CCEUs and Exam Prep
Exam Preparation, Career Coaching Certification, Group Coaching and More
Professional trained and certified coaches are required to continuously reinforce their capabilities with meaningful coach training and development of business resources. The ICF requires 40 hours of continuing education (CCEUs) with recertification every 3 years. The BCC requires 70 hours CCEUs over a 5-year recertification cycle. Certified SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP HR professionals are required to achieve 60 Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for recertification every three years.
With the talent depth and breadth of our faculty and graduates, we are focused on expanding our line up of approved continuing education programs that serve to deliver stronger coaching skills, better business resources and solutions, and support our community in their quest for continuing education credits that truly make a difference. Listed below are a collection of standalone workshops that fill in particular gaps and needs for professional coaches in various stages of the credentialing process and business growth. And we have more planned that are in the pipeline, so stay tuned!
Upcoming ACC Sessions:
June 12, 2025
August 14, 2025
November 20, 2025
All sessions 1:00 - 4:30 pm Central Time
Upcoming PCC Sessions:
November 18, 2025
May 12, 2026
All sessions 1:00 - 5:30 pm Central Time
ICF Written Exam Prep -- ACC and PCC
Positive Coaching Solutions is dedicated to getting our students and ALL ICF credential candidates successfully through the ICF written exams, as painlessly and productively as possible. We offer two sets of ICF Exam Preparation Workshops that dig into the format and success factors of both exams. When a candidate is getting close to their experience hours target, we recommend registering for an exam prep module when you can "see the light at the end of the tunnel."
Having an exam prep close to the exam date ensures the competencies are refreshed, the code of conduct has a renewed focus, and any announced evolutions in the exam can be adequately communicated. All our graduates may take any exam prep module for FREE for 12 months after the end of the program using their unique coupon code for the cohort.
The ACC Exam: The ACC exam is a straightforward multiple choice test that requires a strong understanding of the core competencies and the code of conduct. It's 90 minutes in a proctored setting, either in a testing center or in a proctored virtual setting that meets the requirements.
The PCC Exam: The PCC exam is more comprehensive in terms of assessing an experienced coach's judgement and deep understanding of the complexities of providing coaching in multidimentional situations.
As with any standarized exam, we believe it is essential to understand the objectives of the exam, the structure of the process, and the underlying rationale for success. We are here to help you pass the first time! Time to tune up your test-taking for just $395!
BCC Written Exam Prep
We are a Registered Coach Training Provider (RCTP) for the Board Certified Coach (BCC) credential. We have a number of students who decide the BCC credential is an important or preferred step in their coach credentialing. For one thing, it is quicker to obtain because it does not require three months of mentor coaching. For people with advanced degrees, it also requires far fewer experience hours than ICF--just 30 hours compared to 100 hours for ICF. And honestly, the title "Board Certified Coach" has perceived value and marketing cache in particular professional industries, such as health care, law, and medical services.
Training and coaching experience hours required for the BCC vary by education level and counseling license held. The most common set of requirements is at the Masters Degree level which requires 60 hours of BCC-approved training and 30 hours of coaching experience. For now, they allow candidates to go backward in time and include "coaching" hours before they received professional coach training. In theory, at least, a candidate could be ready to submit their BCC application within days after the end of a coach training program.
The current exam is a 100-question, 2-hour, multiple choice exam based on "work behaviors" derived from a national job analysis. These work behaviors were updated in 2024, and a new set of Core Competencies have been published. (See BCCE Content Outline.) The new exam based on these new competencies won't be available until July 2025.
We believe these updated Core Competencies are vastly more in line with professional coaching best practices today. Over the years, we have offered a BCC Exam Prep to provide BCC candidates as much assistance as we can. Because of the CCE's delay in publishing the new exam, we decided to suspend our workshop until June 26, 2025 in order to focus on the new competencies and incorporate as much guidance and content knowledge we can glean. We will continue to offer the BCC Exam Prep twice a year for $395.
Upcoming Sessions: Register Now
June 26, 2025
December 4, 2025
All sessions run from 1:30 - 5:00 pm Central Time
More Exciting Programs to Come!
We are committed to providing high-value, game-changing professional development opportunties that will make real differences in the lives and businesses of our cherished coaching community. We have several new or improved Continuing Education programs on the drawing board and in the pipeline. Here are some examples:
- Certified Group Coaching Program that will equip coaches to expand their service offerings in a business model that produces more net income.
- Certified Career Management Coach (CCMC) is being retooled and updated to include important new content, incuding the use of AI in career development and job search.
- Stand up to Conflict with Coaching Skills adds broadly relevant coaching capabilities for coaches to work with difficult relationships and incompatible needs or values.
We believe in collaborative partnerships and the creative benefits of working with other passionate professionals. Good things just happen. Stay tuned for more to come.