The IBCLC examination is offered twice a year, in April/May (in English only) and in September (in all IBLCE languages).
The schedule for application and administration of the 2021 IBCLC examination is as follows:
| Apply for the April/May 2021 examination: Dec. 8, 2020 – Jan. 20, 2021 |  | April/May 2021 IBCLC examination dates: Apr. 27 – May 6, 2021 |
| Apply for the September 2021 examination: Apr. 19 – May 28, 2021 | | September 2021 IBCLC examination dates: Sept. 15 – 24, 2021 |
The schedule to recertify by CERPs is:
Apply to recertify by CERPs:
Apr. 19 – Sept. 30, 2021
There are several new eligibility criteria for both initial candidates and recertifying IBCLCs beginning in 2021:
- For a summary of these changes: Watch this short video.
- Initial candidates: Learn more your eligibility requirements in the Candidate Information Guide.
- Recertifying candidates: Learn more about recertification requirements in the Recertification Guide.
Announcement about Live Remote Proctoring (LRP) still to come: IBLCE will announce later this year if we will offer the examination via LRP in 2021. IBLCE received a COVID-19 exception to use LRP where available in 2020 from its third-party accreditor, and we are waiting for a decision by the IBCLC programme accreditor to determine if this exception will continue in 2021.
Please visit IBLCE’s COVID-19 Resource Centre regularly for application and examination updates.
Follow IBLCE on social media for reminders about when application windows open and close and the latest IBLCE news (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
Post updated November 5, 2020. Learn more here.