CompTIA has a Continuing Education (CE) program and this program defines the CompTIA certification renewal process. CompTIA requires certification holders to earn CEUs and pay an annual CE fee. The CEU requirements are for three years and after the CompTIA certification renewal, a new three-year period begins. We have listed the three steps to renew CompTIA certification in this article.

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

We have specific articles for CompTIA Security+ CE Renewal and CASP+ CE Renewal. You can consider reading those if you have one of those certifications.

CompTIA Renewal Requirements

CompTIA requires certification holders to earn CompTIA Renewal CEU credits every three years. The required number of CEUs is different for each certification track. Besides, you should pay an annual fee that varies between $25 to $50 depending on the CompTIA certification you hold.

The following table summarizes the CompTIA Certification Renewal CEU requirements, renewal period, and CE fees for each certification.

There are further requirements and CEU limits for different activities and certifications. You can read all the details in our CompTIA CEU guide.

CompTIA Renewal CEU Course Program – Renew Your CompTIA Certification

San Francisco Business School offers an online, self-paced comprehensive CompTIA CEU Online training program.

Enroll in the CompTIA CEU Online Program. Complete three self-paced online CEU courses. Earn 60 CEU credits. Renew your CompTIA certification. CompTIA approved renewal process for CompTIA Security+, CompTIA A+, CASP+, and other CompTIA certifications.

The program offers three self-paced business training programs: Executive Leadership, Strategy Creation & Execution, and Marketing Strategy. For each course in the program, SFBS awards a certificate of graduation. While earning CEUs, you will earn reputable business merits to highlight in your resume and LinkedIn.

Let’s go through the three steps of the CompTIA certification renewal process.

1st Step – Earn CompTIA CEU Renewal Credits

CompTIA has a three-step renewal process and focuses on the three-year CE renewal period each year. In the first year, the certification holder gets familiar with the CompTIA renewal requirements, and CE types and pays the annual CE fee. In the second year, the certification holder starts earning CEUs, reports them, and pays the annual fee. Finally, in the third year of the renewal process, CompTIA-certified professional completes the missing CEU credits in their renewal cycle, pays the CE fees, and renews their certification.

The CompTIA certification renewal process starts on the day you earned the CompTIA certification. CompTIA requires you to earn the required CEUs within three years after you earn your certification. For instance, if you earned your certification on Jan 15, 2024, you have to earn the required CEUs and pay the annual CE fees until Jan 15, 2027, to keep your CompTIA certification in good standing.

Therefore, it is better to start earning CEUs right after earning your CompTIA certification. CompTIA lists 13 different ways of earning CompTIA CEU credits. These are:

1. Attending Training Courses (e.g. CompTIA CEU Course Program)
2. Attending Conferences
3. Attending Live Webinars
4. Work Experience
5. Publishing a Blog
6. Publishing an Article or White Paper
7. Publishing a Book
8. Complete a College Course
9. Teach or Mentor
10. Create Instructional Materials
11. Participate as a SME in a CompTIA CEU Exam Development Workshop
12. Complete an American Council on Education (ACE) Course
13. Earn a Non-CompTIA IT Industry Certification

Note that, some of these activities have maximum limits for submitting CEUs. For instance, you can submit a maximum of 3 CEUs per year as work experience. So, in a three-year CompTIA renewal cycle, you can submit a maximum of 9 CEUs through work experience. You can read all the details in our CompTIA Continuing Education (CE) article.

What is the Most Popular and Easiest CompTIA CEU Earning Way?

The most popular way to earn CompTIA CEU credits is by attending a training course. Typically, a one-hour length of course activity earns one CompTIA CEU credit towards renewing your CompTIA certification. You can attend an in-person course, a virtual course, a self-paced course, or a hybrid delivery. However, the most convenient option for working professionals is attending a self-paced course. In a self-paced course, you can follow the lectures at any time your schedule allows. For virtual or in-person courses, you must set a time and activity must fit your schedule.

Why are the CEU Online Courses Popular?

While there are several benefits of renewing CompTIA certifications through CompTIA CEU courses, here are the top five reasons.

1. No Caps: There is no maximum limit for the education category, so, you can earn all CompTIA CEU credits in one program, and renew your CompTIA. You do not need to go elsewhere to find additional CEUs.
2. Self-Paced: You do not need to attend an event, conference, or seminar. You can follow the courses at your place, at your pace.
3. Affordable: Depending on the program content, you can enroll in a self-paced CompTIA CEU Online course bundle for ~$200-300. However, seminars or conferences start from $1,000, not only that, you cannot earn all CEU needs in one event.
4. Requires less effort: When you enroll in CompTIA Continuing Education courses, all you have to do is follow the curriculum, earn CEUs, and renew your CompTIA. However, other CEU earning ways require significant effort from the CompTIA-certification holder such as creating content, sharing a presentation, volunteering, etc.
5. Less prone to CompTIA audit: Since the CEU training programs are used by many CompTIA-certified professionals, CompTIA already has a track and record of the activities. However, for other categories, CEU submissions are more unique and may be more likely to hit a CompTIA audit.

San Francisco Business School offers a self-paced Free CompTIA CEU Course Online Program as well. If you attend this program, you can earn 3 Free CEU credits and submit them in the training category.

What are the best CompTIA CEU Course Options?

If you’ve Googled about the CompTIA CEU online courses, you will see several resources. Some of them offer irrelevant courses, that will not benefit your career. Some of them offer just PDF papers to read, and that does not bring any skills.

The best CEU online courses should offer you business courses, earn new business skills, and contribute to your career growth.

For instance, San Francisco Business School offers a comprehensive CompTIA Continuing Education 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 CEUs, you will earn reputable business merits to highlight in your resume and LinkedIn.

Watch How Andrea Renewed Her CompTIA Certification

Andrea Zelaya is a CompTIA Security+ Certified Professional. Andrea enrolled in the CompTIA CEU Online Course from SFBS and renewed her CompTIA certification. Watch now her CompTIA renewal journey.

2nd Step – Pay Annual CE Fees

CompTIA requires an annual CE fee from certification holders. The fee varies between $25 to $50 per year depending on the certification track. For A+ and Data+ certifications, the annual CE fee is $25. For all other CompTIA certifications, annual CE fee is $50.

If you pay the annual CE fees for your certification, there will not be an additional CompTIA renewal fee at the end of three years. If you have an A+ or Data+ certification, a three-year total fee will be $75. For all other CompTIA certifications, total three-year period CE fees cost $150. If you hold more than one CompTIA certification, you will need to pay the fees for the highest-level certifications, and all lower-level certifications will be renewed automatically. For instance, if you hold CompTIA Security+ and Data+ certifications, you will have to pay the fees only for Security+, which is a higher-level certification.

There are certain conditions that you do not need to pay CE fees if you choose one of these renewal options:

• Pass the latest release of your CompTIA exam
• Earn a higher-level CompTIA certification
• CompTIA CertMaster CE (This is a training program offered by CompTIA)

Note that, CE Fees are not waived if the higher-level CompTIA certification does not fully renew the lower-level certification.

CompTIA uses PayPal for CE fee payment processing, and you can either pay via credit card, debit card, or a PayPal account. If you do not have a PayPal account, you do not need it to pay via credit or debit card.

3rd Step – Renew CompTIA Certification

Once you earned the required CEUs and paid all annual CE fees, you are ready to renew your CompTIA certification. Once you renew your CompTIA certification, the next three-year cycle begins. Even if you renewed your CompTIA certification before the expiry date, the next three-year cycle starts from the expiry date.

For instance, if you earned your certification on Jan 15, 2024, your expiry date is Jan 15, 2027. If you complete the CompTIA renewal cycle by April 10, 2026, although you renewed your certification before its expiry, the next three-year cycle starts from Jan 15, 2027.

How can I renew an expired CompTIA certification?

CompTIA refers to certifications within their three-year period after a successful exam, or when they are successfully renewed, as active. Certifications are considered expired, if they are not renewed within three years. If your certification has expired, the only way to get it back again is to pass the certification exam again.

Therefore, it is crucial to earn CompTIA CEUs and renew your certification on time before it expires.

Summary

CompTIA certification renewal is a three-step process. First, you have to earn the required CEU credits for your CompTIA certification. Second, you have to pay annual CE fees and submit your earned CEU credits. The third and last step of CompTIA renewal is completing the certification renewal.

There are 13 different ways of earning CompTIA renewal CEU credits. The most popular and easiest way is attending courses. CompTIA-certified professionals choose online CEU courses because there are no caps and they are self-paced. You can earn all required CEU hours by attending a course program. CompTIA CEU online programs are much more affordable compared to in-person courses and conferences. Besides, courses are less prone to CompTIA audits.

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