Apply online here. In addition to holding a current Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) certification, all applicants must meet certain education and work history requirements to qualify for the exam. All applications will be reviewed by a member of our staff. If your application is accepted, you will receive an email that provides instructions describing how to schedule your exam. You will have one year to schedule and sit for your exam.

If the application is denied, you will be notified via email and receive a full refund of all application and exam fees.

Not a CPRP? Apply for both the CPRP and CPRE exams at the same time for a discounted rate using the CPRP and CPRE Dual Application. Please contact certification@nrpa.org for more information.

Learn more about becoming a CPRE.

If you have not yet scheduled your exam or have the option to reschedule your exam, you can submit the CPRE Exam Extension Application to request a three-month extension of your exam deadline for any reason. Once approved, NRPA will send you a confirmation email with your updated expiration date and PSI Services Professional Testing Company will send you a notice of the extension via email.

If you have experienced a medical, military or personal emergency and have been unable to schedule your exam or missed your exam date, you can apply for a one-year extension by submitting the CPRE Exam Extension Fee Waiver and providing documentation to verify your request.

Forms can be submitted via email to certification@nrpa.org, uploaded to our secure drop box or mailed to the address below.

Mail to:

National Recreation and Park Association
CL# 500007
P.O. BOX 5007
Merrifield, VA  22116-5007

Please contact certification@nrpa.org for more information.

You can apply to retake your CPRE exam by submitting the Exam Only Application. Applications may be submitted either by mail to the address below, or by uploading them to our secure drop box here.

Mail to:

National Recreation and Park Association
CL# 500007
P.O. BOX 5007
Merrifield, VA  22116-5007

You can apply to retake your CPRE exam by submitting the Exam Only Application. Applications may be submitted either by mail to the address below, or by uploading them to our secure drop box here.

Mail to:

National Recreation and Park Association
CL# 500007
P.O. BOX 5007
Merrifield, VA  22116-5007

 If you have experienced a medical, military or personal emergency and have been unable to schedule your exam or missed your exam date, you can apply for a one-year extension by submitting the CPRE Exam Extension Fee Waiver and documentation to verify your request.

Please contact certification@nrpa.org with any questions.

You have two options to renew your certification:

Renewal Option 1: Earn 3.0 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) within the three-year certification cycle and submit a completed renewal application. The CPRE Renewal Application can either be downloaded or completed online in the Online Certification Center.

Renewal Option 2: Successful retake the CPRE examination. Apply for the CPRE exam only.

Learn more about CPRE certification renewal.

Can I send my renewal through the mail?

Yes. Download the CPRE Renewal Application and mail the completed form with your payment to:

National Recreation and Park Association
CL# 500007
P.O. BOX 5007
Merrifield, VA  22116-5007

Learn more about CPRE certification renewal.

Any training that offers Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and is achieved on or within your certification cycle dates may be used to renew your CPRE certification. If a course, training or event you participated in on or within your certification cycle dates did not offer CEU credit (or offered a type of credit other than CEUs), you are eligible to petition for credit through NRPA using the CEU Petition Form.

In addition, if you provide specific services to NRPA or your state association, you may be eligible for Professional Service Experience (PSE) points, which can be transferred to CEU equivalency by submitting the Professional Service Experience Form.

Academic credits can be transferred automatically to CEU by taking the total number of semester credit hours and dividing it by 10. There is no cost associated with submitting the PSE form or transferring academic credits.

Learn more about CPRE certification renewal.

All CEUs from NRPA-sanctioned events will record automatically on your NRPA account and will be displayed on your official transcript. For any CEUs received from events not sanctioned by NRPA, you can record them online by visiting the Online Certification Center.

• Log in (use the same login information entered to log in to the NRPA website)
• Select the certification you wish to post your CEU’s to
• Select “Renew”
• Select “Track my CEUs for Future Certification Renewal” (if prompted)
• Input CEU’s in the boxes provided
• After you have submitted 3.0 CEUs, you will automatically be taken to the renewal payment screen. Enter payment to complete your renewal application.

You are not required to submit proof of your CEUs at the time of renewal. However, we do recommend that you keep a copy of your CEU certificates and transcripts in case you are audited during the renewal period.

Please send the change (how the name should be displayed in your NRPA profile and on your certificate) and documentation of the change (i.e., copy of marriage certificate, naturalization papers, court order of name change, etc.) to certification@nrpa.org or mail it to:

National Recreation and Park Association
CL# 500007
P.O. BOX 5007
Merrifield, VA  22116-5007