✓ Checked 17 Oct 2026 against NICET's recertification page, Policy 30 and its operating procedure, the renewal FAQ, the fee schedule and the Fire Alarm Systems candidate handbook.
Every NICET certification runs on a fixed cycle. You keep it by logging continuing professional development (CPD) points and paying a renewal fee before the expiration date. The rules below apply to Fire Alarm Systems and to Inspection and Testing of Fire Alarm Systems alike.
How long is a NICET certification good for?
✓ Three years. Policy 30 sets the certification period at 36 months. The certification loses Active Status on the first day of the expiration month printed on the certificate.
Your first certification sets the clock. The Fire Alarm Systems candidate handbook says every later certification and every higher level expires on the same date as the first one. Upgrading from Level I to Level II does not restart the three years. The operating procedure confirms that extra certification activity does not move your expiration date.
How many CPD points do you need?
✓ 90 points per certification, per three-year period. The points must come from at least two of NICET's five categories. Only activity within the 36 months before your expiration date counts. The recertify page lists the category caps:
- ✓ Active Practitioner: up to 24 points a year, 72 in total.
- ✓ Additional Education: up to 72 points.
- ✓ Advance Profession: up to 45 points.
- ✓ Certification Activity: up to 90 points (see the note below).
- ✓ Special Exam: 45 points.
Notice the arithmetic. A full-time technician can earn at most 72 points from work alone. You need at least 18 more from a second category, so plan for that from year one.
What earns CPD points?
Working in the field. You earn 24 points a year when your main job reaches 1,000 hours or 120 workdays and you regularly do tasks tied to your certification. A workday is 7 hours or more. Second-job hours do not count. Keep your portal work history up to date.
Training and education. College credit earns 15 points per semester hour or 10 per quarter hour. Workshops, seminars, online courses and in-house employer training earn 1 point per contact hour. The operating procedure defines a contact hour as 50 to 60 minutes of new material. The recertify page says 45 to 60, so plan on the stricter figure. NICET does not pre-approve courses, and the training must teach you something new. Keep certificates showing the date, duration and topic, or an employer letter on letterhead for in-house training.
Advancing the profession. Committee service, technical papers, presenting, teaching and professional society membership each have point values in the operating procedure.
Certification activity. Upgrading your certification in the same practice area during the period earns 90 points. Earning a certification in a related practice area earns 30. Don't rely on an upgrade alone. Your points must still come from two categories, and NICET's documents disagree on the cap: the recertify page and handbook say 90, while one section of the operating procedure says 45.
Special exam. Passing NICET's special recertification exam for your practice area and level earns 45 points.
How does renewal work?
NICET's renewal FAQ describes the steps:
- About three months before expiration, NICET sends a notice through your candidate portal.
- You choose which certificates to renew and enter CPD points for each one separately.
- Once 90 points are entered, a "pay now" button appears. Pay before the expiration date: NICET's operating procedure treats anything submitted after it as a reinstatement.
- Within 2 to 4 weeks, the portal shows an approval or a request for more information.
NICET can request documentation at any time, so keep your records.
What does NICET renewal cost?
These figures come from the fee schedule, effective 1 August 2026:
- ✓ Base recertification fee: $220, which includes one subfield.
- ✓ Each additional subfield: $60.
- ✓ Retired status: $50.
- ✓ Late fee: $125 to return an expired certification to Active Status. It is charged on top of the recertification fees.
NICET's recertify page still showed lower, older amounts on 17 Oct 2026. We use the fee schedule because it carries the 1 August 2026 effective date.
What happens if your certification lapses?
If you do not document 90 points by the end of the period, the certification expires. Anything submitted after the expiration date goes through reinstatement. The operating procedure sets two routes:
- ✓ Within 18 months of expiration: pay the recertification and reinstatement fees and document 90 points from the last period. If you are short, you can make up the gap with extra education, submitted within 6 months of the original expiration date. Those make-up points cannot be reused later.
- ✓ More than 18 months after expiration: you must submit an updated work history showing at least 12 months of relevant experience in the past three years, newly verified performance measures, a new personal recommendation for Levels III and IV, and a passing score on the current exam for your highest level or one level higher.
A reinstated certification keeps its original cycle. NICET's example: a certification that expired on 1 July 2026 and was reinstated on 24 August 2027 expires on 1 July 2029.
NICET also offers Inactive Status if you are not working in your practice area. It requires at least 18 CPD points per three-year period and written documentation, such as proof of unemployment. Retired Status is open to certificants aged 55 or older who have retired from all paid work in their practice area.
Renewing more than one certification
If you hold more than one NICET certification, all of them share one expiration date. One activity can be reported for several certifications when it is relevant to each. You still report points separately for each certification. The fee is the base amount plus $60 for each additional subfield. You may also choose to renew some certificates and let others lapse.
How to verify a NICET certification
NICET's Verify Certified Personnel link opens a credential search in its candidate portal. You can search by certification ID or by name, with city and state. According to the candidate handbook, NICET releases only the certification status (such as Active, Expired or Retired), the level, the field or subfield, and the certification number. Our NICET certification lookup guide walks through the search step by step.
Keep your next level in view
An upgrade earns certification-activity points and moves your career forward at the same time. If you are working toward Level II, read the Level II exam guide and the levels and requirements guide. The Level II diagnostic shows which topics need work before you book. New to NICET? Start with how to get NICET certified.
Sources
- Recertify, NICET. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026.
- Policy 30: Continuing Professional Development, NICET, revised March 2017. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026.
- Policy 30: Recertification through Continuing Professional Development Operating Procedure, NICET, revised October 2025. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026.
- Renewal and Recertification Procedures, NICET. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026.
- CPD Points, NICET. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026.
- Fees, NICET. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026.
- Fire Alarm Systems Candidate Handbook, NICET, August 2026 edition. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026.
- Verify Certified Personnel, NICET. Retrieved 17 Oct 2026.