- Do I need to recertify?
- How do I check my certifications and the expiration dates?
- How do I know if a program qualifies for recertification units?
- How do I know if my employment will qualify for recertification units?
- Does part-time employment apply toward recertification units?
- How do I submit multimedia (formerly videotapes) for recertification units?
- Do local, state, and national quality award activities qualify for recertification units?
- How can I get credit for volunteer activities with ASQ and other professional associations and organizations?
- I have authored/co-authored a book. Where should I enter this activity in the recertification journal?
- I delivered a presentation. Where should this activity be entered in the recertification journal?
- I don’t have enough recertification units to recertify by my recertification date. What are my options?
- What happens when I recertify by exam?
- What is "synchronizing my certifications" and how do I do it?
- I recently recertified. Will I receive digital badges for my certifications?
ASQE requires that you recertify the following certifications every three years to ensure you maintain the same level of knowledge demonstrated in your first exam.
- Calibration Technician (CCT)
- Food Safety and Quality Auditor (CFSQA)
- Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE)
- Master Black Belt (MBB)
- Medical Device Auditor (CMDA)/Biomedical Auditor (CBA)
- Pharmaceutical GMP Professional (CPGP)
- Quality Auditor (CQA)
- Quality Engineer (CQE)
- Reliability Engineer (CRE)
- Software Quality Engineer (CSQE)
- Six Sigma Black Belt (SSBB)
- Supplier Quality Professional (CSQP)
The Quality Inspector (CQI), Quality Improvement Associate (CQIA), Quality Process Analyst (CQPA), Quality Technician (CQT), Six Sigma Green Belt (CSSGB), and Six Sigma Yellow Belt (SSYB) are lifetime certifications. They have no recertification requirements.
Two Ways to Recertify
- Recertification journal: Obtain a minimum of 18 recertification units during your three-year certification period. Document them in your recertification journal by clicking on the following link: https://asq.org/cert/recertification and logging into your ASQ account online.
- Exam: Sit for the exam by clicking on the following link: https://asq.org/cert/recertification and logging into your ASQ account online to apply (required if your certification expired and is past the six-month grace period).
Recertification by journal with RU credits is a simple process of obtaining a minimum of 18 recertification units (RUs) within your three-year certification period. You may accumulate the 18 RU credits from professional activities that either increase your knowledge of the Body of Knowledge or are job enhancing. All activities can start before you initially obtain your ASQ certification and must be completed within your three-year recertification period to qualify.
For your current certification information, please log in. Then visit certification overview. Your certifications will display there. The information will include expiration dates, status of pending certifications, and exam result information for retakes.
If a program is sufficiently rigorous and based in at least one area of your certification(s)' Body of Knowledge (BOK) or is job-enhancing, you may count it toward recertification units (RUs). You may begin a course/activity before you are certified.
If you've already recertified, you may use completed activities dated from July 1st through your expiration date if your expiration is June 30th or January 1st if your expiration date is December 31st. You must complete activities by the expiration date of your certification(s).
The recertification journal explains how many RUs you receive for each activity you claim.
Other key points:
- Professional development means any type of conference, seminar, workshop, symposium or forum you attend. This should not be confused with the Student Courses section of the journal.
- Student courses are those either sponsored by your company or by an accredited, outsourced training facility that teaches career-related techniques. Such courses include, but are not limited to, computer classes, at-work people skills, other association training classes and job function training. Also, classes offered by an accredited college qualify.
- Home study and online courses may be used toward recertification, but not the homework portion. Assigned CEUs or contact hours must be included with the course certificate to be accepted.
- Any "course instructor" credit claimed must be above and beyond your regular required job duties and responsibilities if you are claiming credit in addition to employment credit, and must be specified as such on your documentation.
- The recertification program does not grant recertification units for auditing functions. This is part of your employment credit.
- Exam refresher courses taken before your initial certification cannot be counted toward recertification. You may, however, count those courses toward another certification's recertification requirements, as long as the refresher course covers at least one area of that Body of Knowledge or is job-enhancing.
To receive employment recertification units, at least one area of your job duties, responsibilities, or functions must fall in at least one area of the Body of Knowledge (BOK) for your certification(s).
Part-time employment qualifies for recertification units (RUs) under the employment portion of the recertification journal. Part-time status is based on how your employer classifies you; either as full time or part time.
Part-time employment is worth .15 RUs per month or 1.8 RUs per year during your three-year recertification period.
If you are unable to obtain a past employer's employment verification documentation, you may use old pay stubs or tax forms as an alternative form of employment documentation. You may black out any personal information where necessary. However, you MUST include your name, the company name, and the beginning and end dates of the employment period.
Enter computer-based training related to your job functions and requirements under the "student" category.
This category includes, but is not be limited to, audiotapes, videotapes, CD-ROMs, DVDs, and satellite conferences. Categorize these activities under the section of the recertification journal previously entitled "videotapes", now "multimedia".
The category maximum will be 3.6 recertification units during the three-year recertification period with NO PER-YEAR MAXIMUM as previously stated. The applicant will receive the current .25 recertification units per every 15 minutes of viewing/listening. The multimedia source MUST fall in at least one area of the Body of Knowledge (BOK) for the certification(s) or be job enhancing.
You must submit a copy of the packaging for the multimedia which shows the title and program length. Complete the form inside the recertification journal to indicate the date(s) of viewing/listening. If there is no packaging, submit a letter on company letterhead signed by your immediate supervisor or human resources manager, attesting to the multimedia activity. You must also submit the completed form from the recertification journal.
At this time you do not get credit for time spent reading books, articles or other written material.
Yes, activities performed by local, state and national quality awards can qualify for recertification units (RUs).
ASQE grants .1 RUs per hour of training. Include these under the "student" portion of the recertification journal when you complete any pre-examiner training for a local, state, or national quality award examining committee. If you are accepted by a local, state, or national quality award committee, you also receive 1.5 RUs per committee/per year of active involvement. Include these under the "committees" portion of the recertification journal. Credits for the auditing functions/site visits performed by quality award committees also fall under the "committees" portion for RUs.
List volunteer activities, such as serving as appointed ASQ section officers, ASQ Quality Press reviewers and members of the Standards Group on QEDS under the "committees" category of the recertification journal at the rate of 1.5 recertification units per year/per committee. Committees do not have to be ASQ committees to qualify. Work-related committees do not qualify.
Documentation may be in the form of a letter from the organization chapter written on letterhead, listing your name, appointed position, length of service and your duties and responsibilities.
Being an author or co-author of a published book should be recorded under the "Publishing" category, in the "Book" sub-category. The sole author of a book receives 4 recertification units per published book. A co-author receives 2 recertification units per published book. Include a copy of the book cover showing the title and author name(s), a copy of the copyright page showing date of publication, and a copy of the table of contents.
More information on becoming a Quality Press author
Presentations should be entered under the "publishing" category, under the "presentation" sub-category. Presenters earn 1 recertification unit per presentation regardless of the amount of time put into preparation and the duration of the presentation.
If you don’t have enough recertification units by your recertification date; you must recertify by exam. You have one year from the recertification date to recertify by exam. (You’re still considered certified because it’s assumed you intend to recertify within the one–year time frame.)
You may qualify for a waiver if you’re unable to collect the required 18 recertification units before your certification expiration date. ASQE makes these determinations on a case–by–case basis by weighing extenuating circ*mstances such as health issues, unemployment or other personal or family emergencies.
Please contact ASQ for further details before your six-month recertification journal grace period has expired.
If you pass the exam you will be issued a new certificate with the same certification number as before. If you don't pass the recertification by exam, you will be decertified and will need to certify by exam as a new applicant. If you choose to certify as a new applicant and pass, you will receive an entirely new certification number, along with a new certificate and new three-year recertification start date.
If you hold multiple ASQ certifications, you can "synchronize" them and renew them all at once by submitting a single recertification journal instead of separately renewing different certifications with different recertification dates.
To synchronize two or more certifications, all you need to include is documentation for the 18 RUs required to recertify the one certification that is currently due. You are not required to provide additional evidence for any of the other certifications you are trying to synchronize. If the certification that is currently due is approved, we will adjust all your other certifications to recertify at the same time as the certification currently due. For future recertification, you only need to provide a total of 18 RUs for all synchronized certifications.
For more information or to download the recertification journal, please visit the ASQ Recertification webpage.
The fees for recertifying two or more certifications are:
- Fee: $130.00 each
- ASQ Member Price: $110.00 total
Before synchronization:
| Certificate | Date Exam Passed | Expiration Date | Last Date Recertified |
| Quality Auditor | 06/05/01 | 12/31/15 | 12/15/12 |
| Reliability Engineer | 12/07/07 | 12/31/15 | 12/15/12 |
| Software Quality Engineer | 10/02/06 | 12/31/16 |
After synchronization:
| Certificate | Date Exam Passed | Expiration Date | Last Date Recertified |
| Quality Auditor | 06/05/01 | 12/31/18 | 12/03/15 |
| Reliability Engineer | 12/07/07 | 12/31/18 | 12/03/15 |
| Software Quality Engineer | 10/02/06 | 12/31/18 | 12/03/15 |
Candidates who successfully recertify one or more certifications will receive a digital badge for each active certification. After your recertification journal is reviewed and approved, you will receive an email from our issuing partner, Accredible, with links to claim your badge(s).
If you are not due to recertify for some time, or have certifications that do not have a recertification requirement, you can also claim a badge for any active certification by signing-in to your account, accessing the ‘My Certifications’ link on the left-side of the page, and clicking the ‘Claim My Badges’ button.
To learn more about how to share your digital badge on social media sites, embed your badge in an email signature, and view additional helpful resources, please visit our Digital Badges FAQ page.
