How to List Certifications on a Resume or CV

If you are wondering how to list certifications on a resume or CV, the short answer has three parts. Put them where the employer will look first. Show dates so the reader knows they are current. Label anything unfinished clearly. This guide covers placement, expiry dates and in-progress courses, with formats you can copy today.

The advice works whether you call it a CV (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, India and most of the world) or a resume (US and Canada). The certification section works the same way in both.

Where to put certifications on your CV

Placement depends on how important the certification is to the job you are applying for. Use these three options.

Option 1: Near the top, when the job requires it

Some roles are legally or contractually tied to a licence or certificate. Examples include a nursing registration, a teaching licence, a chartered accountancy membership, a gas safety qualification or a commercial driving licence. In these cases, a recruiter may screen you out if they can't find it quickly.

Put it in one of these places:

• Your personal statement or summary, e.g. "NMC-registered adult nurse with four years' ward experience."
• Directly under your name and contact details, as a single line: "ACCA member | PMP certified".
• A "Licences and Certifications" section placed above Work Experience.

Option 2: A dedicated section, for most people

If your certifications support your application but aren't mandatory, give them their own section. Call it "Certifications", "Professional Qualifications" or "Licences and Certifications". Place it after Work Experience and before or after Education, depending on which is stronger.

This is the default for most applicants. It keeps your CV easy to scan, and applicant tracking systems (ATS) generally recognise these standard headings.

Option 3: Inside Education, if you only have one or two

If you have a single short course, a separate section can look thin. Fold it into Education under a sub-line such as "Additional training". This works well for graduates and career changers.

Quick decision table

Your situation	Best placement
Certification is required by law or by the job ad	Summary + section above Experience
Certification is listed as "desirable" in the ad	Dedicated section after Experience
Several relevant certifications	Dedicated section, most relevant first
One short course	Within Education
Certification unrelated to the job	Usually leave it out

How to list certifications on resume or CV: the format

Each entry should answer four questions: what it is, who issued it, when you got it, and whether it is still valid. Use one line per certification, or two if you need a credential ID.

The standard format

Certification name (Acronym), Issuing organisation, Month Year obtained – Month Year expires

Examples:

• Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute, March 2023 – March 2026
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, Amazon Web Services, June 2024 – June 2027
• Food Hygiene Level 2, Highfield Qualifications, January 2025
• Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate, Google via Coursera, September 2024

If a certification doesn't expire, just give the date you earned it. You don't need to write "no expiry" unless employers in your field commonly ask.

Write the full name and the acronym

Recruiters may search for "PMP" or "Project Management Professional". An ATS matches on the words it finds, so writing both gives a human or a keyword search the best chance of spotting it. It also helps readers in another country who may not know a local acronym. A Nigerian employer will recognise ICAN, but a recruiter in Canada may need "Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN)".

Credential IDs and verification

For licences and many IT certifications, adding a licence number or credential ID can save the employer a step. Keep it on a second line:

• Registered Nurse (Adult), Nursing and Midwifery Council, registered 2021 PIN available on request

Only share registration numbers you are comfortable having on a document that may be forwarded. "Available on request" is a reasonable middle ground. Never list a credential ID you can't back up. Employers can and do verify certifications with issuing bodies.

Once you have your entries drafted, the QuickApplyPilot AI CV builder can help you lay out a clean certifications section and keep the formatting consistent with the rest of your CV. You still decide what goes in. It formats what is true; it doesn't add credentials you don't hold.

How to handle expiry dates

Expiry dates are where honest CVs and misleading ones part ways. A lapsed certification shown as current can cost you an offer if it is discovered during checks, even after you have started the job.

Current certifications

Show both the issue date and the expiry date: "CompTIA Security+, CompTIA, May 2023 – May 2026". This tells the reader at a glance that you are covered for the near future.

Expired, but you are renewing

Be specific about where you are in the process:

• First Aid at Work, St John Ambulance, 2021 – 2024 (renewal course booked for May 2025)
• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), ISACA, 2019 – 2024 (CPE hours being completed for reinstatement)

Only write "booked" if it is actually booked, and only give a date you are confident about.

Expired, and you won't renew

You have three honest choices:

1. Remove it, if it no longer supports your application.
2. Keep it with the dates, e.g. "PRINCE2 Foundation, AXELOS, 2016 – 2021 (expired)". This can be useful if the knowledge is still relevant and the role doesn't require current certification.
3. Mention the knowledge instead, in a skills or experience bullet, e.g. "Ran projects using PRINCE2 methods", without implying you hold the certificate now.

What you should not do is drop the expiry date so a lapsed credential looks current. For more on this line, see how to tailor a CV without lying.

Licences that differ by country

Professional licences are often valid only in the country or state that issued them. A nursing registration in Nigeria, India or the Philippines doesn't automatically let you practise in the UK, Australia, Canada or the US, and US licences are usually issued state by state.

If you are applying abroad, list your home licence accurately and state your status in the new country, for example:

• Registered Nurse, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, 2019 – current
• NMC (UK) registration: application submitted, CBT passed March 2025

Rules and timelines change, so check the regulator's official website for the country you are targeting. Don't rely on a blog post, including this one, as legal or immigration advice.

How to list in-progress courses and certifications

Including a certification you are still working towards is fine, and often helpful. It shows the employer the skill is coming. The key is to label it so nobody could mistake it for a finished credential.

Formats that work

• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), Project Management Institute, in progress (exam scheduled June 2025)
• Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst (PL-300), Microsoft, expected completion August 2025
• CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management, CIPD, studying, 4 of 8 units completed

Useful phrases: "in progress", "expected completion [Month Year]", "currently studying", "exam booked for [Month Year]", "[X] of [Y] modules completed".

What to avoid

• Listing it without any status label, so it reads as complete.
• An "expected" date you know is unrealistic.
• Courses you enrolled in but stopped working on months ago. If you haven't studied it this year, it probably isn't "in progress".
• Exam names for exams you haven't booked or prepared for.

Expect interviewers to ask about anything in progress: what you have covered so far, and when you will finish. Have a one-sentence answer ready.

Placement for in-progress items

Keep them in the same section as your completed certifications, listed after the finished ones. If the in-progress certification is the main reason you are a fit for the role, as it often is for career changers, you can also mention it in your summary: "Customer service professional currently completing the Google IT Support Certificate (expected July 2025)."

What to leave out

A long list of loosely related certificates can bury the ones that matter. Cut or shorten:

• Very short completion certificates (a one-hour webinar, a free intro module) unless they are directly relevant and you have little else.
• Duplicates, such as a foundation and a practitioner level of the same course. Keep the higher one.
• Unrelated certifications, unless they show something the employer values, like a first aid certificate for a role working with the public.
• Badges as images. Logos and graphics may not be read by an ATS and take up space. Write the names out as text instead. If you want to test this, our guide on how to check if your CV is ATS friendly walks through a plain-text test.

Order what remains by relevance to the specific job, not by date. Your most important certification should be first.

Copy-ready template

LICENCES AND CERTIFICATIONS

[Full name] ([Acronym]), [Issuing body], [Month Year] – [Expiry Month Year]

[Full name] ([Acronym]), [Issuing body], [Month Year]

[Full name], [Issuing body], in progress, expected completion [Month Year]

Final checklist

Before you send your CV, go through each certification and confirm:

• The full name and acronym are both written out as text.
• The issuing organisation is named.
• The date earned is shown, plus the expiry date if it has one.
• Nothing expired is presented as current.
• In-progress items carry a clear label and a realistic date.
• Licences note which country or state issued them.
• Required certifications appear near the top, not hidden at the bottom.
• The list is ordered by relevance to this job.
• You could show proof of every entry if asked.

If every box is ticked, your certifications section is accurate, easy to scan and ready to send. It won't guarantee an interview on its own, but it removes one easy reason for a recruiter to pass you over.