Checked against ICF’s official documentation on . ICF may change its requirements: if in doubt, the official page always prevails.
In short. For the ACC you need 100 coaching hours with at least 8 clients, 75 of them paid and 25 recent (in the last 18 months). For the PCC, 500 hours with at least 25 clients, 450 paid and 50 recent. On top of the hours, every application path requires training, mentor coaching and an exam.
The numbers: ACC and PCC
| Requirement | ACC | PCC |
|---|---|---|
| Client coaching hours | 100 | 500 |
| Of which paid (minimum) | 75 | 450 |
| Different clients (minimum) | 8 | 25 |
| Hours in the 18 months before applying | 25 | 50 |
Recent hours can be paid or pro bono. They are counted over the 18 months immediately before the date you submit your application, so if you delay it, some of your recent hours may stop being recent.
What counts as an hour
- One hour is a full 60-minute session with a client who has hired you specifically as their coach, in real time.
- Shorter sessions count proportionally: a 30-minute session is 0.5 hours; a 45-minute one, 0.75.
- Hours only count from the start of your coach training. ICF considers that it starts with a course of at least 30 hours, at least 24 of them focused on the ICF Core Competencies. Earlier sessions don’t count.
- Practice sessions during your training count only if they take place outside the classroom, with a real client, and separately from your training hours.
Paid hours and pro bono hours
You can combine both, as long as you reach the paid minimum. For ICF, an hour is paid if it fits one of these cases:
- Direct payment, in money or in kind, such as bartering or peer-to-peer coaching exchanges.
- Internal coaching, when it is part of your job responsibilities.
- Third-party coaching, when an organization pays you to coach its people.
Pro bono hours are those you donate or volunteer, at no cost to the client.
Group and team coaching
Group sessions count if these conditions are met:
- the participants set the agenda;
- there is real-time interaction between you and them;
- the group has 15 people or fewer, unless a co-coach is present.
If a co-coach is present, the session time is split between the coaches, whatever the size of the group.
Two rules are often confused:
- Each participant counts as a separate client towards the client minimum.
- Time is not multiplied: one hour with a group is one coaching hour, not as many hours as there are participants.
Example. You run four 90-minute sessions with a team of 6 people.
You add 6 coaching hours (4 × 1.5) and 6 clients.
If a co-coach was present in one of the sessions, that session counts as half for you: 0.75 hours.
What does not count as client coaching hours
- The mentor coaching you receive, coaching supervision and reviewing assessments with clients.
- Training, teaching and facilitating workshops, even with groups.
- Coaching your direct reports at work.
- Coaching fellow students, trainers or mentors, unless it meets the practice-session conditions above.
Mentor coaching: a separate requirement
Mentor coaching doesn’t add client hours, but it is required for the credential:
- 10 hours, spread over a minimum of 3 months;
- at least 3 of them one-on-one; the rest can be in a group of up to 10 people.
On the Level 1 and Level 2 paths, mentor coaching is already included in your training program. On the Portfolio path you have to do it separately, with an eligible mentor:
- for the ACC, with a PCC, an MCC, or an ACC who has renewed at least once;
- for the PCC, with a PCC or an MCC.
In the application you give your mentor’s name and email, their credential, the start and end dates, and the number of hours.
Application paths
Besides the hours, each path has its own training, evaluation and exam requirements. Fees and review times are those published by ICF; they may change.
| ACC Level 1/2 | ACC Portfolio | PCC Level 2 | PCC Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Training | Level 1 or 2 program completed | 60+ hours | Level 2 program completed | 125+ hours |
| Mentor coaching | Included | 10 h separately | Included | 10 h separately |
| Performance evaluation | Included | 1 recording with transcript | Included | 2 recordings with transcripts |
| Exam | ICF ACC Exam | ICF ACC Exam | ICF Credentialing Exam | ICF Credentialing Exam |
| Fee (member / non-member) | 175 / 325 USD | 475 / 625 USD | 375 / 525 USD | 750 / 900 USD |
| Estimated review time | 4 weeks | 14 weeks | 4 weeks | 18 weeks |
What the application asks for, and what you should keep yourself
In the application you declare your totals: paid hours, pro bono hours, number of clients and recent hours, plus your mentor coaching details where relevant. ICF doesn’t require any particular log format for this. It does offer a suggested coaching log template so you can keep the details: client, contact, individual or group session, dates, and paid or pro bono hours.
Keeping that log up to date, session by session, is what lets you calculate your totals correctly and, above all, your recent hours, which depend on the exact date you submit your application.
Common mistakes
- Counting mentor coaching as client hours. It doesn’t add up; it’s a separate requirement.
- Multiplying group hours by the number of participants. Participants add clients, not hours.
- Rounding short sessions up to an hour. A 45-minute session is 0.75 hours.
- Counting sessions from before your training started.
- Working out recency from today’s date instead of the actual date you submit your application.
Official sources
Coachprint is an independent tool, not affiliated with the International Coaching Federation (ICF). This guide summarizes ICF’s public documentation to help you find your way; it doesn’t replace it. If you have questions about your own case, contact ICF directly.