AAIR renewal, CPE and retake rules

AAIR never expires on a fixed date; it stays valid while three things continue: at least 10 CPE hours reported each year (30 over a three-year reporting period), the annual maintenance fee, and an active qualifying designation. ISACA’s AAIR maintenance page sets the fee at US$45 for members and US$85 for non-members, due by 1 January. Fail the requirements and the certification is revoked, which is different from a quiet lapse.

The AAIR CPE cycle

CPE hours differ between ISACA credentials, so figures remembered from CISM or CISA should not be carried over. That is also the difference from AAISM and AAIA: each credential has its own page, and each should be read on its own. The AAIR page quoted here is the source for this guide; ISACA’s general CPE policy PDF could not be read as text during research, so details such as the exact start of a new holder’s first reporting period are not confirmed here.

ISACA lists these ceilings for individual activity types: conferences up to 32 CPE, webinars and online training up to 36 free CPE a year, on-demand learning up to 28 per course, training courses and skills labs up to 32 per course, and volunteering up to 20 free CPE a year. Tracked ISACA events are loaded into your account but only count after you apply them to a certification; hours from chapters or other sponsors are self-reported in the myISACA portal.

Fees and the 1 January deadline

• Members US$45 a year, non-members US$85.
• A third or later ISACA certification costs less: US$25 for members and US$50 for non-members.
• Invoices go out by email and post from September for the following year, and a payment button appears in the certification dashboard.
• Paying by 1 January renews through that calendar year.

Anyone holding AAIR plus CRISC or CISA pays for each credential, and the prerequisites page explains why the base designation must stay active as well. Two cycles, two sets of fees.

What lapses a credential

The AAIR page treats failure to meet CPE, fee, audit or ethics requirements as grounds for revocation. A revoked holder may no longer present themselves as certified, and the revocation shows on verification requests. ISACA also makes three smaller points: you may use the letters AAIR after your name but not the logo, Non-Practicing and Retired statuses exist for those who qualify, and randomly selected holders must document the activities reported for a specific calendar year.

Keep records for 12 months after each three-year reporting cycle ends. Each record should show your name, the sponsor, the activity title and description, the date and the hours claimed; completion certificates, attendance rosters and ISACA’s Verification of Attendance form are accepted.

Reinstatement after revocation

1. Write an appeal to the AAIR Working Group through ISACA’s Customer Experience Center, with an explanation and CPE documentation from the revocation period to the present.
2. If approved, pay all outstanding maintenance fees plus a US$50 reinstatement fee per certification.
3. If denied, the route back is to retake and pass the exam and reapply.

ISACA does not publish a grace period on the page checked. Treat 1 January as the working deadline.

AAIR retake rules

ISACA’s retake policy is set in its exam candidate guide. The guide read for this page is the AAISM edition (ISACA publishes the policy in its candidate guides, and the AAIR-specific guide was not located), so the rules below are ISACA’s general policy and should be confirmed before booking.

• Four attempts maximum inside a rolling 12 months from the first attempt.
• The registration fee is payable in full for every attempt; AAIR costs US$459 for members and US$599 for non-members, per ISACA’s AAIR page.
• Registration gives six months of eligibility; rescheduling is free if requested at least 48 hours before the appointment.
• Passing candidates cannot retake the same exam within the five-year application window, and certified holders cannot retake while certified.

Scores, rescoring and accommodations

Scores use a 200 to 800 scale with 450 as the pass mark, according to the same candidate guide; ISACA’s AAIR pages themselves do not state a passing score, so treat this as the general ISACA rule rather than an AAIR-specific figure. A preliminary result shows on screen, the official score arrives within 10 working days, and question-level results are not provided. A rescore costs US$75 and must be requested in writing within 30 days of results. Special testing accommodations must be requested during registration, at least four weeks before the preferred date, and are valid for one sitting.

For the exam sequence behind all of this, see exam format. For the roles AAIR supports, see the career guide. General cost planning is on certification costs.