Earning CCSP CPE credits

Whether you're a member or an associate, earning CCSP Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits is indispensable for every candidate who wishes to keep their CCSP certification active. 

The CCSP certification requires every student to recertify every three years. To this end, certification holders need to earn 30 CPE credits per year for a total of 90 CPE credits throughout their three-year certification cycle and pay an Annual Maintenance Fee (AMF) of $125.

Note: Associates of ISC2 pay an AMF of U.S. $50, which is due each year upon the anniversary of achieving their associate status.

The following sections will examine topics that are necessary for earning CCSP CPE credits.

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What are Group A and Group B CPE credits?

Understanding Group A and Group B CPE Credits is a prerequisite for performing CPE activities. Group A CPE credits involve domain-related activities, meaning that these activities must be related to specific domains of your CCSP credential. Some examples of Group A activities are listed below:

• Read a whitepaper, book or magazine
• Publish a whitepaper, book or article
• Attend a seminar, presentation, conference or an educational course

Group B CPE credits are related to general professional development activities that are not applied directly to the CCSP domains. These activities are helpful in enhancing your education, knowledge, professional skills, or competency outside of domains associated with the CCSP credentials. Examples are given below:

• Attend a seminar, presentation, conference, or an educational course
• Gear up for a presentation or teach on a topic related to professional development

The ISC2 Professional Development Institute (PDI) offers courses available for purchase; however, they’re free to ISC2 members and count toward CPE credits.

How Can I Earn CCSP CPEs?

You can earn CCSP CPEs by participating in various ISC2 CPE activities. These activities are available to meet your CCSP CPE requirements for the 3-year certification cycle. Below are the categories of CPE activities:

• CPE credits offered by ISC2
• Unique work experience
• Contribution to the profession
• Education
• Professional development (Group B only)
• Volunteer Service

CPE Credits Offered by ISC2

The candidate can earn Group A CPEs by attending official ISC2 educational courses. These ISC2 courses are available in the following categories:

• Infosecurity Professional Magazine
• Prepare Presentation for ISC2-related event
• Chapter Formation
• Chapter Management
• Chapter Meeting
• Chapter Officer Meeting
• Job Task Analysis (JTA) Surveys
• Exam Protector
• Safe and Secure Orientation
• Development Subject Matter Experts
• CISO Says Webinar
• From the Trenches Webinar
• Security Briefing Webinar
• eSymposium Webinar: 3 CPE credits with a passed quiz.
• Think-tank Roundtable Webinar
• Security Congress
• 1-Day SecureEvent
• Secure Summit

CPE Rules

• Safe and Secure Orientation: 1 CPE credit
• eSymposium Webinar: 3 CPE credits with a passed quiz
• Infosecurity Professional Magazine: 2 CPE credits with a passed quiz
• One (1) hour of instructions associated with Group A activities and related to CCSP domains equal to 1 CPE credit
• The increments used to report CPEs should be 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75. You will submit the majority of these CPE credits on your behalf. Also, these CPEs are not subject to auditing.

Required Documentation

ISC2 will automatically load these CPE credits into your records without auditing.

Unique Work Experience: Group A

These activities fall in Group A. You can perform these activities during your regular working hours when you engage in unique assignments, projects, exercises or activities. However, these activities must not fall inside your day-to-day or normal job responsibilities. While performing these activities, you can earn up to 10 CPE credits.

CPE Rules

• These activities are only related to Group A and are not applicable to Group B.
• One (1) hour of instructions with regard to the CCSP domains is equal to 1 CPE credit, with a maximum of 10 CPE credits per unique work experience.
• The maximum number of CPE credits per entry may not exceed 40. You can report CPE credits in 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 increments.

Required Documentation

You need to provide proof of your unique assignment. That written proof should not exceed a 2-3 paragraph summary.

Contribution to the Profession

Contribution to the profession also involves Group A CPE credits. These activities are performed within CCSP domains. Qualifying activities can include researching, writing and publishing; gearing up for a presentation, podcast or webinar; gearing up new or updating the existing classroom material, and serving as a subject-matter expert (SME) for panel discussions.

CPE Rules

• You can earn 40 CPE credits if you author a book, 20 CPE credits if you are a co-author of a book, and 10 CPE credits if you serve as an editor of the book.
• You can earn 20 CPE credits if you author an article, 10 CPE credits if you are a co-author of the article, and 5 CPE credits if you serve as an editor of the article.
• You will be credited 20 CPEs if you write a chapter of the book, 10 CPEs if you are a co-author of the chapter and 5 CPEs if you act as an editor of that chapter.
• You will earn 10 CPEs per professional blog as an author, 5 CPEs per professional blog as a co-author and 2 CPEs per professional blog as an editor.
• For a whitepaper, you will earn 10 CPEs per whitepaper, 5 CPEs per whitepaper as a co-author and 2 CPEs per whitepaper as an editor.
• Gearing up for classroom material or existing training seminar: 2 CPEs for a 1-day course, 5 CPEs for a 2-day course, 10 CPEs for the 5-7-day course and 20 CPEs for a semester consisting of 12 or more weeks.
• Group A — One (1) hour of instructions regarding CCSP domains equal to 1 CPE credit.
• The maximum number of CPE credits per entry may not exceed 40. You can report CPE credits in 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 increments.

Required Documents

You must provide copies of your publication, prep/research notes for teaching or speaking, course agenda, or sample educational material.

Education

Education-related activities require members to participate in self-directed learning on various security topics within the CCSP domain (s). Your learning activities may include:

• Higher academic courses
• Educational seminar/courses
• Magazines, whitepaper or books
• Vendor presentations
• Online podcasts, webinars and other online material
• Industry conferences

CPE Rules

• For a magazine, you can earn 5 CPEs per piece having at least 250 words in length.
• You can earn 5 CPEs per book with at least 250 words in length.
• For a whitepaper, you can earn 1 CPE per piece having at least 250 words.
• Group A — One (1) hour of instructions regarding CCSP domains equal to 1 CPE credit.
• The maximum number of CPE credits per entry may not exceed 40. You can report CPE credits in 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 increments.

Required Documentation

• You need to provide proof of your CPE credits in the form of rosters, documentation of registration material, copies of official meeting minutes, receipts or certificates of attendance, transcripts or awarded diplomas.
• For online courses, you only need to provide the screenshot.
• A letter of attendance or certificate, not more than a 250-word description

Volunteer Service

Volunteer services are related to Group A CPE credits. You need to provide volunteer and non-compensated services to non-employers or non-client customer groups with regard to your CCSP domains. Qualifying activities include:

• Participating in ISC2’s safe and secure online presentations
• Participating in software and infrastructure security professional association chapter meeting
• Working for a public sector, government, or other humanitarian organizations, committees or working groups
• Participating in security standards development for a recognized committee
• Performing service on the board of a professional security enterprise

CPE Rules

• Once you complete two safe and secure online presentations, you will earn a total of 10 Group A CPEs (one-time only and associates aren’t allowed to claim 5 Group A CPEs in the wake of their first presentation). After the completion of the first two presentations, you can earn on Group A CPE credit for each additional presentation you make.
• Group A — One (1) hour of instructions regarding CCSP domains is equal to 1 CPE credit.
• The maximum number of CPE credits per entry may not exceed 40. You can report CPE credits in 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 increments.

Required Documentation

You need to provide proof of your participation in the above activities by providing the certificate or letter from the enterprise served or meeting minutes.

Professional Development: Group B Only

Members can earn CPE credits by participating in non-domain-related professional development activities. These activities may include interpersonal communication, management, team development skills and project planning. Examples include:

• Chapter management or formation
• Speaking in public on non-information security-related topics
• Volunteering for a non-security public sector, government or other humanitarian enterprises

CPE Rules

• These activities are not applicable to Group A.
• Group B — One (1) hour of instruction regarding CCSP domains is equal to 1 CPE credit.
• The maximum number of CPE credits per entry may not exceed 40. You can report CPE credits in 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 increments.

Required Documentation

• You need to give proof of your participation in the activities by providing the certificate or letter from the enterprise you served

What are the CCSP CPE guidelines?

To maintain their CCSP certifications, members and associates must earn 30 CPE credits per year and a total of 90 CPE credits throughout their three-year certification cycle. Paying an Annual Maintenance Fee (AMF) of U.S. $100 is also necessary. Other guidelines include:

• CPEs for Multiple Credentials: If you hold any other certification(s) in addition to the CCSP, ISC2 automatically counts your CPE credits toward all active credentials you hold as of the completion date. As an ISC2 member, you are only required to enter your CPE activities in a record or member database once, rather than multiple times.
• CPE Submission: When you earn CPEs, you must submit them by clicking on the “CPE Submission” button on the Member Home Page.
• Checking Your CPE Record: You must contact Member Support to request a CPE transcript from your previous three-year cycle.
• Submitting CPE Documentation: If your CPE activity is chosen for an audit, you must submit your supporting documentation to auditor@isc2.org.
• Language Selection: You must submit your CPEs in English for an audit. If they are in other languages (Japanese, Korean and so forth), you must translate the documents into English
• Knowing Current CPE Status: To this end, you need to log into the Member Home Page and view your Certification Dashboard.

How Do I Calculate CCSP CPE Credits?

You can earn multiple credits by participating in different activities available in CPE categories. In general, you can earn one (1) CPE per 1-hour time spent in the educational activity. CPEs must be reported in 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 increments.

If you participate in an activity for more than one day, the end date will be used to determine your CCSP certification cycle. For instance, if your activity started on August 1, 2018, and ended on September 5, 2018, the CPEs should be applied to your active CCSP cycle on September 5, 2018.

What are some free ways I can earn CCSP CPEs?

A simple method to earn CPEs is to install a podcast app on your smartphone and subscribe to podcasts related to your CCSP certification. You can browse each podcast on your app, rather than visiting different URLs for each one. Listening for 15 minutes over 4 days earns you an hour for that week. 

In addition, you can watchwebcasts, which are also available for replay if you skip the live recordings. Below are some examples of some excellent podcasts:

• Steve Gibson created the “Security Now!” broadcast on “The Week In Tech (TWIT).” It is available in various formats, including text transcripts, via Gibson Research Corporation (GRC).
• “Security Weekly” and “Drunken Weekly” are also available on video versions at Security Weekly: The Security Podcast Network.

Earn your CCSP, guaranteed!

Save your spot for an upcoming CCSP Boot Camp and earn one of the most in-demand cloud security certifications — guaranteed!

Learn More

Have there been any CCSP CPE policy changes recently?

For members and associates whose cycles start or renew on or after January 1, 2015, CPE rollover credits would be limited to the number of recommended annual CPE credits (30 annual CPEs for CCSP) each year for CCSP certification and must be attained within the last six months of a CCSP 3-year certification cycle.

In addition, ISC2 recently applied changes to the CPE submission process. A variety of simple questions are provided with step-by-step guidance. Information involves education type, credit category and the number of hours, along with a description of the activity. You can also select your CCSP certification and the domain for which you earn CPEs. This new submission process allows you to edit or update your previously submitted CPEs.

For more on the CCSP certification, check out our CCSP certification hub.

Sources

• ISC2. (2020, December). Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Handbook. USA: ISC2
• ISC2. (2018). CPE Portal Questions. Retrieved From ISC2
• ISC2. (2018). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved From ISC2
• Gibson Research Corporation. (2018). Security Now [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved From GRC