How to renew Scrum Master Certification is one of the most popular searches on Google among agile professionals. However, there are several types of Scrum Master certifications issued by different organizations.
In this article
The most popular Scrum Master certifications are as follows:
Certified Scrum Master (CSM®) by Scrum Alliance
Leading SAFe, Certified SAFe Agilist, or Certified SAFe® Scrum Master by Scaled Agile.
Professional Scrum Master (PSM®) by Scrum.org
📌 Hint: Do not skip this article, you will find FREE Scrum Master Certification Renewal resources throughout the article.
There are other scrum master certifications as well. However, we will focus on how to renew scrum master certification for these three most popular certifications.
While looking for scrum master certification renewal, it depends on which scrum master certification you have from which issuing body. We will be describing the scrum master certification renewal steps for each of these popular certification tracks.
Scrum Master Certification Renewal Requirements
Each Scrum Master certification has a different set of requirements. The following table summarizes the Scrum Master certification renewal requirement for each certification.
Scrum Master Certification
Continuing Education Requirements
Renewal Fee
CSM® – Scrum Alliance
20 SEUs every Two-Years
$100
Leading SAFe® – Certified SAFe® Agilist or Certified SAFe® Scrum Master – Scaled Agile
10 PDUs every year.
$100
PSM® – Scrum.org
Scrum.org certificates are lifelong and do not require any additional payments or renewals.
–
CSM 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. Once you complete 20 SEUs, you can pay the $100 CSM renewal fee and renew your Scrum Master certification. You can read other requirements in our Scrum Alliance SEU article.
Scaled Agile certifications require 10 PDUs every year. Similar to the SEUs, PDU is based on a 1:1 ratio of contact hours to points. For a one-hour activity, you can submit 1 PDU on your Scaled Agile profile. The Scrum master renewal fee for Scaled Agile certifications is $100 and paid every year.
Unlike Scrum Alliance or Scaled certifications, Scrum.org certificates are lifelong and do not require any additional payments or renewals. So, if you have a certification from Scrum.org, you do not need to worry about renewing your scrum master certification.
Step 1 – Earn Credits to Renew Scrum Master Certification
Let’s start with CSM certification. We’ve explained already that you need 20 SEUs every two years to renew your Scrum Master certification from Scrum Alliance. You can earn SEUs in 4 different categories: Learning, Events, Volunteering, and Other. 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 scrum master 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. You can read other requirements in our Scrum Alliance SEU article.
Similarly, you need 10 PDUs every year to renew your scrum master certification from Scaled Agile. You can earn PDUs through various activities.
Watch 4 Ways to Renew Scrum Master Certification
We’ve explained the ways to Earn SEUs in our following YouTube video. Although the title refers to SEU, these ways can be used to earn PDUs for Scaled Agile as well. Watch now.
How to Renew Scrum Master Certification through Learning
Earning Scrum continuing education credits through the learning category is the most popular way for professionals.
While there are several benefits of renewing Scrum Master certification through courses, here are the top five reasons:
No Caps: There is no maximum limit for the learning category, so, you can earn all Scrum credit needs in one program, and renew Scrum master certification. You do not need to go elsewhere and search for how to earn SEU or PDU for Scrum Master 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 Master Certification Renewal Course for ~$200-300. However, seminars or conferences start from $1,000, not only that, you may not earn all SEU or PDU needs in one event.
Requires less effort: When you enroll in courses, all you have to do is follow the curriculum, earn SEUs or PDUs, and renew your Scrum Master certification. However, other continuing education credit earning ways require significant effort from the certification holder such as creating content, sharing a presentation, authoring, etc.
Less prone to Audit: Since the training programs are used by many certified professionals, Scrum Alliance and Scaled Agile already have a track and record of the activities. However, for other categories, SEU and PDU submissions are more unique and may be more likely to hit an audit.
How to Renew Your Scrum Master Certification Easily
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. You can attend this program and earn 20 PDUs for renewing your Scaled Agile certification as well.
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. Watch now her CSM renewal journey.
Renew Scrum Master Certification through Events
You can earn SEUs or PDUs for participating in events like Scrum Alliance Global Gatherings, Scrum Alliance Regional Gatherings, Scaled Agile events, and Non-Scrum Alliance-Sponsored Events, as well as in User Groups events and activities. Presenting, coaching, and attending sessions all count as SEU and PDU-eligible activities.
Typically, the duration of the activity determines the number of SEUs or PDUs you will earn. For instance, if you attended a one-day agile 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 or PDUs 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 credits toward renewing your Scrum Master Certification.
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 credits at once. Although it requires a significant amount of time and money, you may not earn all credits through one event.
Considering you are a full-time working professional and looking to earn the hours you need in one step, you may opt for other alternatives to earn Scrum Master certification renewal credits.
Scrum Master Renewal through Volunteering
Agile certification bodies encourage professionals to give back to the community. Therefore, continuing education credits 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 CSM renewal. The critical point here is, that you should not be compensated if you are in a volunteering activity. You can submit hours 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.
How to Renew Scrum Master Certification Renewal through Other Sources
Scrum credits may be earned through a variety of other learning activities as agile bodies acknowledge 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 Scrum hours in the Others category towards renewing your Scrum Master certification.
Renew Scrum Master Certification Example
In this section, we will go through examples by scenarios.
Note that, the following scenario is fictional to provide a better understanding of Scrum Master certification renewal.
Scenario – How Jane Earned SEU to Renew CSM Certification
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 Alliance 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 CSM certification.
If Jane would have SAFe Certified Agilist or Certified SAFe® Scrum Master certification from Scaled Agile, she would have earned 3 PDUs for this course to renew her Scrum Master certification with Scaled Agile.
Step 2 – Submit Earned Hours to Agile Certification Bodies
Once you earned the required hours to renew your Scrum Master certification, the next step is submitting them to the Agile certification body. Since you are already a certified Scrum Master, you should have profiles on these platforms.
To submit hours toward your Scrum Master certification renewal, please do the following:
Log in to your Dashboard
Define the activity type that earned you SEU or PDU (Learning, Event, Volunteering, etc.)
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 widgets
Enter the hours and minutes spent on the activity in whole numbers
Select the blue Submit button at the bottom
After submitting Scrum Master renewal hours, the certification body will review your submission and approve it. Then, you can proceed to payment to renew Scrum Master certification.
Step 3 – Pay the Scrum Master Renewal Fee & Renew Your Certification
Once you complete the required hours to renew your Scrum Master certification, the next step is paying the renewal fee and completing your process. To renew your certification(s) after submitting the required hours, please do the following:
Log in to your Dashboard on the certifying authorities’ webpage.
Select the Renew Now button
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 CSM certification, the renewal fee is $100. Note that, this is paid when you renew your CSM certification. So, the CSM renewal fee is $100 for every two years. Scaled Agile requires a $100 renewal fee every year.
However, the Scrum Master certification renewal cost will be higher than this amount. To earn SEUs or PDUs, 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 renewal fee paid to Scrum Alliance or Scaled Agile.
How to Renew an Expired Scrum Master 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 that you pay to renew (vs. from the original expiration date.)
There are several benefits of having CSM certification. Almost all agile roles require a reputable certification and CSM is for sure the most reputable one. Therefore, we recommend keeping your CSM certification active and renewing your CSM certification before the expiration date.
If your membership expires with Scaled Agile, you will have a few different options to renew your membership to maintain your active certifications. You can check out those options on the Scaled Agile website.
Scrum.org certifications do not expire. You earn them and keep them with you lifelong.
Summary
There are several scrum master certifications. The most popular three of them are CSM, Certified SAFe Agilist, and PSM. Each scrum master certification has a different set of renewal requirements.
Scrum Alliance requires 20 SEUs every two years and a $100 renewal fee. Scaled Agile requires 10 PDUs every year and a $100 renewal fee. Scrum.org certifications do not expire.
The most popular way to earn Scrum Master renewal credits among professionals is by attending courses. Professionals choose courses because they are more affordable, easy to attend and all credit needs can be completed through one activity. Besides, agile certification bodies are less prone to audit courses since many professionals go through the same track.
