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:
- Maintain an Pro All Access Pass, and
- Complete 8 hours of continuing professional education every year for each certification.
Benefit of Double Credit: Our continuing education offerings are designed to be efficient. Many of our webinars and courses are applicable to more than one certification. This means you can earn credits for multiple certifications through a single learning experience. In other words, one webinar or course can fulfill the CPE requirements for several of your certifications simultaneously. One experience. Multiple credits.
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:
- Initial Certificate Validity: After successfully passing an exam, your certificate is valid for one full year, starting from the date you passed the exam. You may use the designated "letters" after you name to indicate the certification you passed and your status as a professional. For example, after you pass the GRC Professional exam, you are able to use GRCP after your name so long as you stay in compliance with this Unified Certification Maintenance program.
- First Year CPE Exemption: In your first year after passing the exam and earning the certification, you are not required to complete any Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits. This exemption is due to the minimum of 8 hours you dedicated to preparing for and taking the exam.
- CPE Requirements from Second Year: Starting from the beginning of your second year of certification, you are required to earn a minimum of 8 CPE credits each year. These credits must be in subjects relevant to the certification you hold.
- Certificate Renewal Conditions: Your certificate will automatically renew for another full year on its expiration date if BOTH of the following two conditions are met:
- You have an active Pro All Access Pass (also known as a Pro Membership), and
- You have fulfilled the required CPE credits for that year.
- 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. - 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.
- Re-Certification: If your certificate is terminated, you must re-take the exam to gain your status.