Maintain Your Supply Management Certification

The CPSM® designation is valid for a 3-year period. To maintain the CPSM®, you must recertify by submitting a recertification application with proof of continuing education completed. Individuals with a CPSM® that has been expired for more than a year must retake all the exams to recertify.

CPSD’s are required to recertify every 3 years with 60 Continuing Education Hours (CEHs). CPSD’s are encouraged to recertify within the 60 days prior to the expiration date. Once your certification has expired, you will be given a one-year grace period in which you can recertify with no penalty. Candidates in their grace period will not be recognized as a CPSD® nor will they be allowed to use the designation. Certificate dates will appear on the certificate as if the recertification had been completed prior to the expiration of your previous certificate.

Please notify the Certification Department when you move or change jobs to keep your records current, as we may attempt to notify individuals when their designation has expired. You can also update your contact information by logging into ismworld.org and going to My Account to update your contact information.

Individuals who have earned their C.P.M. designation are required to be recertified every five years. To be recertified, an applicant must earn 84 Continuing Education Hours (CEHs) during their current certificate period.

At least two-thirds of the CEHs must be educational in nature. One-third may be earned in the professional contributions category.

CEHs are counted hour-for-hour. For example, if a candidate is in a class for 7 hours (not counting lunch and breaks) then ISM gives credit for 7 CEHs.

Hours may be earned for any class/conference/seminar that is at least one hour long, is related to the candidate's job, and is documentable. The only job-related classes we will not accept are related to first aid, safety, or fork-lift training.

The documents we require for continuing education can be either a certificate of completion or a letter of completion from the organization which sponsored the class/seminar/conference. Candidates can also have a supervisor sign-off on all continuing education.

CEHs may be earned in the following categories:

1. College Courses (Taken or Taught)
2. Continuing Education (Taken or Taught)
3. Contributions to the Profession

Candidates should submit their application for recertification no more than 120 days prior to the expiration date on their current certificate. For example, if a candidate's expiration date is October 31, then they would need to wait until at least June 30 before applying for Recertification.

Please note: Candidates whose certificates lapse for more than one year will not be allowed to recertify.

In addition to the recertification requirements, those applying for Lifetime Certification must document at least 18 years of full-time professional (non-clerical, non-support) purchasing and supply management experience.

Applicants for Lifetime Certification should apply as soon as they are eligible.

Candidates will have already documented a certain amount of C.P.M. experience on their C.P.M. Original application so they do not need to document this particular experience again.

A C.P.M. meeting Lifetime Certification criteria in a current certificate period needs to earn Continuing Education Hours (CEHs) through the year in which they meet the requirements for Lifetime Certification, regardless of when they apply for the designation.

At least two-thirds of the CEHs must be educational in nature. One-third may be earned in the professional contributions category.

Applicants must submit documentation of CEHs earned, determined on a prorated basis, since their last certificate date. Please refer to the prorated scale below to determine the number of CEHs required:

Please note: Candidates whose certificates lapse for more than one year will not be allowed to recertify.

Once you've attained the required CEHs for your designation, you are ready to submit your application. Please submit your application for recertification no earlier than 120 days prior to the expiration date on your current certificate.

Recertification Application Fee

Member $135 USD

Nonmember $295 USD

Public seminars (for example, AMA and APICS), education and training offered by your organization, and conferences and other educational programs are eligible for CEHs. Educational events are eligible for consideration if (1) the subject matter was purchasing, materials management, supply management, management or another business-related subject matter, and (2) the event was at least an hour in length. Documentation for each continuing educational event submitted by the applicant must include (1) applicant’s name, (2) title of program, (3) date(s) of program, (4) name of sponsoring institution, (5) length of event in educational contact hours and (6) signature of program director/instructor or supervisor.

You can find the replacement certification request form and instructions here.