Frequently asked questions

Yes. Every part of each coaching course is online, including the units, the quizzes, the assignments and the final exam, so you can study from anywhere at any time. There are no in-person classes, no live sessions to attend and no meet-ups.

Each course is written, not video. Every unit reads through a real part of the coaching work with worked examples built around fictional clients, followed by a practice quiz and short written assignments that ask you to apply it to a client or to your own practice. You get access to your student dashboard the moment you enroll.

Each of our 3 certifications is 10 units long, and they teach different material: Life Coach Certification; Career Coach Certification; Manifestation Coach Certification. The Professional Course unlocks the first 6 units of the certification you choose, which cover the coaching itself, and the Advanced Course unlocks all 10, adding the units on running, marketing and sustaining a practice. The unit-by-unit list is on each course page.

Choose by the conversations you want to be having. Life coaching covers goals and change across a whole life, career coaching covers work decisions, job searches and transitions, and manifestation coaching covers visualization, mindset and the beliefs behind them. If you are unsure, the course quiz asks four questions and suggests one.

No. There are no education or experience requirements to enroll in any of the three courses. Many students come from teaching, nursing, management, recruitment or human resources, but none of that is required. If you have a device and internet access, you are ready to begin.

Each certification is offered at two levels. The Professional Course is $247 and the Advanced Course is $498. All three certifications at the Advanced Course level are available together in the bundle for $747. You can compare the levels on the courses page.

Many coach training programs are priced around live classes, cohort calls and instructor hours. Ours is written and self-paced, delivered entirely online, and the exam is marked without a classroom to staff, so the costs are lower and so is the price. What you give up is live group practice, which is worth knowing before you choose.

No. There is no subscription, no renewal fee for the certificate and no charge to resit the exam. You pay once for your course and keep access to it.

Every course comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. If you decide the training is not right for you, just email us within 30 days and we will refund your payment, no questions asked.

You take an open-book online exam of 28 multiple-choice questions and 4 short written answers. You need at least 70 out of 100 to pass. You get up to 2 attempts and a resit costs nothing, with no waiting period in between. The exam is one sitting rather than something you save and come back to, so give yourself a clear hour.

The multiple-choice half is scored the moment you submit. The written half is read by a person, usually within two business days, and your result arrives by email. If you do not pass, you get notes on what would have earned full marks rather than just a number.

Yes. Once you complete the course and pass its exam you receive a digital certificate carrying your name, the course, the date and a verification ID anybody can check. Each course awards its own designation: C.L.C.P for the Life Coach Certification, C.C.D.C for the Career Coach Certification, C.M.S for the Manifestation Coach Certification.

You resit it, at no cost, up to 2 attempts in total. Your result email tells you your score, splits it between the multiple-choice and written halves so you know where to focus, and includes any notes your marker left. You can sit it again as soon as you are ready.

No. A life coach certification, including our Certified Life Coach Professional credential, is a training certificate, not a license. No US state licenses life coaches, and coaching is unregulated in most other countries too. A certificate shows a client that you completed structured training and passed an exam. It does not give you permission to practice, because no permission is needed, and it does not let you offer therapy or counseling, which are licensed professions. Our guide to licensing and life coaching goes further.

No. Anybody can legally work as a life coach without a certification. People earn one for other reasons, namely to learn the work properly before practicing on paying clients, and to give prospective clients something to check in a field where anyone can use the title. Whether that matters depends on your clients. Our guide to what you need to become a life coach sets out what actually helps.

No, and we say so plainly. Our three certifications are not accredited by the International Coaching Federation or any other outside body, and we do not claim that they count toward an ICF credential. Each is a certificate issued by the Life and Career Institute against published standards, awarded on an exam with written answers read by a person, with a verification ID anyone can check. The certification standards page explains exactly what each exam tests.

The International Coaching Federation awards three credentials, the ACC, PCC and MCC, each requiring set hours of coach-specific training, logged coaching experience, mentor coaching and an assessment, and it accredits training programs that meet its standards. Those routes take considerably longer and cost more. Ours is a self-paced course and exam that teaches the work and the business of coaching. Some coaches start here and pursue an ICF credential later, particularly if they plan to sell to corporate buyers.

Our life coach certification is $247 for the Professional Course or $498 for the Advanced Course, with the exam and certificate included and no renewal fee. Across the wider market, certification costs vary a great deal, largely depending on whether a program includes live classes, mentor coaching and ICF accreditation. Compare what is included, not just the headline price. The course page lists what each level contains.

It is worth it if you want structured training and a credential clients can verify, and you are comfortable learning by reading and writing rather than in live classes. It is less useful if your target clients specifically require an ICF credential. The honest test is whether the course teaches you to run a session, design a package and find clients, which are the things that decide whether a practice works. Our guide to what a certified life coach is goes further.

Each course is around 25 hours of reading, plus quizzes and written assignments, and most students finish in two to four weeks. The exam is a single sitting of about an hour, and the written half is usually marked within two business days. There is no deadline, so you can take longer. Our guide to how long it takes to become a life coach covers the whole path, including building a practice.

Yes. Every step of our certifications happens online, from the first unit to the exam to the certificate, which arrives as a digital file with a verification ID. Nothing requires you to attend in person, and you can study at whatever pace suits you. Our guide to becoming a certified life coach walks through the steps in order.

Our career coach certification leads to the Certified Career Development Coach (C.C.D.C) credential. It covers career development theories used as practical questions, session techniques and assessments, client relationships, choosing a market, and designing a program, with the Advanced Course adding the business, technology, marketing and transition coaching units. Our guide to becoming a career coach explains where it fits.

Yes. Our manifestation coach certification leads to the Certified Manifestation Specialist (C.M.S) credential. It teaches visualization, belief work, habit design and custom manifestation plans, and it teaches them responsibly, with plain-language explanations and clear limits on what a coach can claim. It is not a religious qualification. For faith-based coaching specifically, see our guide to becoming a Christian life coach, or read what a manifestation coach does.

Yes. Once you pass, you may describe yourself using your designation, such as Certified Life Coach Professional, on your website, profiles and materials, provided you describe it accurately as a training certificate and not as a license or an outside accreditation. Holders agree to our code of conduct, and anybody can confirm your certificate with its verification ID.

No. Life coaching is not a licensed occupation in any US state, and it is unregulated in most other countries. You may still need an ordinary business registration or tax registration where you live, as any self-employed person would. What you must not do is call yourself a therapist or counselor, or offer those services, without the license those professions require. Our guide to licensing and life coaching explains the line.

No degree is required. Some coaches hold degrees in psychology, education or business and find them useful, but clients mostly care whether you understand their situation and can help them act on it. Our guide to what degree you need to become a life coach covers when a degree helps and when it does not.

A career coach helps somebody make and carry out a work decision, such as choosing a direction, preparing for a promotion, running a job search or changing field. Unlike a recruiter, a career coach works for the individual rather than an employer. Read what a career coach is and what a career coach does day to day for the detail.

Coaching income varies widely, because most coaches are self-employed and set their own rates, work their own hours and build their client base at different speeds. We do not publish a typical figure because none would be honest for you in particular. Our guides to life coach salary and what career coaches earn explain how rates and income are actually built.

Almost always from people who already know you. Tell your network, individually and plainly, what you now do and who it is for, then build relationships with people who meet your ideal clients first. Public content helps later. Our guide to finding clients as a life coach walks through it, and the free life coach marketing plan turns it into a weekly habit.

Start small. Decide who you help, design one core package with a clear result, set a price you can say out loud, write a simple client agreement, and register the business as your local rules require. Most coaches begin part time. Our guide to starting a business as a life coach and the free business plan template cover each step.

Yes, and most new coaches do. Sessions can be booked in evenings or at weekends, and a part-time start lets you test your specialty and prices before relying on the income. The courses are self-paced for the same reason, so you can finish the training around work as well.

Therapy is a licensed profession that treats mental health conditions and often works through the past. Coaching works with people who are functioning well and want to make a change, and it looks mainly forward. A responsible coach recognizes when a client needs a therapist and refers them. All three of our courses teach where that line sits, and our code of conduct commits certificate holders to it.

There is no password. Enter your email address on the sign-in page and we send you a six digit code that lasts ten minutes. The code only works in the browser that asked for it, so request it on the device you want to use. If it does not arrive, wait a minute before asking for another one, and check your spam folder.

Payments are confirmed by our payment provider a moment after you pay, and access opens automatically when that lands. If you sign in during that gap you will see a page saying we are confirming your payment, and it opens your course by itself. If it has been more than a few minutes, email us with the reference on that page.

Sign in and open your account page. Every purchase is listed there with its invoice number, and the "Open billing and receipts" button takes you to our payment provider where you can download the receipt itself.

Yes, and you only pay the difference rather than the full price. The option is on your dashboard once you are signed in. It charges the card you enrolled with, and if that card no longer works you can complete it at the normal checkout instead.

No. They are yours to work through and nobody marks them. They matter for a different reason: the written half of the final exam is drawn from the first assignment question in units 1 to 4, and your own answer is already in the box when you sit it.

No. Each unit quiz is practice, your score is not reported to anyone, and it has no effect on your certificate. It exists so you can check something landed before building on top of it. The final exam is the one that counts.

No. Access does not expire, there is no schedule, and nothing is lost if you put it down for a few months. Your progress is saved as you go.