aPHR Recertification: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Credential Active
The Associate Professional in Human Resources (aPHR) is the entry point into the HRCI certification family. It’s designed for people who are early in their HR careers, switching into HR from another field, or still in school studying human resources. No experience required to sit for the exam — which is exactly why it’s become one of the most popular starting certifications in the profession.
But earning the aPHR is only the first step. Like every HRCI credential, the aPHR has a recertification requirement. Every three years, you need to demonstrate ongoing professional development by earning continuing education credits. If you don’t, you risk losing the credential you worked to earn.
This guide covers the full aPHR recertification requirements — how many credits you need, what types of activities qualify, key deadlines, what happens if you fall behind, and how to complete the process affordably.
Who Holds the aPHR (And Why It Matters)
The aPHR was introduced by HRCI specifically for professionals who are new to the human resources field. Unlike the PHR (which requires at least one year of professional HR experience) or the SPHR (which requires four to seven years), the aPHR has no experience prerequisite. You can earn it with just a high school diploma or equivalent.
This makes the aPHR ideal for:
- Recent graduates with an HR or business degree who want to stand out in their first job search
- Career changers moving into HR from operations, administration, teaching, or other fields
- Current students who want to demonstrate HR knowledge before graduating
- Administrative professionals who handle some HR functions and want formal recognition
If you’ve already earned your aPHR, congratulations — you’ve taken a meaningful step. Now your job is to keep it active through recertification.
aPHR Recertification Requirements: The Basics
Here’s a quick-reference summary of what HRCI requires for aPHR recertification:
- Total credits required: 45 recertification credits per 3-year cycle
- Ethics requirement: At least 1 credit must be in ethics
- Specialized credit requirement: None (no mandatory Business, Global, or California credits)
- Recertification cycle: 3 years, ending on the last day of your birth month
- Alternative path: Retake and pass the aPHR exam
- HRCI recertification fee: Paid at time of application submission
If you’re familiar with PHR or SPHR recertification, you’ll notice the aPHR is meaningfully simpler. The credit total is lower (45 instead of 60), and there’s no specialized credit category you need to fill. The only specific requirement beyond the 45 total credits is that at least one credit comes from an ethics-focused activity.
Understanding Your Recertification Cycle and Deadlines
Timing is one of the most common sources of confusion in HRCI recertification. Here’s how the cycle works for aPHR holders.
When Your Cycle Starts and Ends
Your three-year recertification cycle begins on the date you pass your aPHR exam — not when you receive your certificate or digital badge.
Your cycle ends on the last day of your birth month, three years after your certification date. For example, if you passed the aPHR exam on June 10, 2023 and your birthday is in September, your cycle ends on September 30, 2026.
This birth-month structure means your actual cycle might be slightly longer or shorter than exactly 36 months. Check your HRCI account at hrci.org to confirm your exact cycle end date, and set your own calendar reminder 12 months before your deadline so you have time to plan.
The Three Categories of aPHR Recertification Credits
HRCI organizes recertification credits into three broad categories. All three count toward your 45-credit requirement.
Category 1: Continuing Education Activities
This is where most aPHR holders earn the bulk of their credits. Continuing education includes:
- Online courses from HRCI-approved providers (like RecertifyHR’s library of 68+ courses)
- Webinars and virtual events on HR topics
- Conferences and seminars (in-person or virtual)
- College or university courses in HR or related subjects
- Instructor-led workshops and training sessions
The advantage of continuing education credits is that they’re predictable and easy to track. When you complete a course from an HRCI-approved provider, the credits are reported automatically — no guesswork about whether something qualifies.
Category 2: Work Experience Activities
HRCI recognizes that you learn on the job. Certain work-related activities can earn recertification credits, including on-the-job HR projects, mentoring other professionals, serving on HR-related committees, and leading training for your team.
Work experience credits require documentation — you’ll need to describe the activity and explain what you learned. They’re a legitimate option, but the documentation overhead means most people prefer the simplicity of courses.
Category 3: Other Professional Activities
This category covers publishing HR-related articles or research, speaking at HR events, volunteering for professional organizations, and serving on boards. These activities are less common for aPHR holders early in their careers, but if you’re already doing them, you may be earning credits without realizing it.
The Ethics Credit Requirement
Every aPHR recertification cycle requires at least 1 credit in ethics. This is the only specific content requirement beyond the 45-credit total.
Ethics credits come from activities focused on ethical practices in human resources — topics like confidentiality, compliance, conflicts of interest, and ethical decision-making frameworks.
One credit might not seem like much, but don’t leave it until the last minute. The smart move is to knock it out early in your cycle so the remaining 44 credits can come from whatever topics interest you most.
Tip: RecertifyHR’s course library includes ethics-focused content that counts toward this requirement. As an HRCI-approved provider with 68+ courses, all credits are pre-approved and automatically reported — no need to submit documentation yourself.
How aPHR Differs from PHR and SPHR Recertification
If you’re planning your certification progression — or if you’ve seen advice online that’s actually about PHR/SPHR recertification — the differences matter.
| Requirement | aPHR | PHR | SPHR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total credits per cycle | 45 | 60 | 60 |
| Cycle length | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years |
| Ethics credits required | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Business credits required | None | 15 | 15 |
| Experience to earn | None | 1+ year | 4-7 years |
The two biggest differences for recertification planning:
- Fewer total credits. The aPHR requires 45 credits instead of 60. That’s 15 credits per year instead of 20 — a meaningful difference when you’re early in your career and balancing professional development with learning the fundamentals of your role.
- No specialized credit categories. PHR and SPHR holders must earn at least 15 Business credits, and GPHR holders need Global credits. The aPHR has no such requirement. Any combination of approved credits counts, as long as you get your one ethics credit.
For a deeper dive, check out our complete guide to PHR recertification and our HRCI recertification complete guide.
What Happens If You Miss Your Recertification Deadline
If you don’t complete your 45 credits by the end of your cycle, your aPHR credential moves to Suspended status. This is not the same as losing your certification entirely, but it’s serious.
During suspension:
- You cannot use the aPHR designation after your name or on your resume
- You have up to 12 months to complete the remaining requirements and apply for reinstatement
- You’ll need to pay a $100 suspended recertification fee on top of the standard recertification fee
If 12 months pass and you still haven’t recertified, your aPHR credential is permanently revoked. The only way to get it back is to retake and pass the aPHR exam from scratch. This is why planning ahead matters — you don’t want to be scrambling in the final months of your cycle or paying extra fees during a suspension period.
The Exam Retake Alternative
If you’d rather not earn 45 credits through continuing education, HRCI gives you one other option: retake the aPHR exam.
- If you pass, your credential is renewed for another three years
- If you fail, your credential is not renewed — and any credits you’ve earned don’t serve as a backup
Our recommendation: Earn your credits through continuing education. It’s the safer, more practical path — and it builds your HR knowledge throughout your cycle rather than requiring a high-pressure exam at the end.
How to Earn aPHR Recertification Credits Efficiently
With 45 credits spread over three years, you’re looking at roughly 15 credits per year. That’s a manageable pace with the right plan.
Start Early and Set Milestones
The biggest mistake aPHR holders make is waiting until year three to start earning credits. Set a goal of 15 credits per year and put a quarterly calendar reminder to check your progress. Spreading the work across your full cycle is less stressful and gives you more learning value.
Use an HRCI-Approved Provider
When you take courses from an HRCI-approved provider, credits are automatically reported to HRCI — no need to submit certificates or fill out activity logs.
RecertifyHR is an official HRCI-approved provider with 68+ courses covering 100.5 credit hours across multiple categories. That’s more than double what you need for a full aPHR recertification cycle, which means you have plenty of options to choose topics that are relevant to your career growth.
Mix Up Your Learning
You don’t have to earn all 45 credits from courses. Consider mixing in free webinars from HR associations, work experience credits for projects you’re already doing, and professional activities like volunteering with your local SHRM chapter. That said, online courses remain the most efficient path for the bulk of your credits — self-paced, flexible scheduling, automatic credit reporting.
How Much Does aPHR Recertification Cost?
The total cost depends on how you earn your credits. HRCI charges a recertification application fee regardless of your method. Beyond that, your spending on courses and activities is the variable.
For most aPHR holders, the most cost-effective approach is an all-access subscription to an HRCI-approved online provider. RecertifyHR offers unlimited access to 68+ HRCI-approved courses for $250 per year. Over a three-year cycle, that gives you far more credits than you need at a fraction of what a single HR conference would cost.
With 2,800+ HR professionals already using RecertifyHR for their recertification credits, it’s a proven path that works across every HRCI certification level — including aPHR holders.
The aPHR to PHR to SPHR Pathway
One of the biggest advantages of the aPHR is that it positions you on the HRCI certification ladder:
- aPHR — No experience required. Proves foundational HR knowledge.
- PHR — Requires 1-4 years of professional HR experience (depending on education). Demonstrates operational HR expertise.
- SPHR — Requires 4-7 years of progressive HR experience. Validates strategic HR leadership ability.
As you move from aPHR to PHR, the credit requirement increases from 45 to 60, and you’ll need those 15 Business credits that the aPHR doesn’t require. Planning for that transition now — by occasionally choosing Business-category courses even when they’re not required — can make the PHR recertification process feel familiar when you get there.
If you’re exploring which certification makes the most sense for your career stage, our guide on how to choose the right HR certification for your career path breaks it down in detail.
Getting Started Today
If you haven’t used an online platform for recertification credits before, RecertifyHR offers a free Change Management course you can complete right now. It counts toward your aPHR credits and gives you a feel for how the process works — no commitment required.
Frequently Asked Questions About aPHR Recertification
How many credits do I need for aPHR recertification?
You need 45 recertification credits over a three-year cycle. At least 1 of those credits must be in ethics. There are no other specialized credit requirements — unlike the PHR and SPHR, which require 15 Business credits. The 45-credit total can come from any combination of continuing education, work experience, and professional activities approved by HRCI.
When does my aPHR recertification cycle end?
Your cycle ends on the last day of your birth month, three years after you earned your aPHR. For example, if you were certified in March 2024 and your birthday is in October, your cycle ends October 31, 2027. You can confirm your exact dates by logging into your HRCI account at hrci.org.
What happens if I don’t recertify my aPHR on time?
Your aPHR moves to Suspended status for up to 12 months. During this time, you cannot use the aPHR designation and must pay a $100 suspended recertification fee in addition to the standard fee. If 12 months pass without recertification, your credential is permanently revoked and you would need to retake the aPHR exam to earn it again.
Can I use RecertifyHR courses for aPHR recertification?
Yes. RecertifyHR is an official HRCI-approved provider, and all courses in our library count toward aPHR recertification credits. With 68+ courses covering 100.5 total credit hours, you can complete your entire 45-credit requirement — including the ethics credit — through RecertifyHR. Credits are reported automatically to HRCI.
Is the aPHR easier to recertify than the PHR or SPHR?
Yes, in terms of volume and flexibility. The aPHR requires 45 credits compared to 60 for the PHR and SPHR. More importantly, the aPHR has no specialized credit category requirement — you don’t need a specific number of Business or Global credits. The only specific requirement is at least 1 ethics credit per cycle.
Can I retake the aPHR exam instead of earning credits?
Yes, HRCI allows you to retake the aPHR exam as an alternative to earning 45 recertification credits. However, this option carries significant risk: if you fail the exam, your credential is not renewed, and any credits you’ve previously earned don’t count as a fallback. For most aPHR holders, earning credits through continuing education is the safer and more practical approach.