How are Cisco certification renewals handles?

TechGromit

Let's say I pass the CCNA exam and have valid CCNA for 3 years, then I get the CCNP a year later. Does that mean my CCNA is valid until the CCNP expires or before the 3 years are up for the CCNA, I can use the CCNP certification to renew my CCNA for another three years.

E Double U

The CCNA will automatically be renewed with the passing of each exam and will expire 3 years from the date of the last exam you passed.

TechGromit

What is you let your certifications lapse? Does taking say a CCNP Switching exam a couple years after all your certs expire automatically renew your CCNA certifications? Or do you have to retake the CCNA exam again?

PCTechLinc

Unfortunately you have to renew before or on the certification expiration date. For example, if your CCNA R&S expires 5/30/2017, then you MUST renew by end-of-day on 5/30/2017. As far as I know, you can register to take a CCNP exam if your CCNA isn't valid anymore, but you won't have the certification until your CCNA is revalidated.

OctalDump

What E double U and PCTechLinc is correct. Cisco makes it fairly easy to renew (take an exam at the same or higher level), but once you lose your certs, you either start from the bottom again or go straight to CCIE (CCIE does not have pre-requisites).

You can also cross streams, so that a CCNA Data Center exam will renew your CCNA Routing and Switching, or even do something crazy like take a CCNP Collaboration exam to renew your CCNA Security. What that means is that you can have a whole bunch of CCNA level certifications, and then renew all of them by doing a CCNP/CCDP level exam. And it is passing the exam that renews your certs, not gaining another certification (but you can do both if you want).