All currently certified a-IPC™ professionals in infection prevention and control are eligible for recertification during the year their certification is due to expire. Continuing education credits, hereby referred to as Infection Prevention Units (IPUs), can be achieved through a variety of activities including presenting at conferences, authoring publications, furthering academic education, attending local or national conferences, participating in a professional organization in a position of leadership, paritcipating in a mentorship program, conducting research specific to the field of infection prevention, and teaching topics related to infection prevention. Relevant qualifying activities may be eligible for IPUs if they occurred within the five years prior to the recertification deadline. A minimum of 40 units must be documented and submitted in the candidate’s recertification year; documentation will only be accepted electronically via CBIC’s online portfolio system.
New! IPU Category: Participation in a Mentorship Program. a-IPCs who showcase leadership skills via participation in a formal mentorship program through a professional organization related to infection prevention and control may now earn 3 IPUs per year of program participation. Please review the IPU Manual for a full overview of the new category.
Professional Organization Participation Templates* -Chapter Leader Template* -Appointment Letter Template*
*Please note these templates are meant to act as a guide and should be updated accordingly. See CBIC's IPU Portfolio Guide for more information on the Recertification by IPU process.
To recertify by IPUs:
Coming Soon! CBIC is finalizing the set up of a-IPC portfolios in certificant accounts. We will distirbute an announcement once these are accessible.
Sign into your Profile: https://secure.cbic.org/imiscbic/cbic/profile/ Click on "My IPUs" on the top navigation panel. This header will only appear if you are actively certified.
The a-IPC™ is valid for five years and was previously renewable only through examination. The CBIC Board of Directors is pleased to announce the a-IPC™ certification is now renewable through either passing the initial, proctored examination or through continuing education, hereby referred to as Infection Prevention Units (IPUs).
A minimum of 40 IPUs obtained during the 5-year certification period must be documented and submitted in the candidate’s recertification year; documentation will only be accepted electronically via CBIC’s online portfolio system.
Current a-IPC™ certificants due to recertify between the years of 2025-2029 will be granted a prorated required minimum IPU amount since they were not given the full five-year term to earn their IPUs. The prorated IPU requirements for each corresponding year have been listed below.
a-IPC™ Expiration Date & Number of IPUs required
12/31/2025 – 5 IPUs
12/31/2026 – 12 IPUs
12/31/2027 – 20 IPUs
12/31/2028 – 27 IPUs
12/31/2029 – 35 IPUs
Certificants with an a-IPC™ certification expiration date beyond 2029 will be expected to meet the full 40 IPU minimum requirement. Certificants must also demonstrate that a portion of their IPUs have been attained in different years of the five-year certification cycle.
Certificants must meet at minimum 6 out of 8 of the domains across their selected IPU activities.
The a-IPC™ Domains include:
Processes to Identify Infectious Diseases.
Surveillance and Epidemiologic Investigation
Preventing/Controlling the Transmission of Infectious Agents
Employee/Occupational Health
Management and Communication of the Infection Prevention Program
Education and Research
Environment of Care
Cleaning, Disinfection, Sterilization of Medical Devices and Equipment
Certificants due to recertify in 2025 will not be required to meet a domain requirement but are encouraged to meet as many of the 6 domains as they can. Certificants due to recertify between the years of 2026-2029 will be granted a prorated required minimum domain amount since they were not given the full five-year term to earn their IPUs. The prorated IPU requirement for those with a good through date for the years 2026-2029, will be to meet at minimum 4 out of 8 of the domains across their selected IPU activities.
Certificants with an a-IPC™ expiration date beyond 2029 will be expected to meet the minimum 6 out of 8 domain requirement.
Upcoming Changes Effective 2028
To promote continuous learning, effective January 1, 2028, certificants must demonstrate that a portion of their IPUs have been attained in different years of the five-year certification cycle. Additionally, effective 2028, for multi-session infection control courses that offer continuous education units, an IPU may be awarded for each educational session of one hour or more, to a maximum of 30 IPUs for the course.
To better align with the strategic plan, the CBIC Board recommends candidates earn at least two IPUs from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and health equity within healthcare as a part of the minimum required 40 IPUs. DEI and health equity should be self-evident in the title or learning objectives. Both APIC and IPAC Canada have webinars that would meet this criteria
The entire application process can take up to 30 days from date of receipt. Please allow 30 days after submitting your professional portfolio before contacting CBIC.
Once your professional portfolio has been reviewed, you will receive an email indicating whether or not your portfolio units met the prescribed criteria.
Revisions to your original portfolio will be allowed and you will have the chance to resubmit it for further review if it is not approved initially. You will receive an email notification for revision requests along with information on what activities were not accepted and why. Instructions on how to update your portfolio will be included in that communication. If you do not respond to the resubmission request, your portfolio will not be accepted and you will need to recertify using the proctored in-person examination. There is a limit of TWO revisions and resubmissions. If after the second and final revision your portfolio is not approved, you must recertify by taking the proctored a-IPC™ examination to maintain your a-IPC™ status.
The recertification portfolio must be submitted by October 31 of the recertification year. If the portfolio is not submitted by October 31, the candidate has until November 30 to submit the portfolio with an added late fee of 25% of the recertification fee. The only method to obtain recertification for candidates who miss the November 30 deadlines are to purchase and complete the initial proctored examination by December 31.