Prince 2 certification is in demand all across the globe. This demand is not limited to any specific industry or organizations. Rather, the Prince 2 qualified professionals can perform efficiently in any organization they take up a job. The employers are more than happy to give them a place in the work as they are efficient, up to date and are better performers when compared to the non- Prince 2 qualified professionals. 

But there are numerous questions which arise when considering the efficiency and ability of Prince 2 certified professionals. Is their certification valid for the lifetime? Can they use it for any number of years and still land a job which fulfils their desires? Can the validity of the Prince 2 certification expire? What happens if the certification has expired? What will I have to do to renew my Prince 2 certification? Is there a difference in the validity of Prince2 foundation and practitioner certification?

Let us look at some facts that will help you in understanding the answers to these very pressing questions about Prince 2 certification.

Prince 2 foundation certification does not expire for a lifetime. Yes! You can use the foundation certificate of Prince 2 project management course anytime you wish. It does not expire. It is yours to be used as long as you decide to keep it. The certificate you receive after successful completion of the course and passing the Prince 2 foundation examination is in a digital format that is a PDF. You will get it from the institute you compete your course from. Even if you lose the copy of your certificate any time in future, you can simply ask for another copy from the institution. That’s it. No fuss.

There are no worries related to the validation of Prince 2 foundation certification.

Prince 2 practitioner certification is not this easy to neither get nor maintain. It is a certification based on practical understanding of a candidate regarding the Prince 2 methodology. The validation of Prince 2 Practitioner certificate is divided into two phases or you can say, time durations.

If you have completed your Prince 2 practitioner course and received a certificate for the same before 31stDecember 2019 and the exam you appeared for was in the 2009 format and syllabus, you status of a Prince 2 Practitioner will last for 5 years maximum. Your certificate will remain valid for 5 years about date of completion.

If you have completed the Prince 2 practitioner certification and received the certificate after 1st January 2018, it will remain valid for 3 years. Now you might wonder why this change?

So, to answer that you should know that AXELOS rolled out a set of guidelines in 2017 which brought about wide-ranging changes in Prince 2 certification course

The reduction in the validity of Prince 2 Practitioner certification is one of those. This might seem unfair to many but take a look at it from a different perspective. When there is a lot of competition in the job industry and everybody has a good number of qualifications on the resume, it becomes challenging for the employers to decide. Moreover, the world is changing at a pace which is matched by only a few.

If you wish to have an edge over others in the professional world you need to work for it. Getting an update every 3 years will provide you an opportunity to brush up your knowledge and improve your skills of project management. It won’t be wrong to say, that you will have an upper hand in the latter case. Removing the dirt from your certification is much better than letting it rust over time.

So, based on the above discussion we have arrived at two conclusions:

• Prince 2 Foundation certification does not expire, and can be used for a lifetime.
• Prince 2 Practitioner certification has a validity of 3 years straight if you have completed the course after 1stJanuary 2018.

After getting all familiar with the certificate validity of Prince 2, the matter that needs to be addressed is what is to be done, one the Prince 2 practitioner certificate expires? How will you be able to maintain your Practitioner status? There are two ways in which this objective could be achieved:

• Reappearing for the Prince 2 Practitioner examination before it expires.
• Subscribing to the MY PRINCE2 subscription offered by AXELOS and acquiring 20 CPD points (annually).

There was a mid-way before the 2017 guidelines changed everything about re registration of Practitioner course. In that you could have taken are registration exam for Practitioner certification and could have renewed your status. This exam was 90 minutes shorter than the original one and saved you a lot of stress. But now, you need to take the complete practitioner exam. There mains no short cuts to Prince 2 Practitioner certification renewal now. Or you can take the CPD route as said earlier. If you collect CPD points you will not need to take any exam for renewing your Practitioner status for Prince 2.

Prince 2 subscription has a lot of benefits associated with it. All the latest management publication, project management reports, resources will be accessible to you. You will be able to keep yourself updated and prepare for the exams as well. Along with this, you will also have access to the toolkit which allows you to improve your performance in the workspace and you receive a badge which validates your certification. Isn’t it great to have all this in just one subscription?

How can you check the expiration date of your certificate? There is no need to check for the expiration of Foundation level certification. For the Practitioner level, you can look at the expiration date which is mentioned on the certificate you receive.

Apart from this you can also check the Successful Candidate Register to know about the expiration of your certificate. But bear in mind, your name will be reflected in the register only if you choose it to be so.

In the end, make sure that you keep an eye on the date when your certification expires. Once the status lapses, you can retake the practitioner exam and move forward. In the meantime, you will not be allowed to take any job or refer yourself as a Prince 2 Practitioner. Another tip for you is that if you revive you Practitioner status before its expiration, it will save you from getting the business cards and your resume reprinted. So, keep yourself updated and enjoy the benefits the Prince 2 certification has to offer. Availing the subscription remains the best option for the candidates, but chooses for yourself what suits you.