Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) Guide

Updated November 2024

Copyright 2024 Green Business Certification Inc.™

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, procedures and consequences.

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Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) Overview

By actively engaging in continuing education, LEED and SITES Accredited Professionals (APs) demonstrate their commitment to professional development, stay current in their field, and uphold the standards and requirements necessary to renew their credentials.

• Enhancing knowledge and skills: Continuing education allows credentialed professionals to stay updated with their field’s latest updates and best practices.

• Maintaining competence: By engaging in continuing education, credentialed professionals can demonstrate their commitment to maintaining and improving their competence.

• Keeping pace with changes: Continuing education helps credentialed professionals stay abreast of industry and rating-system-specific changes, ensuring that they remain relevant in continuing to deliver high-quality services.

• Networking and collaboration: Continuing education provides opportunities for credentialed professionals to network and collaborate with colleagues from diverse backgrounds. Interacting with peers and experts in the field fosters the exchange of ideas, experiences and best practices. It can lead to valuable connections, partnerships and collaborations, further enhancing professional growth.

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Reporting Period

LEED Credential Holders

Credentials are maintained in 2-year cycles, or reporting periods, starting when the credential is earned (based on exam date or enrollment date) and ending 2 years minus 1 day from the start date. Reporting periods cannot be adjusted.

Reporting Period — Table 1

Exam or enrollment date or reporting period start date	Reporting period end date	Next reporting period start dat	Next reporting period end date
August 15, 2024	August 14, 2026	August 15, 2026	August 14, 2028

During the 2-year reporting period, credential holders must earn and report a minimum number of continuing education (CE) hours to renew their credentials (see FAQ). If credential holders do not complete and report the required CE hours and pay the credential renewal fee to renew their credentials, their credentials will expire and no longer be valid. See CE hour requirements.

New Credential Renewal Policy

A new credential renewal policy has been implemented to enhance flexibility for credential holders. This policy, effective November 3, 2023, grants LEED credential holders a 12-month grace period after their reporting period ends to continue to earn and report CE hours to renew their credential before it expires. It’s important to note that the reporting period will not change. However, any additional time the credential holder needs to earn CE hours will be deducted from the next reporting period.

New Credential Statuses

As part of the new credential renewal policy, LEED credentials are now categorized into three distinct statuses: active, inactive and expired. In addition, credential holders will be eligible for early renewal rates or incur credential reactivation fees depending on when the credential is renewed. See the Renewal section.

Active Credential Status

• The active credential status represents a credential holder within their 2-year reporting period.

• They can earn and report CE hours and are eligible to renew their credential one year into their reporting period.

• If a credential holder renews their credential while in active status, they will be eligible for the early renewal rate. See the Fees section.

Inactive Credential Status

• The inactive credential status represents a credential holder who did not renew their credential during the 2-year reporting period.

• For up to 12 months after the last day of their reporting period (renewal date), credential holders can continue to earn and report CE hours and renew their credential before it expires.

• During the first 30 days of their inactive credential status, credential holders can renew their credentials without paying a reactivation fee. However, after 30 days, credential holders must pay both the renewal and reactivation fees to renew their credentials. See the Fees section.
• Once the credential has been renewed, the start date of the next reporting period will be a continuation of the previous period, beginning the day after the previous period ends. Therefore, the reporting period does not change.

• During the inactive period, credential holders will not be eligible to register for LEED exams or include their credential information in their email signatures, business cards or social media profiles.

Expired Credential Status

• The expired credential status represents a credential holder who failed to renew their credential during the active and inactive periods.

• If a credential holder does not act during their 12-month inactive period, their status will transition to expired, rendering their credential invalid.

• When a credential transitions to an expired status, the only option for credential reinstatement is to retest as a new candidate for the LEED Green Associate credential and restart the credentialing process. See the Reinstatement section.
• Once a credential expires, credential holders may no longer include their credential information in their email signatures, business cards or social media profiles.

Credential Status — Table 2

Credential status	Earn or report CE hours	Renew credential	Earl renewal rate	Reactivation fee	Credential retest
Active	x	x	x
Inactive	x	x		x
Expired					x

SITES AP Credential Holders

Credentials are maintained in 2-year cycles, or reporting periods, starting when the credential is earned (based on exam date) and ending 2 years minus 1 day from the start date. Reporting periods cannot be adjusted.

Reporting period — Table 3

Exam date or reporting period start date	Reporting period end date	Next reporting period start date	Next reporting period end date
August 15, 2024	August 14, 2026	August 15, 2026	August 14, 2028

During the 2-year reporting period, credential holders must earn and report a minimum number of continuing education (CE) hours to renew their credentials. If credential holders do not complete and report the required CE hours and renew their credentials, their credentials will expire and no longer be valid. The only option for credential reinstatement is to retest as a new candidate and restart the credentialing process.

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CE Hour Requirements

LEED and SITES credential holders are required to earn and report a minimum number of general CE hours and rating system-specific CE hours to maintain their credentials.

• LEED Green Associate credential holders must earn a minimum of 15 CE hours, of which 3 CE hours must be LEED-specific. The remaining 12 CE hours can be either general or LEED-specific CE hours.

  • Examples

    • As a LEED Green Associate credential holder, any credential maintenance activity associated with any LEED rating system (LEED BD+C, LEED ID+C, LEED O+M, LEED Homes or LEED ND) will count toward the LEED-specific requirement.

    • Exam maintenance activities such as item writing (writing exam questions) or item review (reviewing exam questions) for the LEED Green Associate exam will also count toward the LEED-specific requirement.

    • Once the minimum LEED-specific requirement of 3 CE hours is met, any additional LEED-specific CE hours will count toward the general CE requirement.

• LEED AP with specialty credential holders must earn a minimum of 30 CE hours, of which 6 CE hours must be LEED-specific in the specialty relevant to their credential. The remaining 24 CE hours can be either general or LEED-specific CE hours.

  • Examples

    • As a LEED AP BD+C credential holder, any credential maintenance activity categorized as LEED BD+C specific will count toward the LEED-specific requirement. This means that activities directly related to LEED BD+C, such as working on a LEED BD+C registered or certified project or completing GBCI-approved courses classified as LEED BD+C, will fulfill the specific requirements for maintaining the LEED AP BD+C credential.

      • Once the minimum LEED-specific requirement of 6 CE hours is met, additional LEED BD+C-specific CE hours will count toward the general CE requirement.

      • Any credential maintenance activity associated with any other LEED-specific rating system unrelated to the credential (i.e., in this case, LEED O+M, LEED ID+C, etc.) will also count toward the general CE hours requirement.

  • Multiple specialties

    • LEED APs with multiple specialties must complete an additional 6 LEED-specific hours for each additional specialty. See the Maintaining Multiple Specialties section for additional information.

Note: Any hours earned as a LEED Green Associate credential holder will not be transferred to the newly acquired LEED AP with specialty credentials. The CE hours earned as a LEED Green Associate credential holder are specific to that credential and cannot be applied toward the requirements of the newly earned LEED AP with specialty credential. Therefore, if you obtain a LEED AP with specialty credential, you will need to earn CE hours during the new reporting period that applies to that specific credential.

• SITES AP credential holders must earn a minimum of 30 CE hours, of which 6 CE hours must be SITES-specific. The remaining 24 hours can be either general or SITES-specific CE hours.

  • Example

    • As a SITES AP credential holder, any credential maintenance activity categorized as SITES-specific will count toward the SITES-specific requirement.

    • Once the minimum SITES-specific requirement of 6 CE hours is met, any additional SITES-specific CE hours will count toward the general CE requirement.

Minimum CE hour requirements per credential — Table 4

Credential	General or rating system-specific	Rating system-specific	Total CE hours required per reporting period
LEED Green Associate	12	3	15
LEED AP with specialty*	24	6	30
SITES AP	24	6	30

*LEED APs with multiple specialties must complete an additional 6 LEED-specific hours related to their credential for each additional specialty.

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CE Type

General

General CE hours are defined as activities that are relevant to general green building concepts such as environmental sustainability, human health, resiliency, net zero, decarbonization, ESG, social equity and the circular economy. For example, consulting credit categories/concepts/measures/indicators in LEED, SITES, WELL, EDGE, PEER, and TRUE rating systems can be an aid in determining what constitutes general green building topics.

For individuals who hold multiple credentials, an activity that counts as general CE hours for one credential may count as rating system-specific for other GBCI credentials, as long as the hours were completed during the credential holder’s reporting period. See the table below for examples:

General vs. rating system-specific CE hours — Table 5

For LEED credential holders

CE type	Counts as
General CE	General CE
LEED-specific	LEED-specific*
WELL-specific	General CE
SITES-specific	General CE

*LEED-specific CE hours will count as LEED-specific only for activities where the specialty is relevant to their credential; otherwise, those CE hours will count as general CE hours.

For SITES credential holders

CE type	Counts as
General CE	General CE
LEED-specific	General CE
WELL-specific	General CE
SITES-specific	SITES-specific

LEED-specific

LEED-specific is defined as an activity that explicitly connects to credit categories, credits and/or prerequisites found in any of the current LEED rating systems. For LEED credential holders, LEED-specific CE hours must relate directly to their specialty.

Examples of LEED-specific activities include working on registered or certified LEED projects, volunteering on rating system development, authoring LEED case studies and developing and/or teaching GBCI-approved coursework on the LEED rating system. Remember, for the activity to be counted as a LEED-specific CE hour, it must relate directly to the credential (i.e., As a LEED AP BD+C, work on a registered or certified LEED BD+C project will count toward the LEED-specific requirement.)

SITES-specific

SITES-specific is defined as an activity that explicitly connects to categories, credits and/or prerequisites found in the SITES rating system.

Examples of SITES-specific activities include working on SITES projects, volunteering on SITES rating system development, authoring SITES case studies, and developing and/or teaching GBCI-approved coursework on the SITES rating system.

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Credential Maintenance Activities

The Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) has been carefully adapted to the daily lives of LEED and SITES AP credential holders. We recognize the individuality of each person’s professional needs and aspirations. This program has, therefore, been designed to possess a high degree of adaptability, allowing it to cater to your specific requirements and empowering you to define your maintenance objectives and carve out your trajectory for personal growth.

All LEED and SITES AP credential holders must earn continuing education (CE) hours to actively maintain their LEED and SITES AP credentials. These CE hours can be earned through four professional development activity types: education courses, project participation, authorship and volunteering. These activities can be related to green building, health, wellness, resiliency, net zero, decarbonization, ESG, social equity and the circular economy.

1. Education courses (unlimited number of CE hours)

   • Education courses should be relevant to green building, which includes environmental sustainability, health, wellness, resiliency, net zero, decarbonization, ESG, social equity and the circular economy.

   • Under the education courses activity type, rating system-specific hours can only be earned through GBCI-approved education designated as LEED-specific or SITES-specific.

   • Education for general CE hours can come from learning activities approved by GBCI or non-GBCI-approved courses.

   • Examples of non-GBCI-approved courses that may be eligible for general CE hours include college and university courses, simulated project participation, workshops, webinars, podcasts, courses and conference events. GBCI recommends using LEED and/or SITES credit categories as a guideline to help you determine what constitutes general green building topics.

   • Courses can only be counted toward credential maintenance once, and the same course cannot be reported in subsequent reporting periods.

   • Both participants and instructors receive 1 CE hour per hour of educational contact time for either GBCI-approved or non-GBCI-approved courses. Free GBCI-approved courses are available on the USGBC website.
   • Credential holders who develop education content receive 2 CE hours for each hour of educational contact time for any GBCI-approved course they develop. Course development for non-GBCI-approved courses is not eligible for CE hours. The requirements for a course to be approved as rating system-specific are given in the GBCI Continuing Education Course Review Criteria.
   • If you are both the developer and instructor of a course, you may only count that course once when reporting credential maintenance activities (i.e., report either the instructor CE hours or the developer CE hours, but not both). Likewise, if you teach the same course multiple times, you may only report it once.

2. Project Participation (unlimited number of CE hours)

   • Credential holders who actively participate in projects that are registered or certified for LEED or SITES certification will receive 1 CE hour per credit regardless of the actual number of hours invested in that particular credit for that project. The intent of project participation is to work on projects that are intended to be implemented. This excludes simulated project participation provided through education programs. These types of CE hours can be reported under the education courses activity type. Reference FAQ for additional information.

     • Example of approved project participation activity: A LEED AP BD+C credential holder works on a LEED BD+C registered project and spends 10 hours working on the Water Efficiency Credit, Indoor Water Use Reduction and 15 hours on Energy and Atmosphere Credit, Optimize Energy Performance. They can only report 1 CE hour for the work on Water Efficiency Credit, Indoor Water Use Reduction and 1 CE hour for the work on Energy and Atmosphere Credit, Optimize Energy Performance for a total of 2 CE hours.

     • Example of non-approved project participation activity: The project administrator leads a 2-hour charrette meeting with project stakeholders. Charrettes are not an approved activity for project participation credit, and therefore, this work cannot be reported toward credential maintenance.

   • Project participation can count toward the LEED-specific or SITES-specific requirement if the project is registered or certified under the specific rating system associated with their credential; otherwise, the activity can count toward general hours.

   • Project administrators can claim an additional 2 CE hours per project, not per credit.

   • Project participation work on prerequisites and credits can count toward credential maintenance. Note that work on charrettes and precertification does not count toward credential maintenance.

   • Project participation in non-GBCI registered or certified projects (e.g., BREAM, Green Globes, Living Building Challenge, etc.) is not eligible for credential maintenance.

   • Work on any project registered for EDGE, Parksmart, PEER or TRUE certification can count toward general CE hours for GBCI credential holders.

3. Authorship (unlimited number of CE hours)

   • Authorship is a credited contribution to a print or digital publication and is worth 3 CE hours per published article and 10 CE hours per published book.

   • For the publication to be eligible for credential maintenance, it must have technical content related to the rating system.

     • LEED technical content refers to the specific knowledge, guidelines and requirements related to sustainable design, construction, and operation of buildings and communities within the context of the LEED rating systems. It includes detailed information about the criteria, strategies, calculations and documentation needed to achieve LEED certification for a project.

   • For LEED publications, it is important to focus on topics and guidelines that align with the principles and criteria of LEED certification.

     • Sustainable design strategies: Discuss various sustainable design strategies that can be implemented in buildings or communities to improve energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality and overall environmental performance.

     • LEED rating systems: Provide an overview of the different LEED rating systems (LEED BD+C, LEED O+M, etc.) and their specific requirements, categories and credits.

     • Credit categories: Explore the individual credit categories within the chosen LEED rating system, such as Location and Transportation, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Regional Priority, or Innovation.

     • Credit requirements and documentation: Explain the specific requirements for achieving each credit, including the documentation and calculations needed to demonstrate compliance with LEED criteria.

     • Case studies: Share real-life examples or case studies of LEED-certified projects, highlighting the sustainable design strategies, challenges faced and the positive environmental impact achieved.

     • Green building technologies: Discuss innovative technologies and systems that contribute to LEED certification, such as renewable energy systems, efficient building envelope design, water-saving fixtures, smart controls and sustainable materials.

     • Industry standards and best practices: Highlight industry standards, guidelines and best practices related to sustainable design and construction that align with or complement LEED principles.

     • Updates and emerging trends: Stay up-to-date with the latest developments and trends within LEED certification, including quarterly addenda updates.

   • For SITES publications, it is important to focus on topics and guidelines that align with the principles and criteria of the SITES certification system.

     • Introduction to SITES: Provide an overview of the SITES certification system, explaining its purpose, goals, and the benefits of sustainable land development and landscape design.

     • SITES rating system: Explain the different categories, prerequisites, and credits within the SITES rating system, such as Site Context, Pre-Design Assessment and Planning, Site Design, Development and Maintenance, and Innovation.

     • Sustainable site planning and design: Discuss strategies and best practices for sustainable site planning, including topics such as site selection, site assessment, water management, soil health, vegetation and habitat, human health and well-being, materials selection, and construction processes.

     • Credits and documentation: Explore specific credits within the SITES rating system, providing details on the requirements, documentation and calculations needed to achieve each credit.

     • Case studies: Share real-life examples or case studies of SITES-certified projects, showcasing the sustainable site planning and design strategies implemented, challenges faced and the positive ecological and social impacts achieved.

     • Landscape technologies and innovations: Discuss innovative technologies, materials and techniques that support sustainable site design and development, such as stormwater management systems, green infrastructure, renewable energy integration, native plantings and biodiversity conservation.

     • Industry standards and guidelines: Highlight industry standards, guidelines, and best practices related to sustainable land development, landscape architecture and ecological restoration that align with or complement the SITES certification system.

     • Updates and emerging trends: Share the latest updates, revisions, and emerging trends within SITES certification.

     • LEED-specific hours are designated for authoring directly related to LEED technical content

     • SITES-specific hours are designated for authoring directly related to SITES technical content.

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

   • Volunteers can claim 1 CE hour per hour of participation.

   • Volunteering includes participation in the following activities:

     • Leadership positions

     • Technical advisories
     • Steering committees (e.g., Credentialing Steering Committee, LEED Steering Committee, etc.)

     • Working groups (e.g., Equity Working Group, Advocacy Working Group)
     • LEED or SITES credential exam development and maintenance activities (i.e., item writing, item or form review)

     • Local USGBC community boards, committees or other volunteer organizations that support the LEED and SITES systems or a role in which they further the knowledge about green building.

   • LEED-specific hours are designated for volunteering directly related to LEED technical content.

     • LEED technical content refers to the specific knowledge, guidelines and requirements related to sustainable design, construction, and operation of buildings and communities within the context of the LEED rating systems. It includes detailed information about the criteria, strategies, calculations and documentation needed to achieve LEED certification for a project.

• SITES-specific hours are designated for volunteering directly related to SITES.

• Volunteer opportunities are available at the usgbc.org website.

Credential maintenance activities — Table 6

Type of CE activity	Education courses	Project participation	Authorship	Volunteering
	Unlimited CE hours	Unlimited CE hours	Unlimited CE hours	No more than 50% of CE hours
General	Related to green building	Registered project*	Credited contribution to published work	Activities that support USGBC and/or IWBI
LEED-specific	Related to LEED technical content†	LEED project*	Related to LEED technical content	Related to LEED technical content
SITES-specific	Related to SITES technical content†	SITES project*	Related to SITES technical content	Related to SITES technical content

*Exclude projects not intended to be implemented, as well as charrettes and precertification activities.

†Rating system-specific hours can only be earned through GBCI-approved education designated as LEED-specific or SITES-specific.

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Reporting Credential Maintenance

• To self-report CMP activities for LEED credentials, log into your USGBC account and select “Report CE hours.”

  • CE hours can be earned and reported while your credential status is active or inactive.

  • Reporting CE hours while in an inactive status:

    • If you report more CE hours than the minimum requirement during your current reporting period, those extra hours will be carried forward and applied toward fulfilling the CE requirements for your next reporting period.

    • CE hours within a single activity cannot be divided between two reporting periods. All hours from a particular activity can only be reported toward one reporting period. Therefore, the hours earned from one activity will be attributed entirely to a single reporting period and cannot be split across multiple reporting periods.

• Log into your SITES Online account to self-report CMP activities for the SITES AP credential.

The dashboards for reporting LEED and SITES CMP activities are unique; therefore, you must report all CE hours in each dashboard (account). This also applies to courses taken through USGBC’s online learning platform, Greenbuild sessions and regional USGBC courses for SITES.

Remember to save documentation supporting all CE hours earned and documented. Credential holders should keep documentation of CE hours from their current reporting period and one previous reporting period.

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Renewal

• Renewing your credential is available one year into your reporting period after completing the required CE hours. Even if all CE hours have been completed, renewal is unavailable until one year into your reporting period to ensure ongoing learning experiences demonstrating continued competency and up-to-date industry knowledge.

• Immediately after renewing your credential, your next reporting period will be reflected on your credential dashboard in the relevant credential account (USGBC/SITES).

  • If you are a LEED credential holder, you may continue to earn and report CE hours after renewing your credential; however, CE hours will only count toward your next reporting period once your next reporting period begins.

  • If you are a SITES AP credential holder, you can start earning and reporting CE hours once your new reporting period begins.

• It is your responsibility as the credential holder to record and maintain your continuing education in accordance with the guidance outlined in this CMP Guide. Add [e-mail] to your trusted contacts list to ensure your GBCI CMP reminder emails are not filtered into spam, junk or clutter folders.

To Renew for LEED

• Report your required CE hours for LEED through your USGBC account, ensuring you have met all requirements.
• Follow the onscreen instructions.

• Pay the nonrefundable renewal fees (view pricing).

Note: Effective November 3, 2023, the new LEED credential renewal policy provides flexibility for LEED credential holders to renew their credentials during both active and inactive status. Renewing credential holders are eligible for an early renewal rate during the active period. Those renewing their credentials during the inactive period are subject to an additional reactivation fee.

During the inactive period, credential holders have up to 12 months after their reporting period (renewal date) to continue earning and reporting CE hours for their LEED credential renewal. It is important to note that the reporting period will remain unchanged, and the additional time will be deducted from the next reporting period.

• See the LEED Credential Renewal Policy and Fees sections for additional information.

To Renew for SITES

• Report your required CE hours through your SITES Online account, ensuring you have met all requirements.
• Follow the onscreen instructions.

• Pay the nonrefundable renewal fee (view pricing).

Note: As per the SITES renewal policy, SITES AP credential holders have 30 days after the end of their reporting period to renew their credential without penalty, but remember all reported CMP activities must be earned between the start and end dates of the reporting period.

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Maintaining Multiple Specialties

LEED AP with specialty credential holders can maintain multiple specialties. The first LEED AP with specialty credential earned will be automatically designated as the primary credential. Any subsequent LEED AP with specialty credentials earned will be considered the secondary credential.

If you renew a LEED AP with specialty credential early and subsequently earn another LEED AP with specialty, all your LEED AP with specialty CMP reporting periods will align with your primary credential. This means the CMP requirements for the newly earned specialty will be prorated to align with the reporting period for your primary credential. This is explained in more detail in the Prorating section below.

Credential Maintenance for LEED APs with Multiple Specialties

Example: Prorated CE hour total for secondary LEED AP specialty earned between 6 months and 1 year after primary specialty.

SITES does not have multiple specialties, but a professional could be a LEED credential holder and a SITES AP credential holder. If that is the case, remember that the USGBC and SITES credential dashboards for reporting CMP activities are unique, so the reporting periods for LEED credential holders and SITES AP credential holders will not align. You will have a distinct reporting period for each credential based on when your credentials were earned.

Rules for Maintaining Multiple Specialties

1. If you are a LEED AP with multiple specialties, you will need to complete 6 additional hours of LEED-specific CE hours per reporting period for each additional specialty. For example, if you hold both a LEED AP BD+C and LEED AP O+M, you will be required to earn and report 36 CE hours during your 2-year reporting period:

   1. 24 general or LEED-specific hours

   2. 6 LEED BD+C-specific hours

   3. 6 LEED O+M-specific hours

2. If you are a LEED AP with specialty and you earn the SITES AP or WELL AP credential, all of your LEED CE hours (including LEED- specific) can count toward your 24 general CE hours for SITES and/or WELL, so you would only need an additional 6 SITES- specific hours.

3. Likewise, all hours reported for SITES or WELL CMP (including SITES-specific and WELL-specific) can be counted as LEED general CE hours. Remember, you must report all CE hours in each credential dashboard.

Prorating LEED AP with specialty CE requirements when a new LEED AP with specialty credential is earned.

If the primary and secondary specialties are not earned at the same time, the CMP requirement for the secondary specialty is prorated for the reporting period in which the secondary specialty was earned (See ‘Credential Maintenance for LEED APs with Multiple Specialties’ diagram). The reporting period stays the same. See the chart below for details.

Time after the start of the primary credential reporting period when the secondary credential is earned	Prorated LEED-specific hours required for the 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 LEED AP with specialty credential begins on 07/01/2024:

• 6 CE hours are required to maintain the secondary specialty if earned from 07/01/2024 to 12/31/2026.

• 4.5 CE hours are required to maintain the secondary specialty if earned from 01/01/2025 to 06/30/2025.

• 3 CE hours are required to maintain the secondary specialty if earned from 07/01/2025 to 12/31/2025.

• 1.5 CE hours are required to maintain the secondary specialty if earned from 01/01/2026 to 06/30/2026.

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GBCI Review

GBCI reviews a percentage of all credential holders’ CMP reporting at regular intervals to ensure they have the documentation to substantiate their claims of continuing education activities. GBCI reserves the right to conduct these reviews at any time.

GBCI will ask you to verify your completed activities with the appropriate documentation if you are selected for a review. Remember to save documentation supporting all CE hours earned and documented and reference this FAQ for additional information. Credential holders should keep documentation of CE hours from their current reporting period and one previous reporting period. This review process will also gather feedback on your CMP experience.

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Fees

GBCI credential holders are responsible for paying a biennial CMP renewal fee at the time of renewal. CMP renewal fees are associated with the reporting period that has either recently concluded or is nearing its end.

Payments will only be accepted in US dollars. If you prefer to pay by check or wire transfer, request an invoice.

• LEED credential holders: view pricing. Note: LEED credential holders with multiple specialties will only need to pay one renewal fee to renew multiple LEED AP specialties.
• SITES APs: view pricing.

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Past due

LEED Green Associate and LEEP AP with Specialty Credential Holders

As per the new LEED credential renewal policy effective November 3, 2023, LEED credential holders have a 12-month grace period after their reporting period ends to continue to earn and report CE hours to renew their LEED credential before it expires. It is important to note that the reporting period will remain unchanged, and the additional time the credential holder needs to earn CE hours will be deducted from the next reporting period.

Once your LEED credential expires, it is no longer valid. The only option to reinstate your LEED credential will be to retest as a new candidate for a LEED Green Associate credential and restart the credentialing process.

Note: If your LEED AP with specialty credential expires, you must start the credentialing process from the beginning and retest for your LEED Green Associate credential or LEED Green Associate and LEED AP with specialty combined exam. See New LEED Credential Renewal Policy section.

SITES AP Credential Holders

Credential holders have a 30-day grace period to renew and report hours previously earned within their reporting period after the reporting period has ended.

Remember, CE hours must be earned during your reporting period, so you cannot earn CE hours for the current reporting period during this 30-day grace period. If you do not report enough hours and successfully renew, your credential will expire, and your only option to reinstate your credential will be to retest as a new candidate for your SITES AP credential.

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Expiration

GBCI professional credentials will expire if the credential holder fails to complete the CMP requirements by reporting the required CE hours and paying all applicable renewal fees.

Once a credential expires, credential holders may no longer include their credential information in their email signatures, business cards or social media profiles.

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Reinstatement

To regain a credential after expiration, you must register and retest as a new candidate for the expired credential and pay all applicable fees.

Note: If your LEED AP with specialty credential expires, you must start the credential process from the beginning and retest for your LEED Green Associate credential or LEED Green Associate and LEED AP with specialty combined exam.

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Hardships

If unforeseen circumstances prevent you from completing your credential maintenance requirements within your 2-year reporting period, you must contact GBCI to explain your situation before your credential expires. For example, GBCI will consider situations such as military deployment, or credential holder’s long-term illness.

Requests must be submitted to GBCI at least 30 calendar days before the end of your inactive period; be prepared to provide supporting documentation.

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Failure to comply

Each LEED and SITES AP credential holder is responsible for demonstrating full compliance with CMP guidelines. Unsupported, misstated or fraudulent reporting of CE hours violates 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 and pay the associated renewal fees will result in the expiration of your credential.

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About Green Business Certification Inc.

GBCI is the world’s leading sustainability and health certification and credentialing body, independently recognizing excellence in performance and practice globally while promoting adoption of building and business practices that continually and measurably improve health, equity, resilience and environmental wellbeing for all. GBCI administers project certifications and professional credentials and certificates including, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating systems, as well as the PEER standard for power systems, the WELL Building Standard, the Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES), EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies), TRUE certification for zero waste and Investor Confidence Project (ICP) for energy efficiency retrofits.