To qualify for retirement status for your PCED you must retire from active employment, be at least age 55, and meet one of the following criteria:

• Have at least 20 years of experience in community and economic development, or
• Held the PCED certification for 15 or more years.

Retirement refers to legal retirement, and is not applicable to practitioners who are entering a phase between positions, changing professions or entering into consultancy. The certification retirement option is not to be used as an alternate method of retaining your certification due to hardship or some other reasoning for not obtaining the required points for recertification. If you meet the requirements, you may request that a “retired” status be designated on your certification records. Your certification will then be left in good standing and will not lapse or be deleted from your certification records. 

1. If you meet the requirements and desire Retired Certification Status, you may apply up to one year before your certification expiration date. In turn, you will receive a new certificate showing “retired” status.
2. Submit your retirement application and a $100 processing fee directly to the CDC.
3. If you hold Retired Status and wish to return to active full or part-time employment, you must contact the CDC recertification chair to reinstate your certification to ACTIVE status. Your date of reinstatement will be your new start date for your three-year recertification period. You will then receive a new “active” certification.
4. You can still teach and proctor PCED tests at a CDI using your PCED Retired status.
5. You are not required to recertify by exam or documentation of any points to reinstate your certification. You will have to submit your recertification application and the fee directly to the CDC.