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CompTIA reneges on lifetime certification agreement
CompTIA offers certifications to IT professionals. Up until this year, CompTIA promised that those certifications were good for a lifetime. However, recently CompTIA has reneged on that promise.

Up until this year CompTIA’s FAQ stated:

Question: Will I ever need to renew my certifications?

Answer: No, CompTIA certifications are lifetime certifications.

To me, this would seem to constitute a unilateral contract. Once consideration has been given to CompTIA, this contract should be binding.

Now, on a whim, CompTIA has decided to renege on their contracts with hundreds of thousands of certification holders.

From CompTIA's website:

> "CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ or CompTIA Security+ certifications are now valid for three years from the date the candidate is certified."

> "The new certification renewal policy is applicable to all individuals who hold CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ or CompTIA Security+ certifications, regardless of the date they were certified."

http://www.comptia.org/certifications/listed/renewal.aspx

Whether or not expiring certifications are good or bad, for cert holders is beside the point. Previous cert holders had an agreement with CompTIA, and it is not fair, and should not be legal, for CompTIA to arbitrarily break that agreements.

If CompTIA wants to change their agreement with subsequent exam takers, then that is a different matter. Comptia has no right to renege on agreements that they have already been made. A done deal is a done deal. If I pay to get a lifetime certification, then I expect to get a lifetime certification - period.

http://techtoil.org/doku.php?id=articles:comptia_reneges

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_30/b4140051491507.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_top+stories