Each Certified Productivity Coach has demonstrated coaching competence at the ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) level. CPCs provide holistic coaching services enhanced by the insights and experiences of a productivity specialist. It’s a remarkable combination.
In addition, CPCs are trained to integrate coaching strategies into productivity consulting sessions (on-site or virtual), strengthening the results and building client self-knowledge and resiliency.
You can find the current Certified Productivity Coaches in the IAC Coach Directory
CPC CREDENTIALING REQUIREMENTS
CAT Foundation Coach Program Graduation (a total of 27 weeks of instruction, extensive assignments, a year of coaching practice and two written exams). The five foundation courses must be taken in the order listed here:

- Coaching Essentials (CE) (8-week course – offered three times a year: new year, spring/summer and fall)
- Strengths-Based Coaching (SBC) (5-week course – offered twice a year: early spring and early fall)
- Brain-Based Coaching (BBC) (6-week course – offered once a year in the late fall)
- Life & ADHD Coaching (LAC) (6-week course – offered once a year in the late winter)
- Coach Integration (CI) (4-week course – offered once a year in the late spring)
Advanced Coach Training (After Foundation graduation, the COC credential requires one of these graduate-level courses:
- GCP — Graduate Coach Practicum — which includes an Independent (Graduate) Project OR
- PC — Productivity Coaching — plus an Independent (Graduate) Project
- All mentor coaching must be with an ICF-credentialed coach, who is also a CAT trained and designated mentor coach.
- All ten required hours may be individual mentor coaching hours.
- Up to seven hours may be from one of the CAT group mentor-lab courses — and, of course, at least three hours must be individual hours.
- The ten mentor coaching hours must extend over no fewer than 12 weeks.
- Mentor coaching sessions must address the applicant’s coaching skills and competence in support of a strong certification recording (not marketing, for example).
Coaching Experience — 115 Client Hours
Create a client coaching log when you began your comprehensive coach training (in Coaching Essentials). To be included on the log, the client must be aware in all cases: 1) that they are being coached by you and 2) what coaching is, including expectations of the client and the coach.
The logged client coaching hours must meet these requirements:
100 hours of Whole-Session Coaching (stand-alone coaching using an awareness-action-learning coaching process that is independent of another client service)
- At least 80 of the 100 hours must be paid hours (bartered coaching is considered paid).
- There must be at least 8 whole session clients.
- Include no more than 20 hours where another Coach Approach student is the client.
- Include no coaching that was part of a coach training assignment.
- At least 25 of these hours must have been logged in the 18 months before you submit your credential application.
15 hours of Integrated Coaching (designated spot coaching that often is tangential to another client service)
- There must be at least two integrated coaching clients.
- Coaching time should be tracked in fractions of an hour.
- Examples:
- a pause in a consulting or hand-on session to engage in targeted coaching to resolve client indecision;
- a coaching interlude to align a client’s goals or perspective immediately before a hands-on or virtual consulting session;
- a coaching interlude after an on-site or virtual consulting session to identify, explore and capture any resulting client learning or awareness;
- brief coaching (typically by phone) with a client at the time of task engagement (aligning, initiating energy, preparedness, perspective) or task completion (client celebration, learning, next steps).
Coaching Proficiency
Record an actual client coaching session, 30-60 minutes long, that demonstrates whole session coaching and ICF core competencies at a minimum Associate Certified Coach level.
Additional Qualifications
Summary of relevant productivity consulting or similar professional and life experience. (For a CPC proof may include a CPO® or CPO-CD® credential or business start-up date, summaries of client hours, related training and life experience.)
The ACC-Level Application Packet (application and instructions) provides a complete and detailed description of the above requirements.
Application Deadline
The annual application deadline is typically April 1. Current-year applications and instructions are available January 1. Previous-year application packets are indicative and available year-round.