Do CompTIA Certifications Expire? A+ vs Network+ vs Security+ Do Not Work the Same

Most people assume a certification you have earned stays on your CV. For CompTIA's three flagship credentials that is not true, and the cost of letting them lapse is a full re-exam rather than a missed form.

Yes, they expire — and the reason is a standard, not a policy quirk

CompTIA's renewal policy states that A+, Network+ and Security+ "are valid for three years from the certification date". The Security+ exam format and the free Security+ practice bank cover the exam side; this post is about the credential side. and that the policy "aligns with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, which require certification bodies to provide a way for professionals to renew their credentials regularly." The programme itself dates from 1 January 2011.

If you do not renew, the certification expires and "candidates must pass the latest exam version to regain certification." There is no path back except the exam.

There is one exception, and it is a good one to know about: any A+, Network+ or Security+ earned before 1 January 2011 is considered Good-for-Life (GFL) and never expires. It is also the only way to hold a CompTIA credential that does not need renewing — CompTIA Tech+ (FC0-U71) is the one current exam published with "no expiration".

The renewals are not the same

This is the part that catches people. The three certifications look like siblings and renew on completely different terms.

The fee is per cycle, not per year. CompTIA is explicit that you are not required to pay annually, and the CE fees can be paid as $25 and $50 tokens that do not expire. The one number worth internalising: you only pay for the highest-level CompTIA certification you hold — the lower ones renew for free.

Activities also have a content rule. At least 50% of a course's content must relate to the exam objectives you are renewing, and the activity must fall inside your three-year cycle. That is the requirement that catches people: a generic security course taken "for CPD" often does not map cleanly onto the Security+ objective list.

Three ways to renew, and two of them cost nothing extra

CompTIA lists three renewal routes, and only one of them involves paying the CE fee:

1. CertMaster CE. A self-paced e-learning course, estimated at 8 to 10 hours, requiring a 100% score on every assessment, with 12 months of access from purchase and no additional CE fee for the current cycle. One catch: you cannot renew with the same version of a CertMaster CE course you have already taken.
2. Pass the current exam. No CE fee applies.
3. Hold a higher certification. No CE fee applies.

The automatic renewal hierarchy runs from highest to lowest: SecurityX → CySA+ and PenTest+ → Security+ → Network+ → A+. Holding Security+ means your A+ and Network+ renew at no cost beyond what you have already paid.

What happens in the 30 days after expiry

The grace period is 30 days, and CompTIA is unusually explicit about what it does and does not cover: it does not allow extra time to complete additional CE activities or earn more CEUs, and "exceptions cannot be made."

Past those 30 days, "CompTIA certifications cannot be renewed once they have expired." The only route back is taking and passing the current exam.

Audits are a real part of this programme too. CompTIA conducts random audits, and "audits can occur anytime, even after completing a CE cycle." Your CEUs are accepted automatically and the audit comes later, which means the paperwork you throw away in January can matter in January of the following year.