Certification Renewal & CE Requirements  

Maintain Your CIMA®, CPWA®, or RMA® Certification 
Maintaining your certification keeps your credential active and confirms your continued commitment to professional and ethical standards. Certification renewal requires completion of continuing education (CE), compliance requirements, and payment every two years. Certificants will begin to receive reminders six months prior to the renewal deadline. 

Three Steps to Renew Your Certification 

1.Complete your continuing education (CE) requirements 

Earn and report the required CE hours for your renewal period.

View CE requirements→

2.Pay the certification renewal fee 

Submit your renewal payment to maintain your certification.


Learn more about fees→

3.Complete the compliance requirement 

Confirm required disclosures and agree to the Institute’s professional and ethical standards.

Review compliance requirements→

Continuing Education (CE) Requirements

To maintain your certification, you must complete 40 CE hours within each two-year renewal period.

Your CE must include: 

  • 2 ethics hours 

  • 1 tax or regulatory hour 

All CE must: 

  • Be a minimum of 50 minutes in length 

Approved CE hours apply across all active CIMA®, CPWA®, and RMA® certifications. If you hold more than one designation, CE does not need to be completed separately. 

You may carry over up to 10 CE hours into your next renewal period if they are earned during the final six months of your current cycle. 

How to Earn CE 

You may complete CE through the Institute or through preapproved external providers. CE falls into three categories: 

Institute CE 

Institute-provided CE pre-approved, audit-proof, and automatically reported to your record on your behalf. Institute CE opportunities include: 

Sponsored CE 

The Institute maintains list of registered CE Sponsors whose programs qualify as Sponsored CE. Providers become registered through an application process and are reviewed to ensure their programs meet Institute standards. 

Opportunities from sponsors are also shared through the Institute’s monthly email newsletter and our website. These credits are pre-approved but subject to audit. After completing an eligible activity, log in to your Dashboard to verify or report your credits. 

Self-Reported CE 

CE earned through other independent providers may be self-reported through your Dashboard. Self-reported CE may be subject to a reporting fee and audit. 

Reporting your CE

To report CE: 

  1. Log in to your Investments & Wealth Institute account. 

  2. From your account dashboard, navigate to My Renewal Requirements 

  3. Select Report CE 

You can view your reported CE at any time by selecting CE Summary, including records from prior renewal periods. 

Certification Renewal Fee

Payment of the $995 renewal fee renews your certification for two additional years and includes complimentary membership. 

Renewal payments must be submitted online through your Investments & Wealth Institute account. We do not accept renewal payments over the phone. 

Compliance Requirements

As part of renewal, certificants must reaffirm their commitment to professional and ethical standards, including: 

  1. Upholding the Code of Professional Responsibility 

  2. Adhering to the Guidelines for Use of the Certification Marks 

  3. Disclosing applicable federal or state regulatory actions or complaints 

FAQs

You can view your certification renewal date at any time by logging into your Investments & Wealth Institute account.  Your renewal date is displayed in the My Renewal Requirements area of your Dashboard. 

Certificants will receive email reminders and phone calls using the contact information on file beginning six months before the renewal deadline. 

If selected for a CE audit, you will be asked to provide documentation showing proof of completion, content, and clock time within 30 days. 

Documentation is not required at the time of CE submission, but certificants are encouraged to retain records in their personal files. Institute-provided CE is not subject to audit. 

No. CE hours must be earned and applied within your current renewal period and cannot be carried over to a future cycle. 

Log into your account and navigate to My Renewal Requirements in your Dashboard. Select CE Summary to view CE that has been reported for your current renewal period. 

You can also use the drop-down menu to view CE from past renewal periods. 

If medical or personal circumstances prevent you from completing CE requirements, you may request a leave of absence (LOA). Requests must be submitted at least 30 days before your renewal date by emailing recertification@i-w.org. 

LOAs may be approved for qualifying situations such as illness, caregiving responsibilities, or family emergencies. 

If renewal requirements are not met by the deadline, the following steps occur: 

  • Not Licensed: You will receive an email the next business day stating that your certification is no longer licensed. You will have one additional week to complete all renewal requirements before further action is taken. 

  • Relinquishment: If requirements remain unmet after that period, a relinquishment letter, reinstatement policy, and reinstatement application will be sent via certified mail. 

Former CIMA®, CPWA®, or RMA® certificants may be eligible to reinstate their certification by completing the reinstatement process. 

Individuals must submit a reinstatement application with a $300 fee and successfully pass a background check. Once the application is accepted, the applicant must complete and report 60 CE hours, including two ethics hours and one taxes/regulations hour, within six months of acceptance. 

Reinstatement is not available to former CIMC® designees. For next steps, contact recertification@i-w.org. 

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