Until now, the PRINCE2 Foundation certificate had no expiry date, it was valid for life. Only the second level, the Practitioner Certificate, had an expiry date, it was valid for up to three years after the exam. Now the term of the Foundation certificate has been limited to three years, regardless of when it was acquired.
Who is affected?
All past and future Foundation certificates are affected by this rule change. For those whose exam was a long time ago, however, there is a relief. If you acquired your Foundation certificate before June 30th 2020, you have until July 1st, 2023 to extend the certificate.
Ways to renew the certificate
There are three ways to renew the Foundation certificate. Any of these options must be taken before the certificate expiry date.
- Classic re-certification: This consists of taking the Foundation exam again. My recommendations for this can be found further down on this page.
- Collect points on My.Axelos: My.Axelos.com is a platform where you can find content about PRINCE2 and project management. Through certain activities on this platform, you can collect points within the three years that replace the exam.
- Upgrade your qualification: If you acquire the next step, the Practitioner certificate, within these three years, the Foundation certificate will also be extended.
Also in the future the Foundation certificate will be a prerequisite for acquiring the Practitioner certificate. There is the special feature that, even if the practitioner certificate has already expired, you do not have to start all over again. They renew only the highest level, the Practitioner.
My recommendations
If you earned your Foundation Certificate before or at the beginning of 2020, then time is running out to earn enough points on My.Axelos.com. You can try, but please don't stone me if you don't succeed.
If your Foundation certificate is older than 2018 (English language version) or 2019 (German version) and you have had little or no practical experience with it, then I recommend the standard 3-day Foundation course. The dates can be found under course dates.
If your Foundation certificate is not older than 2018 (English language version) or 2019 (German version), and you have perhaps used one or the other element in practice, then a shorter course will suffice. I am currently designing a 2-day re-certification course, if you are interested please contact me at prince2@milestone.at