online or Digital Media sub-category under the Education category.

5th Way – Reading

Self-directed reading relevant to the certification you hold can be claimed for PDUs. For instance, reading a project management-related blog, a business education blog, or a book can count PDUs toward renewing your PMI-ACP certification. 1 hour of reading counts as 1 PDU, however, everyone’s reading pace is different. So, earning PMI-ACP renewal PDUs through reading resources is not a crystal clear way to go.

6th Way – Informal Learning

You can earn PDUs by engaging in structured professional discussions with others, for example, mentoring or “lunch and learn” sessions. For instance, if you are giving a presentation to your colleagues about project management, you can submit this as PDUs.

Important Note: The 7th through 11th Way of Earning PMI-ACP Renewal PDUs below are under the Giving Back category. As we’ve outlined at the beginning of the article, you can claim a maximum of 12 PDUs through Giving Back PDUs.

7th Way – PMI-ACP Renewal PDU Working as a Practitioner

By working in your certified role, you can earn PDUs by applying your knowledge and skills in a practical setting. If you are working in a project management-related role, you can earn PDUs as working as a practitioner. However, it has a limitation. PMI accepts a maximum of 4 PDUs in a three-year cycle for the work as a practitioner category.

After earning 4 PDUs under the Working as a Practitioner category, you will need additional PDUs to complete your 30 PMI-ACP PDU cycle. SFBS offers 45, 30, and 15 PDU programs as well.

8th Way – Create Content

Do you write articles or blogs? Give webinars? Make videos? Today’s digital world is full of new content and anything you create counts towards your re-certification. Typically, you can submit PMI-ACP PDU hours for the hours you worked on project management content creation. For instance, if you wrote a blog post for an hour, you can claim 1 PDU in your PMI profile.

Creating content is cumbersome. There are several aspects of curating quality content. If your profession involves creating content, it is fine, you can earn PMI-ACP renewal PDU hours while you are working. However, just to earn PDUs, creating content is a tough path.

9th Way – Give a Presentation

If you speak at your organization, at a PMI chapter event, or at a conference, you can claim PDUs for it. For instance, if you gave a speech in a project management activity for an hour, you can submit 1 hour PDU for this activity in your PMI profile.

While there are thousands of PMI-ACP certified professionals, only a few thousand professionals could have earned PMI-ACP PDUs through this way. Because giving a speech to top-notch professionals requires exclusive skills. Besides, you should be invited to these events as a speaker, so you can earn PDUs.

10th Way – Share Knowledge

Others can benefit from your experience and knowledge. Keep track of the time you spend mentoring and teaching and claim it towards re-certification. An example of this can be sharing your knowledge in a discussion group at work. If you have a group of professionals sharing knowledge, if you attend those activities, you can claim PDUs.

For instance, if you’ve explored the ways of using AI in project management and want to share this knowledge with your colleagues, you can earn PDUs through this activity. You can gather in a meeting room and share your knowledge with your colleagues.

11th Way – Volunteer

PMI is just one of many organizations that relies on volunteers. Why not become one and earn credit toward re-certification in the process? You can search for volunteering options at the PMI website. Note that, these activities may not be available in your location if you are living in a small city.

Can I claim PMI-ACP PDU as fractions as well?

You can also claim PDUs as fractions as not all the events need to have multiple of 1 hour time activities. For example, an activity took 90 minutes. It means that you will earn 1.5 PDUs for this activity.

The smallest fraction of PDU one can claim is 0.25, this reflects 15 minutes in an activity that qualifies for PDU. You just need to ensure that your activity time is aligned with the PMI-ACP PDU you are claiming.

PMI-ACP Renewal PDU Policies

There are a few important points that you should know. Firstly you should know that you can earn PMI-ACP PDU online once you earn PMI certification. Secondly, you can not claim redundant PDUs. Additionally, if you earn more than the required PMI-ACP PDU in your CCR cycle within the last year of your CCR cycle, these can be applied to your next CCR.

Which PMI-ACP renewal PDU option is the best for me?

We’ve listed 11 ways of earning PMI-ACP PDU hours above. Which PMI-ACP renewal PDU you want to earn is based on your choice and feasibility For example, writing an article and publishing in a research paper is quite an extensive activity and not all of you may opt to write an article for a journal.

Or you may like to register with the PMI chapter or third-party events and participate in them. These participations can help you earn PMI-ACP PDU. However, participating in events like this need you to see the schedule and commit to the schedule. Which may be a bit hectic for you to follow if you have a busy schedule.

There are free YouTube videos, and free courses to earn PMI-ACP renewal PDU however you cannot earn all PMI-ACP PDU needs from free activities.

Not only the majority of the PMI-ACP certified professionals choose, but also we do recommend that online PMI-ACP PDU courses are the best option for many professionals. These online training programs offer you flexibility in terms of location and time. You can attend the sessions from anywhere at any time. So you do not need to commute to specific locations as well as you can learn domains and earn PMI-ACP renewal PDU at your own pace. This also helps you to focus on specific topics for your learning and move forward on your career growth path based on your planned steps.

Moreover, these online PMI-ACP PDU courses are quite feasible in terms of cost. So you may find these online training programs to move further in your career.

PMI-ACP Renewal Fee

Once PMI confirms that you have met PDU requirements, you can apply for the renewal of your certification. In this regard, you will receive an email notification to apply for certification renewal. Once you receive the notification, you will be directed to the online certification system where you can proceed with the submission of your renewal fee payment.

The fee for PMI-ACP certification renewal depends on your PMI membership. If you are a member of PMI then you need to pay a fee of US $60 for the renewal. Otherwise, you will have to pay a renewal fee of US $150. After processing your application and renewal payment, you will get an updated certificate from PMI. This will have updated activity CCR cycle dates. It may take around 6 – 8 weeks to receive your updated certificate.

Summary of PMI-ACP Renewal PDU Ways

PMI requires PMI-ACP certified professionals to earn 30 PMI-ACP renewal PDU hours every three years. There are 11 ways to earn PMI-ACP PDUs. The first six are under the Education category and the last five are under the Giving Back category. You can earn all 30 PDUs in the Education category. However, there is a maximum of 12 PDUs earning limit for the Giving Back category.

PMI-ACP Renewal PDU course programs are the most popular way to earn PDUs. Professionals choose to earn PDUs through courses because they are self-paced, affordable, and require less effort. Since there is no cap for the education category, professionals can earn all 30 PDUs at once through PMI-ACP PDU course programs. One of the other benefits of PDU courses is they are less prone to PMI audits.

The post PMI-ACP Certification Renewal Guide – Earn PMI-ACP PDUs appeared first on San Francisco Business School.

CAPM Certification Renewal Guide – Earn CAPM PDUs

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:35:54 +0000

CAPM Certification Renewal Guide – Earn CAPM PDUs

If you hold a CAPM certification, you must earn 15 CAPM PDU hours every three years to renew your CAPM certification. There are further CAPM certification renewal requirements as well. In this article, we have gone through all the steps you need to go through to renew your CAPM certification.

📌 Hint: Do not skip this article, you will find FREE CAPM Certification Renewal resources throughout the article.

💡Julia Boyer earned 60 PMP PDU hours and renewed her PMP certification. Read Julia’s PMP renewal story!

According to Entrepreneur, the famous business website, CAPM is ranked as one of the nine most demanded professional certifications. Once you earned your CAPM certification, it is important to maintain it as it is a reputable and demanded professional certification by employers. Let’s look at the CAPM certification renewal requirements first.

CAPM Certification Renewal Requirements

PMI, Project Management Institute, awards the CAPM certification to professionals who are working in the field of project management after they pass a project management test. Once you earn the CAPM certification degree, you can hold it forever as long as you satisfy the CAPM renewal requirements. We have summarized the CAPM certification renewal requirements in the following table.

CAPM PDU Hours Required	Education PDUs (min)	Giving Back PDUs (max)	Renewal Cost
15	9	6	$60 for PMI Members $150 for non-Members

Let’s explain these requirements in detail. PMI dictates for every CAPM-certified professional to earn 15 CAPM PDU hours every three years. Typically, one hour of education or one hour of professional activity counts as one CAPM renewal PDU hour. The following three are the fundamental CAPM renewal PDU requirements:

A minimum of 9 PDUs must be earned through the Education category. (There is no maximum limit, all 15 PDUs can be earned through Education PDUs)
A maximum of 6 PDUs can be earned through the Giving Back category. You cannot claim more than 6 PDUs for renewing your CAPM certification.
A maximum of 2 PDUs can be earned by working as a practitioner.

As long as you satisfy these PDU requirements, PMI will approve your CAPM PDU claims, and you will proceed to renew your CAPM certification. Now, let’s explore these CAPM PDU Categories.

CAPM PDU Categories for Renewing CAPM Certification.

There are two main categories to earn CAPM PDU hours. Education and Giving Back. Education PDUs can be earned at professional seminars, webinars, classes, or even self-directed learning. Giving Back to the Profession CAPM PDUs can be earned through volunteering, mentoring, working with professional groups, and more. Each of these are the ways to earn CAPM renewal PDU hours.

The following table summarizes the 11 ways to earn CAPM Renewal PDUs.

11 Ways to Earn CAPM Renewal PDUs
Education (Min 9 PDUs)	Giving Back (Max 6 PDUs)
*1-Course or Training (Most Popular)**	1- Work as a Practitioner
2- Global Events	2- Create Content
3- Local Meetings	3- Give a Presentation
4- Online or Digital Media	4- Share Knowledge
5- Reading	5- Volunteer
6- Informal Learning

You can watch our 11 PMI Approved Ways to Earn CAPM PDU videos on YouTube.

Let’s go through each way and explore the details.

1st Way – CAPM Renewal PDU Courses

As we’ve highlighted in the table, CAPM renewal PDU course programs are the most popular way to earn PDUs among CAPM-certified professionals.

While there are several benefits of renewing CAPM certification through CAPM renewal PDU courses, here are the top five reasons:

No Caps: There is no maximum limit for the education category, so, you can earn all 15 CAPM PDUs in one program, and renew your CAPM. You do not need to go elsewhere to find additional CAPM PDU hours.
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 CAPM Renewal PDU course bundle for ~$100. However, seminars or conferences start from $1,000, not only that, you cannot earn all CAPM PDU needs in one event.
Requires less effort: When you enroll in CAPM Renewal PDU Courses, all you have to do is follow the curriculum, earn PDUs, and renew your CAPM certification. However, other PDU earning ways require significant effort from the CAPM-certification holder such as creating content, sharing a presentation, volunteering, etc.
Less prone to PMI audit: Since the PDU training programs are used by many CAPM-certified professionals, PMI already has a track and record of the activities. However, for other categories, PDU submissions are more unique and may be more likely to hit a PMI audit.

San Francisco Business School offers PMI Certification Renewal Course programs.

Course or Training Programs Accepted by PMI as Source of CAPM PDU

PMI accepts instructor-led formal education courses or classes held in-person or online. Here is a list of courses accepted by PMI as a source of CAPM PDUs.

Virtual and in-person instructor-led courses from PMI Training
Online courses are available on demand
Academic education through programs accredited by the PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC)
Training courses offered by PMI Authorized Training Partners
Disciplined Agile or CAPM® certification training courses offered by a PMI Authorized Training Partner
Courses from other third-party providers (SFBS 15 CAPM PDU Course Online program belongs to this category).

San Francisco Business School offers a comprehensive 15 CAPM PDU Online Course program. 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 PDUs, you will earn reputable business merits to highlight in your resume and LinkedIn.

2nd Way – Attending Global Events

Several project management conferences, events, and activities are organized throughout the year. You can attend these events and earn CAPM Renewal PDU credits. Typically, a one-day activity earns 6 CAPM PDUs. So, if you attended a two-day event, you will earn around 12 CAPM PDUs.

Attending global events has benefits like expanding your professional network and learning the changing trends in your domain. However, there are some pitfalls to these events.

Typically organized in big cities. If you are living in a relatively smaller city, you might not see any events to earn CAPM PDUs.
Requires in-person attendance. Many of the events take a few days, and you have to take days off from your work to attend these events.
Expensive. Typically, these events are charged $1,000/day. So, for a two-day event, you need to pay around $2,000. Travel and accommodation, if needed, are not included in these fees.
Does not earn 60 PDUs at once. Although it requires a significant amount of time and money, you cannot earn all 15 CAPM PDUs through one event.

Considering you are a full-time working professional and looking to earn 15 CAPM Renewal PDU hours in one step, we do not recommend this way for earning PDUs.

3rd Way – Local Meetings

4th Way – CAPM Renewal PDU Online or Digital Media

PMI accepts self-paced learning activities as a source of PDUs. You can find several CAPM renewal PDU programs online, many offering limited PDUs. San Francisco Business School offers a self-paced Free PMI PDU Course Online Program. If you attend this program, you can earn 3 Free CAPM PDUs and submit them in the Online or Digital Media sub-category under the Education category.

5th Way – Reading

Self-directed reading relevant to the certification you hold can be claimed for PDUs. For instance, reading a project management-related blog, a business education blog, or a book can count PDUs toward renewing your CAPM certification. 1 hour of reading counts as 1 PDU, however, everyone’s reading pace is different. So, earning CAPM renewal PDUs through reading resources is not a crystal clear way to go.

6th Way – Informal Learning

Important Note: The 7th through 11th Way of Earning CAPM Renewal PDUs below are under the Giving Back category. As we’ve outlined at the beginning of the article, you can claim a maximum of 6 PDUs through Giving Back PDUs.

7th Way – CAPM Renewal PDU Working as a Practitioner

By working in your certified role, you can earn PDUs by applying your knowledge and skills in a practical setting. If you are working in a project management-related role, you can earn PDUs as working as a practitioner. However, it has a limitation. PMI accepts a maximum of 2 PDUs in a three-year cycle for the work as a practitioner category.

After earning 2 PDUs under the Working as a Practitioner category, you will need additional PDUs to complete your 15 CAPM PDU cycle. SFBS offers 45, 30, and 15 PDU programs as well.

8th Way – Create Content

Do you write articles or blogs? Give webinars? Make videos? Today’s digital world is full of new content and anything you create counts towards your re-certification. Typically, you can submit CAPM PDU hours for the hours you worked on project management content creation. For instance, if you wrote a blog post for an hour, you can claim 1 PDU in your PMI profile.

Creating content is cumbersome. There are several aspects of curating quality content. If your profession involves creating content, it is fine, you can earn CAPM renewal PDU hours while you are working. However, just to earn PDUs, creating content is a tough path.

9th Way – Give a Presentation

While there are thousands of CAPM-certified professionals, only a few thousand professionals could have earned CAPM PDUs through this way. Because giving a speech to top-notch professionals requires exclusive skills. Besides, you should be invited to these events as a speaker, so you can earn PDUs.

10th Way – Share Knowledge

11th Way – Volunteer

Can I claim CAPM PDU as fractions as well?

CAPM Renewal PDU Policies

There are a few important points that you should know. Firstly you should know that you can earn CAPM PDU online once you earn PMI certification. Secondly, you can not claim redundant PDUs. Additionally, if you earn more than the required CAPM PDU in your CCR cycle within the last year of your CCR cycle, these can be applied to your next CCR.

Which CAPM renewal PDU option is the best for me?

We’ve listed 11 ways of earning CAPM PDU hours above. Which CAPM renewal PDU you want to earn is based on your choice and feasibility For example, writing an article and publishing in a research paper is quite an extensive activity and not all of you may opt to write an article for a journal.

Or you may like to register with the PMI chapter or third-party events and participate in them. These participations can help you earn CAPM PDU. However, participating in events like this need you to see the schedule and commit to the schedule. Which may be a bit hectic for you to follow if you have a busy schedule.

There are free YouTube videos, and free courses to earn CAPM renewal PDU however you cannot earn all CAPM PDU needs from free activities.

Not only the majority of the CAPM certified professionals choose, but also we do recommend that online CAPM PDU courses are the best option for many professionals. These online training programs offer you flexibility in terms of location and time. You can attend the sessions from anywhere at any time. So you do not need to commute to specific locations as well as you can learn domains and earn CAPM renewal PDU at your own pace. This also helps you to focus on specific topics for your learning and move forward on your career growth path based on your planned steps.

Moreover, these online CAPM PDU courses are quite feasible in terms of cost. So you may find these online training programs to move further in your career.

CAPM Renewal Fee

The fee for CAPM certification renewal depends on your PMI membership. If you are a member of PMI then you need to pay a fee of US $60 for the renewal. Otherwise, you will have to pay a renewal fee of US $150. After processing your application and renewal payment, you will get an updated certificate from PMI. This will have updated activity CCR cycle dates. It may take around 6 – 8 weeks to receive your updated certificate.

Summary of CAPM Renewal PDU Ways

PMI requires CAPM-certified professionals to earn 15 CAPM renewal PDU hours every three years. There are 11 ways to earn CAPM PDUs. The first six are under the Education category and the last five are under the Giving Back category. You can earn all 15 PDUs in the Education category. However, there is a maximum of 9 PDUs earning limit for the Giving Back category.

CAPM Renewal PDU course programs are the most popular way to earn PDUs. Professionals choose to earn PDUs through courses because they are self-paced, affordable, and require less effort. Since there is no cap for the education category, professionals can earn all 15 PDUs at once through CAPM PDU course programs. One of the other benefits of PDU courses is they are less prone to PMI audits.

The post CAPM Certification Renewal Guide – Earn CAPM PDUs appeared first on San Francisco Business School.

Scrum SEU – 4 Ways to Renew Scrum Certification – Free SEUs Included

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:44:07 +0000

Scrum SEU – 4 Ways to Renew Scrum Certification – Free SEUs Included

If you have an agile certification from Scrum Alliance, you need Scrum SEU credits to renew your Scrum certification. There are several paid and free Scrum SEU earning ways. We’ve explored the most popular four ways to earn Scrum SEUs in this article.

📌 Hint: Do not skip this article, you will find free Scrum SEU resources throughout the article.

Scrum SEU Requirements

Before diving into how to earn SEUs, let’s go over the Scrum SEU requirements first. SEU is the abbreviation for Scrum Education Unit. An SEU is based on a 1:1 ratio of contact hours to points. For example, if you attended a Scrum SEU Course and the duration of the course is 20 hours, you will earn a maximum of 20 SEUs.

Scrum Alliance requires different numbers of Scrum SEU credits for different levels of certifications.

Scrum Alliance® Certification	Scrum SEUs Required Every Two Years	Renewal Fee
Professional (CSP®-SM, CSP®-PO, CSP®, CAL)	40	$250
Advanced (A-CSM®, A-CSPO®)	30	$175
Foundational (CSM®, CSPO®, CSD®)	20	$100
Leadership (CAL-E, CAL-O, CAL-T)	10	$50

If you are holding more than one Scrum Alliance certification, you will need to submit the full amount of required SEUs for your highest-level certification, but you will only be required to submit half the amount of required SEUs for each certification in a different track thereafter.

If you have CSM certification, you can read our How to Earn SEU for CSM Renewal article.

For instance, if you are holding A-CSM certification (requires 30 SEUs) and CSPO certification (requires 20 SEUs), you need to submit 40 SEUs in total (30 for A-CSM and 10 for the CSPO, half of the required SEUs).

No limits or caps exist for earning Scrum SEU credits from a certain category. So, you can attend an online self-paced Scrum SEU Course, and earn all required SEUs for your Scrum Alliance certification renewal. Your SEUs must have been earned within the renewal period, which is two years prior to your certification’s current active-through date. SEUs must have been earned within thirty (30) months for all certification renewal cycles.

Scrum SEU Categories

There are four main Scrum SEU categories that Scrum Alliance accepts as a source of SEU credits.

Learning (*Most Popular)
Events
Volunteering
Other

Watch 4 Ways to Earn Scrum SEU Video

We’ve explained the 4 Scrum Alliance-approved ways to Earn Scrum SEUs in our following YouTube video. Watch now.

If you have a CSM certification, you can read more on our 3 Steps to Renew CSM Certification article.

Let’s go through each SEU category one by one now.

1st Way of Earning Scrum SEU – Learning

As we’ve highlighted in the previous section, earning Scrum Alliance SEUs through the learning category is the most popular way for professionals.

While there are several benefits of renewing Scrum Alliance certification through Scrum SEU courses, here are the top five reasons:

No Caps: There is no maximum limit for the learning category, so, you can earn all Scrum SEU needs in one program, and renew your certification. You do not need to go elsewhere to find additional SEUs.
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 Scrum SEU course bundle for ~$200-300. However, seminars or conferences start from $1,000, not only that, you may not earn all SEU needs in one event.
Requires less effort: When you enroll in SEU Courses, all you have to do is follow the curriculum, earn SEUs, and renew your Scrum Alliance certification. However, other SEU credits earning ways require significant effort from the certification holder such as creating content, sharing a presentation, authoring, etc.
Less prone to Scrum Alliance® audit: Since the Scrum SEU training programs are used by many certified professionals, Scrum Alliance already has a track and record of the activities. However, for other categories, SEU submissions are more unique and may be more likely to be audited.

San Francisco Business School offers Scrum Alliance Certification Renewal Course programs.

Enroll in the Scrum Alliance SEU Credits Course Online Program. Complete three self-paced online SEU courses. Earn up to 60 SEU credits. Renew your Scrum Alliance certification. Scrum Alliance approved renewal process for CSM, CSPO, CSD, A-CSM, and other Scrum Alliance certifications.

San Francisco Business School offers a 20 SEU Course program. The program offers a self-paced business training program: Executive Leadership. SFBS awards a certificate of graduation. While earning SEUs, you will earn reputable business merits to highlight in your resume and LinkedIn.

Scrum SEU Course Catalog

When we were preparing this post, we noticed that professionals were searching for the SEU Course Catalog on Google. Actually, there are no explicit courses named “SEU Course”.

Scrum Alliance accepts SEUs in the learning category including working with Scrum Alliance CSTs, CECs, CTCs, and REPs as well as through various independent learning activities, such as: preparing presentations; authoring relevant books, articles, or blogs; watching training videos/webinar; reading one or two books in depth. So, any courses that provide new insights about business or the agile world will count as SEU courses.

SFBS has strategy, leadership, and marketing courses. These courses have been formed as SEU courses on the SFBS website. You can visit our SEU course catalog.

Watch how Natalia Earned 20 CSM SEUs and Renewed Her CSM®

Natalia Olson is a CSM-certified Professional. Natalia enrolled in the 20 Scrum SEU Program from SFBS and renewed her CSM. Watch now her CSM renewal journey.

2nd Way of Earning Scrum SEUs – Events

You can earn Scrum SEUs for participating in events like Scrum Alliance Global Gatherings, Scrum Alliance Regional Gatherings, and Non-Scrum Alliance-Sponsored Events, as well as in User Groups events and activities. Presenting, coaching, and attending sessions all count as SEU-eligible activities.

Typically, the duration of the activity determines the number of SEUs you will earn. For instance, if you attended a one-day Scrum Alliance SEU event, if the schedule of the event was 9 to 12 in the morning, and 1 to 5 pm in the afternoon, the total hours for the event would be 7 hours. So, you can earn 7 SEUs with this event.

Attending events has benefits like expanding your professional network and learning the changing trends in your domain. However, there are some pitfalls to these events.

Typically organized in big cities. If you are living in a relatively smaller city, you might not see any events to earn Scrum SEUs.
Requires in-person attendance. Many of the events take a few days, and you have to take days off from your work to attend these events.
Expensive. On average, these events are charged $1,000/day. So, for a two-day event, you need to pay around $2,000. Travel and accommodation, if needed, are not included in these fees.
May not earn required SEUs at once. Although it requires a significant amount of time and money, you may not earn all SEUs through one event.
Considering you are a full-time working professional and looking to earn the Scrum Alliance SEU hours you need in one step, you may opt for other alternatives to earn SEUs.

Free Scrum SEU Webinars

One of the most popular searches on Google is Scrum SEU webinars. A webinar is an online seminar that allows participants from anywhere in the world to come together in a virtual classroom to share information via the Internet.

There are several webinars available about agile, project management, and business topics. Typically, these webinars are 45 minutes to 1 hour in length and attendance is for free. When you attend these webinars, you can earn Free Scrum SEU credits toward renewing your Scrum certification.

3rd Way for Earning Scrum SEU – Volunteering

Scrum Alliance encourages professionals to give back to the community. Therefore, Scrum SEU may be earned by providing non-compensated professional Scrum services.

For instance, if you are volunteering in an activity for teaching the basics of agile to high school students, this activity can earn you SEUs. The critical point here is, that you should not be compensated if you are in a volunteering activity. You can submit SEUs for the duration of the activity. For instance, if you attended a one-hour event, you can submit 1 SEU toward renewing your certification.

Note that, these activities may not be available in your location if you are living in a small city.

4th Way for Scrum SEU Earning – Others

SEUs may be earned through a variety of other learning activities as Scrum Alliance acknowledges that not all learning fits neatly into the categories above. For instance, if you are reading a book, blog, or article about agile, you can earn SEUs in the Others category.

Scrum SEU Examples

In this section, we will go through Scrum SEU examples by scenarios.

Note that, the following scenarios are fictional to provide a better understanding of SEU reporting.

Scenario #1 – Jane completes a Free Scrum SEU Course

Jane works as a Scrum Master in a Fintech company. She earned her CSM certification 1 year ago, and her certification due date is approaching.

Jane attends the San Francisco Business School’s Free Scrum SEU Course Online Program. The program contains three self-paced courses, and each course is one hour in length. After completing the self-paced program, Jane can submit 3 SEUs to renew her Scrum Alliance certification.

Scenario #2 – Bruce attends a one-day Scrum Event

Bruce works as a Product Owner in a software company in Austin, Texas. Bruce has CSPO certification from Scrum Alliance.

A product analysis event named “1 Analysis” is organized in Austin. Bruce’s company is one of the sponsors of the event. Several presentations and talks were organized during this one-day event. Bruce attended this Non-Scrum Alliance-Sponsored event. The event schedule was as follows:

09:00-10:15 – Opening Talk
10:30-12:00 – Presentations in Various Rooms
12:00-13:30 – Lunch Break
13:30-14:45 – Talks in Various Rooms
15:00-16:30 – Talks in Various Rooms

Bruce earned 6 SEUs by attending this event.

Summary

You need to earn SEUs every two years to renew your Scrum Alliance certification. Scrum Alliance requires a different number of SEUs for each certification track. You can earn SEUs in four different categories: Learning, Events, Volunteering, and Others. Earning SEUs through Scrum SEU courses is the most popular among Scrum Alliance-certified professionals.

Professionals choose to earn SEUs through courses because they are self-paced, affordable, and require less effort. Since there is no cap for the learning category, professionals can earn all required SEUs at once through Scrum Alliance SEU course programs. One of the other benefits of SEU courses is they are less prone to Scrum Alliance audits.

The post Scrum SEU – 4 Ways to Renew Scrum Certification – Free SEUs Included appeared first on San Francisco Business School.

Renew PMP Certification in 7 Basic Steps

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:43:00 +0000

Renew PMP Certification in 7 Basic Steps

If you’ve earned PMP certification, you must be aware that you need to renew PMP certification every three years. There are certain PMP PDU requirements you must adhere and we have outlined all the 7 basic steps you need to renew your PMP certification.

📌 Hint: Do not skip this article, you will find FREE Renew PMP Certification resources throughout the article.

💡Julia Boyer earned 60 PMP PDU hours and renewed her PMP certification. Read Julia’s PMP renewal story!

There are 7 basic steps to renew PMP certification. These are

Check your current PMP certification status on PMI website
Make sure how many PMP PDU credits you need to renew PMP certification
Decide how you will earn PMP PDU credits
Attend PMP PDU Activities and Earn PDU hours
Report Your PDUs to PMI
Complete the CCRS Cycle
Pay the renewal fee and renew your PMP certification

Let’s go through each of these steps one by one!

Step #1 to Renew PMP Certification – Check Your Current Status on the PMI Website

PMI has a strong website with all the details and information showing your certifications, certification status, and actions you need to take to keep your certification active. Once you earned PMP certification, you should have a PMI profile already. If you forgot your details, you can contact PMI support and ask for a password reset to log on to your profile.

Once you logged on to PMI website, you can see your certification status under the “Certification” area.

We’ve shared a screenshot from a sample profile below. As you can see in this profile, the PMP certification is in good standing, meaning not expired and just needs PDU hours to renew PMP certification. In some cases, if PMP certification was earned years ago and the certification holder did not report PDUs for several years, PMP certification can be in a suspended state or expired state. If your certification is in such a status, we recommend you to contact PMI first as earning PDUs may not be sufficient to renew PMP certification.

In the example profile above, PMI clearly states the total number of earned PDUs, which is 42, required PDUs and optional PDUs. We will describe the required and optional PDUs in the further stages of this article.

Step #2 to Renew PMP – Determine How Many PDUs You Need

In the PMP certification profile we shared above, you can see that PMI clearly shows the required PDUs, mandatory ones, and optional ones. PMI requires certification holders to earn PDUs in three-year cycles. The requirements for each certification track are different. For the PMP certification, certification holders must earn 60 PMP PDU hours every three years to renew their certification. Below is an infographic from the PMI website about PMP PDU requirements.

Source: PMI website.

Let’s explain each of these steps in detail.

PMP PDU Categories

There are two main PMP PDU categories:

Education: Education PDUs can be earned at professional seminars, webinars, classes, or even self-directed learning.
Giving Back to the Profession: Giving Back PDUs are for time spent volunteering, mentoring, working with professional groups, and more.

PMP PDU requirements for certification holders is to collect 60 PDUs through a maximum of 25 Giving Back PDUs and a minimum of 35 Education PDUs. However, there is no cap for education PDUs. You can earn all 60 PDUs in the education category.

Hint: You can earn 60 PMP PDUs by enrolling in the SFBS PMP PDU Course Online program.

The 35 Education PDUs also have other requirements:

reporting at least 8 Ways of Working project management PDUs
reporting at least 8 Business Acumen PDUs
reporting at least 8 Power Skills PDUs.

There is a maximum PDU reporting cap for the Working as a Professional subcategory of the Giving Back PDU category. If you are working in a project management-related job, you can report up to 8 PDUs under working as a professional PDU category.

San Francisco Business School offers PMI Certification Renewal Course programs.

Some of the activities you’ve attended previously might have earned you PDUs to renew PMP certification. For instance, if you have attended a seminar, a conference, or a project management-related training, these activities can count for PDUs towards renewing PMP certification. You can claim those PDUs through your PMI profile, and check how many more PDUs you will need to renew your PMP certification.

Step #3 – Decide How You Will Earn Remaining PDUs to Renew PMP Certification

After you’ve submitted your earned PDUs, the PMI dashboard will show how many Education PDUs and Giving Back PDUs you will need to complete your PMP renewal cycle. Depending on the missing PDU hours, you should decide how you will earn the PDUs.

If you need Education PDUs, there are six different sub-categories under the Education category, and if you need Giving Back PDUs, there are five sub-categories. The following table summarizes the 11 ways to earn Renew PMP PDUs.

11 Ways to Earn PMP Renewal PDUs
Education (Min 35 PDUs)	Giving Back (Max 25 PDUs)
*1-Course or Training (Most Popular)**	1- Work as a Practitioner
2- Global Events	2- Create Content
3- Local Meetings	3- Give a Presentation
4- Online or Digital Media	4- Share Knowledge
5- Reading	5- Volunteer
6- Informal Learning

Step #4 – Attend PDU Activities and Earn PDUs

Note that, you can earn all PDU hours you need through education activities. However, there is a maximum of 25 PDUs limit for Giving Back PDUs. Even if you attend several giving-back activities, you will be able to report a maximum of 25 PDUs every three years.

Let’s explore the six different ways to earn Education PDUs to renew PMP certification.

1- Course or Training

Instructor-led formal education courses or classes held in-person or online belong to this category.

Virtual and in-person instructor-led courses from PMI Training
Online courses are available on demand
Academic education through programs accredited by the PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC)
Training courses offered by PMI Authorized Training Partners
Disciplined Agile or PMP® certification training courses offered by a PMI Authorized Training Partner
Courses from other third-party providers (SFBS 60 PMP PDU Course Online program belongs to this category).

You can read more on our PMP PDU Courses article.

Watch how Julia Earned 60 PDUs and Renewed Her PMP

Julia Boyer is a PMP-certified Professional from Dallas, Texas. Julia enrolled in the 60 PMP PDU Program from SFBS and renewed her PMP. Watch now her PMP renewal journey.

2- Global Events

Meetings and events that bring together the global community are another way to earn PDUs. These events include educational sessions, keynote, and featured speakers. Typically you can earn 7 to 50 PDUs by attending these events.

3- Local Meetings

Local activities and events that are related to the project management profession count for PDUs. Often held at PMI chapters, these are also a great opportunity to network. These meetings earn typically 1 to 2 PDUs.

4- Online or Digital Media

Self-paced learning is conducted online or through varied forms of digital media. (SFBS Free PMP PDU Course Online Program belongs to this category).

5- Reading

Self-directed reading relevant to the certification you hold can be claimed for PDUs. For instance, reading a project management-related blog, a business education blog, or a book can count PDUs toward renewing your PMP certification.

6- Informal Learning

If you need Giving Back PDUs, you will have the following five options to earn PDUs and renew PMP certification.

1- Working as a Practitioner

By working in your certified role, you can earn PDUs by applying your knowledge and skills in a practical setting. If you are working in a project management-related role, you can earn up to 8 PDUs as working as a practitioner. However, it has a limitation. PMI accepts a maximum of 8 PDUs in a three-year cycle for the work as a practitioner category.

After earning 8 PDUs under the Working as a Practitioner category, you will need additional PDUs to complete your 60 PMP PDU cycle. SFBS offers 45, 30, and 15 PDU programs as well.

If you need fewer than 60 PDUs, you can opt for one of these programs.

2- Create Content

Do you write articles or blogs? Give webinars? Make videos? Today’s digital world is full of new content and anything you create counts towards your re-certification. Typically, you can submit PDUs for the hours you worked on project management content creation. For instance, if you wrote a blog post for an hour, you can claim 1 PDU in your PMI profile.

Creating content is cumbersome. There are several aspects of curating quality content. If your profession involves creating content, it is fine, you can earn PMP renewal PDU hours while you are working. However, just to earn PDUs, creating content is a tough path.

3- Give a Presentation

While there are nearly one million PMP-certified professionals, only a few thousand professionals could have earned PMP PDUs through this way. Because giving a speech to top-notch professionals requires exclusive skills. Besides, you should be invited to these events as a speaker, so you can earn PDUs.

4- Share Knowledge

5- Volunteer

Explore 11 Ways of Earning PMP Renewal PDU.

Step #5 to Renew PMP – Report PDUs to PMI

Once you attended PDU earning activities, report them to PMI. You can see our PDU claim article defining how to report PDUs step by step. After you log on to PMI, when you click on the report PDUs button, you will see 11 ways to Earn PDUs. The first six are under the Education category, and the next five are under the Giving Back category.

After you select the activity type, you will be asked to enter activity details on the next page. You will be asked to provide details about the provider, activity name, description, dates attended, etc. There are mandatory and optional fields. You must type details for the mandatory fields, however, you can skip the optional ones.

As you can see above, we provided the details of the activity, dates attended, and the number of PDUs earned through each category. Note that, while you are typing provider names, some providers’ names are suggested. Your provider name might not be on the list. Do not worry, just type the provider name, do not pick any provider from the drop-down menu, and proceed to provide the next details about the PDU activity.

PDU distribution of the activity should be provided by your provider. If you are unsure about the distribution of the PDUs for each category, you can ask your provider or PMI for further guidance.

Hit on the “submit” button, and claim PDU hours. On the next page, you will see the summary of your PDU claim.

Step #6 – Complete the CCRS Cycle

If you’ve completed the required PDUs in your CCRS cycle, you will see the “Eligible to Renew” note at the top of the screen.

You can see in the screenshot that 52 education PDUs have been earned and 8 Giving Back PDUs have been earned. A total of 60 PDUs have been earned, and PMP certification is eligible to be renewed. The next step is renewal fee payment.

Step #7 to Renew PMP – Pay the PMP Renewal Fee

The final step to renew your PMI certification is paying the renewal fee. In our case, the PMP certification renewal fee is $120. However, if you opt to be a PMI member, you will be paying a less price.

PMI membership has a yearly cost as well. Consider the benefits of being a PMI member and if you opt to be a PMI member, you can add to your cart and checkout together with your PMI certification renewal fee.

Summary

If you earned PMP certification, you need to earn 60 PDUs every three years to renew PMP certification. We’ve explored the seven basic steps to renew your PMP. First, you need to check the current status of your PMP certification. Second, you need to determine the missing PDU hours you need to renew PMP certification. Third, you need to decide which PDU activities you need to attend to earn PDUs.

Once you completed the PDU hours, the next steps are completing the cycle and paying the PMP renewal fee. Then, your certification will be in good standing for three years.

The post Renew PMP Certification in 7 Basic Steps appeared first on San Francisco Business School.

PMP PDU Requirements – How to Get PDUs for PMP

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:13:23 +0000

PMP PDU Requirements – How to Get PDUs for PMP

PMP certification is for sure the most prestigious project management certification around the globe with nearly 1 million holders. While there are several benefits of having a PMP certification, there are certain PMP PDU requirements to retain this invaluable certification. Make sure you comply with the PMP PDU requirements while attending PM activities and learn how to get PDUs for PMP certification renewal. You can visit our PMP PDU Guide for more information.

📌 Hint: Do not skip this article, you will find FREE PMP PDU resources throughout the article.

Source: PMI website

PMP PDU Requirements

PMI forces PMP certification holders to earn PDU (Professional Development Units) to renew their certification. The main motivation behind the PMI PDU program is, to ensure the continuous learning of PMP-certified professionals, and keep up the pace with the changing dynamics of the business world.

Tip: You can watch the content of this article in the following YouTube video.

To earn PDU hours, you need to perform certain types of project management related activities. Let’s dive into the details of PDU.

💡Julia Boyer renewed her PMP certification. Read Julia’s PMP renewal story!

What is PMP PDU?

Professional Development Units (PDUs) are one-hour blocks of time that you spend learning, teaching others, or volunteering. There are certain PMP PDU requirements for activities to qualify as PDUs. By accumulating and tracking these over your certification cycle you can maintain your certification status with PMI. Typically, one-hour project management activity counts for 1 PDU. PMI enables the submission of PDUs in fractions as well. If you attend a 30-minute project management webinar, you can submit 0.5 PDUs in your profile.

PMP Contact Hours vs. PDU

While we are talking about PMP PDU requirements, there is another term “Contact Hours” which is commonly confused with the PMP PDU Hours. Contact Hours is a term related to project management training requirements for PMI certification aspirants. For instance, PMI requires 35 contact hours of project management education attendance to apply for PMP certification. What are the main differences between Contact Hours vs PDU hours?

The contact hours must be “instructional” while PDUs can be self-learned: To be able to earn contact hours, they must be instructional. It means that an instructor or tutor must be actively teaching for the required hours to earn the contact hours. On the other hand, PDUs can be learned from instructional activities as well as self-learning activities. For instance, you can earn PDUs while you are reading a business blog, however, you cannot earn contact hours by reading a resource.

Therefore, if you are not a PMP-certified professional yet, you need contact hours to satisfy PMP certification requirements. However, if you already have a PMP certification, you need PMP PDU hours to renew your PMP certification.

60 PMP PDU in a Three-Year Cycle

PMI requires certification holders to earn PDUs in three-year cycles. The requirement for each certification track is different. For the PMP certification, certification holders must earn 60 PMP PDU hours every three years to renew their certification. Below is an infographic from the PMI website about PMP PDU requirements.

Source: PMI website.

Let’s explain each of these steps in detail.

PMP PDU Categories

There are two main PMP PDU categories:

Education: Education PDUs can be earned at professional seminars, webinars, classes, or even self-directed learning.
Giving Back to the Profession: Giving Back PDUs are for time spent volunteering, mentoring, working with professional groups, and more.

Hint: You can earn 60 PMP PDUs by enrolling in the SFBS PMP PDU Course Online program.

The 35 Education PDUs also have other requirements:

reporting at least 8 Ways of Working project management PDUs
reporting at least 8 Business Acumen PDUs
reporting at least 8 Power Skills PDUs.

San Francisco Business School offers PMI Certification Renewal Course programs.

How to Get PDUs for PMP Certification Renewal

As we’ve outlined in the PMP PDU categories heading above, there are two main ways to earn PDU: Education and Giving Back. PDU courses are a way to earn PDU credits in Education Category.

Education Category for Earning PMP PDUs

Six different sub-categories satisfy PMP PDU requirements under the Education category to earn PDU hours. Let’s explore these:

1- Course or Training

Instructor-led formal education courses or classes held in-person or online belong to this category.

Virtual and in-person instructor-led courses from PMI Training
Online courses are available on demand
Academic education through programs accredited by the PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC)
Training courses offered by PMI Authorized Training Partners
Disciplined Agile or PMP® certification training courses offered by a PMI Authorized Training Partner
Courses from other third-party providers (SFBS 60 PMP PDU Course Online program belongs to this category).

You can read more on our PMP PDU Courses article.

Watch how Julia Earned 60 PDUs and Renewed Her PMP

Julia Boyer is a PMP-certified Professional from Dallas, Texas. Julia enrolled in the 60 PMP PDU Program from SFBS and renewed her PMP. Watch now her PMP renewal journey.

2- Global Events

Meetings and events that bring together the global community are another way to earn PDUs and satisfy PMP PDU requirements. These events include educational sessions, keynote, and featured speakers. Typically you can earn 7 to 50 PDUs by attending these events.

3- Local Meetings

4- Online or Digital Media

Self-paced learning is conducted online or through varied forms of digital media. (SFBS Free PMP PDU Course Online Program belongs to this category). This way is one of the easiest ways to satisfy PMP PDU requirements.

5- Reading

6- Informal Learning

You can earn PDUs by engaging in structured professional discussions with others, for example, mentoring or “lunch and learn” sessions. These will qualify for PMP PDU requirements. For instance, if you are giving a presentation to your colleagues about project management, you can submit this as PDU.

Read 11 Ways of Earning PMP Renewal PDU.

Giving Back Category for Earning PMP PDUs

Giving Back to the Profession is a unique opportunity for you to expand your knowledge and skills while growing both personally and professionally. Although not required for recertification, earning Giving Back PDUs is a great way to expand your horizons.

Here are some popular ways that you can earn Giving Back PDUs:

1- Work as a Practitioner

By working in your certified role, you can earn PDUs by applying your knowledge and skills in a practical setting. However, there is a maximum PMP PDU requirements limit for this way. If you are working in a project management-related role, you can earn up to 8 PDUs as working as a practitioner. This is a very common question asked by many PMP-certified professionals:

“How many PDUs can I claim for working as a practitioner?”
Answer: PMI accepts a maximum of 8 PDUs in a three-year cycle for the work as a practitioner category.

2- Create Content

Do you write articles or blogs? Give webinars? Make videos? Today’s digital world is full of new content and anything you create counts towards your re-certification. Typically, you can submit PDUs for the hours you worked on project management content creation. For instance, if you wrote a blog post for an hour, you can claim 1 PDU in your PMI profile.

3- Give a Presentation

4- Share Knowledge

Others can benefit from your experience and knowledge. Keep track of the time you spend mentoring and teaching and claim it towards re-certification. These activities satisfy PMP PDU requirements. An example of this can be sharing your knowledge in a discussion group at work. If you have a group of professionals sharing knowledge, if you attend those activities, you can claim PDUs.

5- Volunteer

PMI is just one of many organizations that relies on volunteers. Why not become one and earn credit toward re-certification in the process? You can search for volunteering options at the PMI website.

Frequently asked questions about PMP PDU

How can I submit my earned PDUs?

You should have a profile on the PMI website. Log on to your profile, go to your credentials tab, and submit PDUs. Once you earned 60 PMP PDUs, you will be eligible to pay the PMP renewal fee and renew your PMP certification.

What is the PMP certification renewal fee?

The PMP certification renewal fee is 60 USD for PMI members and 150 USD for non-members. This fee is payable only after earning 60 PDUs and satisfying all PMP PDU requirements.

How many PDUs can I claim for working as a practitioner per year?

You can claim a maximum of 8 PDUs in a three-year cycle for the work as a practitioner category. There is no cap for reporting working as a practitioner PDUs per year. You can claim all 8 PDUs in one year. This is a maximum limit for satisfying PMP PDU requirements through practitioner way.

How can I earn PDUs for PMP?

There are two main ways to earn PDUs: Education and Giving Back. You can earn Education PDUs in six different sub-categories:

Course or Training
Global Events
Local Meetings
Online or Digital Media
Reading
Informal Learning

You can earn Giving Back PDUs in 5 different sub-categories:

Work as a Practitioner
Create Content
Give a Presentation
Share Knowledge
Volunteer

How can I renew a suspended PMP certification?

If your PMP certification gets suspended and you do not complete the renewal process within a year, your certification will expire fully. To reactivate your PMP certification from expired status, you must reapply for the PMP exam, submit all associated fees, and pass the PMP exam again. Therefore, do not miss the CCRS cycle, satisfy the PMP PDU requirements and renew your PMP on time.

If you do not renew your PMP in the three-year period, your certification will be suspended for one year. After one year, if you do not renew your certificate, your certification will expire.

Summary

PMP certification holders must earn 60 PDUs in three-year cycles to renew their certification. There are certain PMP PDU requirements to satisfy. There are two main PMP PDU categories: Education and Giving Back. Education PDUs can be earned at professional seminars, webinars, classes, or even self-directed learning. Giving Back PDUs are for time spent volunteering, mentoring, working with professional groups, and more.

PDU requirements for PMP certification holders is to collect 60 PDUs through a maximum of 25 Giving Back PDUs and a minimum of 35 Education PDUs. However, there is no cap for education PDUs. You can earn all 60 PDUs in the education category.

The post PMP PDU Requirements – How to Get PDUs for PMP appeared first on San Francisco Business School.

11 Free PDU Earning Ways – Free PMP PDU Sources

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:08:02 +0000

11 Free PDU Earning Ways – Free PMP PDU Sources

If you hold a PMI certification, you need to earn a certain amount of PDUs to renew your certification. Professionals seek Free PDU resources when it comes to renewing their certification. They look for Free PMP PDU courses, Free PDU webinars, Free PDU events, and so on.

In this article, we’ve explored the 11 legitimate PMI-approved free PDU earning ways. Let’s go on through each way one by one.

📌 Hint: Do not skip this article, you will find FREE PDU resources throughout the article.

How many PDUs do you need to claim?

Before diving into free PMP PDU resources, you should determine how many PDUs you need to claim to renew your certification. PMI requires a different number of PDUs for each certification track.

If you have a PMP®, PgMP®, PfMP®, or PMI-PBA®, you must earn 60 PDUs in a three-year cycle. There is a further requirement for these 60 PDUs as well. You must earn at least 35 Education PDUs and you can earn at most 25 Giving Back PDUs.
If you have a PMI-ACP®, PMI-RMP®, or PMI-SP®, you must earn 30 PDUs in a three-year cycle. You must earn at least 18 Education PDUs and you can earn at most 12 Giving Back PDUs.
If you have a CAPM®, you must earn 15 PDUs in a three-year cycle. You must earn at least 9 Education PDUs and you can earn at most 6 giving back PDUs.

Note that, there are further details about PMI triangle categories. You can learn more about PMP PDU requirements. Let’s move on to Free PMP PDU earning ways now.

💡Julia Boyer renewed her PMP certification. Read Julia’s PMP renewal story!

Free PDU Categories at a Glance

There are two main categories to earn Free PDUs. Education and Giving Back. Education PDUs can be earned at professional seminars, webinars, classes, or even self-directed learning. Giving Back to the Profession PDUs can be earned through volunteering, mentoring, working with professional groups, and more. Each of these are the ways to earn Free PMP PDU hours.

The following table summarizes the 11 ways to earn Free PDU for PMP Renewal.

11 Ways to Earn Free PDUs
Education	Giving Back
*1-Course or Training (Most Popular)**	1- Work as a Practitioner
2- Global Events	2- Create Content
3- Local Meetings	3- Give a Presentation
4- Online or Digital Media	4- Share Knowledge
5- Reading	5- Volunteer
6- Informal Learning

You can watch our 11 PMI Approved Ways to Earn PDUs video on YouTube.

1st Free PDU Earning Way – Free PMP PDU Courses

As we’ve highlighted in the table, Free PMP renewal PDU course programs are the most popular way to earn PDUs among PMP-certified professionals. The following infographic summarizes why PMI-certified professionals opt for PDU courses when renewing their certifications.

While there are several benefits of renewing PMP through PMP renewal PDU courses, here are the top five reasons:

No Caps: There is no maximum limit for the education category, so, you can earn all 60 PMP PDUs in one program, and renew your PMP. You do not need to go elsewhere to find additional PDUs.
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 PMP Renewal PDU course bundle for ~$200-300. However, seminars or conferences start from $1,000, not only that, you cannot earn all PDU needs in one event.
Requires less effort: When you enroll in PMP Renewal PDU Courses, all you have to do is follow the curriculum, earn PDUs, and renew your PMP. However, other PDU earning ways require significant effort from the PMP-certification holder such as creating content, sharing a presentation, volunteering, etc.
Less prone to PMI audit: Since the PDU training programs are used by many PMP-certified professionals, PMI already has a track and record of the activities. However, for other categories, PDU submissions are more unique and may be more likely to hit a PMI audit.

We’ve explored this alternative in detail in the PMP PDU Courses article.

San Francisco Business School offers PMI Certification Renewal Course programs.

Free PDU Courses or Training Programs Accepted by PMI as a Source of PDU

PMI accepts instructor-led formal education courses or classes held in-person or online. Here is a list of courses accepted by PMI as a source of PDUs.

Virtual and in-person instructor-led courses from PMI Training
Online courses are available on demand
Academic education through programs accredited by the PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC)
Training courses offered by PMI Authorized Training Partners
Disciplined Agile or PMP® certification training courses offered by a PMI Authorized Training Partner
Courses from other third-party providers (SFBS 60 PMP PDU Course Online program belongs to this category).

Note that, earning all PDU needs through Free PDU resources is not practical. However, you can earn a few Free PDU hours from Free PDU courses.

San Francisco Business School offers a comprehensive 60 PMP PDU Online Course program. 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 PDUs, you will earn reputable business merits to highlight in your resume and LinkedIn.

Watch how Julia Earned 60 PDUs and Renewed Her PMP

Julia Boyer is a PMP-certified Professional from Dallas, Texas. Julia enrolled in the 60 PMP PDU Program from SFBS and renewed her PMP. Watch now her PMP renewal journey.

2nd Way – Attending Free Global Events

Several project management conferences, events, and activities are organized throughout the year. Note that, these events are generally premium events and you need a ticket to attend the event. However, some employers pay for the ticket price for their employees. Or, if the employer is a sponsor in the organization, employees of the sponsor organization can attend for free. So, you can attend these events and earn Free PDUs for your PMI certification renewal.

Typically, a one-day activity earns 6 PDUs. So, if you attended a two-day event, you will earn around 12 PDUs.

Attending global events has benefits like expanding your professional network and learning the changing trends in your domain. However, there are some pitfalls to these events.

Typically organized in big cities. If you are living in a relatively smaller city, you might not see any events to earn PDUs.
Requires in-person attendance. Many of the events take a few days, and you have to take days off from your work to attend these events.
Expensive. Typically, these events are charged $1,000/day. So, for a two-day event, you need to pay around $2,000. Travel and accommodation, if needed, are not included in these fees.
Does not earn 60 PDUs at once. Although it requires a significant amount of time and money, you cannot earn all 60 PDUs through one event.

Considering you are a full-time working professional and looking to earn 60 PMP Renewal PDU hours in one step, we do not recommend this way for earning Free PDUs.

3rd Way – Local Free PDU Meetings

PMI has an extensive network in many countries and cities. In many major cities, there are PMI chapters and they organize 1-2 hour events every month. In many cases, these events are for free. Typically, one presenter talks about a topic for 1-2 hours and the attendees follow the activity. These activities typically earn 1-2 PDUs. You can earn Free PDUs by attending these Free PDU meetings.

4th Way – Free PMP PDU Online or Digital Media

PMI accepts self-paced learning activities as a source of PDUs. You can find several Free PMP PDU programs online while many of them offer limited PDUs. San Francisco Business School offers a self-paced Free PMP PDU Course Online Program as well. If you attend this program, you can earn 3 Free PDUs and submit them in the Online or Digital Media sub-category under the Education category.

Free PMP PDU Webinars

There are several project management webinars organized on the web. If you can attend these Free PDU webinars, you can earn Free PMP PDU hours to claim on your PMI profile. Free PMP PDU webinars typically earn 1 PDU and last for one hour.

Free PDU webinars can be on different business-related topics. Such as how to start your own company, fundamentals of entrepreneurship, common mistakes on project management, etc.

5th Way – Reading Free PDU Resources

Self-directed reading relevant to the certification you hold can be claimed for PDUs. For instance, reading a project management-related blog, a business education blog, or a book can count PDUs toward renewing your PMP certification. 1 hour of reading counts as 1 PDU, however, everyone’s reading pace is different. So, earning Free PDUs for PMP renewal through reading resources is not a crystal clear way to go.

6th Way – Informal Learning

You can earn Free PDUs by engaging in structured professional discussions with others, for example, mentoring or “lunch and learn” sessions. For instance, if you are giving a presentation to your colleagues about project management, you can submit this as PDUs.

Important Note: The 7th through 11th Way of Earning PMP Renewal PDUs below are under the Giving Back category. As we’ve outlined in the beginning of the article, you can claim a maximum of 25 PDUs through Giving Back PDUs.

7th Way – Free PDU for PMP Renewal as Working as a Practitioner

By working in your certified role, you can earn Free PDUs by applying your knowledge and skills in a practical setting. If you are working in a project management-related role, you can earn up to 8 Free PDUs as working as a practitioner. However, it has a limitation. PMI accepts a maximum of 8 PDUs in a three-year cycle for the work as a practitioner category.

After earning 8 Free PDUs under the Working as a Practitioner category, you will need additional PDUs to complete your 60 PMP PDU cycle. SFBS offers 45, 30, and 15 PDU programs as well.

If you need fewer than 60 PDUs, you can opt for one of these programs.

8th Way – Create Content

Do you write articles or blogs? Give webinars? Make videos? Today’s digital world is full of new content and anything you create counts towards your re-certification. Typically, you can claim Free PDU hours for the hours you worked on project management content creation. For instance, if you wrote a blog post for an hour, you can claim 1 PDU in your PMI profile.

Creating content is cumbersome. There are several aspects of curating quality content. If your profession involves creating content, it is fine, you can earn Free PMP renewal PDU hours while you are working. However, just to earn PDUs, creating content is a tough path.

9th Way – Give a Presentation

If you speak at your organization, at a PMI chapter event, or at a conference, you can claim PDUs for it. For instance, if you gave a speech in a project management activity for an hour, you can claim 1 hour PDU for this activity in your PMI profile.

10th Way – Share Knowledge

For instance, if you’ve explored the ways of using AI in project management and want to share this knowledge with your colleagues, you can earn a Free PDU for PMP renewal through this activity. You can gather in a meeting room and share your knowledge with your colleagues.

11th Way – Volunteer

PMI is just one of many organizations that relies on volunteers. Why not become one and earn Free PDU credit toward re-certification in the process? You can search for volunteering options at the PMI website. Note that, these activities may not be available in your location if you are living in a small city.

Summary of Free PDU Ways

PMI requires PMI-certified professionals to earn PDU hours every three years. There are 11 ways to earn Free PDUs. The first six are under the Education category and the last five are under the Giving Back category. You can earn all required PDUs in the Education category. However, there is a maximum PDU earning limit for the Giving Back category.

PMP Renewal PDU course programs are the most popular way to earn PDUs. Professionals choose to earn PDUs through courses because they are self-paced, affordable, and require less effort. Since there is no cap for the education category, professionals can earn all the required PDUs at once through PMP PDU course programs. One of the other benefits of PDU courses is they are less prone to PMI audits.

The post 11 Free PDU Earning Ways – Free PMP PDU Sources appeared first on San Francisco Business School.

PMP Renewal PDU – 11 PMI Approved Ways to Earn PMP PDUs

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:58:45 +0000

PMP Renewal PDU – 11 PMI Approved Ways to Earn PMP PDUs

As you land on this page, you should have a PMP certification and look for PMP renewal PDU options. You are on the right track! There are 11 legitimate ways to earn PMP renewal PDUs and we’ve explored all of them in this article. Let’s go over each of them one by one.

📌 Hint: Do not skip this article, you will find FREE PMP Renewal PDU resources throughout the article.

PMP Renewal PDU Requirements

Before exploring how to earn PDUs, first, remember the PMP PDU requirements as they are crucial in the PMP renewal process. PMI requires PMP certification holders to earn 60 PMP PDU hours every three years. And, there are further requirements for this requirement. The following three are the fundamental PMP renewal PDU requirements:

A minimum of 35 PDUs must be earned through the Education category. (There is no maximum limit, all 60 PDUs can be earned through Education PDUs)
A maximum of 25 PDUs can be earned through the Giving Back category. You cannot claim more than 25 PDUs
A maximum of 8 PDUs can be earned as working as a practitioner.

You can learn more details in our PMP PDU Requirements article.

As long as you satisfy these PDU requirements, PMI will approve your PDU claims, and you will proceed to renew your PMP certification.

💡Julia Boyer renewed her PMP certification. Read Julia’s PMP renewal story!

PMI PDU Categories

There are two main categories to earn PDUs. Education and Giving Back. Education PDUs can be earned at professional seminars, webinars, classes, or even self-directed learning. Giving Back to the Profession PDUs can be earned through volunteering, mentoring, working with professional groups, and more. Each of these are the ways to earn PMP renewal PDU hours.

The following table summarizes the 11 ways to earn PMP Renewal PDUs.

11 Ways to Earn PMP Renewal PDUs
Education (Min 35 PDUs)	Giving Back (Max 25 PDUs)
*1-Course or Training (Most Popular)**	1- Work as a Practitioner
2- Global Events	2- Create Content
3- Local Meetings	3- Give a Presentation
4- Online or Digital Media	4- Share Knowledge
5- Reading	5- Volunteer
6- Informal Learning

You can watch our 11 PMI Approved Ways to Earn PMP PDU videos on YouTube.

Let’s go through each way and explore the details.

1st Way – PMP Renewal PDU Courses

As we’ve highlighted in the table, PMP renewal PDU course programs are the most popular way to earn PDUs among PMP-certified professionals.

While there are several benefits of renewing PMP through PMP renewal PDU courses, here are the top five reasons:

No Caps: There is no maximum limit for the education category, so, you can earn all 60 PMP PDUs in one program, and renew your PMP. You do not need to go elsewhere to find additional PDUs.
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 PMP Renewal PDU course bundle for ~$200-300. However, seminars or conferences start from $1,000, not only that, you cannot earn all PDU needs in one event.
Requires less effort: When you enroll in PMP Renewal PDU Courses, all you have to do is follow the curriculum, earn PDUs, and renew your PMP. However, other PDU earning ways require significant effort from the PMP-certification holder such as creating content, sharing a presentation, volunteering, etc.
Less prone to PMI audit: Since the PDU training programs are used by many PMP-certified professionals, PMI already has a track and record of the activities. However, for other categories, PDU submissions are more unique and may be more likely to hit a PMI audit.

We’ve explored this alternative in detail in the PMP PDU Courses article.

San Francisco Business School offers PMI Certification Renewal Course programs.

Course or Training Programs Accepted by PMI as Source of PDU

PMI accepts instructor-led formal education courses or classes held in-person or online. Here is a list of courses accepted by PMI as a source of PDUs.

Virtual and in-person instructor-led courses from PMI Training
Online courses are available on demand
Academic education through programs accredited by the PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC)
Training courses offered by PMI Authorized Training Partners
Disciplined Agile or PMP® certification training courses offered by a PMI Authorized Training Partner
Courses from other third-party providers (SFBS 60 PMP PDU Course Online program belongs to this category).

Watch how Julia Earned 60 PDUs and Renewed Her PMP

Julia Boyer is a PMP-certified Professional from Dallas, Texas. Julia enrolled in the 60 PMP PDU Program from SFBS and renewed her PMP. Watch now her PMP renewal journey.

2nd Way – Attending Global Events

Several project management conferences, events, and activities are organized throughout the year. You can attend these events and earn PMP Renewal PDU credits. Typically, a one-day activity earns 6 PDUs. So, if you attended a two-day event, you will earn around 12 PDUs.

Attending global events has benefits like expanding your professional network and learning the changing trends in your domain. However, there are some pitfalls to these events.

Typically organized in big cities. If you are living in a relatively smaller city, you might not see any events to earn PDUs.
Requires in-person attendance. Many of the events take a few days, and you have to take days off from your work to attend these events.
Expensive. Typically, these events are charged $1,000/day. So, for a two-day event, you need to pay around $2,000. Travel and accommodation, if needed, are not included in these fees.
Does not earn 60 PDUs at once. Although it requires a significant amount of time and money, you cannot earn all 60 PDUs through one event.

Considering you are a full-time working professional and looking to earn 60 PMP Renewal PDU hours in one step, we do not recommend this way for earning PDUs.

3rd Way – Local Meetings

4th Way – PMP Renewal PDU Online or Digital Media

PMI accepts self-paced learning activities as a source of PDUs. You can find several PMP renewal PDU programs online while many of them offer limited PDUs. San Francisco Business School offers a self-paced Free PMP PDU Course Online Program as well. If you attend this program, you can earn 3 Free PDUs and submit them in the Online or Digital Media sub-category under the Education category.

5th Way – Reading

Self-directed reading relevant to the certification you hold can be claimed for PDUs. For instance, reading a project management-related blog, a business education blog, or a book can count PDUs toward renewing your PMP certification. 1 hour of reading counts as 1 PDU, however, everyone’s reading pace is different. So, earning PMP renewal PDUs through reading resources is not a crystal clear way to go.

6th Way – Informal Learning

7th Way – PMP Renewal PDU Working as a Practitioner

By working in your certified role, you can earn PDUs by applying your knowledge and skills in a practical setting. If you are working in a project management-related role, you can earn up to 8 PDUs as working as a practitioner. However, it has a limitation. PMI accepts a maximum of 8 PDUs in a three-year cycle for the work as a practitioner category.

After earning 8 PDUs under the Working as a Practitioner category, you will need additional PDUs to complete your 60 PMP PDU cycle. SFBS offers 45, 30, and 15 PDU programs as well.

If you need fewer than 60 PDUs, you can opt for one of these programs.

8th Way – Create Content

Do you write articles or blogs? Give webinars? Make videos? Today’s digital world is full of new content and anything you create counts towards your re-certification. Typically, you can submit PDUs for the hours you worked on project management content creation. For instance, if you wrote a blog post for an hour, you can claim 1 PDU in your PMI profile.

9th Way – Give a Presentation

10th Way – Share Knowledge

11th Way – Volunteer

Summary of PMP Renewal PDU Ways

PMI requires PMP-certified professionals to earn 60 PMP renewal PDU hours every three years. There are 11 ways to earn PMP PDUs. The first six are under the Education category and the last five are under the Giving Back category. You can earn all 60 PDUs in the Education category. However, there is a maximum 25 PDUs earning limit for the Giving Back category.

PMP Renewal PDU course programs are the most popular way to earn PDUs. Professionals choose to earn PDUs through courses because they are self-paced, affordable, and require less effort. Since there is no cap for the education category, professionals can earn all 60 PDUs at once through PMP PDU course programs. One of the other benefits of PDU courses is they are less prone to PMI audits.

The post PMP Renewal PDU – 11 PMI Approved Ways to Earn PMP PDUs appeared first on San Francisco Business School.

CSPO Renewal in 3 Steps – Renew CSPO Certification

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:41:29 +0000

CSPO Renewal in 3 Steps – Renew Your CSPO Certification

Scrum Alliance requires CSPO renewal every two years. How to renew CSPO certification is the next question asked by Agile Product Owners once they get their CSPO certification.

We’ve explored the 3 steps for CSPO certification renewal in this article. Let’s go through each step one by one.

📌 Hint: Do not skip this article, you will find FREE CSPO Renewal resources throughout the article.

Crucial Impact of CSPO Renewal to Your Career

When it comes to renewing CSPO certification, you might wonder if it is worth renewing CSPO certification. Definitely worths! Let me explain why.

While we were preparing this post, we searched for the CSPO certification holders in California, US. Guess the number. There are over 6,000 CSPO-certified professionals in California and counting. Note that this is the number of professionals who allowed their credentials to be shown on the Scrum Alliance website. The real number should be slightly above these numbers.

Source: Scrum Alliance® Certificant Directory

We are living in a world of harsh competition. If you are working in agile roles, having a certification is a must more than an asset. Assume that you are looking for a Product Manager or Product Owner role. Without having an active CSPO certification, you will decrease your chances of securing a new agile job. Therefore, while you have earned CSPO certification, earn SEUs, and renew your CSPO certification.

Step 1 – Earn SEUs to Renew CSPO Certification

Before diving into how to earn SEU for renewing your CSPO, you must know how many SEUs you need to renew your CSPO. Scrum Alliance requires different numbers of Scrum Alliance SEU credits for different levels of certifications. CSPO certification is a foundational level certification and requires 20 SEUs to be earned every two years.

An SEU is based on a 1:1 ratio of contact hours to points. For example, if you attended a Scrum SEU Course and the duration of the course is 20 hours, you will earn a maximum of 20 SEUs.

No limits or caps exist for earning SEU credits from a certain category. So, you can attend an online self-paced Scrum SEU Course, and earn all required SEUs for your CSPO certification renewal. Your SEUs must have been earned within the CSPO renewal period, which is two years prior to your certification’s current active-through date. SEUs must have been earned within thirty (30) months for all certification renewal cycles.

You can read other requirements in our Scrum Alliance SEU article.

How to Renew CSPO Certification

There are four main SEU categories that Scrum Alliance accepts for renewing CSPO certification.

Learning (*Most Popular)
Events
Volunteering
Other

You can read more in our Scrum SEU article.

Watch 4 Ways for CSPO Renewal

We’ve explained the 4 Scrum Alliance-approved ways to Earn SEUs in our following YouTube video. Watch now.

Let’s go through each SEU category one by one now.

1st Way – Renew CSPO through Learning

As we’ve highlighted in the previous section, earning Scrum SEUs through the learning category is the most popular way for professionals.

While there are several benefits of renewing CSPO certification through SEU courses, here are the top five reasons:

No Caps: There is no maximum limit for the learning category, so, you can earn all Scrum SEU needs in one program, and renew your CSPO certification. You do not need to go elsewhere and search for how to earn SEU for CSPO certification renewal.
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 Scrum Alliance SEU course bundle for ~$200-300. However, seminars or conferences start from $1,000, not only that, you may not earn all SEU needs in one event.
Requires less effort: When you enroll in SEU Courses, all you have to do is follow the curriculum, earn SEUs, and renew your CSPO certification. However, other SEU earning ways require significant effort from the certification holder such as creating content, sharing a presentation, authoring, etc.
Less prone to Scrum Alliance® audit: Since the SEU training programs are used by many certified professionals, Scrum Alliance already has a track and record of the activities. However, for other categories, SEU submissions are more unique and may be more likely to hit an audit.

How to Earn 20 SEUs to Renew Your CSPO Easily

San Francisco Business School offers Scrum Alliance Certification Renewal Course programs.

Watch how Natalia Earned 20 SEUs for CSM Renewal

Natalia Olson is a CSM-certified Professional. Natalia enrolled in the 20 SEU Program from SFBS and renewed her CSM. Since the CSPO renewal requirements and steps are the same, you can be inspired by Natalia’s journey!

Watch now her CSM renewal journey.

2nd Way – CSPO Renewal through Events

You can earn SEUs for participating in events like Scrum Alliance Global Gatherings, Scrum Alliance Regional Gatherings, and Non-Scrum Alliance-Sponsored Events, as well as in User Groups events and activities. Presenting, coaching, and attending sessions all count as SEU-eligible activities.

Attending events has benefits like expanding your professional network and learning the changing trends in your domain. However, there are some pitfalls to these events.

Typically organized in big cities. If you are living in a relatively smaller city, you might not see any events to earn SEUs.
Requires in-person attendance. Many of the events take a few days, and you have to take days off from your work to attend these events.
Expensive. On average, these events are charged $1,000/day. So, for a two-day event, you need to pay around $2,000. Travel and accommodation, if needed, are not included in these fees.
May not earn required SEUs at once. Although it requires a significant amount of time and money, you may not earn all SEUs through one event. Considering you are a full-time professional looking to earn the CSPO SEU hours you need in one step, you may opt for other alternatives to earn SEUs.

3rd Way – CSPO Renewal through Volunteering

Scrum Alliance encourages professionals to give back to the community. Therefore, SEUs may be earned by providing non-compensated professional Scrum services.

For instance, if you are volunteering in an activity for teaching the basics of agile to high school students, this activity can earn you SEUs for CSPO renewal. The critical point here is, that you should not be compensated if you are in a volunteering activity. You can submit SEUs for the duration of the activity. For instance, if you attended a one-hour event, you can submit 1 SEU toward renewing your certification.

Note that, these activities may not be available in your location if you are living in a small city.

4th Way – Certified Product Owner Certification Renewal through Other sources

Renew CSPO Certification SEU Example

In this section, we will go through Scrum Alliance SEU examples by scenarios.

Note that, the following scenario is fictional to provide a better understanding of SEU reporting.

Scenario – How Jane Earned SEU to Renew CSPO Certification

Jane works as a Product Owner in a Fintech company. She earned her CSPO certification 1 year ago, and her certification due date is approaching.

Step 2 – Submit Earned SEUs to Scrum Alliance

Once you earned the required SEUs in the CSPO renewal progress, the next step is submitting them to Scrum Alliance. Since you are a CSPO-certified professional, you should already have an account on the Scrum Alliance website.

To submit SEUs® toward your CSPO certification renewal, please do the following:

Log in to your Scrum Alliance Dashboard
Select SEUs from the navigation bar on the left
From the Select an Activity Type dropdown, choose an activity type
- Here, you need to select the category you earned the SEUs (Learning, Events, Volunteering, or Others)
In the Activity Description section, describe the activity
- This is where you explain the content of the activity. For instance, if you attended a course, you can submit the description of the course here.
In the Activity Date section select the date the activity was completed using the calendar widget
Enter the hours and minutes spent on the activity in whole numbers
Select the blue Submit button at the bottom

Please note that there is no limit to how many SEUs you can submit for a specific category. So, you can earn SEUs through any category.

Step 3 – Pay the CSPO Renewal Fee & Renew Your CSPO

Once you complete the required SEUs to renew your CSPO certification, the next step is paying the CSPO renewal fee and completing your process. To renew your certification(s) after submitting the required SEUs, please do the following:

Log in to your Scrum Alliance Dashboard
Select the Renew Now button in the upper left
Select the certifications you wish to renew
Confirm your renewal and proceed with the payment

Scrum Alliance requires a certification renewal fee at the end of the renewal process. For the CSPO certification, the renewal fee is $100. Note that, this is paid when you renew your CSPO certification. So, the CSPO renewal fee is $100 for every two years.

However, the CSPO renewal cost will be higher than this amount. To earn SEUs, you will attend courses, events, or other activities. If you need to pay for those activities, the cost of renewing your certification will be beyond the CSPO renewal fee paid to Scrum Alliance.

How to Renew an Expired CSPO Certification

Scrum Alliance certifications are renewed on a two-year basis. If your certification has expired, you are still able to renew it successfully after the expiration date. If you renew past the expiration date, your certification will be extended for a full two years from the date you pay to renew (vs. from the original expiration date.)

There are several benefits of having CSPO certification. Almost all agile roles require a reputable certification and CSPO is for sure the most reputable one. Therefore, we recommend keeping your CSPO certification active and renewing your CSPO certification before the expiration date.

Summary

You need to get 20 SEUs every two years to renew your CSPO certification. You can earn SEUs in four different categories: Learning, Events, Volunteering, and Others. Earning SEUs through Scrum SEU courses is the most popular among CSPO-certified professionals.

CSPO professionals choose to earn SEUs through courses because they are self-paced, affordable, and require less effort. Since there is no cap for the learning category, professionals can earn all required SEUs at once through CSPO SEU course programs. One of the other benefits of SEU courses is they are less prone to Scrum Alliance audits.

The post CSPO Renewal in 3 Steps – Renew CSPO Certification appeared first on San Francisco Business School.