Endorsement and certifications

IAF Endorsed™ Facilitator (EF)

Facilitation is part of what you do. You want recognition for your developing facilitation practice.

To become an endorsed facilitator, you need to:

• be an IAF member
• have been facilitating for at least one year 
• demonstrate that you understand the IAF Core Competencies. 

When you apply, you:

• provide information on how you use the competencies in your day-to-day practice 
• take a multiple-choice online exam to demonstrate your understanding of the competencies. 

Our assessors review your application and exam results to determine whether you have met the standards to become an IAF Endorsed™ Facilitator. At this time, assessments are conducted in English.

The endorsement is given for 4 years. To maintain it, you must remain an IAF member and apply again after 4 years. 

Download IAF Endorsed™ Facilitator application form.

IAF Certified™ Professional Facilitator (CPF)

Facilitation is a significant part of your role. You want the premier certification for professional facilitators, held by hundreds worldwide.

To become a CPF, you need to:

• be an IAF member
• have facilitated at least 7 workshops in the past 3 years
• demonstrate how you practice the IAF Core Competencies. 

The term ‘workshop’ means any group session you facilitated to help the group achieve a defined purpose and deliverable. It should not be training, coaching or a meeting where you have an interest in the outcome.

There are 2 stages to becoming a CPF. 
 

Stage 1 Application
 

You complete a written application with a summary of the workshops you have facilitated and how you use the competencies.

Our assessors review your application to determine whether you have provided sufficient evidence of using the competencies in your work.  At this time assessments are only conducted in English.

• If you pass stage 1, you do a stage 2 assessment. 
• If deferred, you will receive written feedback and can apply again.  

Download IAF Certified™ Professional Facilitator application form.

Stage 2 Assessment
 

Stage 2 assessments are generally held online throughout the year. See CPF assessment dates and deadlines. 

In this stage, you:

• work with an assessor to role-play how you engage with clients
• participate in two interviews with assessors
• facilitate a real-time workshop to demonstrate how you do it.

Our assessors use these interactions and your application to determine whether you have met the standards to become a CPF. At this time, assessments are only conducted in English.

The certification is given for 4 years. To maintain it, you must remain an IAF member and recertify every 4 years. 

IAF Certified™ Assessors

Certified assessors play a pivotal role in nurturing the growth of facilitation professionals. Assessors:  

• undertake competency-based assessments for our endorsements and certifications 
• help us design and improve our endorsement and certification processes.

To become an assessor, you need to:

• be a CPF who has recertified at least once
• be fluent in English at Level B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) 
• demonstrate qualifying experience in assessment activities
• demonstrate evidence of the IAF Assessor Competencies.  

We generally recruit assessors every 2 years. When we are recruiting, we seek expressions of interest from all CPFs.