Program Overview
AICP's Certification Maintenance program helps planners gain the knowledge and skills they need to remain current in the practice of planning.
All professional planners who are members of APA's professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), must engage in mandatory continuing education to maintain their certification.
The Certification Maintenance (CM) program links certified planners to training opportunities that keep them up to date on the latest trends, technologies, and best practices. It also strengthens the value of certification, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to excellence to elected officials, community leaders, and employers.
Certification Maintenance (CM) providers, such as the NY Upstate Chapter, are educational organizations approved by AICP to provide continuing education activities and events for CM credits. All education providers, including APA and its chapters and divisions, must apply to become CM providers.
Program Details
AICP members must earn a total of 32 CM credits (1 contact hour = 1 CM credit) within their two-year reporting period. All AICP members have a four month-grace period following the end of their current two-year reporting period. During the four-month grace period, members may continue to earn and log CM credits to fulfill their reporting period requirements.
A minimum of 1.5 CM credits must include the topic of ethics, and another 1.5 credits must be on the topic of current planning law. AICP members may carry over a maximum of 16 CM credits from one reporting period into the subsequent reporting period; however, any surplus ethics and planning law credits will be carried over to the next two-year reporting period as general CM credits, not law or ethics.
AICP members who do not meet CM requirements within four years will lose AICP certification and will be obliged to seek recertification in order to regain the AICP credential.