Unified Certification Maintenance Program

Maintaining ALL of your certifications is simple and straightforward. We use a single CPE program for all of our certifications.

All individuals who apply for and take an OCEG / GRC Certify exam (e.g., GRCP, GRCA, IPMP, IDPP, IAAP, ICEP) review and consent to this policy.

More details follow, but the short version is that you must BOTH:

1. Maintain an Pro All Access Pass, and
2. Complete 8 hours of continuing professional education every year in total. Those 8 hours cover all of your OCEG certifications together. You do not need 8 hours for each certification.

NOTE: We do our best to send courtesy reminder emails about important dates. However, because we cannot control the spam/junk filtering rules of our members, this Unified Certification Maintenance program relies on YOUR ability to periodically check in and stay in compliance.

Benefit of Double Credit: You need 8 CPE hours each year in total, and those hours apply across all of your OCEG certifications. You do not need a separate 8 hours for each certification. Many webinars and courses are relevant to more than one certification, so a single learning experience still counts toward the unified 8-hour requirement.

Rules for OCEG Certifications (accredited by GRC Certify)

OCEG offers a number of certifications accredited by GRC Certify. All of our certifications follow the same unified program rules:

1. Initial Certificate Validity: After you pass an exam, your certificate is valid until the next renewal date of your Pro All Access Pass. If you are on a Team Bundle, that date is the Team Bundle renewal date. This first period can be shorter than 12 months. For example, if you pass an exam the day before renewal, the certificate is valid for that one day.
   
2. First Period CPE Exemption: During your first certification period (from the day you pass until the next membership or Team Bundle renewal), you are not required to complete CPE credits. This is because of the time you already spent preparing for and taking the exam. This is a first-period waiver, not a fixed first 12 months.
   
3. CPE Requirements after the First Period: Starting with the next membership or Team Bundle period after you earn the certification, you must earn 8 CPE credits in total for that period. Those 8 credits cover all of your OCEG certifications together, not 8 per certification.
4. Certificate Renewal Conditions: When your individual membership or Team Bundle renews, your certificate automatically renews for the next period if BOTH of the following two conditions are met:
   1. You have an active Pro All Access Pass or an active Team Bundle seat, and
   2. You have fulfilled the required CPE credits for that period (CPE is not required during the first period).
      
5. Non-Renewal and Grace Period: If your certificate's expiration date arrives and you have not met both the conditions (active Pro All Access Pass and required CPE credits), your certification is marked as expired. You will no longer be able to display or claim the certification.
   
   You will also enter a 90-day grace period. During this time, if you fulfill BOTH conditions to maintain your certification, then your certification will automatically reactivate.
   
6. Certification Termination Post-Grace Period: If you fail to meet BOTH conditions (active Pro All Access Pass and required CPE credits) by the end of the 90-day grace period, your certification will be removed from our records.
   
7. Re-Certification: If your certificate is terminated, you must re-take the exam to gain your status.