Credentials / American College of Sports Medicine

ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist

ACSM-CEPcertificationverifiedby American College of Sports Medicine· Compare

Verified: this record was checked against its official source and the accreditor’s directory. Last verified 2026-09-03.

At a glance

Credential type

certification

Status

active

Target professional

Clinical exercise physiologists

Country

Official page

https://acsm.org/certification/get-certified/clinical-exercise-physiologist/

Recertification page

unknown

Accreditation

accreditedNCCAaccredited through 2026-09-30

Confirmed against NCCA Accredited Program Directory (full listing) on 2026-09-03: American College of Sports Medicine | ACSM-CEP | ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist | NCCA | Accredited through 9/30/2026

Renewal & CEU requirements

3 yr

renewal cycle

CEUs per cycle

$70

renewal

Recertification required

yes

CEU unit system

ACSM CEC (Continuing Education Credit); ACSM awards 1 CEC per contact hour of education; CEUs/CMEs accepted at 1.0 = 1.0 (0.1 CEU = 1.0 CEC if decimal system used)

Ethics requirement

CPR/AED at renewal

yes

Deadline rule

Certification valid 3 years; recertification must be completed by 11:59 p.m. EST on the expiration date. Certificants certified before 2025 expire Dec. 31; those newly certified in 2025 expire three years from the date of initial certification. A six-month grace period follows expiration (certification inactive during that time) with an $80 late fee; after the grace period only reinstatement ($225) or re-examination is possible.

Two options: (1) accumulate/report 60 CECs in the cycle, maintain current CPR/AED certification, and pay the fee by the expiration date, or (2) meet current certification requirements and retake/pass the exam. CECs are self-reported in the MyACSM Portal/CEC Dashboard and do not carry over to the next cycle. ACSM audits 10% of recertification submissions; audited certificants must supply documentation within 30 days. Caps: up to 8 CECs/year (24/cycle) for ACSM committee work; max 5 CECs/year for CPR/AED/First Aid certifications; up to 15 CECs/cycle (max 5/year) for teaching/lecturing; 10 CECs per college credit hour; up to 10 CECs for authoring publications; 15 CECs for earning a higher-level ACSM certification. Separate fee required for each credential renewed. Emeritus status ($165) available for retired certificants 65+ continuously certified 10 years, exempt from CECs and fees.

CEU recognition

American Council on Exercise (ACE) — accepts ceus from
Non-ACSM CECs accepted if content is directly related to the ACSM certification and the provider has a governing body or major fitness organization's CEC approval; ACSM matches the credit amount awarded (1 CEC per contact hour).
National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) — accepts ceus from
Accepted if directly related to the ACSM certification and approved by a governing body/major fitness organization, even if ACSM is not listed.
National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) — accepts ceus from
Accepted if directly related to the ACSM certification and approved by a governing body/major fitness organization, even if ACSM is not listed.
AFAA — accepts ceus from
Listed as an acceptable approving organization for non-ACSM-approved CECs in the ACSM Certification Guidebook.
ACSM Approved CEC Providers (100+ pre-approved providers) — approved ceu provider
ACSM operates an Approved Provider Program; credits from approved providers must be manually self-reported in the CEC Dashboard.
ACSM (CPR/BLS courses, auditing college courses, job duties, job shadowing, reading books/articles, EMT training, lifeguarding) — not recognized
ACSM does not award CECs for these activities (note: since Jan. 1, 2025 a maximum of 5 CECs/year may be reported for completing CPR/AED/First Aid certifications).

Sources (7)

https://acsm.org/certification/recertification/tier 1 primary
official recertification handbook · retrieved 2026-09-03
Clinical Exercise Physiologisttier 1 primary
official provider page · retrieved 2026-09-02
https://acsm.org/certification/recertification/faqs/tier 1 primary
official recertification handbook · retrieved 2026-09-03
ACSM Candidate Handbooktier 1 primary
official candidate handbook · retrieved 2026-09-02
https://acsm.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/acsm-certification-guidebook.pdftier 1 primary
official recertification handbook · retrieved 2026-09-03
https://acsm.org/certification/recertification/recert-now/tier 1 primary
official recertification handbook · retrieved 2026-09-03
NCCA Accredited Certification Programs Directory — full listing (311 programs), Institute for Credentialing Excellencetier 2 authoritative registry
accreditation directory · retrieved 2026-09-03

Latest verification activity: initial verification → confirmed (2026-09-03) · reverification → confirmed (2026-09-03) · reverification → confirmed (2026-09-03) · initial verification → confirmed (2026-09-02)