ICF Core Competencies Comparison

The ICF Core Competencies establish excellence benchmarks for professional coaches, defining essential expertise, abilities, and conduct standards. These guidelines form the backbone of the ICF credentialing process and represent must-have qualifications for delivering transformative coaching results.

This resource provides a clear, side-by-side comparison of the 2019 ICF Core Competencies and the newly updated 2025 ICF Core Competencies. Designed as a quick-reference tool, it highlights exactly where changes have been made, allowing coaches to easily scan and understand the updates.

With the 2025 update, ICF conducted global research and gathered feedback from coaches to ensure the model reflects the realities of current coaching practices. While the eight overarching competencies remain unchanged, the update introduces five new sub-competencies, revises 11 existing sub-competencies, provides a refined competency definition, and introduces a new glossary of terms to enhance clarity.

If you are already familiar with the 2019 model, this comparison chart will help you quickly identify what’s new, what has shifted, and where emphasis has evolved. This resource is a time-saving way to stay current.

Explore the full details of the 2019 ICF Core Competencies and the 2025 ICF Core Competencies, and use this chart as a bridge between the two.