CEBS Compliance Questions & Answers

CEBS Compliance is a formal recognition of the career-long professional development CEBS graduates pursue to maintain their knowledge and skills. In an industry that is defined by trends, demographics, legislative and regulatory requirements, and cost-containment, keeping benefit plans in compliance and on track to bolster the financial security of your participants requires continued, career-long learning.

CEBS Compliance is how you can get the professional recognition you deserve for keeping your knowledge growing and flourishing. 

It's attained by earning and reporting 30 hours of eligible professional education over a period of up to two calendar years.

CEBS Compliance runs on dynamic (not fixed) calendar years. This means your reporting period begins in the year in which you first report an activity, establishing your reporting period as the current and following year.  For example, if you have 0 credits in 2023 and report at least 1 credit in 2024, that begins your two-year period of 2024-2025. You must report at least 1 credit in order to establish your two-year reporting period. Once established, you can report credits earned at any time during those two calendar years.

If you report 0 credits during the year, it will reset the next year so you always have the opportunity to re-establish a two-year period.

You are strongly encouraged to report your credit hours as they are earned throughout the year. You will reach compliance recognition sooner and not risk misplacing important details about your completed activities, or risk losing the opportunity to report them in a new calendar year.

Yes, provided you have already established your reporting period as noted in question 2.  In that case you have until the end of February of the next year to report your remaining credits. For example: if your reporting period is currently 2023-2024 (and you have already reported credits), you have until February 28, 2025 to report outstanding credits from 2023 and 2024. After the grace period closes, reporting for previous years is not available.

Very likely, yes. Most CEBS graduates are involved in a variety of  continuing education activities in order to stay current, expand their knowledge or satisfy requirements for related professional designations and licenses and many of these activities are likely to qualify for CEBS Compliance credit.

All CEBS graduates, of any year, of both the U.S. and Canadian programs are welcome and encouraged to participate.

Yes. CEBS Compliance status is available to all graduates, regardless of membership status in ISCEBS or IFEBP.

No. Membership in any professional organization does not qualify for CEBS Compliance.

Board or committee service in any organization does not qualify. While these functions play an important role in supporting the community of benefits professionals, they are not exclusively dedicated to learning benefits content.

Activities completed within the scope of your employment are not eligible activities. If you recently completed an exciting major project or initiative and you have some great outcomes to share, one suggestion is to turn it into a presentation for a local, national or virtual group, or an article for a professional publication. Presenting and writing are both eligible activities, and you are sharing your knowledge with other benefit professionals.

Yes. Credit can be earned and reported in .5 increments. Totals not in whole or half numbers must be rounded down to the nearest half credit. For example, a two-hour (120-minute) program qualifies for two credit hours and a 2½-hour program (150 minutes) earns three credit hours. Remember that breaks and other noneducational activities are not counted.

No. Excess credits may not be carried over from one two-year period to the next.

You must count the compliance credit hours in the calendar year in which you completed the education activity.

Yes, you may receive credit only for that portion of the activity related to acceptable subject matter content. For example, two credit hours could be claimed for a four-hour course that covers accepted subject topics during half of the program.

The content of CEBS Compliance education activities must be related to the existing body of knowledge and applications covered in the CEBS curriculum. Topics outside of these areas do not qualify.

No. You should report your credits as soon as you complete the sessions or conference, whether in-person or virtual. You do not need to wait for any post-event certificates or documentation from our office to report your credits. Retain this documentation for your records.

No, you may earn credits in any of the content areas described in CEBS Content Domain to earn CEBS Compliance.

Yes, satisfactory completion of the examination is required to receive credit.

Yes, provided the educational session is at least 50 minutes long, covers one or more of the content areas in the CEBS Content Domain and you are in attendance for the entire session.

It is your responsibility to assess the relevance of CEBS Compliance education activities using the guidelines provided. However, if you need assistance in determining whether an activity qualifies for CEBS Compliance credit, you can contact CEBS at [email protected].

With the exception of activities sponsored by IFEBP or ISCEBS, activities and program sponsors are not preapproved for credit. Because CEBS Compliance is designed for maximum flexibility to reflect the diverse professional needs of CEBS graduates, you are free to choose any allowable activity that covers one or more of the content domains outlined in the  CEBS Content Domain. Contact CEBS at [email protected] with questions.

Outside of the grace period noted in question 4, only activities completed during your established reporting period as noted in your profile can be reported. Activities completed outside of your two year period cannot be reported.  Log in to your CEBS Compliance profile at www.ifebp.org/myprofile to confirm your two-year period.

Occasionally, professional schedules may not allow for education activities during that year. If you report 0 credits during a calendar year, your reporting period resets the next calendar year. Resetting the reporting period means you aren't penalized for missing the previous year and gives you the opportunity to establish a new two-year period to reach compliant status.

Yes, you will receive reminders periodically throughout the year via email or postal mail. Please be sure your email address and other contact information is up-to-date with CEBS so we can contact you.

Compliant graduates are recognized online in a publicly available and searchable listing of all graduates whose compliance status is current.  They are listed by country and alphabetically by state or province/territory. This listing is available for employers, clients, government regulators and other parties who are interested in, or rely upon the professional currency that CEBS Compliance signifies. Other avenues of recognition may take place at the ISCEBS Symposium or local chapter level.

You've earned it, go on and show it off! You are welcome and encouraged to highlight your status on stationery, social media profiles, your email signature or other professional platforms.  For more recognition, download your digital badge to display online. Visit www.ifebp.org/digitalbadges for complete details.

Randomly auditing those who attest compliance helps verify good faith compliance, without requiring everyone to produce documentation of each activity at the time of reporting. More details on the audit process are available here.

You will not lose your CEBS designation and you retain the right to use the CEBS mark. There is no revocation policy for the CEBS credential for not participating in CEBS Compliance.