Google Advertising Professional

One year validity?

[anallawalla]

I am leaving my employer in a few weeks so I finally decided to get the GAP qualification and passed it today. I am puzzled by the wording in several places about the period of validity.

First, if I click the logo of someone who passed it in 2004, the details are displayed with the year of achievement. Nothing to suggest that it has expired.

The test results page says in part

Please remember that your exam results will expire in exactly one year from the date of this email and you'll need to retake the GAP Exam yearly to renew your status. etc

What does "exam results will expire" mean? Surely it is your certification status that can expire?

The Google Help Page [adwords.google.com] says something different:

Valid exam status for program qualification expires two years (24 months) from the date you passed the Google Advertising Professional Exam. For instance, if you passed the exam on May 1, 2005, your valid exam status expires on May 1, 2007. etc

Again this obsession with "valid exam status"...

So what's the real deal and are there expired GAPs who should not be displaying the logo?

[anallawalla]

Google has replied with the information that the validity is two years and that the text in the Prometric exam score page is out of date (they will get it fixed).

[RHeimann]

Do you have to pay for the exam again to be re-certified?

[edited by: RHeimann at 2:37 pm (utc) on Mar. 7, 2007]

[netmeg]

I'm pretty sure you do.

[anallawalla]

Yes, $50 each time, but only 2 attempts each month.