Recertification FAQs

CSCS

CSPS

TSAC-F

NSCA-CPT

CPSS

The NSCA will begin to allow access to the new digital certificates in December 2025 through April 2027, depending on when recertification was completed and if selected for audit. The earlier recertification was completed, the sooner you will have access to your new certificate.

Get information about how to view and use the new digital certificate and badge. Learn More.

We encourage all certificants to try and complete recertification before the deadline. Even if you’ve faced challenges, there are multiple opportunities to earn CEUs from home, so it’s still possible to meet the requirements. If you are still unable to meet the recertification requirements due to extenuating circumstances you may submit an appeal for consideration. Examples of extenuating circumstances could be a documented disability, serious illness (TBI, stroke, cancer, etc.), military deployment, or death in the immediate family. Appeals will be reviewed and decided on by the Certification Committee during their next meeting.

To file an appeal, please complete the NSCA Appeal Application and include the reason for the appeal. Be sure to upload supporting documentation that supports your extenuating circumstance and any CEU documentation that you may have completed.

Appeals for those who do not complete recertification for the 2024-2026 cycle will be accepted February 1, 2027-March 15, 2027, for the Spring Certification Committee meeting and appeal review. The NSCA does not review appeals prior to the cycle ending for those who think they may not be able to complete recertification before the deadline, to request an extension.

NOTE: If your appeal is related to a natural disaster or military deployment, please contact the recertification team for additional information about accommodation forms prior to the cycle ending.

Contact us at recertify@nsca.com if you have questions.

There are a few situations that may cause you not to see your certification:

1. Have you created a new account because you could not sign in? The new account will not automatically connect to your certification information. Please contact membership@nsca.com to have your accounts merged.
   
   
2. Your certification may have expired for not completing the recertification requirements or not complying with the NSCA audit for the 2021-2023 recertification cycle. Please contact recertify@nsca.com if you think this applies to you.
   
   
3. You may have not submitted your certification documents to complete your initial certification requirements, such as CPR/AED or official transcripts. If you recently passed the exam and received verification that your required documentation was received, and it has been more than 2 weeks, and do not see your credentials, please contact  Exams@nsca.com for more information.

Check out the How-To Videos to help you understand how to navigate your certification and recertification records. These are step-by-step video instructions.

You can renew your CPR/AED certification through an online course, as long as it covers adult and includes a skills evaluation. If there is a lapse of CPR/AED certification, you would need to attend this course in person.

Note: if you are earning a new NSCA certification, in-person attendance is required for CPR/AED certification.

Scope of practice for Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists (CSCS®) are professionals who apply scientific knowledge to train athletes for the primary goal of improving athletic performance. They conduct sport-specific testing sessions, design and implement safe and effective strength training and conditioning programs, and provide guidance regarding nutrition and injury prevention. Recognizing that their area of expertise is separate and distinct, CSCSs consult with and refer athletes to other professionals when appropriate.

Scope of practice for a National Strength & Conditioning Association NSCA-Certified Personal Trainers (NSCA-CPT®) are health/fitness professionals who, using an individualized approach, assess, motivate, educate and train clients regarding their personal health and fitness needs. A personal training certification will help to design safe and effective exercise programs, provide guidance to help clients achieve their personal health/fitness goals, and respond appropriately in emergency situations. Recognizing their own area of expertise, a personal trainer will refer clients to other health care professionals when appropriate.

Scope of practice for Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) specializes in the application of scientific processes to improve individual and team athletic performance and decrease injury risk. The CPSS may be either a generalist, working across the breadth of scientific disciplines, or a specialist practitioner, with training or applied experiences predominantly within one or more scientific disciplines relevant to sport science and sports performance.

Scope of practice for Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitators® (TSAC-F®) apply scientific knowledge to physically train military, fire and rescue, law enforcement, protective services, and other emergency personnel to improve performance, promote wellness, and decrease injury risk. They conduct needs analyses and physical testing sessions, design and implement safe and effective strength training and conditioning programs, and provide general information regarding nutrition. Recognizing their area of expertise is separate and distinct, TSAC - Facilitators consult with and refer those they train to other professionals when appropriate. 

Scope of practice for Certified Special Population Specialists® (CSPS®) are fitness professionals who, using an individualized approach, assess, motivate, educate, and train special population clients of all ages regarding their health and fitness needs, preventively, and in collaboration with healthcare professionals. They design safe and effective exercise programs, provide guidance to help clients achieve their personal health/fitness goals, and recognize and respond to emergency situations. Recognizing their own areas of expertise, CSPS receive referrals from and refer clients to other healthcare providers as appropriate.

You will not be required to recertify for the current recertification cycle ending December 31, 2026. You will be ‘grand-fathered’ into the next recertification cycle and can begin to earn CEUs in January 2027. You will need to complete your recertification by December 31, 2029.

No, you will need to report the required amount of CEUs, and pay the recertification fee before the deadline, to maintain your NSCA certification(s). However, you may earn 2.0 CEUs for earning an additional NSCA certification for a certification already held. For example, if you hold the CSCS certification and earn an NSCA-CPT certification this cycle, you can report 2.0 CEUs in Category C toward the CSCS certification, for earning the additional NSCA-CPT certification. 

Recertification with Distinction is a recognition program that honors certified professionals who have shown exemplary involvement in the NSCA. This distinction is a step beyond standard recertification and is not required to maintain your NSCA certification; it is optional.

 Certificants aiming for recertification with distinction are required to take the steps outlined below, before the recertification deadline:

1. 1. Select the ‘Recertification with Distinction’ pathway in the recertification application. If you would like the distinction to apply on multiple certifications, you will need to select the pathway for each recertification application.
   2. Complete the standard CEU requirements Learn more about CEU requirements here
   3. Earn 10 CEUs through the NSCA
   4. Pay the recertification fee

Once recertification with distinction is achieved, the distinction (*D) will apply to the certification record immediately and through the end of the next cycle. For example, if recertification with distinction is completed on 11/11/2025, it would be valid 11/18/2025-12/31/2029. Please keep in mind that you will need to recertify with distinction every cycle if you wish to maintain the distinction.

You can view more information about recertification with distinction here.

It could be that you have not completed all the steps. There are a few things to double check if you are still receiving recertification notices:

1. 1. Were all of your CEUs actually applied to your total required CEUs, or did you exceed a category maximum? Do you need to report CEUs in a different category?
      
      
   2. Did you pay a membership, insurance, or RSCC fee, instead of a recertification fee? These fees are all separate. Learn more about the different NSCA fees
      
      
   3. Did you complete all recertification steps for each NSCA certification held? If you hold multiple NSCA certifications, you will need to go into each recertification application, ensure your required CEUs are reported, agree to each affirmation, and pay the recertification fee for each.
      
      
   4. Did you complete the recertification requirements within 1-2 weeks of receiving the notice? There is a small lapse of time from when the mailing list is pulled, to when the notices are actually sent out.

No, CEUs do not roll over. CEUs must be earned within the current reporting period.

No, CPR/AED or BLS certification is a separate requirement, and does not allow for CEUs.

No, all CEUs must be earned and reported within the reporting cycle — before December 31, 2026.

Your certification will expire, and you will need to either retake the exam to become certified again. Go through either the reinstatement or complete the appeal process, depending on which process applies to your situation.

Reinstatement: You may seek reinstatement at any time by submitting the reinstatement application with the appropriate documentation, as long as CEUs were earned during the missed reporting period. CEUs cannot be earned after the recertification deadline for the missed cycle. You must meet the conditions for reinstatement and pay the $200 reinstatement fee along with all missed recertification fees. If approved, you will retain your initial certification date.

Appeal: Appeals are intended for individuals who have had extenuating circumstances during the missed reporting period and/or deadline. Examples: Serious illness (TBI, stroke, cancer, etc.), car accident that leads to change in lifestyle, or death in the immediate family. Submitting an appeal does not provide guarantee of approval or exception. Appeals are reviewed by the Certification Committee during their biannual meetings, where a final decision is rendered. Appeal applications may be submitted here.

NOTE: There is no way to expedite appeal requests. If your appeal is related to a natural disaster or military deployment, please contact the recertification team at recertify@nsca.com for additional information about recertification amendment forms.

Please follow these steps:

1. Login to your NSCA account.
2. Double-click the “Certifications” tab (between Profile and Membership).
3. Click on "Certification Overview" from menu on the right.
4. You will see a summary of your recertification requirements. The reported and allowed amounts may differ if category maximums have been exceeded. You can review recertification requirements and policies here.

For more detailed instructions, watch the FAQ video on checking CEU status.

The full list of acceptable activities are listed on the CEU Category page, but here is some additional information on the most common CEU activities.

Live-streamed and attended courses do not have to be offered by the NSCA or be pre-approved to count for CEUs. If the course was physically attended or live-streamed, and falls within the scope of practice for NSCA certification held, then the hours are applicable for credit. Some examples that fall within the NSCA scope are exercise, injury prevention, sport psychology, anatomy/physiology, biomechanics, and/or nutrition.

Clinical course hours will not be accepted for credit with the NSCA since those topics are considered to fall outside your scope of practice for the NSCA certification held. Some examples that fall outside of the NSCA scope are manual therapy, kinesio taping, radiology, holistic activities, and diagnosing and/or treating an injury.

Attending Live Event sessions count applicable hours as 0.1 CEU per hour of attendance, with a maximum of 2.0 CEUs per event, under category A. An example of being able to report partial hours for a seminar are as follows: If you attend a 20-hour physical therapy conference, and the first 10 hours cover preventing an injury, and the next 10 hours cover treating an injury, you would only be able to count the 10 hours on preventing and not the other. You would report 1.0 CEUs as attending a non-NSCA event.

Online courses and recorded webinars must be pre-approved by the NSCA. You can find the list of pre-approved home study courses on the NSCA website here. Pre-approved online courses and recorded webinars fall under Home Study in Category C, with varying approved CEU amounts.

If the online course is not on our list but still reflects the NSCA scope of practice, you can count it under Category C, Personal Development where you’re allowed 0.5 CEU per year.

The NSCA allows 2.0 CEUs for fitness, sport, or exercise nutrition certifications that are NCCA-accredited. You can check the status for all accredited certifications on the Institute for Credentialing Excellence website: [LB: ICE] Accredited Program Search. If the certification is listed, then it can be reported as an NCCA Accredited Certification in Category C worth 2.0 CEUs.

Please note that there are several online certificates (certifications) that are not NCCA accredited and may be applicable for CEUs, but all online courses and recorded webinars must be pre-approved by the NSCA. You can find a list of pre-approved courses here. The pre-approved courses fall under Home Study in Category C, with varying approved CEU amounts.

You can report CEUs for college courses that fall within the scope of practice for the NSCA certification held, where credits were earned with a grade of “C” or higher. A grade of Satisfactory or Completed will not be accepted. Teaching college courses does not count for CEUs. The course(s) must have started after date of certification (during the current reporting period) and have been completed before December 31, 2026. Provided the course(s) you completed meets that criterion, you can record the activity under College Coursework in Category C. You may report 0.3 CEU per quarter credit hour, 0.4 CEUs per trimester credit hour, or 0.5 CEU per semester credit hour (up to a maximum of 2.0 CEUs per course).

The scope of practice will include areas that are covered on the NSCA exams. For example, Anatomy, Physiology, Biomechanics, Kinesiology, Health/Wellness, Sport Psychology, Client Consultation and Assessment, Program Planning, Techniques of Exercise, Basic Nutrition, etc. Areas of study that DO NOT count include, but are not limited to Surgery, Diagnosing, Radiology/Imaging, Business, Marketing, Finance, etc.

You can not receive CEUs for CPR/AED or standard BLS since it’s a separate requirement for certification.

You can report 0.5 CEUs in Category C, for a First Aid if you certify/recertify a First Aid Certification. You can only report this activity once per recertification cycle.

• We accept courses from organizations like the Red Cross, American Heart Association, National CPR foundation, etc.
  
  
• When reporting BLS (Basic Life Support) for CEUs, we require documentation showing that First Aid training was included. The certificate must specifically list First Aid, or you will need to provide a course outline indicating that First Aid certification as part of the training.

Personal Development includes any activity completed to keep current with the strength and conditioning and/or personal training fields that does not fall within another category. Some examples of activities include reading journals, magazines and books, listening to podcasts, completing a home study that is not pre-approved, participating in self-improvement courses, etc.

You can report 0.5 CEU (or 5 contact hours) per year in Category C. 

As long as the CEU activity date takes place after the date of your last NSCA certification earned, and during the current recertification cycle, you will get credit towards all NSCA certifications. If you completed activity prior to earning the additional NSCA certification, during the current recertification cycle, those CEUs would only be applied to the first certification held.

For example: If you held the NSCA-CPT before January 1, 2024 and earned the CSCS on April 2, 2025, only the activities completed after April 2, 2025 would be applied towards both certifications. If you completed an activity on June, 3, 2024, those CEUs would only be applied to the NSCA-CPT.

Please note that you will need to access a recertification application for each certification held to agree to the affirmation and paya recertification fee for each certification held. You may email recertify@nsca.com, if you need further clarification.

Individuals certified before January 1, 2026 must report their CEUs from at least two different categories. Category Maximums do apply. You can find a chart of category maximums on the website and on your Certification Overview page. Note: CEUs do not need to be earned in every category.

You will have to purchase and take the quiz again if you scored lower than 70.

Documentation is only required if you are selected for the random audit, or are requesting an appeal or reinstatement.  However, you may upload your documentation when reporting your CEUs or if selected for audit under the “Audit Info” column where the CEU activity was reported. You can review the acceptable documentation on page 5 of the Recertification Policies and Procedures or review more about the audit process on the NSCA Audit page.

Here are the steps on how to report your CEUs:

• Log into your account at NSCA.com
  
  
• Double-click “Certifications” between “Profile” and “Membership”, and then click “Report CEUs”, (to the right of your certification information).
  
  
• Scroll do find the “Recert CEU” application for your certification. Click the black button that says, “CREATE NEW APPLICATION”.

If you’ve already opened an application, your status will be pending, and you’ll need to click “DETAILS” to open it up.

• Click on “Recertification Pathway” from the menu on the left and select your pathway.

a. Standard Recertification (only required CEU amount, CPR/AED and fee(s))
Or
b. Recertification with Distinction, *D (standard recertification met with 10 CEUs completed through the NSCA, CPR/AED and fee(s))
Click “NEXT”

• Now you can add your CEU activities by clicking on the appropriate category from the menu on the left (A,B,C, or D).
  
  
• Click the “ADD” button and a drop-down menu will appear.

a. Select the CEU activity type from the drop-down menu and enter the information accordingly. Make sure to adjust the CEU value when appropriate.
b. After you have entered the CEU activity information, click the “SAVE” button at the bottom of the page.

*Please note that some activities will have a fixed CEU amount that cannot be adjusted. Refer to page 5 in the Recertification Policies and Procedures. You may upload your CEU documentation but are not required to.

• Once all required CEUs are entered, you will need to ensure your CPR/AED information is up to date, agree to the affirmation and review your application summary.
  
  
• If all requirements have been met, you will see checkmarks under each item’s status, and the “CHECKOUT AND MAKE PAYMENT” button will appear on the lower right.
  
  
• Click on the “CHECKOUT AND MAKE PAYMENT” button and proceed with your payment information.

Upon completion of recertification requirements, your application status will change to “Complete” which means that you have completed the recertification requirements for the current cycle. You will also receive an email to verify that your recertification has been completed.

Watch FAQ Video - Reporting CEUs These videos provide step by step instructions.

You may disregard the expired application if your certification is still current. If your certification is expired, then you will need to go through the reinstatement process, retake the exam, or submit an appeal, depending on which scenario suits your situation.

If your certification is current and you have not created a recertification application, you will need to create a new application.  

If you have already started a recertification application, then you will need to access the pending application by clicking on “Details”.

You can follow the steps on how to report here: How do I report my CEUs?  Or watch these step-by-step videos for additional guidance: Maintain Your Certification Videos.

Your recertification is pending because you have not completed your recertification requirements. Please review the Application summary page in your recertification application or Certification Overview in your NSCA account, to determine which steps are incomplete.

A few reminders are to ensure you have reported your required amount of CEUs without exceeding the category maximums, agreed to the affirmation and paid the recertification fee for each certification you hold.

Once you have passed the NSCA quiz with a score of 70 or higher, the CEUs will be applied to your account in Category D within 24 hours.

Volunteer CEUs are added by NSCA staff, in the fall, after 1 full year has been served in an NSCA volunteer leadership position.

NSCA publication CEUs are added by NSCA staff, after the month that the article is published in an NSCA publication. Please note that CEUs are not applied for articles that are published ahead of print.

NSCA event CEUs are usually added to your account within 1-2 weeks from the date of the event. (They are not automatically added upon completion of attendance; rather they are manually entered by NSCA staff.) Note: You do have the option to add the CEUs to your account, if you would like to complete recertification before they are added.

Still have questions?

The best way to get answers to your question is to e-mail us at recertify@nsca.com. We will respond within 2-3 business days. If you need immediate assistance, you can call us at 1-800-815-6826.

It is possible that some activities may cross over and be reportable but please ensure that you are only reporting activities that fall within the scope of practice for NSCA certifications. Diagnosing, treating, and manual therapies fall out of scope and are not appliable for CEUs with the NSCA. If the activity you are completing requires a license, then reconsider if you should be reporting the activity.

Live-streamed and attended courses do not have to be offered by the NSCA or be pre-approved to count for CEUs. If the course was physically attended or live-streamed and falls within the scope of practice for NSCA certification held, then the hours are applicable for credit. Some examples of topics that fall within the NSCA scope are program design, injury prevention, sport psychology, anatomy/physiology, biomechanics, and/or nutrition.

Clinical course hours will not be accepted for credit with the NSCA since those topics are considered to fall outside your scope of practice for the NSCA certification held. Some examples that fall outside of the NSCA scope are kinesio taping, dry needling, Graston technique, radiology, acupuncture, etc.

Attending Live Event sessions count applicable hours as 0.1 CEU per hour of attendance, with a maximum of 2.0 CEUs per event, under category A. An example of being able to report partial hours for a seminar are as follows: If you attend a 20-hour physical therapy conference, and the first 10 hours cover preventing an injury, and the next 10 hours cover treating an injury, you would only be able to count the 10 hours on preventing and not the other. You would report 1.0 CEUs as attending a non-NSCA event.

For more information, you may review an article on the topic: Maintaining CSCS Status as a Health Care Professional.

The current recertification cycle ends December 31, 2026, for everyone, regardless of your certification date. When you become certified during a recertification cycle, your CEUs are prorated. You can find more specific information regarding recertification requirements here.

You can view your certification status and number of reported CEUs in the Certification Overview page in your NSCA account by following the steps below:

1. Sign into your NSCA account.
2. Double-click on the “Certifications” tab between Profile and Membership.
3. Click on “Certification Overview” from the menu on the right.
4. Review your recertification summary.

If you still have questions, please email us at recertify@nsca.com.