CPSI

The Florida Recreation and Park Association on behalf of the National Recreation and Park Association is offering the Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) course and certification to properly train and certify individuals to recognize and prevent potential playground hazards. Courses are designed for park and recreation staff, school districts, child care facilities, health departments, landscape architects, playground manufactures, installers, contractors, insurance firms, home owner’s associations, and more.

The Playground Safety Standards and CPSI examination are available in Latin American Spanish for those interested. Please request this option at the time of registration.

Candidate Handbook

4/16/2025 Update for re-certification - Anyone with an expiration date of July 1, 2026, or later will have options for renewal of your certification. Beginning July 1, 2026, you may renew in one of two ways:

Sitting for and passing the CPSI Exam OR Successfully completing 2.0 CEUs in playground safety during the three-year certification cycle and submitting a completed CEU recertification application. Read more below or check out this FAQ page to provide you with a comprehensive look at this policy change. 

2025 Dates for Florida Courses (see full national calendar here)

 Course and Exam Cancellation/Substitution/Accommodations Policies 
-Cancellations must be submitted in writing and received by deadlines stated in order to receive a refund of the registration fee less $250 for manuals plus a $125 service charge.  
-No refunds will be granted if request is received after deadline
-NO Transfers to future courses are allowed.
-Substitutions for those unable to attend will be allowed, it’s the original registrant’s responsibility to provide their replacement with the mailed pre-course study materials. Substitutions must receive prior approval from FRPA and must be at least one week in advance of the course 
- A candidate who has a disability may request special accommodations; the request must be submitted in writing at the time of course or exam registration. The request form is available online at www.nrpa.org/cpsi In order to properly accommodate all persons with disabilities, requests should be made 45 days prior to the scheduled date for the course and exam.
-The Playground Safety Standards and CPSI examination are available in Latin American Spanish for those interested. Please request this option through the course host at the time of registration.
- English as second language (ESL) candidates may request a time extension and/or the use of a strict translation dictionary. Request forms/fees must be submitted to NRPA no less than 30 days prior to the exam. The request form is available online at www.nrpa.org/cpsi.
- The option to take the CPSI exam via computer-based testing is available through the NRPA. To obtain additional information please visit www.nrpa.org/cpsi Please be advised if you register to take the examination with the course, you will not receive a refund to take your exam via computer-based testing later. Please decide now if you would like to take the exam on Day 3 of the course or via a computer-based exam later.

Recertification (from the NRPA CPSI Policies & Procedures Manual)
---Recertification Policy through 6/1/2026 Recertification Expiration Date---
Renewal of the CPSI Certification ensures that professionals are knowledgeable of the current best practices in the field of playground safety. Individuals wishing to renew their CPSI certification must successfully complete the CPSI examination prior to their expiration date.
---Recertification Policy as of 7/1/2026 Recertification Expiration Date---
Recertification
Recertification of the CPSI Certification ensures that professionals are knowledgeable of the current best practices in the field of playground safety. Individuals wishing to recertify their CPSI certification must successfully complete the current CPSI examination (Option A) or submit a recertification application including documented two (2.0) Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in playground safety prior to their expiration date (Option B).
Option A - To recertify by examination, the certificant may take the current CPSI examination. If this option is used for recertification, the certificant must successfully pass the exam before their certification expiration date to not experience a loss of certification.
Option B – To recertify by continuing professional development, the certificant must submit a recertification application, application fee and documented two (2.0) Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in playground safety by the last date of their certification cycle. The continuing professional development requirement may be fulfilled by any combination of the following but must be completed within each 3- year period from the date of initial certification or recertification.
This requirement shall be fulfilled by one or more of the following methods:
Two (2.0) documented Continuing Education Units (CEUs). The National Certification Board will recognize any documented CEUs in playground safety that fall within the following two core competency groups (Group A & B, outlined below) and individuals must have a minimum of 1.0 CEUs from each group.
Group A – Hazard ID, Risk Management
Group B – Surfacing, Playground Environment, Audit, Inspection & Maintenance
For a course to qualify for CPSI CEUs the course must:

• be taught by a Playground Maintenance, Risk and/or Safety Subject Matter Expert (SME) within at least one of the core competency groups listed above,
• have identified 3 clear learning objectives within at least one of the core competency groups listed above,
• have a description to support the learning objectives,
• and assign .1 CEU to 1 hour of continuing education.

Tracking of CEUs and CEU documents is the responsibility of the certified professional (see Audit Process below).
The CPSI Course provides .8 CEUs for Group A and .7 CEUs for Group B. Additionally, CEUs may be earned at national or state conferences or regional trainings/workshops, including the Playground Maintenance Course.
Workshops/courses attended that meet professional development needs but are not awarded CEUs or academic credit: Applicants must submit a CEU Petition form following the experience providing full content information to receive appropriate CEU equivalency, AND/OR
Qualifying professional service experience (PSE) credit may be accepted in lieu of CEUs for up to 1.0 CEU equivalents in Group A and/or B. Applicants must submit a PSE form with supporting documentation. If applying PSE credit to a recertification application, any remaining CEUs will need to meet the group requirements.

Failure to recertify by the last date of the certification cycle will result in withdrawal of certification. Professionals may recertify their certification at any time during their certification cycle, however their new cycle will begin on the day after expiration. CEUs submitted for a recertification application must be achieved within that certification cycle.

Auditing Process
All official CEU documentation should be retained by the Certified Playground Safety Inspector.
Professionals are expected to produce a list of at least 2.0 CEUs accumulated throughout their certification cycle when recertifying. This list should include the course title, attendance date(s), and number of CEUs completed. A systematic random number of professionals will be chosen to complete an auditing process upon recertification. After being notified of selection, recertifying professionals will have 30 days to submit appropriate documentation. Documentation must have the participant's name, attendance date, course title, and completed CEU totals. Failure to submit appropriate documentation in a timely manner will result in withdrawal of certification.
NRPA, at their sole discretion, may elect any recertification application for audit. In addition, audits will be performed on applications that are submitted with:

• duplicative courses
• courses that take place on the same day (not including conferences)
• possible inaccurate CEU numbers
• illegible handwriting or
• information that does not appear to be accurate during application review