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Renewal and Continuing Education

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APA Certification Program

Certifying Excellence in Accessibility

The APAC-BE exam is the only national certification for accessibility professionals working in the built environment

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APAC-BE Renewal and Continuing Education Information

At a glance

How long is my certificate good for?

  • 3 years

How many CEUs do I need?

  • 24 credits within the 3 years before your certificate expires

How do I get CEUs?

  • From courses offered by an Approved Provider (12 CEUs minimum required)
  • From courses you take, which you self-submit (up to 12 CEUs allowed)
  • From presenting accessibility-related courses (up to 6 CEUs allowed)
  • From contributions to the profession (if approved by APAC)

How to renew your APAC-BE certification

Renewing your APAC-BE certification is easy. Simply speaking, you must complete 24 CE credits in the 3 years prior to your expiration date, complete the renewal form, and pay your renewal fee.

When to renew

Your renewal form must be submitted prior to your current certification expiration date. We recommend you submit your renewal form 6-8 weeks prior to your expiration date.

NOTE:

  • If your certification lapses, an additional fee will be assessed to reinstate the certification within six months of your expiration date. (See APAC-BE Exam Fees.)
  • If your certification is expired by more than six months, it cannot be renewed; you must reapply and retake the exam.

How to renew: Follow these 4 steps

  1. Complete a minimum of 24 continuing education units (CEUs) of accessibility-related continuing education within the 3 years immediately prior to your certification expiration date. (See below for specifics on what qualifies.)
  2. Complete the renewal request form. The form requires you to reread the APAC Code of Professional Conduct and attest that you agree to follow the code.
    Your form will be reviewed by APAC to ensure that you have met all requirements. Please allow 2 weeks for your request to be reviewed.
  3. Verify that you have met the CE requirements. See image below.
    1. Log into your APA Member Hub: 
      1. Click on “Continuing Education” (left sidebar). 
      2. Your CE courses and credits will be listed under “My Continuing Education” (middle of the page).
      3. Your course status will show as either “In Progress” or “Complete." Either is fine; the status is a label generated by the system.
        Screenshot of Member Hub CEUs example
    2. Submit your renewal documents if necessary. 
      1. You do not need to submit additional documentation if 
        1. You have at least 24 credits labeled “<YEAR> APAC-BE Approved Courses” or “<YEAR> APAC-BE Course Credit” and 
        2. The credits were acquired within the 3 years prior to your expiration date.
      2. You will need to submit additional documentation if 
        1. Your “My Continuing Education” section shows fewer than 24 credit labeled “<YEAR> APAC-BE Approved Courses” or “<YEAR> APAC-BE Course Credit.” 
        2. You may submit CE courses for approval using the Self Report Form for CE Credit. 
      3. Credits labeled “<YEAR> Non-APAC-BE Approved Courses” do not count toward certification.
      4. NOTE: Self-reported courses must be approved by the APAC Program; please allow 2 weeks for approval.
  4. Pay your nonrefundable renewal fee. (See APAC-BE Exam Fees.) A payment link will be emailed to you upon approval of your renewal form. Your renewal is not active until payment is received by APAC.

If your renewal request is not approved, you will receive an email outlining the reason and you will have an opportunity to respond with more information within a designated time period.

Renewal and CE requirements

Certification renewal is required every three (3) years due to the rate of change in the profession, professional practices and standards affected by technological changes, and the need to stay current in accessibility practices and maintain knowledge. To remain active, the renewal application must be submitted prior to the current certification expiration date. If the certification lapses, then an additional fee will be assessed to reinstate the certification within six months. Lapses of certification after six months will not be renewed; candidates must reapply and retake the exam.

All of the following steps must be completed in order to receive successful renewal:

  1. Completion of required CEUs and/or professional development activities
  2. Ongoing adherence to professional conduct requirements
  3. Submission of completed renewal documents
  4. Review and approval by APAC

As outlined below, the renewal application documents 1) ongoing adherence to professional conduct requirements and 2) completion of professional development activities or a combination of professional development activities and contributions to the profession. Renewal applicants must again agree in writing that they will adhere to the APA Code of Professional Conduct.

Required CE units for renewal

Renewing certificants must have completed a minimum of twenty-four (24) continuing education units (CEUs) of accessibility-related continuing education (CE), which may consist of 1) receiving accessibility-related continuing education, 2) presenting accessibility-related courses, 3) making contributions to the profession, or 4) any combination of these. When renewing, applicants may include qualifying APAC credits not previously submitted for APAC credit, provided they have been completed less than three (3) years prior to the certification expiration date.

1. One (1) credit is equal to one (1) hour of continuing education. A minimum of one (1) credit focused on ethics is suggested.

  • Twelve (12) credits must be courses that are specifically approved by APAC, either by being pre-approved and offered by an Approved Provider or by being submitted to the APAC Board by the certificant where approval will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
  • The twelve (12) remaining units are acceptable if they fall into one of the categories listed in the Study Resources or have a focus on business practices, ethics, life safety code, state-specific accessibility codes, and universal design. 
  • Certificants requesting approval of a specific course should do so by sending the course name, official length (e.g., 2.25 hours), topic, description, learning objectives, provider, and course number to APACinfo@APAaccess.org or by filling out the CEU submission form.

2. A maximum of six (6) CEUs may be from presenting accessibility-related courses. Qualifying credits may include:

  • Presenting at a national or regional conference including, but not limited to, APA National Conference, CASI Summit, or ADA Symposium
  • Presenting in-person courses or webinars that have been approved for CEUs by APAC
  • Presenting or co-presenting on behalf of a national accessibility agency, such as the ADA Centers
  • Other presenting opportunities, to be submitted to APAC for approval

See the APAC Program Standing Rules and Policies, Policy #7, for details.

Approved courses and providers

Courses taken from Approved Providers are pre-approved (after submission to the APAC Board) and count toward the 12 credits specifically approved by APAC.

The following organizations are Approved Providers:

  • Accessibility Professionals Association (APA, #101)
  • Certified Access Specialist Institute (CASI, #102)

Approved courses will have a course number. For example, the APA Course "Access and Design Excellence" has the designation of "APAC-BE #103, 2 CEU"; the CASI course "Digital Inclusion and Accessibility" has the designation "CASI #414, 1 CEU."

If your organization would like to become an Approved Provider, please email APACinfo@APAaccess.org.

Useful links

FAQs

Study Resources

APAC-BE Candidate Handbook, “Certification Renewal, Continuing Education, and Fees”

Self-Report Form for CE Credit

If you have a question not covered there, please contact us at APACInfo@APAaccess.org.

Become an APAC-BE

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