Keep Your ICSRM Certification Active
Maintaining your certification means investing in your professional growth and commitment to excellence in customer service and relationship management. That’s why Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits are required to uphold every ICSRM certification. These credits help you stay ahead with in-demand skills, drive better business outcomes, and maintain your certification status.
CPD credits are measured in one-hour blocks of time spent enhancing your certification through educational resources and professional development activities.
Recertification
Your certification is active for a period of three years, beginning on the day you initially pass the certification exam.
3 years after passing your initial exam(s) or last recertification cycle, you need to apply to recertify your certification designation. If you do not want to use the certification designation 3 years after your exam last recertification, you do not need to recertify.
You can recertify by:
carrying out continuous professional development (CPD) learning hours throughout the recertification period, or
retaking and passing the full exam for the certification designation you want to keep using.
CPD Requirements
To maintain your certification, you must earn the required number of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits within the three-year certification cycle and before your certification expiration date.
The required CPD credit hours for each certification are as follows:
Certified Customer Service Professional (CCSP) – 36 CPD hours
Certified Customer Experience Specialist (CCES) – 36 CPD hours
Certified Customer Experience Manager (CCEM) – 45 CPD hours
Certified CRM Professional (CRMP) – 36 CPD hours
Certified CRM Specialist (CRMS) – 36 CPD hours
Certified CRM Manager (CRMM) – 45 CPD hours
Certified Contact Center Professional (CCCP) – 36 CPD hours
Certified Contact Center Specialist (CCCS) – 36 CPD hours
Certified Contact Center Manager (CCCM) – 45 CPD hours
Within six weeks of your certification expiration date, you must have met the CPD requirement for your certification and pay the renewal fee. If you don't meet the required CPD credits, you can maintain your certification by retaking the certification exam after the expiration of your certification.
CPD Activities
The following is a detailed outline of what is required and counted toward your CPD credit hours and submittal:
Continuing Education
You can earn a maximum of 30 CPD credits by completing various continuing education activities. You earn one (1) CPD credit for each hour of continuing education, excluding activities such as registration, meals, breaks, exhibit hall time, pre-work, and other non-educational activities.
Continuing Education activities include:
College and University Courses
Conferences and Seminars
Workshops
E-Learning Courses
Webinar/Webcasts, Video-conferences
Instruction/Teaching
You can earn a maximum of 20 CPD credits by delivering instruction or training on a subject related to customer service and relationship management. You earn one (1) CPD credit hour for each hour of presentation time.
Instruction / teaching activities include:
Delivering a formal presentation within your organization on a topic related to customer service and relationship management.
Teaching a course or workshop, or presenting a public seminar or conference session on a topic related to customer service and relationship management.
You may earn CPD credits for each time you present a presentation or teach a course, workshop, seminar, conference session, etc., so long as it is being delivered to a different audience each time.
On the Job Experience
You can earn a maximum of 20 CPD credits for first-time, on-the-job experience projects that have contributed to your knowledge in customer service and relationship management. You earn one (1) CPD credit for each hour invested in the project.
Examples of On-the-Job activities that earn credit include:
Developing a Customer Experience Framework.
Researching and designing a Customer Service Strategy.
Researching, designing, and implementing a CRM tool or system.
Participating in a Customer Service Excellence Committee and implementing a new service procedure within the organization.
Designing and implementing a Customer Engagement Hub, a Loyalty Program, or a Client Retention Strategy.
Research and Publishing
You can earn a maximum of 25 CPD credits by conducting primary research on a customer service or relationship management-related topic and publishing the results in a scholarly journal or professional publication. This research must be independent of your normal job responsibilities.
Examples of such research and publishing can include:
Writing – as the primary or sole author – an article that is published in a recurring journal or periodical – 10 CPD credits.
Making a significant contribution to a published text, such as a textbook or similar work – 10 CPD credits.
Co-writing or editing an article or a chapter in a textbook – 5 CPD credits.
Creating a professional development video on customer service or relationship management – 5 CPD credits.
Logging your CPD hours
MyCPD is an online tool – for members and those in the recertification cycle – to log their CPD hours and maintain an accurate CPD record.
Please note the following steps:
Log on to MyICSRM to record your CPD activities and upload your evidence every time you complete them. We recommend that you do not wait until the end of your three-year cycle to record all the activities you’ve completed.
Enter the required number of CPD hours plus any specified hours if required for your designation.
Receive an approval email each time your submitted CPD Activity is reviewed and approved.
Pay for your renewal fee online. Renewal fees are nonrefundable.
To use MyCPD, log into your MyICSRM account, and please be sure to keep your email address up to date under the MyAccount tab.
Login to MyICSRMCredential Re-examination
If you do not achieve the required CPD credits within a given three-year certification cycle, you can still maintain your certification by retaking the associated exam. If your certification has lapsed, you can reinstate it by retaking the certification exam.
To do so, click on the ‘Re-apply’ button on your Certifications page in the MyICSRM portal.
Please note that the following guidelines apply to credential re-examination:
You can only apply to retake the certification exam after your current certification cycle has expired.
You can re-certify only for your current certification type.
You must adhere to the same exam-application policies and procedures and pay the same Exam Enrollment Fee as first-time examinees.