CERTIFIED PLANNERS CREDIT MAINTENANCE

What is credit maintenance?

All professional planners who are members of APA's professional institute, the American Institute of
Certified Planners (AICP), must engage in mandatory continuing education to maintain their certification.

The purpose of the American Institute of Certified Planners’ Certification Maintenance (CM) Program is to
strengthen planning practice and the integrity of the AICP credential by establishing professional
development standards applicable to all AICP members.

The San Diego Section of the California Chapter of APA (SDAPA) provides a variety of programs offering
ethics, law and general CM credits throughout the year.

What are the program details?

AICP members must earn a total of 32 CM credits (1 contact hour = 1 CM credit) within their two-year
reporting period. All AICP members have a four month-grace period following the end of their current two-
year reporting period. During the four-month grace period, members may continue to earn and log CM
credits to fulfill their reporting period requirements. To gain a better understanding of the CM program,
click here (https://www.planning.org/cm/). To log in credits, click here (https://www.planning.org/cm/howtologcredits/).

What are the goals of credit maintenance?

National APA establishes the goals of the CM program to include some of the following:

  • Elevate innovative planning practices, emerging issues, planning trends, planning specialties and
    best practices.
  • Ensure appropriate level professional development opportunities at all career levels. Promote ethical practice as stated in AICP’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, including
    mentoring and volunteering.
  • Promote a broad range of accessible and affordable CM credit options.
  • Promote AICP values, including diversity and inclusion through the CM program

What resources are available for credit maintenance?

There are several resources for you to log in CM credits throughout the course of the year, here are just a few:

  • SDAPA provides various CM events throughout the course of the year. To find out when the next CM event is scheduled for, refer to our event calendar (http://apasandiego.org/events/)
  • APA California offers the annual state conference that provides an abundance of CM sessions, workshops, including mobile workshops, and events. To find out more about when and where the next state conference will be, click here (https://www.apacalifornia.org/)
  • National APA offers the annual national conference that also provides CM sessions, workshops and events. To find out more about when and where the next national conference will be, click here (https://www.planning.org/conference/)
  • Free on-demand APA courses are also available through National APA that can yield additional CM opportunities. On-demand courses can be found here (https://www.planning.org/cm/free/)

Who to contact for assistance?

Our SDAPA board members are glad to assist you in their respective areas of expertise: