How to List Certifications on Your Resume (With Examples)

Certifications can be one of the strongest signals on your resume -- or one of the most ignored. The difference usually isn't which certifications you hold, but how and where you list them. A PMP buried in a paragraph or an AWS certification listed without context loses most of its impact. A well-placed, properly formatted certification section tells recruiters and hiring software exactly what you're qualified to do.

Here's how to get it right.

Where to put certifications on your resume

You have three options, and the right one depends on how central the certification is to the role you're applying for:

Dedicated Certifications section

This is the best choice when you hold multiple certifications or when certifications are a key requirement for the role. Create a standalone section called "Certifications" or "Licenses & Certifications" and place it after your Skills section or after Education. This is the most ATS-friendly approach because parsers are trained to look for this specific section heading.

Within the Education section

If you have only one or two certifications and they're closely related to your academic background (for example, a CPA alongside an accounting degree), listing them under Education is clean and space-efficient. Just make sure they're visually distinct from your degree entries -- don't make the reader guess which is a degree and which is a certification.

In the Skills section

Some candidates include certifications inline within their skills list: "AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Python, Terraform, Docker." This can work in tech roles where certifications and technical skills blend together naturally, but it sacrifices detail. You lose the ability to show the issuing body, date, or credential ID. For most situations, a dedicated section is better.

How to format each certification

Every certification entry should include enough information for a recruiter to verify it and for hiring software to parse it correctly. Here's the format:

• Certification name (full, official name -- not an abbreviation alone)
• Issuing organization
• Date earned (month and year, or just year)
• Credential ID (optional -- include if the certification can be verified online)
• Expiration date (if applicable and still current)

Examples:

• Project Management Professional (PMP) -- Project Management Institute | June 2023
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate -- Amazon Web Services | March 2024 | Credential ID: ABC123XYZ
• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) -- Scrum Alliance | January 2025 | Expires January 2027

Always use the official name as it appears on the certification itself. "Google Analytics Certified" is not the same as "Google Analytics Individual Qualification (GAIQ)," and the official name is what recruiters and ATS systems search for.

Which certifications to include

Not every certification you've ever earned belongs on every resume. The rule is relevance to the target role:

• Always include certifications that are listed as required or preferred in the job posting. If the posting says "PMP preferred," your PMP needs to be on the resume. Period.
• Include certifications that demonstrate expertise in the tools, technologies, or methodologies the role uses, even if the posting doesn't mention them specifically.
• Consider omitting certifications that are unrelated to the role you're targeting. A food handler's permit doesn't belong on an application for a software engineering job, even if it's current. Irrelevant certifications add clutter without adding value.
• Use judgment for broadly valuable certifications. First aid, CPR, or security clearances might be relevant depending on the industry and company, even if the posting doesn't mention them.

Order: most relevant first, then most recent

If you hold multiple certifications, list them in order of relevance to the target role, not chronologically. If you're applying for a cloud engineering position and you hold both an AWS Solutions Architect certification and a PMP, the AWS cert goes first -- it's more directly relevant.

When certifications are equally relevant, list the most recent first. A 2025 certification signals more current knowledge than one from 2019.

Industry-specific examples

Information Technology

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate -- Amazon Web Services | 2024
• CompTIA Security+ -- CompTIA | 2023
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate -- Microsoft | 2024
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) -- ISC2 | 2022
• Google Professional Cloud Architect -- Google Cloud | 2024

Human Resources

• SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) -- SHRM | 2023
• Professional in Human Resources (PHR) -- HR Certification Institute | 2022
• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) -- WorldatWork | 2024

Project Management

• Project Management Professional (PMP) -- Project Management Institute | 2023
• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) -- Scrum Alliance | 2024
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) -- Project Management Institute | 2024

Finance and Accounting

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) -- State Board of Accountancy | 2021
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level III -- CFA Institute | 2023
• Certified Financial Planner (CFP) -- CFP Board | 2024

Healthcare

• Registered Nurse (RN) -- State Board of Nursing | 2020 | License #12345
• Basic Life Support (BLS) -- American Heart Association | 2025 | Expires 2027
• Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) -- AAMA | 2023
• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) -- State Department of Health | 2022

Handling expired certifications

Whether to include an expired certification depends on context:

• Include it if the certification is still widely recognized and demonstrates relevant knowledge, even if it's technically expired. An expired PMP still shows you passed a rigorous exam and have project management expertise. List it with the note "Expired [date]" or "Earned [date]."
• Include it if you plan to renew it soon. Add "Renewal in progress" or "Expected renewal [date]."
• Omit it if the expiration signals that your knowledge is outdated. An expired certification in a rapidly evolving field (like cloud computing or cybersecurity) may raise more questions than it answers.

If you include an expired certification, be transparent about its status. Listing it without indicating that it's expired -- and having that come up in a background check -- is worse than being upfront.

Certifications in progress

If you're actively working toward a certification, you can list it -- but be honest about the status. Use one of these formats:

• Project Management Professional (PMP) -- Project Management Institute | Expected June 2026
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate -- In Progress (Exam scheduled March 2026)

Only list certifications you are genuinely pursuing with a realistic timeline. "In progress" loses credibility if you've been studying for three years without scheduling an exam. If you've completed specific coursework or prerequisites, you can note that: "Completed 35 contact hours of PM education (PMP prerequisite)."

ATS considerations

Hiring software indexes certifications as searchable data points. Recruiters frequently search for specific certifications by name or abbreviation when filtering candidates. To make sure your certifications are found:

• Use the full official name and the abbreviation. Write "Certified Public Accountant (CPA)" rather than just "CPA." Some recruiters search by abbreviation, others by full name. Including both ensures you appear in either search.
• Use a dedicated Certifications section with a standard heading. Parsers are trained to recognize "Certifications" and "Licenses & Certifications" as section labels. Nonstandard headings may cause your certifications to be categorized incorrectly.
• Don't embed certifications only in bullet points. If your PMP is mentioned in a work experience bullet but not in your Certifications section, a recruiter filtering by certification may not find you. List it in both places -- once in the section, and reference it in context within your experience bullets if relevant.
• Avoid logos, badges, or images. Digital badge images from Credly or other platforms look nice on LinkedIn but are invisible to resume parsers. Use text only.

Putting it together

A well-formatted certifications section is one of the easiest wins on a resume. It takes minimal space, requires no creative writing, and directly addresses a question every recruiter has: is this person qualified? The key is being deliberate about what you include, how you format it, and where you place it. Choose relevant certifications, use official names, include issuing bodies and dates, and put them in a dedicated section that both humans and software can find. It's a small section that can carry significant weight.