Your CompTIA A+ certification is good for three years from the date you pass your certification exam. Through our continuing education program, you can easily renew CompTIA A+ and extend it for additional three-year periods. Read on to learn more about the certification period and how you can renew CompTIA A+.
CompTIA A+ belongs to a group of certifications with globally recognized International Organization for Standardization and the American National Standards Institute (ISO/ANSI) accreditation status. They expire three years from the date they are earned and can be renewed through CompTIA’s continuing education (CE) program.
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 the three-year period. If your certification has expired, the only way to get it back again is to pass the certification exam again.
Why Does the CompTIA A+ Certification Expire After Three Years?
Adoption Cycle of New Technologies
Your job in IT comes standard with constant change, and it’s understood that technology advances at a breakneck pace. Your career success requires you to be ahead of the curve and be familiar with the technology that makes a meaningful impact in the market and constantly changes our lives at work and at home.
CompTIA works closely with industry partners and has determined that a substantial change in the use of technology usually takes place about every three years. To that end, we’re continuously updating our exams. Renewing your certification gives you a great opportunity to document your knowledge in technology areas that matter to employers and are important to your IT career.
ISO/ANSI Accreditation Status
CompTIA’s ISO/ANSI accreditation requires us to come up with new exam questions after a certain period of time. Keeping our accreditation is important because we believe we’re adhering to the best-known quality standards in the industry.
Having this accreditation is a big reason why CompTIA A+ meets the requirements of the U.S. Department of Defense. The result is a product that not only you can trust, but a product that is globally recognized and can be shown with confidence to your existing or future employers.
Ways to Renew Your Certification
Even when renewing your certification is not required by your employer, keeping your certification current isn’t just about keeping your accomplishment alive, but simply about being ready for future opportunities to grow your career.
When the experience you are gaining over the years may be nearly impossible to quantify, a certification delivers the necessary documentation of your expertise. Experience and certification in tandem are a powerful toolset for climbing the career ladder.
- Renewal Option 1: Training
CompTIA offers a CertMaster CE A+ training course, which enables you to renew your CompTIA A+ certification online without taking a certification exam. Some users renew their CompTIA A+ certification in six hours or less with CertMaster CE. - Renewal Option 2: Additional Certifications
You can also renew your CompTIA A+ certification by earning a qualifying higher-level IT certification (CompTIA or otherwise) or by passing the latest release of the CompTIA A+ exam. Learn more on our continuing education pages. - Renewal Option 3: CE Activities
Completing qualifying, multiple activities will earn you continuing education units (CEUs) that you need to accumulate to renew your certification. CompTIA A+ requires 20 CEUs to be renewed.
Want to learn more? Visit our CE pages to learn about the renewal process and how to get started.
Ready for a Career in IT?
CompTIA A+ is the preferred qualifying credential for technical support and IT operational roles and will help you launch your IT career – and, it’s about much more than PC repair. Click here to learn more about CompTIA A+ and how it can help you get started.
We’ve made it easy to get started planning your path in IT. Begin by reading up on the four important steps toward your certification. Learn everything you need to know about the CompTIA A+ certification, and download the exam objectives and practice test questions to start learning right away.
CompTIA now offers a set of comprehensive learning resources that include books, eLearning, labs and exam prep software. These resources are developed in house by CompTIA, based on feedback we hear from learners like you. Learn more about the exam training options for CompTIA A+ that have been developed to fit your particular learning style and schedule, many of which may be used in combination with each other as you prepare for your exam.
There’s a wealth of information to take you from deciding if CompTIA A+ is right for you all the way to taking your exam. We’re with you every step of the way!
