AICP Members Program Details
AICP Member Resources
Resources to support maintaining your credential
Mandatory CM Credits
Ways to Earn CM Credits
How to Log Your CM Credits
Claim CM Credit for Authoring
Claim CM Credit for Pro Bono Service
Self-Report Your Planning Activity
Frequently Asked Questions
Goals of Certification Maintenance
- Require ongoing professional development for all AICP members.
- Align professional development opportunities with AICP's Core Competencies.
- Elevate innovative planning practices, emerging issues, planning trends, planning specialties, and best practices.
- Ensure an appropriate level of professional development opportunities at all career levels.
- Establish standardized CM requirements that all members must achieve to retain their AICP credential.
- Promote ethical practice as stated in AICP's Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, including mentoring and volunteering.
- Promote a broad range of accessible and affordable CM credit options.
- Ensure that the CM management and logging systems are user-friendly and easily accessible.
- Provide flexibility for CM providers, including public and private sector providers, APA chapters, and divisions.
- Promote AICP values, including equity, diversity, and inclusiveness, through the CM program.
- Annually evaluate the CM program performance based on CM goals and corresponding metrics.
Commonly Used Terms — Certification Maintenance Program
Reporting Periods: All AICP members follow a two-year reporting cycle that begins on January 1 and ends on December 31. Your reporting period begins when you become AICP and follows this fixed two-year cycle.
Requirements: You must earn a total of 32 CM credits (1 training hour = 1 CM credit) and earn 1 CM credit toward the topic of AICP Ethics, Law, Equity, and Sustainability & Resilience within the two-year reporting period.
Mandatory Topics: Beginning January 1, 2022, you must earn 1-hour/1 CM credit toward the topic of AICP Ethics, Law, Equity, and Sustainability & Resilience.
Review and Sign Off: After each reporting period ends, you will need to review and sign off that reporting period to open the next reporting period.
Carryover: You may carry over up to 16 CM credits from one reporting period to the next. However, any surplus credits earned in Ethics, Equity, Planning Law, or Sustainability & Resilience will be carried over as general CM credits and will not retain their original planning topic category.
CM Exemptions: AICP members in certain life and career situations may be eligible for a temporary or permanent Certification Maintenance (CM) exemption to assist in keeping their membership active or a CM exemption to temporarily inactivate their AICP membership, including CM requirements and AICP dues, for up to four years.
Not Meeting CM Requirements: AICP members who do not meet CM requirements within two years will lose AICP certification.
Reinstatement: AICP Members who will be obliged to seek reinstatement of AICP membership within four years to regain the AICP credential. Members who do not reinstate within four years will be required to retake the AICP exam.
CM Providers: All professional development activities must be entered for CM credit by the provider. You must claim CM credit after participation by using their online CM log. The list of CM events is growing every day, so please bookmark the CM Search and Search by a CM Provider webpages and check back to see whether an event you attended has been added.