Recertification

How to know if you need recertification

ASQ requires that you recertify the following certifications every three years to ensure that you maintain the same level of knowledge demonstrated in your first exam.

To check your current certification information, please login. Your certifications will display there. The information will include expiration dates, status of pending certifications, and exam result information for retakes.

ASQ definition of continuing competence - maintaining certification

Continuing Competency refers to the demonstration of specified levels of knowledge, skills, or ability not only at the time of initial certification but throughout an individual's professional career.

ASQ mandates maintenance of one's credential through activities that reinforce continued competence through supported continued training in the knowledge and methods of the field. Maintaining your ASQ certification is crucial to your professional growth, fluency and currency within the industry and is a mandatory requirement of your certification. In accordance with ISO 17024 Standards for Conformity Assessment, recertification conditions shall ensure that there is impartial evaluation to confirm the continuing competence of the certified person. To maintain the integrity of your certification, ASQ requires that you recertify every three years-either by journal or by exam. If you do not recertify, your certification will lapse and ASQ will no longer recognize you as "certified".

After initial certification, you must carry out specific professional development requirements in order to recertify every three years and provide documentation in support. All activities must fall/tie into at least one area of the Body of Knowledge (BOK) for your certification(s).

Certified individuals must comply with all recertification requirements to maintain use of the respective credential and its associated acronym. Certified individuals may not make misleading, deceptive, or confusing statements regarding their certification status. If an individual allows their certification to fall into lapsed/expired status, he or she must immediately discontinue use of the associated acronym and is prohibited from stating or implying certification is current.

What you need to recertify

ASQ requires that you recertify certain professional certifications once every three years to ensure that you maintain the same level of knowledge demonstrated in your first exam.
CREDENTIAL HOLDERS MUST:

1. Obtain 18 recertification units (RUs) within a three-year recertification period.

Or

1. Retake the certification exam at the end of the 3-year recertification period.

Note: You have a 60-day “grace period” from your recertification date to recertify by Journal. After the 60-day grace period, you will need to recertify by exam. If you do not recertify by exam within 1 year from your recertification date - your certification will expire/decertify and you will need to reapply for initial certification.

Timeline and Fees

ASQ requires that you recertify the following certifications every three years to ensure that you maintain the same level of knowledge demonstrated in your first exam. ASQ maintains two primary recertification due dates annually, June 30th & December 31st. Your recertification cycle will sync to one of these two checkpoints based on when you originally sat for your exam. Exams taken from January through June will sync to the June 30th deadline, while exams taken July through December will sync to the December 31st deadline. An example timeline is displayed below.

RECERTIFYING BY JOURNAL FEES

Fees to recertify by journal/application:

RECERTIFYING BY EXAM FEES

Fees to recertify by exam:

All prices listed are subject to change without notice.

Choose your path

1. RECERTIFICATION BY JOURNAL

You may apply for recertification up to six months before or 60-days after your recertification date. (The 60-days after your recertification date is a "grace period," so that you can collect your documentation and submit your journal packet along with payment.) Credits collected after your recertification date will apply toward your next recertification application.

If you are synchronizing two or more certifications, you must submit your recertification packet within the 60-day grace period of the certification that's expiring first. Read more on synchronizing your certifications.

2. RECERTIFICATION BY EXAM

You have one year from your recertification date to recertify by exam before your certification(s) will decertify. After the 60-day grace period, you can only recertify by exam.

Synchronizing my Certifications

If you hold multiple ASQ certifications you can "synchronize" them and renew them all at once by submitting a single recertification journal instead of separately renewing different certifications with different recertification dates.

To synchronize two or more certifications, all you need to include is documentation for the 18 recertification units required to recertify the 1 certification that is currently due. You're not required to provide additional evidence for any of the other certifications you are trying to synchronize. If the certification that is currently due is approved, we will adjust all your other certifications to recertify at the same time as the certification currently due. For future recertification, you only need to provide a total of 18 recertification units for all synchronized certifications.

Example of How Synchronization Works

Certification	Date Exam Passed	Current Recertification Dates		Future Recertification Date
Quality Auditor	12/03/07	12/31/13		06/30/16
Reliability Engineer	03/04/10	06/30/13		06/30/16
Software Quality Engineer	10/02/11	12/31/14		06/30/16

Submit Your Recert Application

The online recertification journal is the primary method for tracking, documenting, & submitting your recertification appliction. The estimated turnaround time for our staff to review and approve or request additional information after your journal has been submitted is 5 business days.

Recertification Resources

Qualifying Recertification Activities

1. Professional Development (No Maximum RU Limit)

   
   Certification - 2.0 RUs per ASQ Certification, 1.0 RUs per other certifications (Please note: certificates of course completion do not qualify as professional certification earned through demonstration of a specific skill or competency.)

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   Continuing Education - Learner 0.1 RU per hour, Instructor 0.1 RU per hour. Duplicate credit cannot be claimed with employment.

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   Publishing & Reviewing - Book: Author or Editor 4.0 RUs, Co-Author 2.0 RUs; Article: Author 1.0 RU, Co-Author 0.5 RU; Presented Paper/PPT: 1.0 RU;

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   Meetings/Events (online or in-person) - Conferences: 1.0 RU per day; Workshops: 1.0 RU per day; Seminars: 0.1 RU per hour; Meetings: 0.1 RU per hour;

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2. Employment (10.8 RU Max)

   
   Full-time Employment: 0.3 RU per month, 3.6 RU per year; Part-time Employment: 0.15 RU per month, 1.8 RU per year;

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3. Giving Back (6 RU Max)

   
   Volunteering - 0.1 RU per hour, 1.0 RU max;

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   Professional Membership - 0.5 RU per year, 1.5 RU max;

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   Mentoring - 0.1 RU per hour, 1.5 RU max;

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   Committees - 1.5 RU per year, 4.5 RU max;

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Please review the Recertification Handbook for more detailed descriptions of qualifying recertification activities.

Apply for Retirement Status

If you are an ASQ certified professional who has retired from active employment and have reached age 59-1/2, you may request that a ‘retired’ status be designated on your certification records. Your certification(s) will then be left in good standing and will not lapse or be deleted from your certification records.

Download a ASQ Certification Retirement Status Application and return your completed form via email or standard mail in order to apply. The application form contains additional instructions and details regarding the ASQ certification retirement process.