Tracking Your CPD Points
This web page serves as a visual summary of NICET Policy #30 on Continuing Professional Development. Please read the policy in full before completing your Recertification Application.
NICET's Personal Log Diary will help you track your Continuing Professional Development points. During the three-year certification period, you must earn 90 CPD points for each certification that you intend to continue. CPD Points are divided among five categories, and your CPD points must be derived from two or more of these categories. Each category has a maximum number of points that may be counted towards recertification.
Click on a category name to skip ahead.
If you are continuing more than one certification, you may count points for some activities towards multiple certifications if those activities are relevant to continuing professional development in each of the certification areas. This demonstrates how active practitioner points are calculated-i.e. you don't have to be working full time in each subfield to earn full points.
An example of one activity that can be counted for multiple subfields might be an 8-hour First Aid and CPR course that would provide 8 education points to each subfield.
Active Practitioner
By NICET's definition, you are an active practitioner if your main job requires you to routinely perform the associated technical tasks of your certification practice area(s), either as a hands-on practitioner, an immediate supervisor, or a technical project manager. You may count hours from multiple jobs as long as the work was not performed simultaneously. You may not claim credit for hours spent working a regular second job (moonlighting).
You may claim 24 points towards recertification for each year you worked at your main job a total of 1000 hours or 120 work days (work day = 7 hours or more) AND you regularly performed tasks associated with your certification specialty throughout that time frame. If employment at your main job over the course of a particular year falls below 1000 hours or 120 days, then use the appropriate formula below and round your total to the nearest whole number.
(Number of hours worked x 24) OR (Number of days worked x 24)
1000 hours 120 days
Only totals of 8 or more may be counted as Active Practitioner CPD credit.
Your documentation for Active Practitioner CPD activity must include: (a) name/address of employer, (b) title of your position, (c) name and title of your immediate supervisor, and (d) detailed description of your duties.
Additional Education
Additional Education includes efforts to advance, broaden, and enhance your technical knowledge and job skills. NICET will not pre-approve training efforts; you must assure that your Additional Education activities have served to increase your knowledge instead of merely reviewing it.
| Additional Education Type |
CPD Point Value |
| College credit courses |
15 points per semester hour OR
10 points per quarter hour |
| Training courses with pre-assigned CEUs |
1 point for each 0.1 CEU
(10 points per CEU) |
| Informal courses (workshops, seminars, distance learning, technical presentations at meetings, company-sponsored, in-house training sessions) |
1 point per contact hour, defined as a 45 to 60-minute learning period. This period may be split over time (i.e. a course of two 30-minute sessions held on different days). Single courses shorter than 45 minutes may not be counted. |
Your CPD point documentation for training courses and seminars must include: (a) the date(s) you attended the sessions, (b) the location of the sessions, (c) the name of the company or organization that sponsored the sessions, and (d) the subject matter of the sessions, along with a brief description of how the subject matter is relevant to the practice area.
Advance Profession
This category includes volunteer activity and for-hire work.
| CPD Points for Advance Profession Activities |
| Activity |
CPD Point Value |
Active Committee or Task Force
(group that conducts technical business through meetings, reports, position papers, studies, and surveys) |
Serving as an officer |
National |
1 point per month |
| State |
0.75 |
| Local |
0.5 |
| Participating as a member |
National |
0.5 point per month |
| State |
0.375 |
| Local |
0.25 |
| NICET exam committee (maximum 15 points per certification period) |
Submission of an accepted exam question |
0.6 |
| Review of an exam question |
0.4 |
Presentations
(Preparation and subsequent audio, visual, and/or written delivery of technical information or information about the profession to others who are seeking to advance, broaden, and enhance their knowledge and/or job skills) |
Technical paper or instruction material for a course |
Published |
Sole author |
20 |
| Co-author |
10 |
| Non-Published |
Sole author |
10 |
| Co-author |
5 |
| Profession explanation or position paper |
Published |
Sole author |
15 |
| Co-author |
8 |
| Non-Published |
Sole author |
8 |
| Co-author |
4 |
| Delivery of your paper or presentation before an audience at a scheduled meeting |
5 |
Course Instructor
(directs a technical education effort for a particular type of student) |
Instructing a scheduled course in a post-secondary educational institution |
15 per semester hour (10 per quarter hour) |
Conducting a training course |
Pre-assigned CEUs |
1.5 per contact hour |
| No assigned CEUs |
1 per contact hour |
Career Day Presenter
(meets with students to explain aspects of careers in engineering and engineering technology) |
Serving as a judge at a science or engineering fair, actively volunteering in an Engineers Week event or a MATHCOUNTS contest, or actively participating in other related activities |
1 point per day of participation, up to maximum of 10 points during the certification period |
Professional Society
(involvement with organizations that unify individuals in a career area and promote technical knowledge and pertinent practice area techniques) |
1 year of society membership |
Up to 3 points per society (12 pts. max.)* |
| Attending a society meeting |
Regional/national |
2 (12 points maximum) |
| State/local |
1 (10 points maximum) |
| Serving as an elected officer |
Regional/national |
2 per year
(12 max.) |
| State/local |
1 per year
(12 max.) |
| Serving in an appointed position |
Regional/national |
1 per year
(6 max.) |
| State/local |
0.5 per year
(6 max.) |
* You may only claim 3 points for overlapping national and local membership in the same society.
Certification Activity
You can earn CPD credit for Certification Activity when you attempt, during the three-year certification period, to upgrade a NICET certification and/or achieve a certification (NICET or Non-NICET) in a related practice area.
| Certification Activity |
CPD Points |
| Upgrade in the certification practice area |
Upgrading a NICET certification |
35 |
| Meeting a higher level exam requirement (but not achieving certification) |
10 |
| Passing a NICET work element that applies to a higher level exam requirement (but not meeting the full exam requirement) |
1 per work element |
| Certification in a related practice area |
Achieving or upgrading NICET certification |
25 |
| Meeting a higher level exam requirement (but not achieving certification) |
8 |
| Passing a NICET work element that applies to a higher level exam requirement (but not meeting the full exam requirement) |
0.5 per work element |
| Achieving a NICET-recognized, non-NICETcertification |
15 |
| Excess work element in the certification practice area (one that can not be applied to higher level examination requirements) |
Passing a NICET work element that has been available for testing for morethan two years |
1 per work element |
| Passing a new NICET work element through field testing |
1 per work element |
| Passing a new NICET work element within two years after it becomes availablefor testing |
1 per work element |
Special Recertification Exam
You can earn 60 CPD points for passing a special 3-hour written exam designed for your certification practice area and level. If you take the recertification exam, you must choose a test date well in advance of your certification expiration date. Contact NICET certification staff (by dialing 888-476-4238 or 703-548-1518 and pressing 3) to apply for this exam.
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