How to List Certifications on a Resume (+ Examples)

A certification is a credential showing you have specific skills or knowledge, generally earned through specialized study and by taking and passing an exam (CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor), 2025-04-03). On a resume it lives in one of two places: a short standalone section headed "Certifications" or "Licenses & Certifications," or inside your Education section, which can list apprenticeships, certifications, classes and volunteer training alongside degrees, most recent first (CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor), undated).

Placement depends on career stage. New graduates and people who have just retrained after a career change may put that section before work experience (CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor), undated). Everyone else puts it after.

The alternative to a standalone certifications section is folding the credentials into Education. Both are correct; pick by how much the certification is doing for your application.

One rule covers both: identify what you hold accurately. Certifications, licences and certificates are different kinds of credential (ResumeBuilder.com, undated). A certificate of completion from a course is not a certification earned by exam, and a state licence is not a certification — calling them by the wrong name is the error a specialist reader notices first.

Use the Title — Issuer — Date (— status or ID) line, with an optional skills line underneath. A resume listing should include the certification title, the awarding organization, the date earned, and associated skills if applicable (Indeed, undated).

Weak

Food safety certified, management training

Strong

ServSafe Food Protection Manager — National Restaurant Association — June 2024 Allergen control, temperature logging, staff training on safe handling

The strong version can be verified: a hiring manager knows which credential you hold, who issued it, and when — the weak one could mean anything from a two-hour briefing to an exam.

Variations on the same line:

• Expiring credentials: add "expires [month year]" or "active through [month year]" after the issue date.
• In progress: "exam scheduled for [month year]" or "in progress, expected [month year]" — never a bare title with no status.
• Licence numbers: add "license #" only where the field expects it (nursing, trades, insurance, real estate); otherwise write "credential ID available on request."
• Keep the issuer's exact name and abbreviation, including punctuation and spacing, so a keyword search for it finds your resume.

1. Inventory what you hold. Open each wallet card, PDF or online verification record and write down the exact title, the awarding organization, the date earned, and the expiry date if there is one. Guessing a date is how two sections end up contradicting each other.
2. Read the job ad and mirror its keywords. Copy the credential names out of the posting word for word — "CompTIA Security+," not "Security Plus." If the ad says "required," that credential goes on page one, near the top. If the ad names a certification you do not hold but could, note it; CareerOneStop's Certification Finder lets you search by a keyword for the type of work you want and narrow the results with filters (CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor), 2025-04-03).
3. Choose the placement. Required licence or card: a dedicated section directly under your summary, or a short line in the header beside your name. Supporting credentials with several years of experience: a section after Education. One credential only: a line inside Education.
4. Write each line in the formula. Title — Issuer — Date, most recent first, one line each. Add one skills line under the credential the employer actually asked for, and no others.
5. Handle in-progress, expired and renewals. Say where you are, in plain words. Drop expired credentials you have no plan to renew, unless the experience behind them still matters — in which case the skill belongs in a work bullet, not in the certifications list.
6. Set it and proof it. Body text at 10.5 or 11 points, margins at 1 inch, section heading in the same style as your other headings, one page if you have under 10 years of experience and two beyond that. Cap the section at 6 lines; move the rest to a longer profile elsewhere. Check that every date here agrees with your Education and Experience dates.

Each block shows the same line pattern applied to one field. Bracketed text is a placeholder for your own state, issuer or number — use the Certification Finder to confirm the exact credential name before you type it (CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor), 2025-04-03).

IT support and help desk

First technical resume

CompTIA A+ — CompTIA — February 2025 Hardware repair, Windows and macOS setup, ticket triage in a help desk queue

Technician with two years on the desk

CompTIA A+ — CompTIA — February 2023 CompTIA Network+ — CompTIA — November 2024

CompTIA positions A+ as an essential certification for tech beginners entering IT support roles (CompTIA, undated).

Networking and infrastructure

Network support applicant

CompTIA Network+ — CompTIA — August 2024 Switching, routing basics, cabling standards, network troubleshooting

Network administrator adding security

CompTIA Network+ — CompTIA — August 2023 CompTIA Security+ — CompTIA — exam scheduled for June 2025

Network+ is described as an early career networking certification focused on basic networking concepts and infrastructure (CompTIA, undated).

Cybersecurity

SOC analyst applicant

CompTIA Security+ — CompTIA — May 2025 Threat identification, incident response support, access control

Stacked path, shown as one line

CompTIA A+ (2022), Network+ (2023), Security+ (2024) — CompTIA

Security+ is described as a foundational cybersecurity certification covering fundamental cybersecurity skills (CompTIA, undated).

Cloud and architecture

Cloud engineer applicant

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Amazon Web Services — January 2025

Career changer from IT support

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Amazon Web Services — January 2025 CompTIA Network+ — CompTIA — July 2024

The SAA-C03 exam is intended for individuals who perform a solutions architect role (Amazon Web Services, undated), so pair it with a work bullet that shows architecture decisions, not just console use.

Project management

PMP holder

Project Management Professional (PMP) — Project Management Institute (PMI) — March 2023 Scope, schedule and vendor management across 6 concurrent client projects

Coordinator working toward the PMP

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) — Project Management Institute (PMI) — September 2024 PMP — education requirement met; exam planned for 2026

PMI is reported to require 35 hours of project management education or training for PMP eligibility and to say the CAPM can satisfy that requirement, with eligibility available through either a four-year degree path or a high school diploma/associate degree path at different experience lengths (Post University, undated). If you qualify on the second path, keep your dates of project work clear in the Experience section.

Human resources

HR generalist, early career

SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) — SHRM — June 2024

HR director

SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) — SHRM — April 2021 Rebuilt onboarding for a 320-person workforce across 4 sites

The SHRM-CP does not require a degree or specific HR experience, while the SHRM-SCP requires at least 3 years of strategic HR work experience (SHRM, 2024-11-26) — which is why the SCP line reads as a seniority signal and the CP line reads as an entry point.

Restaurant and food service

Server or line cook

ServSafe Food Handler — National Restaurant Association — March 2025 ServSafe Alcohol — National Restaurant Association — March 2025

Kitchen manager

ServSafe Food Protection Manager — National Restaurant Association — October 2023 ServSafe Allergens — National Restaurant Association — October 2023 Trained 11 kitchen staff on allergen handling before 2 county inspections

ServSafe programs cover food manager, food handler, responsible alcohol serving, allergens, and workplace training and certification (ServSafe / National Restaurant Association, undated), and the National Restaurant Association presents them as tools for building a strong restaurant workforce (National Restaurant Association, undated). Check which card your county or state accepts before you list one.

Nursing and allied health

Registered nurse

Registered Nurse (RN) license — [State] Board of Nursing — license #[number], active through [month year] CPR and basic life support certification — [issuing organization] — [month year]

Medical assistant

Medical assistant certification — [certifying body] — [month year] CPR and first aid certification — [issuing organization] — [month year]

Licensure requirements differ by state, and a licence is a different kind of credential from a certification (ResumeBuilder.com, undated) — head the section "Licenses & Certifications" when you hold both.

Accounting and finance

Staff accountant

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license — [State] Board of Accountancy — [month year] Reconciled 40+ monthly bank and credit card accounts for 12 small-business clients

Bookkeeper without a licence

Bookkeeping certificate — [issuing college or provider] — completed [month year] Payroll, accounts payable, month-end close in [accounting software you actually use]

Education and teaching

Elementary teacher

[State] standard teaching license, Elementary Education (K–6) — [State] Department of Education — August 2023

Paraeducator moving into a classroom role

[State] substitute teaching permit — [issuing agency] — [month year] CPR and first aid certification — [issuing organization] — [month year] Teaching license, [subject] endorsement — in progress, expected [month year]

Licence names and endorsement codes differ by state; copy them from your own certificate rather than from another state's posting.

Skilled trades

Electrician

Journeyman electrician license — [State] licensing board — [year] Registered apprenticeship completed — [program sponsor] — [year]

HVAC technician

Refrigerant handling certification — [EPA-approved certifying organization] — [month year] [State] HVAC contractor or journeyman license — [licensing board] — [month year]

Apprenticeships belong in this list or in Education, which can hold apprenticeships and classes alongside degrees (CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor), undated).

Transportation and warehouse

CDL driver

Commercial Driver's License, Class A, with [endorsements held] — [State] DMV — issued [month year], expires [month year] Drove 2,800 miles per week across 6 states with no preventable incidents

Warehouse associate

Powered industrial truck (forklift) operator certification — [employer or training provider] — [month year] Picked and staged 180 to 220 orders per shift in a 3-shift distribution center

General workplace skills, first resume

No occupation-specific credential yet

National Career Readiness Certificate — [month year] Applied math, workplace documents, graphic literacy

Short course plus a card, named accurately

Customer service certificate of completion — [issuing provider] — [month year] Food Handler card — [county or state health department] — [month year]

The National Career Readiness Certificate is cited as an example of a general certification, not tied to one occupation, that shows an employer you have mastered basic workplace skills (CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor), 2025-04-03).

• No work experience. Move the section above Experience — new graduates and people who have just retrained may place education and credentials before work history (CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor), undated). Add a skills line under each credential so the section carries weight on its own, and list in-progress exams with a date. A general credential such as the National Career Readiness Certificate is worth a line when you have no occupation-specific one yet (CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor), 2025-04-03). Two to four lines is enough; do not pad the list with one-hour webinars.
• Career changer. Put the new-field credential first, above the older ones, and cut anything from the old field that does not transfer. Date it clearly — a 2025 certification against 2014 experience tells the reader the change is recent and deliberate. Follow the section with one work bullet that uses the new skill, even if it came from a volunteer shift or a side project: "Rebuilt the booking spreadsheet for a 9-person nonprofit into a shared database, cutting double bookings to zero over 4 months." Where a credential has more than one eligibility route, as PMI's PMP reportedly does through a four-year degree path or a high school diploma/associate degree path (Post University, undated), state the credential and leave the route off the resume.
• Senior candidate. Trim rather than accumulate. Keep current licences, the credentials named in the posting, and the one or two that signal level — such as the SHRM-SCP, which requires at least 3 years of strategic HR work experience (SHRM, 2024-11-26). Drop entry-level certifications once you hold the advanced one in the same family, unless the ad asks for them by name. Keep the section to 4 lines, place it after Experience and Education, and let the work history do the arguing.