Next Steps

This page is intended for eligible CPTC candidates. You should have already received your application approval letter and candidate ID number. If you have not, please return to the Certification Application process.

Next Steps for Certification Candidates

  1. Download the candidate instructions.
  2. Following the candidate instructions, prepare your submission packet in electronic format (PDF is preferred). You have one year from the date of your notification letter to return your submission packet and evaluation fee.
  3. Email the completed packet to the STC Certification Commission office at cert@stc.org. 
  4. Send the evaluation fee, payable to the right, at this time. We will email you an acknowledgement of receipt of your packet and fee.
  5. We will evaluate your packet and notify you of the results:
    • If your packet meets or exceeds the minimum level of competency established by the STC Certification Commission, you will be awarded certification.
    • If your packet does not meet or exceed the minimum level of competency, you will receive feedback on areas in which the standard is not met, so that you can improve your packet and presentation of those areas and resubmit at a later date, if you wish.

Tips on Preparing Your Submission Packet

  • The tool you use to create your submissions is not important. Evaluators are looking for content, not format. However you should take the same care in preparing your submissions as you would for any client document.
  • Do not include substantially more than what is requested. For example, if you respond to Section 5 (which asks for a 10-page sample of an information product) by providing a sample that runs 11 or 12 pages for the sake of completeness, that will not be a problem. However, if you simply send in a 200-page manual, then you are relying on the evaluators to pick a representative sample. Different evaluators will probably take different samples, and might reach different conclusions. Samples substantially longer than the recommendations may not be accepted.
  • Do not use your name in submissions. To identify your submissions, use the following as a footer:
      Candidate ID #              Page #              Section #
  • If necessary, you are free to obscure or remove references to your employer, product, or client. This is not a requirement, but we do not need any of this information to evaluate your submission. Don't forget to remove document part numbers and art file numbers. If you have the source files, you can do a global search and replace; if you only have PDF files, Adobe Acrobat Pro includes an effective redaction procedure.
  • If you copy and paste material created in Microsoft Word, check to see if variables and bookmarks copy over as you intend. A sample marred by "Bookmark not defined" errors may distract evaluators. If necessary, convert variables and bookmarks to text or overwrite them with appropriate values.
  • PDF output is preferred. Submission filenames should include your candidate ID and the section number; for example, ID#Section#.pdf. When making the output file, be sure to remove identifying metadata.
  • We expect to receive at least nine PDF files, one for each section. (You might wish to collect them into a single Zip format archive.) If you include samples or other material for sections separately, name them so we can determine what goes with what section; for example, ID#Section#Sample#.pdf. If we cannot determine where your material belongs, you will not be credited with the response.

If you have any questions about the candidate instructions or the process of certification, contact the Commission at cert@stc.org.