CCP Recertification: How to Renew Your AACE CCP Without the Last-Minute Scramble

Start the clock the day you pass

It's tempting to leave recertification until the reminder email arrives, then spend a stressful month hunting for old certificates of attendance. AACE's own CCP Candidate Handbook suggests the opposite: begin planning on the day you receive your certification. It's good advice. Three years passes quickly when you're running projects.

The rule itself is simple. The CCP, like AACE's other professional-level certifications, has to be renewed every 3 years. Until it lapses you can use the designation in your signature and on LinkedIn. If it expires and you don't renew, you have to stop using it.

Two ways to renew

You can recertify by CEUs or by exam. AACE describes the CEU route as the most popular, and for most working cost professionals it's the sensible one, because the activities that earn CEUs are things you're likely doing anyway.

How the 12 CEUs work

AACE splits CEUs into four categories: A, Performed (work in the profession), B, Professional Development (courses, seminars, conferences), C, Industry Contribution (papers, presentations, publications) and D, Volunteer Service. Its recertification page says you can submit once you have at least 12 CEUs in more than one category, so plan to draw from at least two.

How much each activity is worth, and any caps per category, are set out in AACE's Recertification Program Handbook. It does get updated, so check the current version rather than relying on a colleague's memory of the old rules. To give a sense of scale, AACE values an online module built on a recorded Annual Meeting technical presentation at 0.10 CEUs.

One habit makes all of this painless: log each activity in your AACE profile when you complete it. AACE recommends it, and it means you always know how far you have to go.

When to apply

You can open a recertification application and start logging activities from the day you're certified. The earliest you can actually submit is 6 months before your expiry date, and AACE asks you to submit before that date.

If you miss it, there is some breathing room. The handbook describes a 6-month grace period during which your certification stays active. The catch is that CEUs earned during the grace period can't count towards the cycle you're closing. Keep them for the next one.

Keep your evidence, even if nobody asks

You don't usually upload proof when you apply. However, AACE randomly selects 10% of certificants for audit, and if you're picked you must provide verification for every CEU you claimed. A simple folder of certificates, agendas and confirmation emails, kept as you go, turns an audit from a headache into a ten-minute job.

Renewing by exam

If you'd rather sit the exam, you need to pass it before the last day of your grace period. You won't have to resubmit employment verification. It's the same exam as first time round: 119 multiple-choice questions plus a memo, up to 5 hours, with a 70% overall average needed. Our passing score guide explains how that average works.

If it lapses

If you don't recertify, you lose the right to use the designation. Getting it back means starting over: a new application with full eligibility documents, clearance and the exam. You'd also receive a new certificate number and certification date. If you can see a problem coming, AACE asks you to contact recertification@aacei.org early rather than late.

Recertification fees are published on AACE's Recertification by CEUs page and can change, so check there before you pay. If you also hold the PMP®, its renewal works differently; 3FOLD Training's PMP renewal guide covers that side.