Knowledge within a profession doesn't stand still. Having passed the certification examination, a certificant has demonstrated knowledge of the designation's Common Body of Knowledge at the point in time of the examination. In order to stay current in the field as knowledge and techniques mature, the certificant must be actively engaged in professional practice, and seek opportunities to stay aware of and learn emerging practices. Certified professionals are generally expected to:

• Attend professional conferences to stay aware of activities and trends in the profession,
• Take education and training courses to continually update skills and competencies,
• Develop and offer training to share knowledge and skills with other professionals and the public,
• Publish information in order to disseminate personal, project, and research experiences, and
• Participate in the profession through active committee memberships and formal special interest groups.

It is the desire of the Software Certifications Board to maintain the highest degree of integrity within Software Certifications. To maintain this integrity a certificant must maintain a current knowledge base of quality principles, practices, and technical knowledge as the information technology industry advances or becomes obsolete. By requiring that the certificant maintain and increase their level of competency through various avenues of education and activity, the Board is assured that the certification standards of integrity are being met and the value of the certification designation is being maintained.

To assure that this is happening, and that the certificant is maintaining knowledge and skills that are state-of-the-art in the field, the certificant must demonstrate continuing professional education (CPE) activities. This can be demonstrated by 2) taking an Recertification Examination to demonstrate the maintenance of the certification OR by 1) submitting a Recertification Journal of qualified Continuing Professional Education activities, but NOT both.

Both Recertification options are found online in the Customer Service Portal. Once you make your choice on how you plan to recertify it is FINAL and you will not be able to switch so make sure before selecting your Recertification option.

Recertification is required every three years before the anniversary of the date of the most recent recertification (or original certification) date. Login to the portal and click on My Certifications to see a list of your current certifications and their expiration dates. Email reminders will be sent to the default email address you have listed in the Portal at the time sent so it is the certificants responsibility to ensure this information is correct and up-to-date. Original certification dates and expiration dates can also be found on all program-issued credentials and certificates issued after January 1, 2002. (Note: Credentials prior to 2002 did not include expiration dates.)

Active certificants may choose to recertify by examination. Login to the portal and click on My Certifications to see a list of your current certifications and their expiration dates. Click on the Examination for Recertification* link and submit the $200 US recertification payment fee. You can then visit the My Examinations page to schedule your examination at either a Sponsored or Prometric site by first picking your scheduling option. All current deadlines apply when scheduling at a Sponsored site (see Sponsored Site Examination Schedule).

Those taking their exam at a Prometric site need to schedule their exam as far out as possible from the expiration date to ensure they get a seat. The closer you get to your expiration date the greater the chances are that a date / seat may not be available at a particular site as there is no guarantee one will be available and is all based on availability at each site. It is the certificant's responsibility to schedule their exam and should do it in a timely fashion to ensure completed before their expiration date.

* The exam MUST be taken before your certification expiration date so plan accordingly as there will be no extensions allowed. You only have one attempt to pass or your certification will become decertified.

Active certificants may choose to recertify by submitting a Recertification Journal which contains at least 120 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits. Report your CPE credits using the online Customer Service Portal Recertification Journal. The old paper based journals are no longer allowed.

Login to the portal and click on My Certifications to see a list of your current certifications and their expiration dates. Click on the Recertification Journal link to review and record your CPE credits. You can continue returning to the portal and recording CPE for the entire 3 year period that your current certification is active. However, once your current certification expires, you will no longer be able to enter CPE or submit the journal and your certification will be officially expired. So make sure you submit the journal BEFORE the expiration date listed in the portal.

You must submit the completed list of journal entries and pay the $100 processing fee BEFORE the expiration deadline in order to initiate the recertification process. You can submit the journal as early as you like to be certified for 3 more years. You don't get reset or lose time by submitting early (e.g. You submit a journal 8/1/2008 for the 1/1/2009 CSTE expiration. Your CSTE will be extended 3 more years to 1/1/2012).

Earning the required 120 CPE credits every three years, or an average of 40 CPE credits per year, is typically not difficult for professionals working in the field. Although CPE credits can be earned and reported in any combination, most Journal Items concentrate on traditional educational and professional activities.

You can enter new Journal Items or edit existing Journal Items. The Journal Items which can be claimed for CPE credit are:

• Education
  • Attended a Conference
  • Attended a Course/Seminar
  • Read a Book
  • Read a Journal/Magazine Article
  • Completed a Formal Self-Study Course/Seminar
  • Participated in a Formal Study Group
  • Learned a Software Tool
• Publishing/Teaching
  • Presented at a Conference
  • Taught a Course/Seminar
  • Authored a Book
  • Authored a Journal/Magazine Article, Presentation, or White Paper
  • Authored a Course/Seminar/Self-Study
  • Led a Formal Study Group
• Professional Experience and Development
• Contributed to the Success of a Professional Organization
• Lead a Major Process/Program Change at my Place of Employment
  
  A complete listing of Journal Items can be found here.

Every Journal Item must improve one of the skill areas outlined in the designation's Common Body of Knowledge. To maintain a balance in recertification activities, some categories or activities have a maximum number of credits that can be reported in a recertification period. These caps, where appropriate, are noted in the detailed descriptions of the items. Each Journal Item will have specific instructions displayed online and also some of the following fields

• The name of the Journal Item being claimed,
• A brief summary of the activity being claimed,
• The number of CPE hours claimed and explanation of how that number was derived,
• A description of which specific Common Body of Knowledge category the activity supports,
• Reference information for auditing of the Journal Item.
  
  Important: Many certificants contact Software Certifications to ask if specific activities would be acceptable for recertification, and the answer is always that specific activities can not be evaluated without the required documentation simply because the certificant's statements and rationale justifying the activity are an important part of such an evaluation. Therefore, specific activities can not be prescreened by Software Certifications. Our general advice to certificants is: If you aren't sure that an activity has increased your competence as a software quality professional in one of the body of knowledge areas for your certification, then don't try to use that activity toward recertification.

Certificants who struggle to earn sufficient CPE credits should consider taking additional training in the field, as well as joining and becoming active in the many professional organizations and societies that provide educational opportunities as well as opportunities to get involved in professional activities. Joining organizations, taking classes, getting involved in committees, publishing, and self-study are all beneficial activities that demonstrate your commitment to the profession; benefiting you and your employers, clients, and customers.