What is Certification?

Certification refers to the approval by the Service Year team for an organization to have a position on ServiceYear.org. Certified positions on ServiceYear.org are deemed to have the characteristics of a service year position based on Service Year Alliance’s certification criteria, or, in the case of AmeriCorps positions, are verified via data sharing with the Corporation for National and Community Service.

How long does it take for positions to be certified?

Within five business days, you’ll receive a notification letting you know if the service year position you submitted has been certified. Whenever possible, we’ll aim to get back to you sooner.

If your position is not certified, you’ll either receive feedback about areas to review and potentially modify before it's approved, and/or an explanation of why we couldn’t certify your position at this time.

What is Recertification?

Recertification refers to the approval of a position to remain active on ServiceYear.org after a given period of time. Positions are initially certified for a one-year period. In most instances, recertification will then be prompted every two years.

Why do positions need to be recertified?

Recertification is an opportunity for an organization to make any needed updates to its program design, or to reaffirm that the information in its certified position is still accurate. Additionally, recertification allows our certification team at Service Year Alliance to review a position again after a set time period for quality assurance purposes.

Do AmeriCorps positions need to be recertified?

AmeriCorps positions are verified and certified through a separate process, and do not need to be submitted for recertification. If the AmeriCorps status of your position changes and you are interested in having the position certified as a non-AmeriCorps position, please reach out to our team.

What actions do I need to take for my position to remain certified?

We’ll send a notification to all organization account administrators when you have a position approaching its due date for recertification. The initial notification will be sent 30 days prior to your deadline to submit for recertification.

This "Request Recertification" button will link you to your Position Summary page, where you can select the “Recertify” button to initiate recertification.

When you select the “Recertify” button, you’ll have two basic options:

Submit for review: If you do not need to make any changes to your certified position, select this button, and our team will consider your position for recertification as it currently is. Your position and any associated listings will remain active during this time. On your Positions page, you’ll see the position status updated to “Pending auto-recertification.” Your certification status will be updated as soon as our team completes its review.
Edit position: If you need to make updates to one or more locked fields in the position, select this option. Please note, selecting to edit your position will decertify the position, meaning that it will be removed from public view while it is being updated. This also means that any recruitment listings associated with the position will automatically become private. The position and its listings will again be public if the position is submitted and certified by our team.

When will I receive notification relating to recertification?

You’ll receive an automatic notification 30 days prior to your organization’s recertification due date. We’ll send out reminders 15 days prior to the date, and 5 days prior if you have not taken action to recertify your position.

When you request auto-recertification, or submit an edited position for recertification, our team will review and process the position within five business days at the latest.

What happens if I don’t submit my position for recertification during this window?

You’ll receive a notification that the position’s certification has lapsed if you do not take any action. At this time, the position will be automatically de-certified by the system, and both the position and any associated listings will be removed from public view.

You can resubmit a decertified position at any time to be considered for certification.

Can I recertify my position outside of the standard 30 day recertification window?

Yes. If you need to update a locked field in your certified position, you can head to your “Positions” section in your dashboard, click directly on the position name, and select the “Recertify” button to initiate this process. You only need to take this option if you are updating a locked field in your position.