CMP GUIDE

CREDENTIAL
MAINTENANCE
PROGRAM
Valid to October 2013
LEED® Credential Maintenance Program Guide

COPYRIGHT 2012 Green Building Certification Institute

Information in this Guide represents current policies and procedures for GBCI’s Credential
Maintenance Program. Information in this Guide supersedes information contained in any
previously published Guides.

All information and guidelines are subject to change.

Please read and understand the entire Guide including all policies, procedure and consequences.

ABOUT THE GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION INSTITUTE

The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) is a third-party organization that provides independent oversight
of professional credentialing and project certification programs related to green building. GBCI is committed to
ensuring precision in the design, development, and implementation of measurement processes for green building
performance (through project certification) and green building practice (through professional credentials and
certificates).

Established in 2008 to administer certifications and professional designations within the framework of the U.S.
Green Building Council’s LEED® Green Building Rating Systems™, GBCI continues to develop new programs
and offer the marketplace validation that building certifications and professional designations have met specific,
rigorous criteria.
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BASICS
Reporting Period ............................................................................................................................................... 1
CE Hours .......................................................................................................................................................... 1
LEED-specific ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
Activities .......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Reporting Credential Maintenance ..................................................................................................................... 2

POLICIES
Renewal ............................................................................................................................................................. 2
Fees ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Past due ............................................................................................................................................................... 3
Expiration ............................................................................................................................................................ 3
Audits .................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Failure to comply .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Waivers/extensions .............................................................................................................................................. 4
Reinstatement ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

APPENDICES
A: Multiple Specialties ........................................................................................................................................ 5
B: Prescriptive Credential Maintenance .............................................................................................................. 6
C: Reviews ........................................................................................................................................................... 7

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Understanding the main aspects of CMP (reporting period, CE hours, LEED-specific, activities, and reporting
credential maintenance) can help you get started:

Reporting Period
Credentials are maintained in 2-year cycles, or reporting periods, starting when the credential is earned (based on
exam or enrollment date) and ending 2 years minus 1 day from the start date.

For example:
Exam or enrollment date/ Reporting period Next reporting period Next reporting period
reporting period start date end date start date end date
August 15, 2011 August 14, 2013 August 15, 2013 August 14, 2015

At the end of the 2-year reporting period, LEED Professionals are required to maintain their credential. If LEED
Professionals do not complete and report their continuing education (CE) hours the credential expires.

CE Hours
For CMP, LEED Green Associates complete 15 CE hours, 3 of which must be LEED-specific. LEED APs with specialty
complete 30 CE hours, 6 of which must be LEED-specific. LEED APs with multiple specialties complete 6 LEED-
specific hours for each additional specialty.

GBCI recommends using the LEED credit categories as a guideline to help you determine what constitutes a green
building topic:
• Sustainable sites encourages strategies that minimize the impact on ecosystems and water resources.
• Water efficiency promotes smarter use of water, inside and out, to reduce potable water consumption.
• Energy & atmosphere promotes better building energy performance through innovative strategies.
• Materials & resources encourages using sustainable building materials and reducing waste.
• Indoor environmental quality promotes better indoor air quality and access to daylight and views.

LEED-specific
All CE hours must be relevant to green building. LEED-specific is defined as an activity that has an explicit
connection to processes, procedures, or concepts (i.e. intents, requirements, and strategies) found in any of the
current LEED rating systems. For LEED APs, LEED-specific CE hours must relate directly to their specialty.
Examples of LEED-specific content include a LEED update, an in-depth LEED project case study, a review of
successful or unsuccessful implementation of LEED, or an analysis of the benefits of LEED.

Installation of
daylight responsive
Installation lighting controls
Installation of daylight in all regularly
of lighting responsive occupied spaces
lighting within 15 feet of
controls
controls windows and under
skylights to meet
EAc1.2 in LEED CI

Typical building task Green building task LEED-specific task

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Activities
Continuing education has been carefully adapted to the daily lives of LEED Professionals. Earn hours through these
activities related to green building.

1. Education (unlimited)
Examples include preferred courses and presentations from registered providers, self-reported courses and
presentations, college and University courses, and Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. LEED-
specific education is only available as preferred education that is reviewed by GBCI. This ensures that LEED
content is accurate, relevant, and well designed. Use the course catalog to fin preferred education. To find
LEED-specific education filter for your credential and look for the credential logo. 1 CE hour per hour of
education and 2 CE hours for instructors who developed content.

2. LEED Project Participation (unlimited)

Paid or unpaid work on a project that is registered for LEED certification. 1 CE hour per credit and 2 CE hours
for being the project administrator. All hours from Project Participation are LEED-specific.

3. Authorship (unlimited)
Credited contribution to a print or digital publication. 3 CE hours for published article and 10 CE hours for
published book. LEED specificity is determined on a case by case basis.

4. Volunteering (no more than 50% of total CE hours)

Volunteering includes participation in the USGBC or GBCI Board of Directors, steering committees, or working
groups; LEED credential exam item writing or job task analysis; local USGBC chapter boards of directors and
committees; or other volunteer organizations that support the LEED system. (Acceptable activities include
attending meetings, planning events, performing research and engaging in governance, among others.) 1 hour
per hour of participation. LEED-specific hours are designated for volunteering that is directly related to LEED.

Reporting credential maintenance

Most CMP activities are self-reported by LEED Professionals. However, we are continually working to get more
activities automatically reported.

To self-report CMP activities:

1. Log into My Credentials and select Report CMP Activity.
2. Enter the activity type, date, CE hours, description and whether it’s LEED-specific.

You can add, delete, or review CE hours at any time and can print a report of complete and remaining CE hours.

Renewal
Renewal is available one year into your reporting period. Within 24 hours of renewing, your next reporting
period will appear on your main menu and your expiration date will be updated in the LEED Professional
Directory. You cannot earn or report CE hours until your new reporting period begins.

You will receive notifications that your reporting period is ending. You have 90 days after the end of your
reporting period to renew without penalty, but all CMP activities must be earned between the reporting period
start and end dates.

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To renew:
1. Report required CE hours in My Credentials, ensuring you have met all requirements
2. Select “Renew” on the main menu page
3. Agree to terms and conditions
4. Pay the $50 renewal fee (if applicable)

Within 24-48 hours, you will receive either an approval email or notification of audit. For more information, see
the Audits section.

Maintaining multiple specialties

If you have multiple specialties, you can maintain through CE hours, retesting, or a combination of both. Using
any method, you can renew once you have maintained your primary specialty and choose, during the renewal
process, to let your other specialties expire. When maintaining through retesting only, once you pass all of the
required exams, you will be automatically renewed and will not be charged the $50 renewal fee.

You can also maintain with a combination of CE hours and retesting. When you pass an exam for one of your
specialties, you fulfill its CMP requirement. If you maintain your primary specialty through retesting, you must
still complete the required CE hours for each of your secondary specialties. If you maintain a secondary specialty
through retesting, you must still complete 30 CE hours for your primary specialty and any required CE hours for
additional secondary specialties. For example:
CE hours required Renewal fee
BD+C (Primary) ID+C (Secondary) required
BD+C only 0 6
Exam(s)
passed

ID+C only 30 0 $0
All Automatically renewed

If you renew early and earn another specialty, your CMP requirements for that specialty don’t begin
until your new reporting period.

Fees
LEED Professionals who maintain through CE hours are responsible for the biennial $50 CMP renewal fee at the
time of renewal. Payments will be accepted only in US dollars. This fee is waived for LEED Professionals who
maintain through testing and for the first renewal for all LEED APs without specialty who enroll in the LEED AP
with specialty credential. (For more information on enrollment, see the Enrollment Guide.)

Past Due
Credential Holders will have 90 days to renew and report hours previously earned within their reporting period,
which starts after the reporting period has ended. You will not be able to earn hours during this time. If you
don’t report enough hours and successfully renew by the end of the past due period, your credential will expire.

Expiration
LEED Professionals’ credential(s) will expire if they fail to complete the CMP requirements and submit for renewal
90 days after their reporting period.

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Audits
5-7% of LEED Professionals who maintain through CE hours are randomly selected to participate in CMP audits. In
addition, any published article or book submitted for CE hours will be automatically subject to review. If you are
earning CE hours through authorship, please submit your work to us.

When conducting an audit, we also like checking in on your CMP experience. We will ask questions such as: Why
did you pursue the CMP activities you did? How difficult was it finding CMP activities? For more information on
audits, see Appendix D.

Failure to comply
Each LEED Professional is responsible for demonstrating full compliance with CMP guidelines. Unsupported,
misstated, or fraudulent reporting of CE hours is a violation of GBCI’s Disciplinary and Exam Appeals Policy. Such
reporting is cause for action by GBCI and may be grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including revocation
of the GBCI credential. See GBCI’s Disciplinary and Exam Appeals Policy for more information.

Failure to fulfill and/or report the required CE hours for the CMP reporting period will result in expiration of the
LEED Green Associate or the LEED AP with specialty credential. The LEED AP without specialty credential is held in
perpetuity and does not have any credential maintenance requirements or fees.

Waivers/extensions
If unforeseen circumstances prevent you from being able to complete your credential maintenance in your 2-year
reporting period, you may request a waiver or extension. Situations that could be recognized by GBCI as hardship
include:
• Long term unemployment
• Military deployment
• Health problems
• Death in the family

This list is not exhaustive nor do these circumstances guarantee a waiver or extension. Written requests with
supporting documentation must be received at least 30 days before the end of your reporting period. GBCI
reviews requests on a case-by-case basis and only grants waivers or extensions in situations where you were
prevented from completing your CMP.

Reinstatement
To regain a credential after expiration, one must apply, register, and retest as a new candidate. Such individuals are
responsible for all applicable fees.

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Appendix A: Multiple Specialties

LEED APs can maintain multiple specialties. LEED APs designate their “primary specialty,” the specialty in
which they will complete the majority of their CE hours. All other specialties will be designated as “secondary
specialties.”

LEED APs must complete 30 CE hours in their primary specialty (6 of which must be LEED-specific) and complete
an additional 6 LEED-specific hours for each secondary specialty:

Number of Total CE hours required Total LEED-specific Total

specialties hours* fee
1 30 (30 for primary specialty) 6 (6 per specialty) $50
2 36 (30 for primary specialty, 6 for additional specialty) 12 (6 per specialty) $50
3 42 (30 for primary specialty, 6 for each additional specialty) 18 (6 per specialty) $50
4 48 (30 for primary specialty, 6 for each additional specialty) 24 (6 per specialty) $50
5 54 (30 for primary specialty, 6 for each additional specialty) 30 (6 per specialty) $50

Prorating
If the primary and secondary specialties are not earned at the same time, the reporting period cycle does not
change and the CE hours for the secondary specialty are prorated for the reporting period in which the secondary
specialty is earned:

Time after start of Prorated LEED-specific hours

reporting period required for secondary specialty
0-6 months 6 LEED-specific hours
7-12 months 4.5 LEED-specific hours
13-18 months 3 LEED-specific hours
19-24 months 1.5 LEED-specific hours

For example, if the reporting period for the primary specialty begins on 6/1/2011:
• 6 CE hours are required if the secondary specialty is earned between 6/1/2011 and 11/30/2011
• 4.5 CE hours are required if the secondary specialty is earned between 12/1/2011 and 5/31/2012
• 3 CE hours are required if the secondary specialty is earned between 6/1/2012 and 11/30/2012
• 1.5 CE hours are required if the secondary specialty is earned between 12/1/2012 and 5/31/2013

* Due to the duplication of concepts in some of the LEED Rating Systems, LEED-specific hours earned for one
specialty may count as LEED-specific hours for another specialty. However, GBCI Credential Maintenance staff will
make those determinations on a case-by-case basis.

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Appendix B: Prescriptive Credential Maintenance Requirements

As of November 2012, we are now offering an alternative path for meeting prescriptive requirements, through
USGBC’s Principles of LEED series.

For LEED APs without specialty

1. Register for the free Principles of LEED webinar series online
2. Take the six modules at your own pace, and complete the quizzes at the end of each module by the end of
your current reporting period.
3. When you have completed the series, you will receive your specialty credential. At that time you will begin
your first regular CMP reporting period.

For LEED APs with specialty currently in the prescriptive path

1. Register for the free Principles of LEED webinar series online
2. Take the six modules at your own pace, and complete the quizzes at the end of each module by Oct. 27, 2013.
3. When you’ve completed the series, your prescriptive requirements will be satisfied and six hours will be
credited to your My Credentials account. Your reporting period will convert to a regular CMP reporting period.
4. Complete the remainder of your reporting period with the green building education of your choice: no
categories, no restrictions.

What about LEED Green Associates and LEED APs with specialty not in prescriptive?
Other LEED Professionals can earn six LEED-specific CE hours for free through the Principles of LEED series.
Simply register for the series and see your hours automatically reported as your earn them. Green Associates can
choose either the BD+C, ID+C or O+M pathway, but will not receive a new specialty. This opportunity is available
for primary specialties only. To add a secondary specialty, apply for the LEED AP specialty exam in your My
Credentials account.

What about LEED APs who failed to complete a specialty in the past?
LEED APs who once enrolled in prescriptive CMP but did not complete their hours are eligible to gain their
specialty again through this program. Follow the above directions for “LEED APs without specialty.”

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Appendix C: Audits
GBCI audits 5-7% of LEED Professionals who maintain through CE hours and all authorship CE hours. GBCI also
reserves the right to review any CE hours at any time. Within 24-48 hours of renewing, you will be notified if you
have been approved or if you were selected for audit. If you are selected for audit, we will ask you to verify your
completed activities with the appropriate documentation. During this process GBCI hopes to get a better sense of
your experience pursuing CMP activities. For examples of documentation, see the chart below.

Initial Review
In our initial review, we check the reported CE hours for the following:
1. Dates: that the activity was within the reporting period
2. CE hours: that activities are reported correctly
A. All CE hours are reported in multiples of .5
B. Project participation is calculated as 1 CE hour per credit and 2 CE hours for being the project
administrator
3. LEED-specific: that activities are correctly marked as LEED-specific
4. Reported activities are not exam prep nor promote a product
5. Total activity hours: that activities don’t exceed limits
A. Volunteering cannot be more than 50% of total CE hours
6. Content reported is green building related and relevant to its category

Documentation
If we need any proof of your CMP activities, we will request documentation. For example:

Education • Certificates of completion OR

• Attestation from instructor OR
• Attendance list OR
• Transcript OR
• Official notification of grade
Authorship The book or article written for consideration. Credential
holder must be at least a contributor.
Volunteering • GBCI committee and volunteer form
• For volunteer work, a letter from the coordinating
supervisor or letter from the organization
acknowledging your contribution
LEED Project Participation • Verification through LEED Online OR
• GBCI project participation form AND a letter of
attestation from an employer, client, or project
administrator

Earning more CE hours

If our initial review finds errors, you may need to report more hours. If you renewed before the end of
your reporting period, you will have your remaining reporting period to earn and report CE hours. The
earlier you renew, the more time you will have to earn CE hours.