Project+ Now Expires: Managing CE Across the CompTIA Family

Facts on this page were checked against CompTIA's own CE pages in November 2026. CompTIA changes CE rules and fees from time to time, so confirm against the linked sources before you pay or submit anything.

What changed for Project+

For years, CompTIA Project+ was a "Good for Life" certification: pass the exam once and you held it forever. That ended on October 1, 2025. CompTIA moved both Project+ and Server+ into its CE program, and anyone who earns either certification after that date has to renew it through CE (CompTIA: Server+ and Project+ Transition to CE).

If you already held Project+ before the change, your original certification stays good for life. CompTIA lets existing holders earn the Project+ ce designation by completing CEUs. The "ce" suffix tells an employer or contracting officer that the credential is current, not a test you passed in a different decade.

Here is what Project+ CE asks for, per CompTIA's published requirements:

• 30 CEUs within each three-year cycle (Earn CEUs).
• $150 in CE fees per three-year cycle, due by the expiration date. You can pay it in pieces or all at once (CE Renewal Fees).
• At least half of each activity's content has to relate to the Project+ exam objectives. A security course will not count toward Project+, even if it counts toward Security+.

How renewal stacking works

CompTIA ranks its certifications in a hierarchy. When you renew the highest one, the lower ones in the same line renew with it, and you only pay the CE fee for the highest one (CompTIA CE Program FAQ). The main line runs from SecurityX down through CySA+ and PenTest+, then Security+, Network+ and A+. Linux+ and Cloud+ branch off it.

Project+, Server+, Data+, DataSys+, DataAI and CloudNetX do not renew any other certification, and nothing in the hierarchy renews them. Each one is its own island with its own CEUs and its own fee.

What this means if you hold several CompTIA certs

Take a common set as an example: A+, Network+, Security+ and Project+, all kept current under CE. Before the change, renewing Security+ was enough to keep that whole set in order. Now there are two separate renewals to manage:

• The security stack. 50 CEUs and $150 for Security+ every three years. That renews Network+ and A+ along with it.
• Project+. 30 CEUs and $150 on its own cycle, which almost certainly has a different expiration date from Security+.

That is $300 in CE fees and 80 CEUs every three years instead of $150 and 50. It is worth deciding on purpose whether a credential still earns its keep. If you do not need Project+ for a contract or a job posting, letting a new one lapse can be a reasonable call. On the Project+ guide I already recommend going to the PMP or SAFe SPC instead for most people.

Ways to renew

CompTIA offers two kinds of renewal. You can renew with a single activity, or you can add up CEUs from several activities (Single Activity Renewal Options).

Single activity

• Pass the latest exam version. No CE fee, only the exam fee. For Project+ the current exam is PK0-005.
• Earn a higher CompTIA certification in the same line. No CE fee. This does not help Project+, because nothing sits above it.
• CertMaster CE. A self-paced course with no CE fee beyond the course price, but CompTIA only offers it for A+, Network+ and Security+.
• Earn a qualifying non-CompTIA certification. CE fees still apply (Earn a Non-CompTIA IT Industry Certification). CompTIA does not publish which certifications qualify for Project+ on that page, so check its listings or ask its help center before counting on one.

Multiple activities

CEUs can come from training and higher education, IT industry activities like conferences and webinars, publishing an article or blog post, related work experience, and other IT certifications. Each has its own documentation rules, and CompTIA's CEU assessment tool will tell you whether an activity qualifies before you submit it (Earn CEUs).

For a working project manager, the overlap with PMI is the useful part. Training you take to earn PMP PDUs often covers the same ground as the Project+ objectives, so one course can count toward both, provided it meets CompTIA's 50% rule and you keep the certificate. That is my reading of the rules, not a CompTIA statement, so run each course through the assessment tool.

A simple system for managing CompTIA CE

1. List every certification with its expiration date. Your CompTIA certification account shows them. Put each date on your calendar with a reminder six months out.
2. Group them into stacks. Find the highest cert in each line, and treat Project+, Server+ and the data certs as stacks of one.
3. Log CEUs as you earn them. Upload the activity and its proof to your certification account right away. CompTIA accepts CEUs automatically on submission and audits at random, so the documentation has to exist when they ask (CE Program FAQ).
4. Pay fees early or in pieces. Fees are not billed annually. They are due in full by the expiration date, and paying the fee without the CEUs does not renew anything. If your employer covers CE, ask about CE tokens, which CompTIA sells in $25 and $50 amounts and which do not expire (CE Renewal Fees).
5. Pick your highest-leverage activity. If a new exam version is coming out anyway, passing it renews the cert with no CE fee. Otherwise, pick training that you would take for your job regardless and that maps to the objectives.

If you work on a DoD contract, the stakes are higher. CompTIA notes that the DoD stopped recognizing Good for Life certifications for its workforce requirements in 2011, so a lapsed cert can affect whether you can stay in your role (CE Program FAQ).

Study material if you retest

If you would rather renew Project+ by passing the current PK0-005 exam than track CEUs, the same approach from my Project+ passing guide applies: buy the study guide for its practice test bank and spend your time there.

CompTIA Project+ PK0-005 Study Guide ↗

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