Earn Continuing Coaching Education (CCE) Credits for Professional Development Through ICF Credential Renewal
Being awarded an ICF credential is a major milestone in your professional journey. But it’s not where your journey ends. There’s still more learning and growth ahead of you. The ICF credential and certification renewal process keeps you on track to ensure you’re improving your skills, expanding your capacity, and amplifying your impact as a coach.
At A Glance: ICF Credential and Certification Renewal Cycle
- Renew every three years.
- Earn 40 Continuing Coach Education (CCE) credits per cycle.
- Begin logging CCE credits as you earn them (your renewal application is available any time from your ICF profile).
- Submit your application up to 10 months prior to your renewal date if you’re ready.
Earning CCE Credits
You can engage in a variety of professional development opportunities to earn CCE credit for your ICF credential or certification renewal. This flexibility empowers you to create a growth plan tailored to your unique goals and needs, supporting you at every stage of your coaching journey. To make it easier to track and choose options that align with your goals, these activities are grouped into three categories.
You’ll often see these activities referred to as credits awarded or hours spent in the activity. For your renewal application, simply remember: 1 hour = 1 CCE credit.
Category 1: Elevate Your Coaching Knowledge, Skill, and Capacity
Enhance your coaching knowledge, skills, and capacity through education and skill development. This professional development category offers a variety of training, courses, and reflective practice activities to help you refine your techniques and broaden your impact as a coach practitioner.
Attend Educational Programs, Events, and Courses
Receive Mentor Coaching or Coaching Supervision
Mentor coaching and coaching supervision are powerful tools to foster your development. Here’s how it works for each credential and certification level:
- Associate Certified Coach (ACC): Receiving 10 hours of mentor coaching is a requirement for your renewal — get the specifics. Additionally, you can count up to 10 hours of coaching supervision (individual or group format) toward the Core Competency CCE requirement for each ICF credential renewal cycle. This includes hours received, delivered, or a combination of both.
- Professional Certified Coach (PCC) or Master Certified Coach (MCC): You can count up to 10 hours of mentor coaching and 10 hours of coaching supervision (individual or group format) toward the Core Competency CCE requirement for each ICF credential renewal cycle. This includes hours received, delivered, or a combination of both.
- Advanced Certification in Team Coaching (ACTC): You can claim up to 10 hours of coaching supervision as Core Competency CCE on your renewal application. This includes hours received, delivered, or a combination of both, in either individual or group formats.
Required Documentation
- Required Documentation for Receiving Mentor Coaching: Mentor coach’s name, email address, credential level, start and end date of mentor coaching, and total hours of mentor coaching.
- Required Documentation for Receiving Coaching Supervision: Coaching supervisor’s name, email address, start and end date of coaching supervision, and total hours of coaching supervision.
Other Activities for Resource Development Credit
Reading on Coaching Related Topics
Required documentation: Titles and publication dates of books, articles, or research papers; the dates you read them; a summary of their content; how they contributed to your development as a coach; and the total time you spent reading.
Miscellaneous Activities
Required documentation: A summary of the activity that includes how it contributed to your development as a coach and the total time spent on the activity.
Category 2: Advance the Coaching Profession
Did you know you can enhance your professional development while helping to shape the future of coaching? Earn CCE credits by sharing your expertise, insights, and thought leadership through activities that advance coaching practice and the profession as a whole.
Deliver Mentor Coaching or Coaching Supervision
Did you know? You can count mentor coaching or coaching supervision toward your renewal — even if you’re the one providing the service.
- Renewing your PCC or MCC? For each ICF credential renewal cycle, you can claim up to 10 hours of mentor coaching and 10 hours of coaching supervision (individual or group) — whether received, delivered, or a combination of both — applying them toward the Core Competency CCE requirement.
- Renewing your ACTC? You can count up to 10 hours of coaching supervision on your renewal application as Core Competency CCE. This includes hours received, delivered, or a combination of both, in either individual or group formats.
Required Documentation
- Required Documentation for Delivering Mentor Coaching: Mentee’s name, email address, and credential level, as well as the start and end date of the mentor coaching and the total hours provided.
- Required Documentation for Delivering Coaching Supervision: Supervisee’s name and email address, as well as the start and end date of coaching supervision and the total hours provided. The coaching supervision may be delivered in an individual or group setting.
Provide Education
As an educator, you’re not just teaching — you’re growing, refining, and deepening your own understanding with every course you deliver. That’s why you can count the delivery of each course you teach toward your credential renewal during each three-year cycle.
Serve as Instructor for ICF-Accredited Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, or Advanced Accreditation in Team Coaching Programs
Required documentation: A signed letter on the accredited education program’s letterhead from someone who is familiar with your role. The letter must include your name, your role in the program, the course you taught, the dates of instruction, and the total hours you taught.
If you taught ethics as part of the course, you can document up to 3 hours toward the Coaching Ethics requirement. The remaining hours will count as Core Competency credits.
Serve as Instructor for ICF-Accredited CCE Programs
Required documentation: A signed letter on the accredited education program’s letterhead from someone who is familiar with your role. The letter must include your name, your role in the program, the course you taught, the dates of instruction, the total hours you taught, and the total hours of Core Competency and Resource Development content delivered.
Serve as Instructor for Education Programs Not Accredited by ICF
Required documentation: A signed letter on the education program’s letterhead from someone within the education program who is familiar with your role. The letter must include your name, your role in the program, the course you taught, the dates of instruction, and the total hours you taught.
To count hours toward Core Competency or Coaching Ethics, you must submit supplemental documentation demonstrating course content, including modules/content aligned with the ICF Core Competencies and/or Code of Ethics, and instructional hours for each module. Acceptable documentation includes course curriculum and delivery method, course syllabus, course summary, student manual, or course handouts or materials that demonstrate course content. Without this documentation, all hours will count as Resource Development.
Develop Educational Curriculum Approved for ICF Accreditation
Required documentation: Date the education program was submitted to ICF for review and copy of the ICF letter with the approval details of the program.
ICF Service
Serve as an ICF Global Volunteer Leader
You can earn 2 CCE credits in Resource Development for each year of service completed during your current renewal cycle when you serve as an officer or member of an ICF global board, committee, council, or task force.
Required documentation: No documentation required — volunteer service is automatically recorded in the ICF database.
Serve as an ICF Chapter Leader
If you serve as an officer or member of an ICF chapter board, you can obtain 2 CCE credits in Resource Development for each year of service completed during your current renewal cycle.
Required documentation: No documentation required –– volunteer service is automatically recorded in the ICF database.
Serve as an ICF Subject Matter Expert (SME) Volunteer
Required documentation: A certificate, letter, or email issued by ICF that includes your name, the name of the SME related activity, start and end date of engagement, total hours of service, and CCE credits earned.
Other Activities
Authoring, Co-Authoring, or Editing Publications on Coaching Related Topics
Required documentation: Summary of your article, book, white paper, or research and how it contributes to your development as a coach. The summary should include a link to the published content, the date of publication, and the total number of writing hours (excluding research hours).
For any Core Competency credits, describe how the publication aligns with or relates to the ICF Core Competencies. Up to 20 hours may be claimed as Core Competency CCE credits. Writing for social media posts or blogs/vlogs is not accepted for CCE credit.
Category 3: Expand Social Impact
Accelerate coaching’s impact on humanity and drive social progress — while also earning credits toward your credential renewal — by participating in an ICF Foundation project or initiative.
Participation in an ICF Foundation Project
Required documentation: A certificate from the ICF Foundation, including your name, the project name, the dates of participation, and the CCE credits earned. You will earn 2 CCE credits in Resource Development per engagement completed during your current renewal cycle.