Do my coaching/experience hours count?

To meet the coaching experience requirement, you can count any client coaching hours completed after you begin your coaching education or training, as long as they meet the requirements.

ICF defines the start of your education as any course with a minimum of 30 hours, of which at least 24 hours are focused on ICF Core Competencies. Eligible courses can be ICF accredited or non-accredited. However, if you are using the Portfolio Path to apply for your credential, non-accredited programs are subject to review by ICF.

1 Client Coaching Experience Hour = A full 60-minute session with a client who has hired you specifically as their coach (not in any other capacity). The session must happen in real time — whether you’re meeting face-to-face, hopping on a phone call, or using technology to connect live with your client.

If your session is shorter than 60 minutes, you can still count it, but as partial hours. For example, a 30-minute session counts as 0.5 hours.

Your coaching hours can be a mix of both paid and pro bono work, giving you flexibility as you build experience. However, a few activities don’t qualify. Mentor coaching, coaching supervision, and reviewing assessments with clients are not considered client coaching hours. Additionally, coaching within a training program, or with students, trainers, or mentors, doesn’t count unless it’s done outside the classroom, with a real client, and separate from the training credits.

Types of clients: 

An individual client is someone who hires you for one-on-one coaching, usually seeking personal or professional development, goal achievement, or support in overcoming specific challenges.

For coaching with team and group coaching clients, the participants must set the agenda, and there must be real-time interaction (synchronous) between you and the participants. Training, teaching, mentor coaching, and facilitating workshops do not count as client coaching hours.

Internal coaching is coaching delivered as part of your employment. However, coaching direct reports (employees you supervise) does not count toward your client coaching hours.

Third-party coaching occurs when you’re paid by an organization to coach a client.

Please review the Experience Requirements here: https://coachingfederation.org/credentialing/prepare-for-icf-credential-application/experience-requirements/