NASM CPT Recertification: CEUs, CPR/AED, and Deadlines

NASM-CPT recertification requirements

NASM certifications are valid for two years and expire on the date printed on your certificate. To keep the credential, you meet four requirements in each two-year cycle, as set out in NASM's candidate handbook (updated 9/2025):

Two more rules catch people out. Extra CEUs do not carry over into the next cycle. And NASM randomly audits recertification applications. If yours is picked and something is missing, you have 30 days to send the supporting documents.

A two-year NASM recertification timeline

Marcus is a fictional trainer whose certificate shows an expiration date of November 16, 2028. Here is how NASM's deadlines fall for him.

The important detail is in the third row. The one-year restore window is for paperwork and fees, not for catching up on CEUs. NASM only accepts CEUs earned before the expiration date or within the 90-day grace period. If Marcus has not finished his 2.0 CEUs by the end of the grace period, the handbook says he must retake the exam. While a certification is lapsed, he may not use NASM-CPT after his name, on business cards, on a website or anywhere else.

Where NASM CEUs can come from

The 2.0 CEUs can be built from several sources:

• NASM-approved providers. Courses approved through NASM's Provider Program count toward the requirement. NASM lists them on its website.
• Other courses, by petition. For a course NASM has not approved, you submit a CEU Petition Application with a petition fee. It does not count until NASM approves it, and NASM may decline it or limit the CEUs awarded, so submit well before your deadline.
• NASM specializations. These can count for as much as 1.9 CEUs.
• CPR/AED. A current certification earns 0.1 CEU.

The arithmetic matters: a specialization at the full 1.9 CEUs plus 0.1 for CPR/AED would cover the whole 2.0 requirement. Course costs and CEU values vary, and you pay for courses separately from the recertification fee. The blueprint also lists credential maintenance and continuing education in Domain 6, so these rules can appear on the exam itself. The professional responsibility guide covers that domain.

Online-only CPR/AED and NASM recertification

The handbook's recertification section says: "NASM will not accept a CPR/AED certification card from an online only provider." NASM's web pages, checked on October 17, 2026, say otherwise for its own course. The page for NASM's online-only CPR/AED course powered by ASTI says it counts for 0.1 CEU toward recertification and that the CEUs appear in the Recertification Portal automatically, and the renewal FAQ says NASM offers an online CPR/AED certification. That acceptance is specific to NASM's own course, so do not assume another online-only provider is accepted. The eligibility guide sets the sources side by side, and the handbook directs questions about other CPR/AED providers to NASM Member Services.

Restoring a lapsed certification also requires a card showing your CPR/AED stayed current from the original certification period. A gap in CPR/AED coverage can block a restore even when your CEUs are complete.

NASM recertification fees, named without amounts

NASM posts every fee below on its website and says all of them can change. As checked on October 17, 2026, Passy does not quote the amounts.

Recertify for Life covers the NASM-CPT and several other NASM and AFAA credentials. It removes only the recertification fee. You still complete 2.0 CEUs, submit an application and keep CPR/AED current every two years. You also still pay the extra fee if you use the grace period, and the late fee if you restore. NASM says it can change or withdraw the offer for new buyers at any time.

For the full cost of the credential from exam to first renewal, see the NASM CPT cost guide. Whether the ongoing cost makes sense for your plans is the question in is the NASM CPT worth it.