The IBCLC's Guide to CERPs and Recertification
How many CERPs you need, what L, E, and R actually mean, where to earn them free, and a tracker that carries you through the whole five-year cycle. Written by an IBCLC who recertifies on the same schedule you do.
Last verified against IBCLC Commission guidance: September 2026
Need CERPs before September 30?
If your certification expires this year, the CERPs application is due September 30. Two weeks is enough if you work the list in this order.
- 1
Confirm your count in the credential portal
Log in to your IBCLC Commission (IBLCE) account and check how many CERPs you have recorded, which type each one is, and whether your CE Self-Assessment shows as complete. Do not guess from a folder of certificates.
- 2
Take the CE Self-Assessment today if you haven't
It is free, online, about 70 questions, and must be finished in one 120-minute sitting. You can only take it once per five-year cycle, and your CERPs application cannot be submitted without it. Your results produce a Personalised Professional Development Plan (PPDP) that tells you which topic areas need CERPs.
- 3
Fill the gaps with recorded sessions
Live events will not fit inside two weeks. Recorded lectures with CERPs can be completed the same day. Start with the free sources below, match them to the topic areas flagged in your PPDP, and save every certificate as you go.
- 4
Check BLS and the WHO Code hours
A Basic Life Support course is required, and it counts as 3 R-CERPs. Two hours of education on the WHO Code are also required and count toward your E-CERPs. If either is missing, book it this week; both are widely available on demand.
- 5
Submit before September 30
The last day to submit a CERPs recertification application is September 30 of the year your certification expires. Submit as soon as your count is complete rather than on the last day, in case the portal asks for anything else.
Recertifying next year or later? Skip ahead to the full guide and download the tracker so this never becomes a two-week scramble.
Where to Get Free CERPs
MilkNotes does not sell CERPs, so this list has no thumb on the scale. Availability changes; confirm the CERP status on each page before you count on it.
GOLD Learning free webinars
GOLD periodically releases free CERP-bearing webinars, including its IBCLC Day presentation. Check the CERP library for anything marked free.
Health e-Learning free lecture library
A rotating set of free recorded lectures. Confirm CERP status on each lecture page before you rely on it.
IEBFC free CERPs with membership
Members receive free CEUs and CERPs from general meetings and online courses. Membership is inexpensive relative to a paid CERP bundle.
IBCLC Commission recertification session
The Commission's own recorded walkthrough of the updated recertification-by-CERPs process. Essential viewing even if it does not add points.
State and regional breastfeeding coalitions
Many coalitions record their meetings and offer L-CERPs at no charge to members. USLCA's marketplace and your state coalition are the places to look.
Education that was not pre-approved
Conference sessions, hospital in-services, and university courses that did not carry CERPs can still count. Submit them through the Commission's Individual CERPs process with the certificate and the session outline. One CERP equals 60 minutes of instruction.
The IBCLC CERP Tracker
One spreadsheet for the whole five-year cycle. It mirrors the three recertification requirements exactly, so nothing gets lost between now and your deadline.
- CE Self-Assessment date and PPDP scores by content area
- CERP log with type (L, E, R), provider, and certificate saved
- Running totals against the 75-CERP requirement
- BLS and WHO Code checkboxes
- 250 practice-hour log
- Works in Excel, Numbers, and Google Sheets
Get the tracker
What CERPs Are, and What L, E, and R Mean
CERPs are Continuing Education Recognition Points. They are how the IBCLC Commission (the certifying body many of us still call IBLCE) measures continuing education for recertification. One CERP equals 60 minutes of approved instruction.
There are three types, and the letters matter when you plan:
Lactation-CERPs
Education specific to human lactation and breastfeeding. The bulk of most IBCLCs' CERPs.
Ethics-CERPs
Professional ethics and legal topics relevant to lactation practice, including the WHO Code.
Related-CERPs
Related health sciences that support lactation care. BLS falls here.
CERPs come from two paths. Pre-approved providers issue certificates that already state the CERP type and count. Everything else, from a hospital in-service to a university course, goes through the Individual CERPs application, where you document the session and the Commission assigns the type.
The Three Recertification Requirements
Recertification is not only CERPs. Every IBCLC must meet all three requirements in each five-year cycle.
Requirement 1: Education
- Basic Life Support (BLS) course. Counts as 3 R-CERPs, maximum 6 R-CERPs from BLS per cycle.
- Two hours of education focused on the WHO Code. Counts toward the E-CERP minimum.
Requirement 2: Practice hours
- 250 hours of lactation consulting across the five-year cycle.
- Paid or volunteer. Clinical practice, education, administration, research, and advocacy all count.
Requirement 3: Recertification method
- By CERPs: complete the CE Self-Assessment, then earn 75 CERPs guided by your PPDP.
- By exam: sit the IBCLC examination again instead of earning CERPs.
How Many CERPs You Need, Exactly
Seventy-five. That number has not changed. What changed in 2022 is how the 75 are distributed, and that is the part many IBCLCs remember wrong from their last cycle.
- Total CERPs per cycle
- 75
- Minimum E-CERPs
- 5 (includes the 2 WHO Code hours)
- Minimum L-CERPs
- 5
- Minimum R-CERPs
- 5 (BLS supplies 3)
- Per PPDP topic area scored under 75%
- at least 5 CERPs each
- CERPs application deadline
- September 30 of your expiration year
The remaining CERPs are yours to direct, with one rule: every Detailed Content Outline area where your CE Self-Assessment scored below 75% needs at least five. In practice, most IBCLCs still earn the large majority of their 75 as L-CERPs, because that is what lactation education is. The minimums are floors, not targets.
If your last cycle ran under the older rule that required 50 L-CERPs, you are not alone in remembering it that way. Check your own cycle's requirements in the credential portal, since the rule that applies is the one for the year you certified or last recertified.
The CE Self-Assessment and Your PPDP
Since 2022, everyone who recertifies by CERPs takes the Continuing Education Self-Assessment first. It is free, remote, and about 70 multiple-choice questions drawn from the IBCLC Detailed Content Outline. You get 120 minutes in a single sitting, and you can take it once per five-year cycle.
You are not graded pass or fail. Instead you receive a Personalised Professional Development Plan (PPDP) showing each content area and your score. Any area below 75% becomes a required focus: at least five CERPs in that area before you can submit.
The practical advice is to take it early in your cycle, not in the last year. Early, the PPDP steers the CERPs you were going to earn anyway toward the areas that count. Late, it becomes a list of topics you have to chase against a deadline.
How to Keep Track of All of This for Five Years
The IBCLCs who find recertification easy are not the ones with more time. They are the ones who log each certificate the week they earn it, in one place, with the type and the PPDP area noted. The tracker above is that one place. Copy it into Google Sheets or open it in Excel, fill in your CE Self-Assessment scores on the first tab, and add a row every time you finish a session.
Keep the certificates themselves in a single folder named for your cycle. When the application opens, you will have the count, the types, and the evidence in the order the portal asks for them.
CERPs and Recertification Questions
I recertify on the same five-year clock you do, and I built this page and the tracker because the information was scattered across four sites and two PDFs the last time I needed it. If it saves you an evening, share it with a colleague who is due this year.
Liz Flight, RN, BSN, IBCLC
Founder, MilkNotes
MilkNotes is the charting app an IBCLC built while doing all of the above. The free 10-day trial is here, whenever you have the headspace for it.