Guidance for Coaching Supervision Education

Working Guidance for Evaluating Eligible Education Activities

This guidance is intended to help determine what may count as coaching supervision education hours. It reflects a practical interpretation centered on whether the activity involves intentional learning aligned with the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies, rather than simply participation, observation, or informal discussion.

Note: This document is intended to provide general guidance on what may qualify as coaching supervision education hours. Final determinations are based on clear alignment with the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies and the presence of a structured educational component.

Core Principle

An activity may count as coaching supervision education when it:

• is clearly connected to the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies
• involves a genuine learning or educational component
• is part of a structured exercise, program, or organized developmental process
• can reasonably be described as building a person’s capacity as a coach supervisor

Activities are less likely to count when they are:

• informal
• self-directed without structure or oversight
• not explicitly tied to coaching supervision development
• primarily operational, administrative, or general professional development

General Guidance

A useful question to ask is:

Was this activity intentionally designed or used as coaching supervision education, with a clear connection to the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies 

• If yes, it may count.
• If no, it probably would not.

Regardless of the type of education completed, you are required to submit documentation for ICF staff review, such as a certificate of completion, letter of attestation, or other supporting materials. If questions arise during the review process, ICF staff will contact you for clarification or additional documentation.

Decision Guidance by Activity Type

1.    ICF accredited CCE courses focused on coaching supervision. Can this count?

Yes, usually.

When it can count

Most CCE courses that focus on coaching supervision will meet the education requirement. The course should be designed to develop coaching supervision skills, rather than to document coaching supervision hours or the experience of receiving coaching supervision. To confirm eligibility, we recommend reviewing the course curriculum against the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies to ensure clear alignment.

What documentation do you need to submit

A certificate, letter, or email issued by the program provider with the name of the candidate, event/course, date, and the total number of educational hours completed. You may also be required to submit a course outline or syllabus that outlines the coaching supervision skills covered in the course.

2.    Non-ICF accredited courses focused on coaching supervision. Can this count?

Yes, usually.

When it can count

Non-accredited education may also meet the education requirement if the curriculum is clearly aligned with the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies. Accreditation is not required, but the learning should be designed to develop coaching supervision skills rather than simply document coaching supervision. To assess whether it qualifies, we recommend reviewing the curriculum against the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies for clear alignment.

What documentation do you need to submit

• A certificate of completion, letter, or email issued by the provider with the name of the candidate, course/training, date, and number of training hours completed. 
• Additional documentation may include: course curriculum and delivery method, course syllabus, summary, student manual, or course handouts or materials that demonstrate course content.

3.    Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 Accredited programs. Can this count?

Generally, this does not count.

Why

Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 programs are intended to provide foundational and advanced education in coaching skills rather than coaching supervision. Coaching and coaching supervision are separate disciplines.

While some competencies may overlap, they are applied in meaningfully different ways. As a result, being a highly skilled coach does not necessarily mean a person is equipped to serve as an effective coach supervisor.

What could count?

If the program is geared toward coaching supervision, or if there is a specific module on coaching supervision skills, these education hours might qualify.

What documentation do you need to submit

Certificate of completion of a program and a supplemental document that maps the curriculum to the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies.

4. ICF accredited Advanced Accreditation in Coaching Supervision (AACS) programs. Can this count?

Yes.

These programs are designed to meet the full requirements for the standard pathway for the Coaching  Supervision Qualification. Learn more on the information page.

They are great for new coach supervisors, and for any experienced coach supervisors looking to brush up on their skills.

What documentation do you need to submit

A certificate, letter, or email issued by the program provider with the name of the candidate, event/course, date, and the total number of educational hours completed.

5.    Reviewing the coaching supervision competencies. Can this count?

Sometimes.

Individually

Reviewing the competencies on one’s own generally would not count. On its own, independent review does not necessarily demonstrate participation in education or learning beyond what anyone could do informally.

As part of a structured approach

This may count when the review is part of a more formal educational process, such as:

• a guided assignment within an organization
• homework in a coach supervision training program
• a facilitated learning sequence tied to application and reflection

In those cases, the activity is not just reading; it is part of a structured learning design.

What documentation do you need to submit

Documentation of the activities you completed during this review, including assignments, facilitation guides, and materials that show a structured learning experience.

6.    Delivering coaching supervision education. Can this count?

Generally, this does not count unless the following three requirements are met. If they are, then you may only count this type of class once, regardless of how many times it was taught.

• You created the class.
• You taught the class.
• The course curriculum meets the definition of coach-specific education or training, including direct interaction with instructors and alignment with the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies. 

How much can count

A person may count one delivery of a coaching supervision education program toward their own education hours.

Why

Delivering the material can deepen competency and understanding, but repeated delivery of the same content should not continue to be counted as education in the same way.

What documentation do you need to submit

• Signed letter on the education program letterhead from a representative authorized to verify the instructional delivery. The letter must include the candidate’s name, role within the educational organization, the name of the program/course delivered, dates of the program/course, and the total number of training hours completed.
• Supplemental documentation may include course curriculum and delivery method, course syllabus, summary, student manual, or course handouts or materials that demonstrate course content.

7.    Training for internal coach supervisors offered within accredited organizations. Can this count?

Yes.

Training does not need to come from an accredited program in order to count, provided the organization can show that the training is clearly aligned with the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies.

This is similar to how education may be evaluated in other credentialing contexts: accreditation may strengthen the case, but alignment to the relevant competencies is the more important standard.

What documentation do you need to submit

• Certificate of completion from your organization, or a signed letter on the education program letterhead from a representative authorized to verify the training completion. The letter must include the candidate’s name, role within the educational organization, the name of the program/course delivered, dates of the program/course, and the total number of training hours completed. 
• Supplemental documentation may include course curriculum and delivery method, course syllabus, summary, student manual, or course handouts or materials that demonstrate course content.

8.    Courses on overlapping themes such as ethics, trust and safety, etc. Can this count?

Possibly, but only with a clear connection.

Courses on related topics may count if the learner or organization can explicitly demonstrate how the content supports the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies.

The connection should be direct and explicit. A course should not count simply because it is broadly relevant to coaching. 

Otherwise, there is a risk of treating general credentialing education as if it were coaching supervision education, and those are not the same thing.

A good test is:

• Was the course clearly used to develop coaching supervision capability?
• Can the participant explain how the learning maps to coaching supervision competencies? If not, it likely would not count.

What documentation do you need to submit

• Certificate of completion from your organization, or a signed letter on the education program letterhead from a representative authorized to verify the training completion. The letter must include the candidate’s name, role within the educational organization, the name of the program/course delivered, dates of the program/course, and the total number of training hours completed. 
• Supplemental documentation may include course curriculum and delivery method, course syllabus, summary, student manual, or course handouts or materials that demonstrate course content.

9.    Mentor Coaching training. Can this count?

Yes, sometimes.

What parts can count?

If the learner or organization can explicitly demonstrate how the content supports the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies. The connection should be direct and explicit.

A good test is:

• Was the course clearly used to develop coaching supervision capability?
• Can the participant explain how the learning maps to coaching supervision competencies?

What documentation do you need to submit

• Certificate of completion of a mentor coaching program and a supplemental document that maps the curriculum to the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies.