Continuing Education Credits for the F5 Certified program – F5 Education Services

Continuing Education Credits (CEC) for the F5 Certified professional certification program are designed to help certification holders extend the validity of their F5 certifications while growing their skills through learning, training, exam development activities, and community events. Candidates can keep their certifications active for up to three (3) additional years without taking an exam by earning Continuing Education Credits. After the third extension, passing a certification exam is required for renewal.

How does it work?

CEC works on a credit-earning system:

By accumulating 75 Continuing Education Credits within a one-year period, certification holders can extend the validity of all active certifications for an additional 12 months.
Automatic Redemption: Credits are automatically applied on the anniversary of the certification.
Credits can be used to extend a certification a maximum of three (3) times. After the third extension, a candidate must recertify by passing the appropriate exam(s) for their certification.

Credits are tracked and managed in the Education Services Portal (ESP). Log in to the ESP anytime to view credits earned and certification status.

Credits are applied to any certification automatically on the anniversary of the date that certification is earned.

Example: F5 CA, BIG-IP certification earned on 3/31/2027, regular expiration is 3/31/2029. If candidate has 75 credits on 3/31/2028 the certification will be extended by 1 year to 3/31/2030.

For more details and examples, please see Continuing Education Credits: Frequently Asked Questions (CEC: FAQ)

How does someone earn credits?

Learn: Complete Instructor-Led Training (ILT) and Self-Directed Training (SDT) courses. See the full course catalog on the Education Services Portal
Contribute: Participate in community or Exam Development activities (example: take beta exams, complete a blueprint survey, write and review items, participate in standard setting calls, etc.)

See Continuing Education Credit (CEC) Activities for a list of credit values and eligible activities.

Benefits of the Program

The F5 Continuing Education Credits program offers several advantages:

Effortless Tracking: Credits are tracked automatically in the F5 Education Services Portal (ESP), giving candidates real-time visibility of earned credits and certification status.
Automatic Redemption: No need for manual renewal—certifications are extended automatically on the certification anniversary date if the required credits have been earned.
Professional Growth: Stay competitive by engaging in activities that enhance technical expertise and align with industry best practices.
Cost and Time Savings: Eliminate the need to retake certification exams, saving both money and valuable time.

Who is Eligible to Participate?

The program is open to all holders of active F5 certifications, regardless of certification level or type.

Expired certification holders can earn new credits after reactivating their certification. (Note: Only active certifications can be extended. Expired certifications and certifications in the 30-day grace period cannot be extended through CEC.

Additional resources:

For more information, see these articles:

How to Earn Continuing Education Credits (CEC): Activities and Credit Values

Continuing Education Credits: Frequently Asked Questions