ACSM Certified Personal Trainer

Renewal & CEU requirements

Recertify by earning 45 CECs during the cycle, maintaining current CPR/AED certification, and paying the $60 fee; alternatively retake and pass the exam. CECs are self-reported in the MyACSM/CEC Dashboard; ACSM-run courses/events auto-post. CECs do not carry over between cycles. ACSM audits 10% of recertification submissions (documentation due within 30 days). Max 5 CECs/year for CPR/AED/First Aid courses; up to 8 CECs/year (24 per cycle) for ACSM committee work; up to 15 CECs/cycle for teaching/lecturing (max 5/year); 10 CECs per college credit hour; up to 10 CECs for authoring publications; 10 CECs for earning a higher-level new ACSM certification. Separate fee required for each credential held. Emeritus status ($165) available at 65+ with 10 years continuous certification and retired, exempting future CEC/fee requirements. Starting 2027 all ACSM certifications will require first aid training.

CEU recognition

• Other certifying organizations' certifications — not recognized
  Certifications earned from other organizations cannot be applied toward ACSM certification renewal (only new higher-level ACSM certifications earn CECs); ACSM also does not award CECs for auditing college courses, job duties, job shadowing, reading, EMT training or lifeguarding
• American Council on Exercise (ACE) — accepts ceus from
  Non-ACSM-approved CECs accepted if directly related to the ACSM certification and the provider has CEC approval from a governing body or major fitness organization; ACSM matches the credit amount at 1 CEC per contact hour (1.0 = 1.0; decimal systems 0.1 = 1.0)
• National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) — accepts ceus from
  Same conditions: activity must be directly relevant to the ACSM certification and approved by a governing body/major fitness organization; credit matched at 1 CEC per contact hour
• National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) — accepts ceus from
  Same conditions: activity must be directly relevant to the ACSM certification and approved by a governing body/major fitness organization; credit matched at 1 CEC per contact hour
• AFAA — accepts ceus from
  Listed in the ACSM Certification Guidebook as an example of a major fitness organization whose CEC approval makes an activity acceptable, even if ACSM is not listed
• ACSM Approved CEC Providers (100+ organizations reviewed by ACSM's Education Department) — approved ceu provider
  CECs from ACSM Approved Providers count toward recertification but are not auto-posted; must be self-reported with documentation retained

Sources (7)

• https://acsm.org/certification/recertification/tier 1 primary
  official recertification handbook · retrieved 2026-09-03
• Certified Personal Trainertier 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)