Malta, NY, March 4, 2013 – Today BPI announced a new certification renewal policy that recognizes the work experience of BPI certified professionals. The new policy eliminates field exam requirements in certain circumstances according to verified work experience. This change will benefit those professionals who maintain continuous certification and remain active in home performance roles.

The renewal policy outlined below applies only to those certified professionals who maintain continuous certification. However, BPI is allowing a one-time exception for those individuals whose certifications have expired no more than six months before this policy is enacted (that is, going back to August 28, 2012). All eligible individuals whose certification expires after August 28, 2012 and before April 15, 2013 have until April 15, 2013 to apply for certification renewal under these new rules. (If exams are required based on the new policy, they must be taken by June 15, 2013.) After April 15, 2013, all individuals who wish to renew under this policy must do so before their certification expires; otherwise, they must retake the relevant written and field exams for each certification they wish to renew.

BPI invites all eligible parties to submit an Application for BPI Certification Renewal (proctors should use a separate application for proctors located in their BPI portals). For complete information on BPI’s new policy, including eligibility criteria and recertification fees, see theBPI Certification Renewal Policy. A summary of the renewal criteria is provided below.

1. Individuals renewing their certifications for the first or second time (time certified: 3 to 6 years) are subject to field exam waivers if they meet the following criteria:

Practitioners – Practitioners must be able to prove* a minimum of 3,000 hours of relevant experience within the past three (3) years, related to the designation being renewed.
Proctors – BPI Proctors who remain in good standing during the entire certification cycle are not required to take a field exam upon recertification. Proctors should consult the BPI Proctor Certification Renewal Policy located in their portals for complete information. To apply for renewal, proctors should use theApplication for BPI Certification Renewal – Proctors, located in their BPI portals.
Trainers – For individuals whose primary function involves training with content relevant to the house as a system – 10 points over a 3 year period are required to bypass the field exam (2 points for every 20 hours of training*).

*BPI accepts a signed letter on company letterhead from current and/or past employers documenting work or training experience.

2. Individuals renewing certifications for the third time, or anytime thereafter (time certified: 9 years or more) are not required to take a field exam in order to renew a certification for a particular designation.

3. Recognized Industry Experts that can demonstrate experience and knowledge in the home performance industry will not be required to take a written or field exam to renew their certification. All candidates to be considered Industry Experts must be approved by BPI’s Certification Management Board upon completion of a review of the candidate’s curriculum vitae (CV). Typically this category is reserved for individuals with 20 years or more experience in the industry; who have published books on home performance; regularly speak publicly at industry conferences; serve on committees, panels or working groups to advance the goals of the industry; and are recognized by others in the industry as experts in their field. Candidates should submit anApplication for BPI Certification Renewal together with their CV prior to their certification expiring.

Written exam requirements remain unchanged, as outlined below:

30 or more CEUs accrued during the three year period – no exam required.
10-29 CEUs accrued – passing a 50-question online exam for each designation is required.
0-9 CEUs accrued – passing a 100-question online exam for the first designation and a 50-question online exam for each additional designation is required.

For more detailed information, please click here.

Source: Building Performance Institute Partnership with testing organizations that deliver BPI services in their market

For more information on BPI, visit www.bpi.org.