What Counts as a SHRM PDC? Full Activity List

If you hold a SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP, you need 60 Professional Development Credits (PDCs) every 3 years to recertify. But figuring out exactly what counts as a SHRM PDC can feel like decoding a rulebook that was written by committee — because it was.

Some activities qualify automatically. Others require documentation. And some things you probably assume count toward recertification actually do not. This guide gives you the full picture: every qualifying activity type, organized by category, with the caps, calculations, and reporting details you need to plan your credits with confidence.

Whether you are 55 PDCs short or just getting started on a new cycle, this is the reference page you will want to bookmark.

The Three SHRM PDC Categories

SHRM organizes all qualifying activities into three categories. Each category has its own rules, and two of the three have hard caps on how many PDCs you can earn. Understanding these categories is the first step to building a smart recertification plan.

1. Advance Your Education (No Cap)

This is the most flexible and most popular category. It covers all structured learning activities — courses, webinars, conferences, college classes, workshops, e-learning programs, and more. There is no cap on Education PDCs, which means you could earn all 60 credits in this category alone if you wanted to.

For most HR professionals, Education activities form the backbone of their recertification strategy. The lack of a cap means you never have to worry about hitting a ceiling or strategically distributing credits across categories.

2. Advance Your Organization (Capped at 30 PDCs)

This category covers on-the-job HR initiatives that create measurable value for your employer. Think major projects, not routine tasks. SHRM caps this category at 30 PDCs per 3-year cycle, so you cannot rely on it exclusively.

Organization activities require more documentation than Education activities, and SHRM expects you to describe the project scope, your role, and the outcomes achieved.

3. Advance Your Profession (Capped at 30 PDCs)

Profession activities involve giving back to the HR community through leadership, mentoring, writing, speaking, and volunteering. This category is also capped at 30 PDCs per cycle.

A quick win here: your SHRM membership automatically provides 3 PDCs per year (up to 9 per cycle) in this category. That is free credits for something you are already paying for.

Strategic takeaway: Build your plan around Education activities (no cap, easiest to document), then supplement with Organization and Profession credits where they naturally arise from your work and professional involvement.

Complete List of Activities That Count as SHRM PDCs

Here is a comprehensive breakdown of what counts as a SHRM PDC in each category. Use this as your go-to reference when evaluating whether a specific activity qualifies.

Advance Your Education Activities (No Cap)

Online courses and e-learning: Self-paced or instructor-led courses from SHRM-recognized providers. This includes platforms like RecertifyHR, which offers 68+ pre-approved courses designed specifically for recertification.
Webinars and virtual events: Live or on-demand webinars that cover HR-related topics. Must meet minimum time thresholds.
Conferences and seminars: In-person or virtual HR conferences, including the SHRM Annual Conference, state council events, and chapter-level programs.
Workshops and instructor-led training: Structured training sessions led by a qualified instructor, whether in-person or virtual.
College and university courses: Accredited coursework in HR or related fields. Credit conversion follows SHRM’s formula (see calculation section below).
SHRM specialty credentials: Programs like the SHRM Talent Acquisition Specialty Credential, People Analytics, and others in SHRM’s specialty credential lineup.
Podcasts (if pre-approved): Educational HR podcasts that have been pre-approved by SHRM or a recognized provider. Not all podcasts qualify — the content must be structured and HR-specific.
Read-for-recertification programs: Structured reading programs where you read a qualifying book and complete a required assessment or write-up.
Continuing education units (CEUs): Approved legal education and other CEU-eligible formats where SHRM alignment has been confirmed.

Advance Your Organization Activities (Capped at 30 PDCs)

Implementing a new HRIS or HR technology platform: Leading or co-leading a system migration, vendor selection, or technology deployment project.
Leading DEI initiatives: Designing and executing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs with documented goals and outcomes.
Workforce planning and restructuring: Strategic headcount planning, succession planning, or organizational redesign efforts.
Creating new HR programs or policies: Developing employee engagement programs, new onboarding frameworks, compensation restructuring, or similar organizational initiatives.
Compliance audits and remediation: Conducting or leading internal audits (FLSA, ADA, EEO, etc.) with corrective action plans.
Total rewards redesign: Overhauling compensation, benefits, or recognition program structures.
Change management initiatives: Leading organizational change efforts tied to business strategy, M&A integration, or cultural transformation.

Organization activities are assessed based on project scale. SHRM assigns PDC values of 10, 20, or 30 based on the documented scope and hours invested. You will need a written description of the project, your specific role, and the results.

Advance Your Profession Activities (Capped at 30 PDCs)

SHRM chapter leadership: Serving on a SHRM chapter board or committee. Typically worth around 5 PDCs per year depending on your role.
Mentoring: Participating in a formal HR mentoring program as a mentor. Generally earns 3 PDCs per year.
Writing and publishing: Authoring HR articles, white papers, books, or substantive blog posts for recognized publications or platforms.
Speaking at HR events: Presenting at conferences, chapter meetings, or professional development events. Worth 2 PDCs per presentation hour.
Pro bono HR consulting: Providing volunteer HR services to nonprofits, small businesses, or community organizations.
SHRM membership: Your active SHRM membership automatically earns 3 PDCs per year — no action required beyond maintaining your membership.
Professional association leadership: Serving in leadership roles for qualifying HR-related professional organizations beyond SHRM.

Quick-Reference PDC Value Table

Use this table to estimate your credit totals when planning your recertification strategy.

Activity	Typical PDC Value	Category
Online courses (self-paced or instructor-led)	1 PDC per instructional hour	Education
Webinars	1 PDC per hour (0.25 per 15-min increment)	Education
SHRM Annual Conference	20+ PDCs (varies by attendance)	Education
College course (semester)	15 PDCs per credit hour	Education
College course (trimester)	12 PDCs per credit hour	Education
College course (quarter)	10 PDCs per credit hour	Education
Workshops / instructor-led training	1 PDC per instructional hour	Education
SHRM specialty credential	Varies (typically 10-20 PDCs)	Education
Major HR project (organization)	10, 20, or 30 PDCs based on scope	Organization
SHRM membership	3 PDCs per year (up to 9 per cycle)	Profession
SHRM chapter board/committee service	~5 PDCs per year	Profession
Speaking/presenting at HR events	2 PDCs per presentation hour	Profession
Formal HR mentoring	3 PDCs per year	Profession
Publishing HR articles/books	Varies by publication scope	Profession

How SHRM PDCs Are Calculated

The fundamental formula is simple: 1 hour of qualifying instructional time = 1 PDC.

PDCs are measured in 15-minute increments:

15 minutes = 0.25 PDC
30 minutes = 0.50 PDC
45 minutes = 0.75 PDC
60 minutes = 1.00 PDC

Only actual instructional or learning time counts. The following are explicitly excluded from PDC calculations:

Breaks and meal periods
Non-instructional networking sessions
Exhibit hall time (unless tied to structured educational sessions)
Travel time to and from events
Setup and registration time

For college courses, the conversion is different. SHRM uses a multiplier based on your institution’s academic calendar: 15 PDCs per semester credit hour, 12 per trimester credit hour, or 10 per quarter credit hour.

Pre-Approved vs. Self-Reported Activities

This distinction matters more than most credential holders realize, because it directly affects how much work you have to do to claim your credits and how likely they are to survive an audit.

Pre-Approved Activities

Pre-approved activities come from SHRM Recertification Providers or SHRM-run programs. They have assigned activity IDs, defined PDC values, and are designed to meet SHRM’s content and quality standards. When you complete a pre-approved activity, logging it is straightforward — the provider and PDC value are already verified.

Why this matters: Pre-approved activities reduce your documentation burden significantly. There is no need to justify the content’s relevance or defend the time calculation. The provider has already done that work.

As an official SHRM Education Partner, RecertifyHR offers 68+ pre-approved courses that map directly to SHRM recertification requirements. Every course has a defined PDC value, so you never have to guess whether it qualifies or calculate the credit yourself. Over 2,800+ HR professionals use the platform to stay current on their credentials.

Self-Reported Activities

Self-reported activities are qualifying activities that do not have pre-assigned SHRM IDs. You enter them manually in your SHRM certification portal with supporting details: activity title, date, time invested, description of content, and how it relates to your HR competencies.

Self-reported activities are perfectly valid, but they require stronger documentation discipline. If SHRM audits your recertification submission, these are the credits most likely to need supporting evidence.

Best practice: Use pre-approved Education activities as your credit foundation. Layer in self-reported Organization and Profession activities where they naturally arise from your work, and keep documentation for every one of them.

What Does NOT Count as a SHRM PDC

Knowing what qualifies is only half the equation. Equally important is understanding what does not count as a SHRM PDC, so you do not waste time logging activities that will be rejected.

General work duties: Your day-to-day HR tasks — processing payroll, answering employee questions, conducting interviews, handling routine benefits administration — do not qualify. PDCs are for development beyond your regular responsibilities.
Non-HR education: Taking a cooking class, learning a new language for personal interest, or completing training unrelated to HR competencies does not earn PDCs, even if the program is structured and accredited.
Activities under 45 minutes: SHRM requires a minimum time threshold. Quick reads, short videos, or brief informal conversations do not qualify, even if the content is HR-related.
Unstructured learning: Casually browsing HR news, reading articles without a formal program framework, or having informal conversations with colleagues about HR topics do not generate PDCs.
Repeat completions of the same activity: You cannot earn PDCs by completing the same course or webinar multiple times within a cycle (with limited exceptions for significantly updated content).
Activities outside your recertification cycle: PDCs must be earned during your active 3-year cycle. Activities completed before your cycle started or after it ended cannot be applied retroactively.

If you are uncertain whether something qualifies, check SHRM’s activity criteria before investing time in it. A safer approach is to focus on pre-approved learning where the qualification question is already answered. You can try a free Change Management course (1 PDC) from RecertifyHR to see what pre-approved e-learning looks like in practice.

How to Maximize Your PDCs Efficiently

Knowing what counts is the foundation. Executing efficiently is what separates credential holders who recertify stress-free from those scrambling in month 35 of a 36-month cycle.

Build on the Education Category First

Since Education has no cap, it should be your primary credit source. A structured course catalog gives you predictable, documentable progress. If you complete roughly 15-20 Education PDCs per year, you will be ahead of schedule before you add anything from the other categories.

RecertifyHR’s catalog of 68+ courses covers topics across all SHRM competency areas — from employment law and talent acquisition to people analytics and strategic HR management. All courses are self-paced and pre-approved, so you can work through them on your own schedule without documentation headaches.

Claim Your Free Membership PDCs

If you are a SHRM member, you earn 3 PDCs per year automatically. Over a 3-year cycle, that is 9 PDCs you get without doing anything beyond paying your membership dues. Make sure these are reflected in your certification portal — they are easy to overlook.

Stack Organization Credits From Existing Projects

You are probably already doing work that qualifies. If you led an HRIS migration, built a new onboarding program, or conducted a compliance audit this year, document it properly and claim the Organization PDCs. A single well-documented project can earn you 10-30 credits.

Add Profession Credits Opportunistically

Speaking at a chapter meeting, mentoring a junior HR professional, or publishing an article all count. These activities tend to come up naturally over a 3-year window, and they diversify your credit portfolio nicely.

Sample 60-PDC Plan Using All Three Categories

Here is a practical breakdown that stays well within category caps and distributes effort evenly across a 3-year cycle:

Source	PDCs	Category
Pre-approved online courses (e.g., RecertifyHR)	36	Education
Webinars and virtual events	6	Education
SHRM membership (3/year x 3 years)	9	Profession
One documented HR project	10	Organization
Speaking, mentoring, or chapter service	4	Profession
Total	65	—

This plan gives you 5 excess PDCs, and SHRM allows you to carry over up to 20 into your next cycle. That rollover creates a head start on your next recertification window.

For the course component, RecertifyHR’s $250/year unlimited access covers all 68+ courses — no per-course fees, no credit limits, no surprise costs. That flat rate makes budgeting predictable across your entire cycle.

Documentation Tips for Each Category

Even qualifying activities can be rejected if your documentation is weak. Here is what to keep on file for each category:

Education Activities

Certificate of completion with date and PDC/credit value
Activity title and provider name
SHRM activity ID (for pre-approved programs)
Conference session agendas showing instructional hours

Organization Activities

Written project description (scope, objectives, timeline)
Your specific role and hours invested
Measurable outcomes or deliverables
Supervisor or stakeholder confirmation (if available)

Profession Activities

Event confirmation or publication records
Dates and time periods of involvement
Role description and scope of contribution
Organization or program name

Store all documentation in a single folder — digital or physical — and update it immediately after completing each activity. Waiting until the end of your cycle to gather records is how credits get lost.

Deadlines and Late Fees to Know

Your recertification cycle ends on the last day of your birth month, 3 years after your certification date. Missing that deadline triggers a cascade of problems:

Standard recertification fee: $165 (SHRM members) / $210 (non-members)
Grace period: 60 days after cycle end, with increased fees of $240 (members) / $285 (non-members)
After the grace period: Your credential may be revoked, requiring you to retake the exam

Set calendar reminders at 6 months, 90 days, and 30 days before your cycle close date. If you are behind on credits at the 6-month mark, you still have time to close the gap with focused online learning. If you are behind at 30 days, it becomes a scramble.

Steady annual progress — roughly 20 PDCs per year — prevents deadline panic entirely. For a deeper look at recertification planning, see our guides on SHRM-CP recertification and SHRM-SCP recertification requirements.

Why Pre-Approved Courses Are the Fastest Path

If you are looking for the most efficient answer to what counts as a SHRM PDC, pre-approved Education activities win on every dimension that matters:

No qualification uncertainty: The provider has already confirmed the activity meets SHRM standards.
Defined PDC values: You know exactly how many credits you are earning before you start.
Simpler documentation: Completion certificates and activity IDs handle most of the reporting automatically.
No category cap: Education activities have no ceiling, so you can earn as many as you need.
Self-paced flexibility: Complete courses on your own schedule, fitting learning around your workload.

RecertifyHR is an official SHRM Education Partner, and every course in the catalog is pre-approved for SHRM PDCs. With $250/year unlimited access to 68+ courses, you can build a complete recertification plan without worrying about per-course costs or credit shortfalls.

Want to see the format before committing? Take a free Change Management course worth 1 PDC — no credit card required.

For a step-by-step approach to earning PDCs across your full cycle, check out our complete guide to earning SHRM PDCs.

FAQ: What Counts as a SHRM PDC

Can I earn all 60 PDCs from online courses?

Yes. The Advance Your Education category has no cap, and online courses from pre-approved providers like RecertifyHR qualify fully. You could technically earn all 60 PDCs from self-paced e-learning if you prefer that format.

Do podcasts count as SHRM PDCs?

Only if the podcast is pre-approved by SHRM or offered through a recognized provider with a defined PDC value. Listening to a general HR podcast on your commute does not automatically qualify — the content must be structured, HR-specific, and meet minimum time requirements.

Does my regular HR work count toward recertification?

Routine job duties do not count. However, significant HR projects that go beyond your day-to-day responsibilities — like implementing a new HRIS, leading a DEI initiative, or conducting a compliance audit — can qualify under the Advance Your Organization category (capped at 30 PDCs per cycle). You will need thorough documentation of the project scope, your role, and the outcomes.

What is the minimum length for an activity to count?

SHRM generally requires activities to be at least 45 minutes in duration to qualify for PDCs. Short videos, quick reads, or informal conversations — even on HR topics — do not meet the threshold. Once you pass the minimum, credits are calculated in 15-minute increments (0.25 PDC per 15 minutes).

How do I know if an activity is pre-approved?

Pre-approved activities carry a SHRM activity ID and are offered by recognized SHRM Recertification Providers or Education Partners. The provider should clearly state that the program is approved for SHRM PDCs and list the specific credit value. If a program does not mention SHRM pre-approval, you can still self-report it if it meets SHRM’s content criteria — but you will need to handle documentation yourself.

Can I carry over extra PDCs to my next cycle?

Yes. SHRM allows you to carry over up to 20 excess PDCs into your next 3-year recertification cycle. This is a strong incentive to stay ahead of pace — those rollover credits give you breathing room in your next renewal window. Earned credits beyond the 20-PDC carryover limit are forfeited.

What Counts as a SHRM PDC? Full Activity List