One of the requirements of a psychometrically valid certification program is that each certification must have an expiration date. A certified individual must periodically provide evidence that they still have the necessary skills required by the certification. The BSDA certification expires at the end of five years.

Two methods are available for certification renewal which reflect standard psychometric practices as well as the community-based approach of the BSD Certification Group. Certificants can apply for recertification up to six months before or after their certification expires.

The BSDA certification expires at the end of five years. In order to remain BSDA certified, the certificate holder must apply for recertification using one of the methods listed below. These methods reflect standard psychometric practices as well as the community-based approach of the BSD Certification Group.

BSDA certified individuals can apply for recertification up to six months before their certification expires. Individuals with a unique circumstance requiring an earlier recertification should contact the BSDCG. There is a six month renewal grace period after a certification expires. When a successful application for recertification occurs, the certification will be renewed for five years starting at the expiration date of the prior certification. If recertification is not attempted during this period, the individual is no longer considered certified and must meet the BSDA certification requirements as a new certification applicant should they wish to pursue certification at a later time.

When applying for a recertification, select one of the two renewal methods:

Method 1: Retake and pass the BSDA exam at either a hosted exam event or at a testing center. Upcoming events and testing center locations are listed here. The BSDA Certification Requirements document should be reviewed to determine if any study is required. This document is available for download here.

or

Method 2: Provide evidence that you continue to use the skills covered by the BSDA Certification Requirements during the five years of certification. A list of acceptable activities, their BSDA Recertification Unit (BRU) values, and examples of verifiable evidence are provided in the following "Evidence of Continuing BSD Skills Chart". In order to recertify, you must demonstrate a total of ten BRUs and demonstrate how your listed activities relate to the exam objectives within the BSDA Certification Requirements document.

If you choose this method of recertification, send an email which details your evidence to chair@bsdcertification.org and pay the recertification fee. Once your email and recertification payment are received, the BSDCG review committee will review your evidence. If clarification is needed, an email will be sent requesting further information. Once the evidence is validated as meeting the ten BRUs requirement, you will receive an email indicating the new expiry date and a new certificate will be shipped to the mailing address that you provided to the BSDCG when you registered for your BSDCG ID.

Evidence of Continuing BSD Skills Chart

In order to recertify, you must provide verifiable evidence representing a total of ten BSDA Recertification Units (BRUs). BRUs are used to demonstrate how activities relate to the exam objectives within the BSDA Certification Requirements document. When providing evidence, explain which BSDA exam objectives are covered by that activity.

Get Certified!

Operating systems built on the Berkeley Software Distribution software releases (from the University of California Berkeley) have been around since the mid-1970s. Originally used on expensive hardware the software proved flexible and robust enough to port to smaller and smaller systems. Universities and research organizations around the world were already using the software when the first Intel 386 port appeared in March, 1992.

Today, thousands of companies use BSD based systems and software. BSD systems run some of the busiest sites on the Internet, including Yahoo, New York Internet, Pair Networks, and others. BSD systems have proven remarkably stable, some recording 'uptimes' (time since last reboot) in years, rather than weeks or months. Use of this freely available software has skyrocketed since its beginning and has continued to grow steadily.

Companies large and small want to protect their investment in BSD systems by employing system administrators, users, programmers, network specialists and others with demonstrated proficiency in using and understanding these systems. BSD Certification provides these companies with a clear path to hiring qualified individuals.

What they are saying

Building a certification that will cement knowledge, standards and best practice will take time but I have no doubt it will eventually be considered the gold standard. End Users, Administrators, CIO's and other IT decision makers should be on the lookout for this new and soon to be unrivaled IT certification.

Joseph Guarino, CIO of Evolutionary IT

Nothing beats having trained staff for what OS is used, however. The upcoming BSD certification initiative is an excellent step in this direction. Having technicians and administrators that have completed BSD-specific training should greatly help companies feel better about using BSD, just as having Cisco, Novell, or Microsoft trained staff helped with using those products.

Scott Long, former FreeBSD committer