ITIL® 4 Certification Path – What Happens with my ITIL® v3 Certification

ITIL v3 to v4 transition

Axelos has just announced the release date of the ITIL® 4 Managing Professional (MP) Transition and we’d like to share the most important update regarding this bridge course for those who have already advanced in the ITIL v3 certification path.

In addition, this article explains the ITIL® 4 certification path and the possibilities for a smooth transition from v3 to 4 that is most convenient for your business performance and career goals depending on where in the certification path you are.

For ITIL® Expert certification holders or those who have a minimum of 17 ITIL v3 credits

ITIL® Managing Professional Transition Module recognizes the achievements of individuals who have progressed through the ITIL® v3 certification and enables them to easily transition to ITIL 4. For those with 17 ITIL® v3 credits or ITIL® Expert certification, there is an ITIL® 4 Managing Professional (MP) Transition training course, enabling candidates to transition their existing level of competence into the new ITIL 4 certification scheme. Those who complete the module and the exam successfully, will gain ITIL® Managing Professional (ITIL® MP) designation.

So, for all who have already advanced in the ITIL v3 certification path – there is no need to give up on your achievements. Make sure to collect at 17 ITIL® v3 credits which are equal to ITIL v3 Foundation (2 credits) and 5 Lifecycle Courses (5×3=15) = 17 credit in order to qualify for the ITIL® 4 Managing Professional (MP) Transition.

The ITIL® 4 Managing Professional (MP) Transition examination is now included in the training course. Read more about the exam on the course page here.

For ITIL® Foundation holders

ITIL® 4 has been carefully developed to be compatible with the existing certification scheme of v3. However, if you have already gained the ITIL v3 Foundation certification and you wish to continue further with ITIL 4, you have to take the ITIL 4 Foundation training course and examination.

ITCE offers the ITIL® 4 Foundation in Practice course which targets professionals anyone working in IT and is especially beneficial to those who work in service delivery. Learn what is new in ITIL® 4, prepare for and pass the ITIL® 4 Foundation certification exam, and apply everything you have learned during your training in an interactive business simulation.

ITIL® 4 Certification Path

Overall, ITIL® 4 provides a practical and flexible model to support organizations in their digital transformation journey. The design of the new scheme allows it to be backwards compatible with ITIL® v3. More importantly, it aims to encourage conversion beyond the ITIL® Foundation level. The ITIL® 4 Certification path comprises following modules:

Read more about each ITIL® 4 level of certification in this post. >>

The new certification path is available for you to take a look at here on the Axelos website. There is also a FAQ’s guide here. The transition process is promised to be gradual and ITIL® v3 certifications will remain valid.

Smooth transition

After the announcement of the new ITIL® 4 Update from two years ago at the itSMF USA Fusion 2017 conference, the open question in front of many ITIL® specialists was what will happened with the previous v3 certification.

AXELOS hasn’t changed the core elements or much of the valuable content of v3. So, the ITIL® v3 certifications are not going to be a waste. As already noted, ITIL® 4 focuses on integrating ITIL with best practices from the worlds of DevOps, Agile, and Lean. Consequently, you should expect new terminology, frameworks and improvements that will provide lots of insights on how to manage not only the modern IT Organization but how to manage a business in the new digital era.

In summary, it is important to mention that all existing ITIL® certifications will remain valid following the update. Moreover, all credits gained from the v3 certifications can help you continue your ITIL® journey in the new certification scheme. ITIL® v3 examination scheme will be available until June 2020.

This article has been first published on February 11, 2019 and has had a major update on September 10, 2019.


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It’s time for another edition of the world’s favorite IT service management best practice framework. Let us support you along this exciting ITIL® 4 journey.

If you have already attended ITIL® training at ITCE – ITIL® Foundation or ITIL® Intermediate Course, please contact us to discuss the best transition approach for you and get a special offer for the new ITIL® 4 courses.

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