What does it take to truly set the standard for coaching? Not just to keep pace with a growing profession, but to lead it? To make it clearer, stronger, and more valuable for you?
These questions sit at the heart of our strategic focus area, “Coaching Excellence and Value.” And they’re driving changes you’ll see across credentialing and coaching education over the next year. The updates are designed to strengthen the credibility of the profession while bringing greater clarity and consistency to your coaching journey.
Clearer Standards for Mentor Coaching and Supervision
Great coaches don’t grow alone. Mentor coaches and coaching supervisors help you refine your skills, challenge your thinking, and deepen your practice. But until now, there hasn’t been a clear way to recognize that knowledge or help you find it.
That changes now.
We’re introducing the:
These specializations will become available in the upcoming months.
What This Means for You
Forthcoming public directories will be available to help you find specialized professionals who have completed robust training aligned with the ICF Mentor Coaching and Coaching Supervision Competencies, enabling you to move forward with greater confidence, knowing who you work with understands evidence-based standards of practice in these important disciplines.
And if you are a mentor coach or coaching supervisor, you will now have a clear, recognizable way to demonstrate your knowledge. You can sign up to be notified when the applications for these specializations open.
Stronger Pathways Through Accredited Education
With clearer expectations, we’re creating clearer paths to meet them.
The new Advanced Accreditation in Mentor Coaching and the Advanced Accreditation in Coaching Supervision, bring greater consistency to specialized education. These accreditations set clear standards for education providers and offer direct learning pathways to prepare you for the MCS and CSS.
What This Means for You
Spend less time navigating education options and more time building the skills that matter.
A More Consistent Mentor Coaching Experience
All credential applicants should have a consistent experience, no matter where they are in the world. We’re strengthening mentor coaching requirements across the credentialing process to make that possible. This isn’t about adding complexity. It’s about removing uncertainty, so you can move forward with clarity and confidence.
Beginning January 1, 2027:
- All credential applicants (ACC, PCC, and MCC) will need to complete any new mentor coaching hours with a mentor coach who has the MCS.
- ACC renewal candidates, as well as any PCC or MCC renewal candidate using mentor coaching for professional development, must work with a specialized mentor coach.
What This Means for You
- Greater clarity and confidence when selecting a mentor coach.
- A more consistent and reliable experience across your credentialing journey.
- Stronger skill development that translates into real-world impact.
From A Moment to Ongoing Growth
Coaching isn’t built in a single moment. It’s built through practice. Feedback. Reflection.
To more closely align with how coaching skills develop in the real world, we’re evolving our approach to evaluation. Effective April 1, 2027, the Performance Evaluation for the ACC and PCC Portfolio Paths will be replaced with an enhanced mentor coaching requirement delivered by MCS mentor coaches.
What This Means for You
- A simpler application process.
- Reduced application review time and ACC and PCC Portfolio application fees.
- A more relevant and realistic way to demonstrate your skills.
Updates to Coaching Education Standards
As part of our regular five-year review cycle, accreditation standards for coaching education are being updated to better reflect how coaches develop their skills in practice.
These updates are designed to:
- Strengthen the quality and credibility of coaching education.
- Simplify processes and reduce administrative burden.
- Align program evaluation with real-world coaching development.
What This Means for You
Learning experiences that feel more relevant, more practical, and more connected to the work you do every day.
Connecting It All: Coaching Excellence and Value
Clarity + Consistency = Value You Can See in Your Work
Together, these changes bring our focus on “Coaching Excellence and Value” to life, ensuring that credentials and education deliver real, measurable benefit to you and the people you serve.
They also strengthen our mission to advance coaching excellence, impact, and value worldwide by raising the standards that define our profession.
Your Path Forward
What does this mean for you?
It means you can expect:
- Greater clarity in your professional journey.
- Stronger alignment between learning, practice, and credentialing.
- Increased trust and recognition in the marketplace.
As the profession continues to grow, these changes ensure that you continue to lead with credibility, confidence, and impact.
