You studied for months, passed the exam, and framed the digital badge in your LinkedIn featured section. Done forever, right? Not quite. Most IT certifications have an expiration date — and letting one lapse quietly can cost you a lot more than the exam voucher. Here's exactly how renewal works for every major vendor in 2026, what it costs, and the one mistake that forces people to start over.
The Short Answer
Yes, nearly all IT certifications expire. CompTIA, Cisco, AWS, Google Cloud, and (ISC)² certs all run on renewal cycles — usually three years, sometimes one. Microsoft is the odd one out at one year. The only exceptions are legacy CompTIA certs earned before January 1, 2011, which are "good for life," and a few fundamental-level certs that don't expire. Everything else needs to be actively maintained or it lapses, and lapsed certifications are generally not eligible for renewal — you earn them again.
So renewal isn't optional paperwork. It's the second half of the certification game.
CompTIA: 3-Year Cycles and CEU Math
CompTIA certifications earned after December 31, 2010 are enrolled in the Continuing Education (CE) program: a three-year renewal cycle. Each cert requires a set number of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) — one CEU per hour of relevant learning — plus a renewal fee paid over the cycle:
- A+: 20 CEUs, $75 total fee
- Network+: 30 CEUs, $150 total fee
- Security+: 50 CEUs, $150 total fee
- CySA+ / PenTest+: 60 CEUs, $150 total fee
You can earn CEUs through training courses, conferences, webinars, publishing articles, and related work experience (up to 9 CEUs total for work, max 3 per year). Or you can take the shortcut CompTIA designed for the three flagship certs: CertMaster CE, a self-paced online course that satisfies all required CEUs in one go for A+, Network+, and Security+. Check CompTIA's site for current CertMaster CE pricing before you budget.
Two rules matter most. First: renew your highest-level CompTIA cert and everything below it renews automatically. If you hold A+, Network+, and Security+, you only renew Security+ and the other two extend with it. Second: CompTIA does not renew expired certifications. Miss the deadline and you're retaking the exam — currently around $404 for Security+, so verify current vendor pricing when you plan. Put your expiration date in your calendar with a 6-month reminder and this never becomes your problem.
Studying for the retake instead of the CEU route? Our Security+ Study Guide ($5) and Security+ Practice Pack ($3) cover the current SY0-701 objectives — passing the latest release of the exam renews the cert outright.
Cisco: 3 Years, With a Credit Path
Cisco certifications run on a three-year validity cycle. You have two routes: pass a qualifying exam again, or earn Continuing Education credits through Cisco's CE program — for example, an Associate-level cert renews with 30 CE credits, and a single professional-level concentration exam can recertify lower certs too. Cisco's model is generous toward people who keep learning: approved training, Cisco Live sessions, and instructor-led courses all count. But the exam-route numbers work fine too — the CCNA voucher is still cheaper than a failed renewal scramble, so verify current Cisco pricing and pick the path that costs you less time.
AWS: 3 Years, and a New Way to Renew
AWS certifications are valid for three years. The classic path: pass the current version of your exam, or pass a higher-level one (passing Solutions Architect Professional recertifies your Associate, for example). Starting in 2026, AWS has also been beta-testing an exam-free renewal path: complete curated training and hands-on labs on AWS Skill Builder within 90 days of expiration to extend an active cert by one year. It launched as a beta covering the flagship Architect, Developer, and DevOps exams, so check AWS's site for which exams it currently covers — but for working AWS engineers who use the console daily, it's the cheapest renewal in the industry if it stays available.
Keeping your AWS cert current pays for itself on job boards alone, and the AWS collection at ByteBar covers the Associate-level guides at $5 each with practice packs at $3 — the pair costs less than a retake attempt's study snacks, and passing the current exam is still the most reliable three-year renewal there is.
Microsoft: The 1-Year Outlier
Microsoft plays by different rules: role-based Associate, Expert, and Specialty certifications expire one year after you earn them. The renewal, however, is free — a short, unproctored online assessment on Microsoft Learn that focuses on what's changed since you certified. The window opens six months before expiration, and Microsoft emails reminders at 180, 90, and 30 days. Miss it and the cert goes inactive; you then re-earn it by passing the full exam. Fundamentals-level certs like AZ-900 don't expire at all.
The one-year cycle catches people off guard because it's the shortest in the industry. The move: renew in month six, when the window opens and the assessment material is freshest in your mind. It takes under an hour and costs nothing.
Google Cloud and Linux Foundation: 2-Year Cycles
Google Cloud professional and associate certifications are valid for two years — renew by retaking the current exam. Linux Foundation certs (CKA, CKAD, and the rest of the DevOps line) are valid for 24 months, renewed by re-examination. Two years feels generous compared to Microsoft's one, but the exams are hands-on performance-based tests, so don't assume you can waltz back in without prep.
(ISC)²: 120 CPEs Over 3 Years
The CISSP runs on a three-year cycle requiring 120 CPE credits — 90 in Group A (domain-related security learning) and up to 30 in Group B (broader professional development) — plus an annual maintenance fee. (ISC)² suggests pacing at about 40 credits a year, which is genuinely manageable: conferences, webinars, published articles, and even reading security publications count. The trap is the same as everywhere else: cramming 120 credits into month 34. Spread it out and the renewal nearly takes care of itself. Check (ISC)²'s site for the current annual maintenance fee when you budget — it changes.
What Happens If You Let One Expire
This is the expensive part. Most vendors treat expiration as the end of the line for the easy path: CompTIA explicitly says expired certifications cannot be renewed — you re-earn by passing the current exam. Microsoft says the same. For the rest, plan on a full retake with current objectives, which is always harder than the exam you passed years ago because the content has moved on.
Expired certs also stop showing as active on vendor verification portals — the same portals employers and recruiters use to check your credentials. A lapsed cert on your resume becomes a liability instead of an asset.
The Takeaway: Build a Renewal System, Not a Panic
Certification renewal isn't hard; it's just scheduled. Here's the system that works:
- Track every expiration date the day you pass. CompTIA gives you three years, Cisco three, AWS three, Microsoft one, Google two.
- Renew the highest cert first — for CompTIA, that single renewal cascades downward to everything below it.
- Start at the halfway mark. Six months out, you have every option. Six weeks out, you're paying rush prices and panic-studying.
- Let daily learning do the work. If you're in security, the webinars and training you'd attend anyway probably cover your CPE/CEU numbers without extra effort.
- Know the price before you need it. Vendor pricing changes — always verify current exam and renewal fees on the vendor's own site when you plan, not from a blog post (including this one).
Certifications are assets that depreciate on a schedule. Treat renewal like maintenance on something valuable — because on a resume, that's exactly what it is. And if you're due to re-earn rather than renew, you don't need to spend hundreds on a course to get back to passing: the CompTIA collection has the full exam-prep line (study guides $5, practice packs $3, complete bundles $7) ready to get you exam-ready again fast.