ADVANCE YOUR CAREER WITH EVENT SERVICE PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION

Step one: Application & Eligibility

Candidates pay an application fee and submit an Application with the following eligibility requirements:

1. Event Services Training or Breadth of Work Experience
   • Option 1: Take the online ESPA Event Service Professional Foundational Training Program
   • Option 2: You may submit a Waiver Request to bypass the Training Program if you have a minimum of 10 years of event servicing experience and can clearly demonstrate knowledge and experience in all servicing segments.
2. Event Services Education
   • Candidate must have completed a minimum of 20 education hours specifically in Event Service topics within the past 3 years.

Step two: Getting Certified; Demonstrate Skills and Knowledge

Approved candidates must demonstrate their knowledge and skillsets as an Event Service Professional through work on a Capstone Project which has two parts:

• Candidate will be required to write an event services Challenge which you will, in part 2, then be required to write a Response to. The written Challenge involves developing and describing a hypothetical or real-world challenge scenario that may be faced by an Event Service Professional within one of our designated subject matter areas (examples include Risk Management, Event Design, Sustainability, Customer Service). Your written Challenge must be reviewed by the ESPA Review Board before proceeding to the written Response.
• Once the Challenge is approved, candidate will write a thorough Response to the Challenge. The ESPA Review Board will evaluate the Response which must include hotel, facility/venue and DMO related elements as well as describe the final outcome of the challenge/solution. Response reviews are conducted quarterly, therefore certifications are issued quarterly.

A certification fee is required prior to commencing with this step. Download the full program requirements and instructions which provide more detail on the above steps.

Certification is good for 5 years. See Maintaining Your Certification section below for details.

Download the full program requirements and instructions.

All ESPC forms can also be found on My ESPA Portal.

Questions? Contact us at certification@espaonline.org

We recommend that you have reviewed the full information document so that you understand the eligibility requirements such as Training or a Waiver for the Training, proof of Continuing Education pre-requisites, and the fees.

1. Pay the Application fee in the My ESPA Portal. Application fee is non-refundable. Please be sure to pay the appropriate fee based on your preferred Option. NOTE: Your application cannot be reviewed until the fee is paid.
   
   

   	Member	Non-Member
   Candidates for Option 1, with participation in the Training Program:
   Application Fee *Note: Training Program is a separate fee.	$175	$250
   Candidates for Option 2, with a Waiver Request to bypass the Training Program:
   Application Fee	$325	$450

2. Download and submit the Application.
   • Option 1: If you are applying under Option 1 which includes taking the Event Service Professional Foundational Training Program to meet your eligibility requirement, you should complete the Training Program and submit the Evaluation / Attestation Form with your Application to demonstrate that you have completed the Training.
   • Option 2: Foundational Training Waiver Request (Candidate must have a minimum of 10 years of event services experience). If you are submitting a Foundational Training Waiver Request to bypass the Event Service Professional Foundational Training Program, you must include the Waiver Request form with your Application, and you must pay the fee level for Option 2 which includes a waiver review.
3. To accelerate your certification timeline, you may also submit your written Challenge at the same time as you submit your Application and optional Training Waiver Request. This gives the ESPA Review Board the opportunity to review both documents together.