Recertification Information

At the end of each certification, recertification is required to continue using your certification designation. There are two methods to recertify your CRA®, CPRA®, or CFRA credential(s): 

  1. Apply for recertification

    -OR-

  2. Retake the certification exam 

Apply for Recertification

To apply for recertification, you must have earned documented contact hours throughout the certification term through professional development and other research administration activities. One (1) hour of research administration-focused activity equates to one (1) contact hour.

To apply, you must submit:

  1. Information regarding your continued participation or employment in the field.

  2. A detailed transcript of contact hours and necessary documentation using the “Track Your Contact Hours” page. *

Contact hours are submitted by the certificant based on the “honor system.” However, please note, the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) randomly audits submitted recertification applications. If your application is selected for audit, you will be required to submit supporting documentation of your earned contact hours. Failure to submit the required documentation will result in the expiration of your certification.

Contact hours include a variety of educational activities including but not limited to teaching, serving on professional journal or newsletter review boards, writing articles, serving on boards of relevant national associations, participating in workshops and seminars, as well as academic courses taught at an undergraduate or graduate level.

For more information on what constitutes a contact hour and the number of ways to earn contact hours, please click the button below:

how TO EARN CONTACT HOURS

Please note: Activities performed as an expected part of your regular job duties cannot be counted as contact hours.

What is Your Recertification Term?

If you took the exam prior to 2023, the expiration date shown on your current certificate(s) remains valid and the 5-year term and requirements apply for your next recertification. Then, after you have recertified under that 5-year term, the new 3-year term and contact hour requirements will take effect going forward. Your expiration date can be viewed in your Certificant Profile.

Example: If your CRA is up for recertification in 2025, the change from 5-year to 3-year term and contact hour requirements will not go into effect for you until you complete your next recertification (completing the end of five-year term with 80 required contact hours). Upon successful recertification, you will then be up for recertification in 2028 with 42 contact hours required.

5-Year Term Recertification Information 

Each exam requires 80 contact hours for recertification. For the CPRA and CFRA certifications, at least 64 of the required 80 contact hours must be in either pre-award or financial areas, respectively.

If you have more than one certification, earned contact hours for recertification can overlap. With 64 hours required for each specialty examination, it is possible to recertify two, or even three, certifications with a total of no more than 128 contact hours. A visual representation is provided below to show how contact hours for recertification of one to three certifications would be counted.

3-Year Term Recertification Information 

Each exam requires 42 contact hours for recertification. For the CPRA and CFRA certifications, at least 34 of the required 42 contact hours must be in either pre-award or financial areas, respectively.

If you have more than one certification, earned contact hours for recertification can overlap. With 34 hours required for each specialty examination, it is possible to recertify two, or even three, certifications with a total of no more than 68 contact hours. A visual representation is provided below to show how contact hours for recertification of one to three certifications would be counted.

Should a certificant not submit the required information and documentation for recertification according to the timeline above, the certificant must retake and pass the respective certification examination in order to maintain their certification.

Apply for Recertification 

Retake the Certification Exam

To renew your credential by retaking the exam, you must complete an online application for the relevant examination and successfully pass the exam.

Click here to begin the application for examination 


Fee and Application Information

The recertification application fee for all certifications is $195 USD. The late application period fee is $295 USD. Both fees include a $40 USD non-refundable processing fee. At this time, we only accept credit card payments. Paper checks that are mailed, are not accepted; however, in the future, we will be accepting e-checks.

Please note: You can expect to receive a response to your recertification application within approximately 10 business days. 

For questions, please contact [email protected].

* If you have already begun tracking your contact hours using another method such as an Excel spreadsheet or other program prior to the launch of our new tracking page, you may continue to use that method. You may also transition to our new tracking page which will generate a transcript of all your contact hour entries. You are not required to use the tracking page until your next recertification period.