Understanding Your CA Credential
Holding the Certified Archivist credential comes with two separate requirements: pay your annual ACA dues, and recertify once every five years.
Most questions ACA receives come down to a misunderstanding of how those two requirements relate. This page walks through both, explains what happens when a deadline is missed, and shows you exactly what it takes to get back into good standing.
If your situation is not covered here, write to us. We would rather answer a question than watch a credential lapse.
Start here
Your credential runs on two clocks
They run at the same time, and they are independent of each other.
What satisfies it
Paying your annual ACA dues.
What happens if you miss it
Your credential becomes Lapsed, then Suspended.
How you fix it
Payment.
What satisfies it
Earning 60 Continuing Education Credits and filing the Petition for Recertification, or retaking and passing the CA Examination.
What happens if you miss it
Your credential Expires.
How you fix it
Credits or the examination. Payment cannot fix it.
Two clocks · one credential
Paying your dues fixes a membership problem. Only credits or the examination fix a recertification problem.
This is the single most important thing to understand about your credential. Being fully paid up does not protect a credential whose five-year cycle is about to end. And earning credits does not keep your membership current.
Self-check
Where do I stand right now?
Answer these in order. Each one points you to the section that applies to you.
Question 1
Are your ACA dues paid for the membership year that began July 1?
Yes, my dues are current
Good. Skip ahead to Question 3 to check your recertification clock.
No, my dues are not paid
Go to Question 2 to find out where that leaves you.
I am not sure
Log in to the website and check My Membership Status on the right side of the homepage. If it is still unclear, email the office and we will tell you.
Question 2
When did your dues last get paid?
Unpaid for this year only, and it is before October 1
You are Active and inside the renewal window. Renew now and nothing changes. See Scenario A.
Unpaid for this year only, and it is October 1 to December 31
Your credential is Lapsed. Pay your dues and it returns to Active at no additional cost. Your recertification deadline does not change. See Scenario B.
Unpaid for this year only, and it is January 1 to June 30
Your credential is Suspended. Online renewal is no longer available, so write to the office. We will send an invoice for your current dues plus the reinstatement fee, and once it is paid your credential returns to Active. Your five-year deadline does not change. See Scenario C.
A full membership year or more has gone by unpaid
I am not sure when I last paid
Log in to the website and look under My Financial Transactions on the right side of the homepage. Your payment history is listed there. If anything looks unclear, email the office and we will confirm it for you.
Question 3
Has your five-year recertification cycle ended?
No, it is still running
Keep earning and submitting credits. You need 60 credits earned within your cycle, and you must also file the Petition for Recertification. In your recertification year, ACA asks for all credits and your petition by April 30. Recertifying in 2027? See the Class of 2027 note. More in Recertification.
Yes, and I completed recertification before it ended
You are in good standing on the recertification side. If your dues are also current, your credential is Active and nothing further is needed.
Yes, and I did not complete recertification
Your credential is Expired. See Scenario E and Scenario F, then contact the office. If your credential expired less than twelve months ago, a recertification appeal may also be possible.
I do not know when my cycle ends
Log in to the recertification portal at app.prolydian.com, where your cycle dates and running credit total are displayed. Or email the office and we will look it up.
The membership year
What happens, and when
July 1
Renewals open. Your credential is Active.
September 30
Dues deadline. This is also the deadline for newly certified archivists paying their first year of dues.
October 1
If dues are unpaid, your credential becomes Lapsed. It remains valid, but it is no longer in good standing. Pay any time through December 31 and it returns to Active with no additional fee.
January 1
If dues are still unpaid, your credential becomes Suspended. A suspended credential is inactive. You may not use the CA designation or represent yourself as a Certified Archivist while suspended.
January 1 to June 30
Reinstatement window. Online renewal is not available while Suspended, so write to the office. Pay current dues plus the reinstatement fee and your credential returns to Active. Your five-year recertification deadline does not change.
June 30
Last day for administrative reinstatement. After this date, a full membership year of noncompliance has passed and you can no longer return by paying dues and fees alone.
July 1, after a full unpaid year
Your credential becomes Long-Term Suspended. You may not renew membership or submit a recertification petition. Returning requires a Reinstatement Application. See Getting back into good standing.
Credential status
What each status means
| Status | Can you use "CA"? | What it means | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Yes | Dues current, recertification current. | Nothing needed. |
| Lapsed | Not as "in good standing" | Dues unpaid after September 30. The credential is still valid. | Pay dues, October 1 to December 31. |
| Suspended | No | Dues unpaid as of January 1. The credential is inactive. | Write to the office and pay dues plus the reinstatement fee, January 1 to June 30. |
| Long-Term Suspended | No | Dues unpaid for a full membership year or more. The credential is inactive, and you may not renew membership or file a recertification petition. | Reinstatement Application with all outstanding dues plus the long-term reinstatement fee, if your recertification is in order. Otherwise, see Expired. |
| Expired | No | The five-year cycle ended without recertification. The credential is no longer valid. | Re-examination, the documented credit pathway, or, within twelve months, a recertification appeal. |
Suspension does not pause your five-year clock. Your recertification deadline keeps running whether or not your dues are current.
Credits you earn while Lapsed or Suspended still count toward your current cycle. But your credential stays inactive and unusable until you complete reinstatement.
Every five years
Recertification
Your credential is valid for five years. To keep it, you must complete recertification before your cycle ends, by either:
- Earning 60 Continuing Education Credits (CECs) within the cycle and filing the Petition for Recertification, or
- Retaking and passing the CA Examination
Both steps of the first pathway are required. Earning the credits without filing the petition does not recertify you.
How credits work
- Credits must be earned within your current five-year cycle. They do not carry over to the next one.
- Submit them in the portal at app.prolydian.com as you complete each activity, rather than saving everything for the end.
- Credits are reviewed on a rolling basis, and the portal keeps a running total.
- In your recertification year, the Petition for Recertification opens March 1. Enter all remaining credits and submit your petition by April 30 so the Committee has time to review everything before your cycle closes June 30.
Approved credits are not the same as recertification.
Reaching 60 approved credits means you have met the minimum. It does not recertify you. You must still complete the Petition for Recertification and pay the $30 petition fee by April 30 of your recertification year. Every year, a small number of CAs reach 60 credits and lose their credential anyway because the petition was never filed.
Which guidelines apply to you
ACA revised the recertification guidelines in 2025. The current (2025) guidelines apply to every Certified Archivist by default, and they are required for cycles ending in 2028 or later.
Class of 2027
Recertifying in 2027? If your cycle began July 1, 2022, you are set to petition under the current (2025) guidelines, and there is nothing to submit right now. Because your cycle began under the prior guidelines, you may instead choose to petition under the prior (2022) guidelines, or to recertify by taking the CA Examination in June 2027. To choose either option, complete the Choose Your Path form by February 1, 2027.
The Certification Maintenance Committee reviews each petition under the one set of guidelines you select, not both. If you choose the prior guidelines, the portal will still show your credits at current values. That is expected, and the Committee applies the 2022 values when it reviews your petition.
2025 guidelines 2022 guidelines
Whichever set you use, apply it consistently. Credits cannot be mixed across the two sets within a single petition. If you are unsure which path suits you, email the office and we will walk through it with you.
If you have fallen behind
Getting back into good standing
The path back depends on two things: how long your dues have been unpaid, and whether your recertification is complete.
If less than a full membership year has passed
October 1 to December 31 (Lapsed). Pay your dues. Nothing else is required, and your recertification deadline is unaffected.
January 1 to June 30 (Suspended). Online renewal is not available, so write to the office. We will send an invoice for your current dues plus the reinstatement fee. Once it is paid, your credential returns to Active, and your recertification deadline is unaffected.
If a full membership year or more has passed
Your credential is Long-Term Suspended, and administrative reinstatement is no longer available. Which pathway applies depends on your recertification status.
Your recertification is complete, or your five-year cycle has not yet ended
Submit the Reinstatement Application. ACA will confirm your balance and send an invoice: all outstanding dues, including the current membership year, plus the long-term reinstatement fee. On approval and payment, your credential returns to Active and your existing five-year cycle resumes on its original schedule. You do not receive a new cycle, and your original recertification deadline still applies.
Your five-year cycle ended without recertification (your credential is Expired)
Payment alone cannot restore your credential. Please contact the office before submitting any form, because a different pathway applies to you. Two pathways exist.
Re-examination. Apply as a new candidate and pass the CA Examination under the requirements in effect at that time. On certification, a new five-year cycle begins.
Documented credit pathway. If you actually earned 60 or more qualifying credits within your cycle but never submitted them, or could not submit them because your membership status blocked the petition, you may submit a Reinstatement Application with full documentation of every credit claimed, all outstanding dues, and the long-term reinstatement fee. The Regent for Certification Maintenance reviews the documentation. This pathway is discretionary and approval is not guaranteed. On approval, a new five-year cycle begins.
Under either pathway, credits from the cycle that ended do not carry into your new cycle.
If you missed a deadline because of hardship or an administrative error
If your credential is not Expired, or has been Expired for less than twelve months, you may be able to petition for a recertification appeal. Appeals are discretionary, require documentation of your professional archival activity, and are not guaranteed. Contact the office before assuming you do or do not qualify.
Before you assume the worst, write to us.
Records sometimes tell a different story than memory does. We can look up exactly what is in your file, what your cycle dates are, and which pathway actually applies to you. There is no cost to asking, and several members each year find their situation is better than they expected.
office@certifiedarchivists.org | (518) 694-8471
What things cost
Fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual ACA membership dues | $75 |
| Emeritus membership dues (annual) | $10 |
| Recertification petition fee | $30 |
| Reinstatement fee (January 1 to June 30) | $45 |
| Long-term reinstatement fee, in addition to all outstanding dues (including the current year) | $75 |
| CA Examination, first-time candidates (includes registration and practice exam) | $125 |
| CA Examination, retakes and recertification by examination | $75 |
Fees are set by the ACA Board of Regents and are subject to change.
Paying by check
Academy of Certified Archivists
1400 L Street NW LBBY 2 #34141
Washington, DC 20005
Real situations
Common situations
These are patterns ACA sees every year. Find the one closest to yours. Each is lettered so we can point you to it directly if you write to us.
Jump to a scenario
- "I renewed in August."
- "I forgot until November."
- "I forgot until February."
- "It has been two years, but my recertification is in order."
- "It has been two years and my cycle ended with no credits."
- "I earned 69 credits, but I never filed the petition."
- "I just passed the exam."
- "I am retiring next year."
- "My dues are current, but my cycle ends June 30 and I have 40 credits."
- "Do credits I earned while lapsed still count?"
Scenario A Nothing to do
"I renewed in August."
Nothing happens. Your credential stays Active for the full year. Renewals open July 1 and the deadline is September 30, so August is comfortably inside the window.
Scenario B Easily fixed
"I forgot until November."
Your credential became Lapsed on October 1. This is the most easily fixed situation on this page. Pay your dues at any point through December 31 and your credential returns to Active at no additional cost. Your five-year recertification deadline is unchanged.
While Lapsed, your credential remains valid, but you should not represent yourself as being in good standing until dues are paid.
Scenario C Fixable with a fee
"I forgot until February."
Your credential became Suspended on January 1. Online renewal is no longer available, so write to the office and we will send an invoice for your current-year dues plus the reinstatement fee. Once it is paid, your credential returns to Active. Your five-year recertification deadline does not change.
Reinstatement fee $45 Total $120
One important point: while your credential is Suspended, you may not use the CA designation professionally or represent yourself as a Certified Archivist. Reinstating as early as possible in the January to June window matters for that reason.
Scenario D Path back available
"It has been two years, but my recertification is in order."
Your credential is Long-Term Suspended and administrative reinstatement is closed. But because you completed recertification before your cycle ended (or your five-year cycle is still running), you have a straightforward path back.
Completed recertification means your petition was filed and approved, or you passed the examination. Approved credits alone do not count. If you earned the credits but never filed the petition, see Scenario F instead.
Submit the Reinstatement Application. ACA will confirm your balance and send an invoice covering the dues for both missed years, the current year's dues, and the long-term reinstatement fee.
Current-year dues $75
Long-term reinstatement fee $75 Total $300
Note carefully: your existing five-year cycle resumes. You do not receive a new five-year cycle, and your original recertification deadline still stands. If that deadline is close, plan accordingly.
Scenario E The hard one
"It has been two years and my cycle ended with no credits."
This is the hardest situation in the policy, and we want to be direct about it.
Two separate things have happened. Your credential passed the point of administrative reinstatement, and your five-year cycle ended without recertification, which places the credential in Expired status. Because no credits were earned, the documented credit pathway is not available.
Returning to certification requires applying as a new candidate and passing the CA Examination. Your prior certification history does not disappear, but the credential itself has to be earned again.
Before you conclude this is your situation, contact the office. We can confirm what is actually recorded in your file, including any credits that may be sitting in the portal unsubmitted, and any hardship or administrative circumstances that might support a recertification appeal.
Scenario F Catches the most people
"I earned 69 credits, but I never filed the petition."
This is the scenario that catches the most people, and it is worth reading even if you are current.
Credits approved in the portal are not recertification. The Petition for Recertification is a separate step, with its own fee, and ACA asks for it by April 30 of your recertification year. If the petition is never filed, the credential expires no matter how many credits were approved.
If this describes you, the documented credit pathway may apply. Contact the office first. You would then submit a Reinstatement Application with full documentation of every credit claimed, all outstanding dues, and the long-term reinstatement fee. The Regent for Certification Maintenance reviews the documentation. Approval is discretionary and not guaranteed, but this pathway exists specifically for people whose credits were genuinely earned and simply never submitted.
Contact the office to start this conversation.
Scenario G One deadline to watch
"I just passed the exam."
Congratulations, and take note of one deadline: your first year of ACA dues must be paid by September 30 following notice that you passed. Passing the examination makes you eligible for the credential, but the credential does not become active until dues are paid.
If dues are not paid by September 30, your credential enters Lapsed status before it has ever really been used. This is entirely avoidable, and it happens every year.
Scenario H Plan ahead
"I am retiring next year."
Look at Emeritus status before your cycle ends, not after. Emeritus removes the recertification requirement, reduces dues to $10 per year, and permits the CA Emeritus designation. To qualify, you must have recertified at least once, be current on all dues and fees, and your certification must never have expired, so timing matters. See Emeritus status below.
Scenario I Act now
"My dues are current, but my cycle ends June 30 and I have 40 credits."
Paying dues does not protect your credential here. These are two different clocks, and the recertification clock is the one about to run out.
If your cycle ends June 30 and you will not reach 60 credits, your options are to earn and submit the remaining credits and file your petition by April 30, or to recertify by examination. The examination route requires applying during the March 1 to April 30 application window (recertifying in 2027 also requires the Choose Your Path form by February 1, 2027). Contact the office as early as possible. The further ahead of the deadline you reach out, the more options exist.
Scenario J Good news
"Do credits I earned while lapsed still count?"
Yes. Credits earned during a period when your credential was Lapsed or Suspended still count toward the applicable five-year cycle.
But the credential itself stays inactive until reinstatement is complete. Earning credits does not restore your status, and you may not use the CA designation in the meantime.
For changing circumstances
Emeritus status
The knowledge and experience Certified Archivists build over a career remain valuable to ACA and to the profession. Emeritus status exists so that CAs whose professional circumstances have changed can stay connected to the Academy.
Who qualifies: Retired CAs, and CAs who are no longer performing daily archival work.
What "no longer performing daily archival work" means in practice: A CA working in a museum whose responsibilities have shifted toward museum collections and related functions. A CA who has moved from Head of Special Collections to Dean of Libraries and is no longer able to meet recertification requirements by petition or examination.
Emeritus status
- Honors your contributions to the archival profession
- Allows those in changing professional circumstances to stay connected with ACA
- Reduces annual dues to $10
- Permits use of the CA Emeritus designation upon payment of annual dues
- Once approved, does not require recertification to maintain
To qualify, you must
- Have recertified at least once since taking the examination
- Be current on all dues and fees
- Never have let your certification expire
ACA reviews each request and will be in touch shortly after you apply.
Emeritus status is not intended for CAs who are unemployed, experiencing challenging personal circumstances, or otherwise temporarily unable to maintain certification. If that describes your situation, please contact the office directly. There may be other options, and we would rather talk it through with you.
Emeritus membership does not confer or maintain an active CA credential. Emeritus members may not represent themselves as active Certified Archivists, but may use the CA Emeritus designation.
Quick answers
Questions we get often
Does paying my dues count toward recertification?
No. Dues and recertification are separate requirements. Dues keep your membership in good standing. Recertification renews the credential itself at the end of each five-year cycle.
Does my five-year clock pause if my credential is suspended?
No. The recertification clock runs continuously regardless of your membership status.
Can I keep ACA membership without holding an active credential?
No, except through Emeritus status. ACA membership exists to support certification and cannot be maintained independently of it.
Why is the renewal button missing when I log in?
Either your dues are already paid for the current membership year, or your credential has moved past the point where online renewal is available (Suspended or beyond). Check the date in My Membership Status first. If anything looks wrong, email the office and we will tell you exactly where things stand and what your options are.
My credits are approved in the portal. Am I recertified?
Not yet. You must also complete the Petition for Recertification and pay the $30 petition fee by April 30 of your recertification year. See Scenario F.
Do unused credits carry into my next cycle?
No. Credits count only within the five-year cycle in which they were earned.
I reinstated after a long absence. Do I get a new five-year cycle?
It depends on the pathway. If your recertification was complete or your cycle had not yet ended, your existing cycle resumes on its original schedule. If your credential had expired and you return through re-examination or the documented credit pathway, a new five-year cycle begins on July 1 of that membership year.
When exactly does a five-year cycle start and end?
All cycles run July 1 through June 30, five years later, regardless of the date certification or reinstatement was granted.
I think I am past every deadline. Is it worth contacting you?
Yes. Always.
Get in touch
Contact us
We would rather answer a question early than sort out a lapse later. If anything on this page does not match your situation, or you are unsure where you stand, get in touch.
office@certifiedarchivists.org
(518) 694-8471
Academy of Certified Archivists
1400 L Street NW LBBY 2 #34141
Washington, DC 20005