Greetings from your Certification Team!
One of the goals for the Certification Council is to buff up the renewal handbooks for all certification titles and we are working on launching those for IMSH 2026. In anticipation of these new handbooks, I wanted to take the time today to discuss the three most common pain points for candidates when renewing that we are working to address in more detail in our formal documentation.
Pain Point Number 1 : Random audits?
I was entering an item for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and I received an audit. I did not submit the renewal, and this is still in process. Did I enter something wrong?
Answer: Nope! The system is designed to randomly audit entries, and these audits can occur at any time when entering CPD. And, unfortunately, the random nature of these audits means that some certificants will receive multiple audits. Random selection for review of CPD entries ensures that the audit process is objective and unbiased. Since every candidate has the same mathematical chance of receiving an audit, we can demonstrate that the certification programs apply policies consistently to all certificants, regardless of their history or tenure.
Pain Point Number 2: CPD complete = Renewed?
I entered all my CPD and have no open audits. I clicked the “Renew now" button, am I renewed?
Answer: Nope! You still need to complete your renewal application which includes paying the renewal fee. When clicking the “Renew now” button, the system should ask if you want to renew by CPD or by taking the exam. If selecting the CPD option, the system should take you to the renewal application. Occasionally, the system will time out and not take you directly to the application. If this occurs, you can get into your renewal application by selecting the “Application” tab near the top of the screen. Clicking the folder icon to the left of the renewal application will open it.
Pain Point Number 3: Last-second audits?
I expire tomorrow, and I just received an audit. Will it be cleared before I expire?
Answer: Not likely, but don ‘t panic! While we encourage certificants to enter all their CPD 30 days before their expiration date, we understand that sometimes life and other obligations take priority. There is a 30-day grace period build into the system, so while your record will display as “expired” the renewal application will still be open and able to be completed. In the same vein, if you have expired and were not able to meet your renewal deadline due to illness, deployment, or a similar situation, please reach out to the Certification team and we will see what we can do to get you renewed.
As always, if there is anything we can do to clarify these processes, provide insight to our policies, or provide support through your certification journey, please let us know!
And until next time, be excellent to each other and I look forward to seeing you all at IMSH in San Antonio!
Rachel Araujo
SSH Director of Certification