Courses build up to credentials.
A certification is earned from a set of courses plus a proctored exam, then kept valid. Certificate courses are yours to buy on their own. Complete the right set and you become eligible to apply to sit the exam.
From a single course to a maintained credential
Every certification follows the same six steps.
Take courses
Buy and complete courses on their own. Each grants a certificate of completion you keep. A free CIA account opens automatically when you enrol.
Complete the required set
Each credential is built from required core courses, and sometimes a choice of electives. Complete a shared course once and it counts toward every credential that uses it.
Apply to sit the exam
Completing the set makes you eligible to apply. It does not drop the exam in your cart. A reviewer checks your record and approves.
Sit the exam
On approval, your exam voucher is issued. A voucher is only ever issued through an approved application, never automatically. A voucher bought on its own or inside a package covers the one certification it was issued for; an enterprise agreement covers every certification programme.
Earn the credential
Pass and you earn the credential, with a rolling 12-month certificate and a verification link.
Maintain it
One uniform rule for every credential: the certificate re-issues each year while maintenance is current, and CE credits are tested every 3 years.
Every credential takes one of three shapes
The shape is derived from how a certification is built, never fixed in advance. The rule to earn it and to keep it valid is the same whichever shape it takes.
Single course + exam
2 liveCore courses + exam
0 liveCore + electives + exam
1 liveCertifications vs certificate courses
One is a full certification you keep valid. The other is a certificate course you complete once and keep for good.
Certification programs
- Earned from a set of courses plus a proctored exam
- Awarded on passing, with a verifiable certificate
- A $89 annual maintenance fee, first payable one year after you certify
- Renewed every 3 years at 60 CE credits, 20 of them at CIA
Certificate courses
- Assessed by a final assessment, not a proctored exam
- Award a digital certificate of completion you keep
- One-off, with no renewal and no maintenance fee
- Earn CIA CE credits, and some build toward a certification
A free CIA account opens automatically the first time you enrol, and gives you the community and resource library. It is never a gate.
How courses build toward a certification
Certificate courses and certifications are not separate worlds. The courses are the building blocks; a certification gathers the right ones and adds a proctored exam.
The building blocks
Each certificate course stands on its own, awards a digital certificate of completion and earns CIA CE credits. Some are the required courses for a certification, like the CAIIP courses.
The full credential
A certification gathers the required courses, adds a proctored exam, and stays valid through the annual maintenance fee and the 3-year CE cycle.
Two ways to qualify for the exam
Both run through one application and review. On approval, the voucher is issued. Never automatically, and never before.
By course completion
Complete the credential’s required course set. That makes you eligible to apply. A reviewer confirms the set is met and approves.
By experience
Experienced professionals can apply against the eligibility criteria with supporting evidence, without taking the courses first. The reviewer assesses and approves.
When your company holds the seat
Most of this page reads the same whoever paid. Three things differ, and they are worth knowing before you rely on them.
Your certificate runs to the later date
Hold a seat at a company whose cover is live and your certificate runs to whichever is later: your own year, or your employer’s cover. The comparison never shortens it.
What you earned stays yours
Leaving the company, or the company letting its cover lapse, does not take back a credential you hold. Your CE record and any certificate already issued are untouched. What ends is the access the seat was paying for.
Exam vouchers cover the whole range
A voucher bought on its own or inside a package covers the one certification it was issued for. Under an enterprise agreement, vouchers cover every certification programme.
One uniform maintenance rule
Every credential recertifies the same way. Two separate clocks run, and both are always shown so you never confuse them.
Maintenance renewal
On the anniversary of the day you certified, the certificate re-issues automatically for another 12 months while your maintenance fee is current. CE is not examined here.
CE checkpoint
Every third anniversary, both maintenance and CE credits are tested. Both clocks run from the same date, the day you certified, so they never fall in different months. Meet both and a new three-year cycle begins, with CE reset to zero.
How certification works
Exam Policy & Guide
Everything about qualifying, booking, sitting the exam, and earning the certificate.
ReadRecertification & Renewal
The maintenance and CE lifecycle in full, with grace, expiry and worked examples.
ReadVerify a Credential
Check any holder’s live status in real time from their certificate ID.
OpenReady to start climbing?
Take a course today. Build toward the credential your market recognises.