How to List Certifications on a Resume (2026 Guide)

Certifications can make a real difference on a resume — especially in technical fields, healthcare, finance, and project management. But a lot of candidates either skip them entirely, bury them in the wrong section, or format them in a way that makes them harder to find than they should be.

This guide covers exactly how to list certifications on your resume in 2026: where to put them, how to format each entry, which certifications are worth including, and a few things to leave off.

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Where to Put Certifications on a Resume

The right placement depends on how relevant your certifications are to the target role.

Option 1: A Dedicated Certifications Section

If you have two or more certifications that are directly relevant to the role, give them their own section. Place it after your Education section (or before it if your certifications are more relevant than your degree for this specific job).

Section header options:

• Certifications
• Licenses & Certifications
• Professional Certifications
• Certifications & Credentials

Option 2: Included in the Education Section

If you only have one certification or it's a minor supporting credential, it can live within your Education section rather than needing its own section. This keeps the resume clean.

Option 3: In Your Resume Summary or Skills Section

If a certification is a key qualifier for the role — for example, a CPA license for an accounting job — you can reference it in your summary as well as listing it in a dedicated section. This ensures a recruiter sees it within the first 6 seconds.

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How to Format Each Certification Entry

Every certification listing should include the following information:

1. Certification name — spelled out in full (include the acronym in parentheses if it's commonly known by its abbreviation)
2. Issuing organization
3. Date earned (and expiration date if applicable)
4. Credential ID (optional, but useful for verifiable credentials like AWS, PMP, or professional licenses)

Standard Format

Certification Name (ABBR) | Issuing Organization | Month Year [– Month Year or "No Expiration"]

Example Entries

CERTIFICATIONS

Project Management Professional (PMP) | Project Management Institute | June 2024
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate | Amazon Web Services | January 2025 – January 2028
Google Analytics 4 Certification | Google | March 2025
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) | American Institute of CPAs | Licensed: 2022, State: California

Keep formatting consistent across entries. If you use pipes to separate fields, use them throughout. If you use commas, use them throughout. Inconsistency looks sloppy.

Do not add bullet points under each certification to explain it — that's what your skills section and job bullets are for. The certification entry itself should be clean and scannable.

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Which Certifications to Include

Not all certifications are worth listing. Here's how to decide:

Include:

• Industry-recognized certifications that hiring managers and ATS filters look for (PMP, CPA, SHRM, AWS, Google, Salesforce, Six Sigma, CISSP, Series 7, etc.)
• Certifications that are required or preferred in the job description
• Certifications you've completed in the last 3–5 years (unless it's a permanent license)
• Any active license required for the role (nursing license, real estate license, etc.)

Omit or deprioritize:

• Online courses that are not recognized credentials (a Coursera or Udemy course completion does not belong in a certifications section — it can go under Education or a separate Training section if relevant)
• Certifications that expired years ago and are not renewed
• Certifications unrelated to the role (a food handler's permit doesn't belong on a software engineering resume)
• Certifications you "in progress" — only list these if they're highly relevant and note they're in progress

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In Progress or Upcoming Certifications

If you're currently pursuing a relevant certification and expect to complete it soon, you can list it with a notation:

AWS Certified Developer – Associate | Amazon Web Services | Expected September 2026
Certified Scrum Master (CSM) | Scrum Alliance | In Progress

Don't list something as "in progress" if completion is more than 6–9 months away, or if you haven't actually started preparing for it.

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A Full Certifications Section Example

Here's what a well-formatted certifications section looks like in context for a cybersecurity role:

CERTIFICATIONS

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) | ISC² | August 2023
CompTIA Security+ | CompTIA | April 2022
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) | EC-Council | November 2024
AWS Certified Security – Specialty | Amazon Web Services | February 2025 – February 2028

Clean, specific, and easy to scan. A recruiter can find these in seconds, and an ATS parsing the document will recognize each credential name.

For reference on how certifications fit into the broader structure of your resume — including the education, skills, and experience sections — the resume skills guide covers how to build out each section and what to prioritize.

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Certifications and ATS Optimization

Applicant tracking systems scan for specific certification names and acronyms. If the job description mentions "PMP required" or "AWS certification preferred," the system will look for those exact strings in your document.

Two things to do to ensure your certifications get picked up:

1. Write out the full name and abbreviation. "Project Management Professional (PMP)" covers both the spelled-out form and the acronym. Some systems search for one but not the other.
2. Match the exact language in the job posting. If the posting says "Certified ScrumMaster" (with capital M), use that exact spelling, not "Certified Scrum Master."

This is the same principle that applies throughout your resume — match the job description's language wherever you can. The ATS resume tips guide covers this in full if you want to go deeper on keyword optimization.

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If you want a resume template that already has the right sections in the right order — including a clean certifications section — the Career Toolkit at resumegenesis.com/products has ATS-ready templates for $39. Everything is pre-structured so you can plug in your credentials and move on.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where should I put certifications on my resume? Two or more relevant certifications → dedicated section after Education. Just one → fold it into the Education section. For key role requirements like a CPA or PMP, also mention it in your resume summary.

What should each certification entry include? Full name, abbreviation, issuing organization, date earned, and expiration date if applicable. Keep formatting consistent across all entries.

Should I include Coursera or Udemy completions? No — these aren't recognized credentials and don't belong in a certifications section. You can note them under Education or Professional Development if relevant, but don't treat them as equivalent to industry certs.

Can I list a certification I'm still working toward? Yes — just mark it "Expected [Month Year]" or "In Progress." Don't list something as in progress if you're more than 6–9 months from completing it.

What about expired certifications? Leave them off unless the cert is recognized as permanent in your field, or you're actively in the renewal process.