Requirements

Certified Lighting Designers who are within their five-year certification period must submit 70 CLU prior to the expiration of their certification. Download the 70 CLU Recertification Policy Guidelines.   After the five- year term is completed, designers will transition to the annual schedule. 

In order to maintain the CLD certification, it is necessary to recertify every year. Recertification requires 10 Continuing Lighting Units (CLU) of education/ professional development annually (January- December).

• Up to 2 of the 10 CLUs can be from Qualifying Leadership, Authorship and/or Teaching activities related to lighting design, such as serving on a committee, giving a lecture or presenting a paper if the CLD certificant so desires. However, all 10 CLUs can also come from continuing education.
• Continuing education or professional development is tracked in hour increments. One hour equals 1 CLU. All sessions must be at least one hour in length. If a session is more than one hour in length, additional CLUs will be given in 30 minute or .5 CLU increments. For example:
• < 60 minutes = no credit
•    60 minutes = 1 CLU
•    75 minutes = 1 CLU
•    90 minutes = 1.5 CLUs
•  110 minutes = 1.5 CLUs
•  120 minutes = 2 CLUs
• No more than 50% of the required 10 Continuing Lighting Units necessary for recertification can come from attending one type of event or conference or particular activity. This means the most CLUs one can earn from any particular activity is 5.
• All recertification CLUs must relate to one of the seven (7) Domains (Goals and Outcomes, Collaboration, Ingenuity, Synthesis, Science, Stewardship, Human Experience). 
• A CLD certificant does not need to show continuing education in each Domain annually.
• All recertification CLUs are self-reported and subject to verification. Transcripts, certificates of attendance and agendas may be requested.
• Recertification fees are $90 USD for professional-level members of approved associations and $110 USD for everyone else. Fees are payable once you have completed 10 CLUs due by 1 January annually.

Approved Activities

There are a wide range of continuing education and professional development activities in which a CLD certificant can participate and earn CLUs toward recertification.

These include:

• Seminars at professional conferences such as IES, SLL, IALD Enlighten conferences, LEDForum, CIE, Light + Building, LIGHTFAIR International, etc.
• Lighting association conferences
• IALD LERN
• Team leadership training
• Project management courses
• Selected association chapter events
• University courses/technical lectures
• Workshops
• Online courses
• Manufacturer’s courses – provided they offer educational content and are not simply a sales pitch

• Publication of an article or technical research paper - 2 CLUs
• Serving as Chairman or Vice Chairman of a committee - 2 CLUs
• Serving as a committee member – 1 CLU. A maximum of 2 (two) CLUs can be earned in the 1-year recertification period.
• Giving a lecture or presenting at a conference (each lecture or presentation must be different)-  2 CLUs