Certification Maintenance
Recertification Portal
Certification Maintenance
Certification is valid for five calendar-years. During this five-year cycle, Certified Archivists can earn credits toward recertification or prepare to recertify by exam.
ACA members can check their status on the website at any time. Those who are due for recertification will also be notified by email in the final month of their certification.
Are you a newly Certified Archivist? Because of the way our certification year is administered, the certification period for a new CA who first passes the exam will begin the following January. For example, if a CA passed the exam in 2013, they had from January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2018 to earn recertification credits. They submitted their recertification petition or recertified by exam in 2019.
Were you provisionally certified and later attained full certification? Your exact timeline may vary, but the five calendar-year certification period still applies.
Were you an active CA as of August 1, 2020? Your certification was extended by 1-year to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on professional activities. Click here for more information and new certification cycle dates.
Recertifying Certified Archivists have two options - examination or petition.
Recertification by Examination
Certified Archivists may opt to recertify by taking the exam. Recertifying CAs are not required to meet any additional qualifications, but must submit an online application to reserve your spot. You may take any exam offered during your final year of certification or the earliest exam offered during the following year. For example, a CA with a recertification period ending on December 31, 2023, may choose to take any exam offered during 2023 or the earliest exam offered during 2024.
What if I take the exam in my final year of certification and do not pass? Your certification will remain valid for the original five-year period. You can submit enough credits to recertify by petition by the deadline or re-take the exam at the earliest date offered during the following year.
What if I take the earliest exam offered during the year following my certification and do not pass? Your certification will lapse. If you wish to continue as a Certified Archivist, you will need to retake the exam as a new applicant.
Certified Archivists may opt to recertify by petition. This option uses a credit system to reward continuing education, service, and other contributions to the profession. CAs have 5 years to accumulate a minimum of 60 archival recertification credits following the requirements in the guidelines for recertification by petition.
- For the regular 5-year petition period use the standard Recertification Petition Guidelines (rev. 1.2022).
- For the COVID-19 related 6-year extended petition period use the Recertification Petition Guidelines – COVID Version (rev. 1.2022).
Activities can be submitted for recertification credits anytime using the recertification portal and will be approved/denied on a rolling basis. All activities must be submitted by March 31 following the December 31 end of your certification period to be counted for your recertification cycle.
What happens if I reach the minimum required for certification before my certification period ends? Congratulations! You’ve met the requirements for recertification. You can continue to enter additional credits using our online petition system, if you so choose. At the end of your current certification period, you will be recertified for the next five-year cycle.
If I hit the 60-credit minimum will additional activities I enter be credited to future recertification requirements? No. Credits do not carryover to future recertification cycles.
Recertification by petition has several advantages:
Archival specialization - Recertification by petition allows you to specialize in particular aspects of archival practice without keeping up to date on the entire scope of the profession, as you would need to when taking the examination. This is an advantage for people who are relatively settled in their career and ready to specialize.
Writing and research - Archivists who are active in writing and research activities will be given credit for this work. This is especially useful for academic archivists.
Continuing education - Archivists can earn credits for attending archival classes, workshops, and conferences. Events can be physical or virtual and live or recorded, fitting into the professional development of archivists in every stage of their career.
Professional service - Archivists who volunteer to serve on committees or hold an office in local, regional, or national archival organizations can earn credits for their service. This includes service for ACA.
Questions?
Do you have questions about recertification or are you struggling to meet requirements? Please contact the Regent for Certification Maintenance. We are here to support you.