Demystifying the ICF credential journey, ACC, PCC and MCC

You’ve realised an ICF credential matters. Then you start looking into it and run straight into a wall of acronyms, several different paths and a long list of requirements. It’s confusing, and that confusion is one of the reasons the ICF itself reworked the whole system between 2021 and 2023. Let me walk you through it.

I’m Colleen-Joy, the creator of InnerLifeSkills. I’m an MCC Master Certified Coach and the author and Education Director of a coach training programme that was ACTP accredited and is now Level 2 with the ICF. We’ve helped a great many natural coaches, guides and leaders around the world get credentialed, so I’ve watched people take every one of these paths and seen which ones they regretted.

Picture a mountain with three flags

At the summit is the MCC flag, Master Certified Coach. Halfway up is PCC, Professional Certified Coach. And down at base camp is ACC, Associate Certified Coach.

Most coaches start at ACC. You’re allowed to skip that first flag if you already have enough hours and training to qualify for PCC, and plenty of coaches do exactly that. What you can never do is skip the second flag. There is no route to MCC that doesn’t pass through PCC.

Many coaches aim for PCC and are perfectly content to stop there. It’s a highly respected credential worldwide. MCC is a much harder climb, and that’s the point of it.

The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.

Conrad Anker

What each level actually looks like in a session

The requirements are easy to look up. What almost nobody explains is what the three levels sound like when you’re actually in the room. Understanding this early will do more for you than any checklist, because it tells you what you’re aiming at.

All three coach rather than advise. None of them tell the client what to do. The difference is depth.

An ACC coach

Demonstrates the foundation skills. Coaching goals and action plans, and motivating the client to be accountable for what they said they’d do. This is the level you’ll most often find in workplace coaching, where leaders and managers learn to coach so their teams become proactive and solution focused. It’s genuinely useful, and it’s where our Level 1 (ACC) programme takes you.

A PCC coach

Does everything the ACC coach does, and then coaches the whole person. Values, vision, thinking, creativity and the client’s deeper resources all come into the session. The work happens at a subtler level, helping the client move through obstacles rather than around them. The client chooses the topic and finds their own solutions and breakthrough insights.

This is the shift the ICF is listening for, and it’s worth naming plainly: they want evidence that you coach the WHO, not only the WHAT. The WHO means treating the person as a creative, intuitive being with values, context and beliefs, someone seeking growth. The WHAT is the practical solution. Coaching only the WHAT is what keeps people stuck at entry level.

An MCC coach

Takes all of that further, with skills so developed that the coaching looks effortless and natural. Nothing mechanical, no scripts, although a great many methods and scripts have been mastered and are now used organically without thinking about them.

The MCC coach knows how to bring the best out of a client. Coach and client are in full partnership, co-creating the session between them, and that partnership creates the space where real inner transformation, focus and action can incubate.

Our Level 2 (PCC) Master Coach programme teaches at MCC level from the start, deliberately. Not because everyone will apply for an MCC, but because aiming there makes you a better coach at every level below it.

Where an ICF credential matters most

Let me be honest with you, because this affects how much you should spend and how fast you should move.

In life coaching and wellness coaching, an ICF credential matters less than you might think. In business, executive and leadership coaching, it matters a great deal. When an employer or a corporation is hiring an executive coach on a one or two year contract, an ICF credential is often the minimum bar to even be considered. If you’re holding an ACC and competing against PCC and MCC coaches for that work, it’s harder. Not impossible, but harder.

Experience and personality still count for a lot. But a higher credential measurably improves your odds of winning corporate and executive work.

And here’s the part most training providers won’t tell you. In our experience with our own graduates, an ICF credential on its own is usually not enough to build a successful coaching career. It proves competence and ethics. It doesn’t hand you clients. That’s why our Master Coach Certification trains the ICF competencies as the foundation and then goes well beyond them with the Big 4 toolboxes, and why we teach at MCC level from day one, even for coaches who never intend to apply for a credential at all.

So is it actually worth it?

Let’s start with the question underneath the question. Do you need an ICF credential to work as a coach? No.

Coaching is a largely unregulated industry. There’s no legal restriction on calling yourself a coach, which makes sense when you consider how generic the word is, sports included. Coaching as a profession sits closer to consulting than to medicine, so it doesn’t fall under mental health professional controls. Many brilliant, successful coaches are not credentialed at all.

You may think I’m biased in favour of the ICF, and mostly I am. But I think it’s important to see a credential as a resource and a credibility builder, not a ceiling of restriction.

What you gain

• Transferred credibility. The ICF built its reputation through years of research and consultation. Holding its credential lends you that trust before you’ve said a word.
• Better clients. When I was a young coach I was hungry for experience and income, so I coached anyone who asked. My MCC, alongside a broad toolbox, is what eventually let me choose who I work with.
• Higher fees. An MCC coach can straightforwardly ask more per hour than an ACC or PCC coach.
• Confidence. So many good coaches carry self doubt, and honestly that doubt is part of what makes them good. Only the ignorant and the charlatans have none. These credentials are not paper thin, your skills are genuinely tested, so being awarded one quietens that doubt with evidence.
• A community. Most of us are building solo careers. Being able to search LinkedIn for ACC, PCC and MCC coaches and find your people opens referrals, partnerships and collaborations that weren’t available before.
• Clear milestones. Once you understand the difference between the three levels, you can locate yourself honestly, find your gaps and work on them deliberately instead of guessing.

What it costs you

Time. Study, admin and logging, plus the coaching experience itself, which climbs steeply at each level. MCC asks for 2,500+ hours. If you’re already coaching and studying, much of this is time you’d be spending anyway.

Money. Accredited training costs more than a cheap non-accredited course, and there are application and renewal fees on top. Worth knowing: if you go the Portfolio or Partial Level route, the ICF charges you more, asks for more paperwork and takes longer to review, precisely because you haven’t done a complete programme.

Renewal. A credential isn’t permanent. You’ll need Continued Coach Education hours to renew, which means ongoing time and money. There are plenty of routes: ICF self-study courses, chapter webinars and conferences, or re-attending part of a Level 1 or Level 2 programme. Our four short courses each carry 30 CCE hours and are popular for exactly this, since they’re modules of the full Level 2.

Does it box you in?

Being credentialed holds you to a code of ethics and a standard. It doesn’t stop you coaching in your own voice. We work hard at that balance, giving you the ICF framework for professional standards while leaving you free to coach as yourself. We call it unniched, uncapped and unlimited, and it never comes at the cost of integrity or ethics.

Most coaches play several roles anyway, blending coaching with leading, consulting, mentoring or training. That’s legitimate. The one place it doesn’t apply is your performance evaluation and credentialing exam, where you must show pure, no advice coaching. Something people rarely mention is that ICF competencies are effectively plug and play, they improve your consulting, teaching, counselling and leading too.

Is a credential enough on its own?

No. It will contribute a great deal to your confidence, credibility and ability to attract clients, and it still won’t be enough.

To build a career of substance you also need flexible, comprehensive toolboxes, ongoing support and mentoring, and genuine business building skills. So when you’re comparing programmes, first check it genuinely ticks every Level 2 box and that the trainers hold PCC and MCC. Then ask the question most people forget: what else am I getting?

What actually changed in 2023

There used to be three routes to a credential: Portfolio, ACSTH and ACTP. On 28 June 2023 the ACTP and ACSTH designations were retired. The ICF still recognises certificates issued before that date, but accredited providers like us no longer issue anything carrying those names.

The routes to ACC and PCC are now:

• Level 1 (for ACC) or Level 2 (for ACC or PCC), previously ACTP. The cheapest and most direct path.
• Partial Level 1 or Level 2, previously ACSTH. More expensive and more complex.
• Portfolio Path, which survives unchanged. The most expensive and most complex of the three.

The genuinely new addition is Level 3, for MCC, a separate 75 hour programme open only to coaches who already hold PCC. For MCC you have two options, Level 3 or the Portfolio Path, where you can use a Level 2 with over 200 hours of coach specific education, or one or more non-accredited programmes.

Two differences worth knowing about the MCC route. Unlike ACC and PCC, the Level 3 and Portfolio paths cost the same and take the same time to review, so if you already have enough accredited education hours there may be no reason to go and find a Level 3 programme at all. And your two MCC performance evaluations always go directly to the ICF. Your training provider cannot mark them for you, which was not the case before.

Do ACC hours count toward PCC?

This is the question we’re asked most often, and the answer is yes.

If you complete a Level 2 that contains all the ICF requirements, meaning 10 mentor coaching hours, 6 observed coaching sessions with written feedback, 80% core competency training, a minimum of 125 training hours and a final performance evaluation, then those all count again toward your PCC application. You don’t repeat any of it.

That’s the strongest practical argument for starting on a Level 2 rather than a Level 1, even if ACC is all you want for now.

What each credential requires

ACC, base camp

60+ hours of coach specific education and 100+ hours of coaching experience. Of those 100 hours, at least 75 must be paid, across at least 8 clients, with 25 hours falling inside the 18 months before you apply. Your education must include a course of at least 30 hours, with 24 of those on the ICF core competencies.

ACC now also requires 10 hours of mentor coaching with a PCC or MCC focused on your competency development, and a passing score on the ICF ACC Exam. A Level 1 or Level 2 programme should include the mentor hours already.

If you already have more than 100 hours of experience and more than 60 hours of education, look hard at whether you can go straight to PCC instead.

PCC, halfway up

125+ hours of coach specific education and 500 coaching hours, of which at least 450 must be paid, across at least 25 clients, with 50 hours inside the 18 months before applying. You’ll also need 10 hours of mentor coaching, a performance evaluation, and a passing score on the ICF Credentialing Exam.

The performance evaluation can be done through your Level 2 training programme rather than submitted to the ICF, which saves both time and money. This is one of the quiet advantages of a full Level 2.

MCC, the summit

You must already hold PCC. Then 10 hours of mentor coaching, a performance evaluation, and the MCC credentialing exam.

The performance evaluation is where MCC earns its reputation. You submit two recorded coaching sessions with transcripts, reviewed by an ICF assessor. The ICF is specific about this: the session must be with a genuine client who hired you as a coach and not in any other capacity, and must run between 20 and 60 minutes. Even with a Level 3 behind you, the ICF alone evaluates these.

If your programme didn’t give you the full mentor hours, you can simply pay an MCC coach for the 10 you need, 3 individually and 7 in a small group.

Five mistakes I’d like you to avoid

I’ve watched a lot of coaches walk this path, and I’ve made some of these myself. They’re all avoidable.

1. Not starting a coaching log on day one

This is the one I regret personally. It took me a few years to decide whether I even wanted to be credentialed. By the time I said yes, I had lost years of loggable hours. I could have been an MCC far earlier.

Start your log today, even if you’re undecided. Every half hour counts. Pro bono coaching counts within limits, and group coaching counts per hour rather than per client. Since 2022 you no longer submit the log, the ICF relies on your honesty, but you still need it and they can verify. Do keep your clients’ confidentiality laws in mind when you record anything.

2. Choosing a course that caps you at to-do-list coaching

Entry level training can be very surface, all action plans and goal setting. That isn’t wrong, it’s part of every level of coaching, but if it’s all you’re taught you’ll plateau. Remember the WHO and the WHAT. If you’ve already made this choice, don’t panic, just go and get more hours from a provider with genuinely flexible toolboxes.

3. Choosing a course that trains you into a mould

Flexibility is one of the keys to MCC. A master coach adapts and customises in the moment, inventing the right question or exercise for this client, right now. You cannot learn that inside a rigid script. Make sure you’re not being trained into one.

4. Believing mastery takes as long as the hours do

These are two different things and people conflate them constantly. Reaching 2,500 logged hours takes years, there’s no way around that. Reaching MCC level competency does not. I’ve seen dedicated students display master level competency inside a year, and some in eight months.

So please don’t think “MCC is years away, I’ll settle at ACC or PCC skill for now.” Get to the life changing levels as fast as you can, then let the hours accumulate underneath you.

5. Never listening to master coaching

Imagine learning to cook at a master level without ever tasting the food. Or learning guitar without ever hearing an expert play. Hearing real ACC, PCC and MCC sessions trains your ear, and it accelerates everything. Our students get audio examples of recorded sessions for exactly this reason.

One more thing that shortens the road: practise daily in small doses. Coaching is a skill, and you can’t learn guitar by reading about it. Rather than waiting for a free hour that never comes, pick one technique, put it in your diary, and use just that one in every conversation you have for a day or two. When it feels natural, move to the next.

Why the Level 2 route usually wins

The Portfolio path is like walking around the mountain rather than up it. Harder, more expensive, slower, and heavy on paperwork to prove your skills to the ICF. The Partial Level path sits in between. The ICF is deliberately stricter with both, because it knows you haven’t completed a single comprehensive programme.

A Level 2 is the direct line up. Assessments, observed coaching sessions and mentor hours are all built in. It’s faster, more affordable and far less administrative work. I’ve lost count of the coaches who told me they regretted choosing Portfolio or Partial instead of a full Level 2.

Check the provider yourself before you pay

Be careful of training providers selling what looks like ICF training but would only ever count toward a Portfolio path, because it’s missing the mentor hours, the observed sessions and the rest of the requirements. This happens more than it should, and you often don’t find out until you apply.

You can check any provider yourself. Go to the ICF website, open the ESS portal and search for the provider’s name. You’re very welcome to search for InnerLifeSkills while you’re there. You’ll need to submit your provider’s certificate when you apply for your credential, so it pays to be certain up front.

One more change, worth knowing

This doesn’t affect your path, but it explains a lot about the current landscape. Before 2022 the ICF accredited a programme. With the shift to Levels 1, 2 and 3, it now accredits the company.

Even though our programmes had been ACTP accredited since 2012, we went through a long process in 2022 to upgrade to Level 2, and that meant our company being vetted, not just our curriculum. The quality of a provider’s policies, processes, ethics and values are now part of ICF accreditation. That’s a good change, and it’s worth understanding when you compare providers.

So which path should you take?

For most people, a full Level 2 programme. It’s quicker, more affordable, and it spares you the administrative grind. Many coaches then skip the ACC application entirely and go straight for PCC, which is often the smart move.

Whatever you choose, give the ICF accurate information. They can and do verify your hours.

We’d love you to consider our Level 1 (ACC) and Level 2 (PCC) Master Coach programmes, and we genuinely encourage you to compare us with other Level 2 providers to find the right fit for your budget and your plans. You can see prices and upcoming dates for both. If you want to talk it through with a person rather than a web page, that’s what the call is for.