ITIL Certification Renewal Guide

Yes, ITIL certification expires — and that surprises a lot of certificate holders. Since 1 January 2023, every ITIL 4 certification issued by PeopleCert carries a three-year renewal requirement, and the same policy applies to the new ITIL (Version 5) credentials launched in February 2026. The old advice that "ITIL is for life" is no longer accurate, with one exception: ITIL v3 certificates are exempt from renewal entirely.

This guide covers the renewal scheme itself — validity periods, the three renewal routes, what happens if you let a certificate lapse, and how the ITIL Version 5 transition interacts with your renewal date. If you are still deciding which ITIL credential to pursue in the first place, that ground is covered in our overview of the ITIL 4 certification scheme.

When did ITIL certifications start expiring?

PeopleCert, which has administered all ITIL examinations since acquiring AXELOS in 2021, introduced the renewal policy with effect from 1 January 2023. It applies across PeopleCert's best-practice portfolio, so PRINCE2 holders are in the same boat.

The key dates work like this:

• Certificates issued on or after 1 January 2023 are valid for three years from the certification date.
• Certificates issued before that date were assigned renewal dates counted from the original certification date, so long-standing ITIL 4 holders did not get a fresh three-year clock.
• ITIL v3 certificates are exempt. The v3 exams were discontinued in 2022 and those certificates face no renewal requirement — though there is also no v3-to-4 bridge, so v3 holders who want a current credential simply sit ITIL 4 or Version 5 Foundation afresh.

Your exact renewal date sits against your certificate in your PeopleCert account, and that record — not a rule of thumb — should drive your planning.

The three ways to renew an ITIL certification

PeopleCert offers three renewal routes. All three lead to the same outcome — a certificate that remains aligned with current requirements — so the right choice depends on your time, budget and career plans.

Route 1: Log CPD points through PeopleCert Plus

The continuing professional development (CPD) route runs through PeopleCert Plus membership. You log 20 CPD points per year for three consecutive years — 60 points in total — and your certification renews without another exam. CPD activity is work you are arguably doing anyway: applying the framework on the job, training, reading, professional activity.

This route rewards consistency. Miss a year of logging and you cannot cram three years of points at the end, so it suits people who will genuinely maintain the habit. PeopleCert does not make the membership fee prominent in its public documentation, so check the current PeopleCert Plus pricing on peoplecert.org before committing to this path.

Route 2: Pass another certification in the same product suite

Passing any further certification in the same product suite before your renewal date renews all of your certifications in that suite at once. For anyone climbing the ladder anyway, this is renewal for free: an ITIL 4 Foundation holder who passes, say, the Direct, Plan and Improve module resets the clock on Foundation as well.

This is usually the best-value route for early- and mid-career professionals, because you bank a higher credential and a renewal in one exam fee. The catch is that higher ITIL modules require accredited training, so the total cost and time commitment is meaningfully larger than a bare renewal.

Route 3: Retake the same exam

The simplest route: sit the same exam again before your renewal date. No training mandate applies to a straight Foundation retake, so the cost is one exam fee, and the syllabus knowledge is refreshed in the process.

Three years is long enough for exam recall to fade even when day-to-day practice hasn't, so treat a retake as a real exam rather than a formality. A timed ITIL practice test run a couple of weeks out will show you quickly whether three-year-old knowledge has held up or needs a revision pass.

What happens if you don't renew?

Your certification does not vanish. A lapsed ITIL certification stays on PeopleCert's Successful Candidates Register, but it is flagged as not aligned with current requirements. You can still truthfully say you earned the credential; what you lose is the ability to present it as current — which is precisely what recruiters and procurement checklists increasingly look for.

Practically, that means the cost of lapsing is reputational rather than absolute. If ITIL is peripheral to your role, letting a certificate age out may be a rational choice. If it appears in your job title's typical requirements, a flagged certificate reads worse than none of the three renewal routes would cost you.