HR certifications

Two organisations certify HR professionals in the United States, and each has an entry point here. HRCI's aPHR — Associate Professional in Human Resources — is the entry-level credential for people new to HR or in HR-adjacent roles: a high-school diploma or equivalent, no HR experience required, and a content outline of HR operations, talent, compensation, employee relations and compliance basics. SHRM's SHRM-CP is the practitioner credential built on SHRM's competency model; SHRM does not require an HR title, a degree or previous HR experience to sit it, and it tests situational judgement alongside knowledge.

Both are delivered by Pearson VUE at centres or by online proctoring, both are scaled and pass-fail, and both are maintained with recertification credits over a multi-year cycle. Employers tend to list either; the choice is usually about which body's material you prefer and whether your career will stay in HR operations or move into generalist practice.

Content differs in shape. HRCI's aPHR outline is organised by functional area — HR operations, recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, human resource development, employee relations, health and safety — with knowledge questions. SHRM's exam is organised around behavioural competencies and HR knowledge domains, and a large share of its questions are situational judgement items describing a workplace scenario and asking for the most effective response. Practise the format you will face, not only the content.

How to use this family page: choose the body, open the exam guide for the outline and question format, and work the practice sets in that format — knowledge items for aPHR, situational judgement for SHRM-CP. Note the recertification cycle on the day you pass; credits are easier to spread over the cycle than to earn at the end of it.

Which first: aPHR if you are entering HR from another role; SHRM-CP if you are already doing HR work and want the practitioner credential, since SHRM sets no experience gate. Neither is a prerequisite for the other.