From ITIL v3 to ITIL 4: tips for ITIL v3 certified

Already ITIL v3 certified and interested in getting ITIL 4 certified? In this blog post, we will show you the new ITIL 4 certification scheme and we will give you some advice on what path fits the best your current situation.

The New ITIL 4 Certification Scheme is composed by two streams, ITIL Managing Professional (ITIL MP) and ITIL Strategic Leader (ITIL SL) and it is connected to the previous ITIL version, ITIL v3, by a transition module called ITIL Managing Professional (MP) Transition (see image below: ITIL MP Transition is on the left and coloured in brown).

The image above represents the whole ITIL v4 certification path: there are two main certification streams represented in light blue, ITIL Managing Professionals (MP) and ITIL Strategic Leader (SL).
To obtain the designation ITIL Managing Professional or ITIL Strategic Leader, the professional must complete the Foundation Module for both path plus all the four modules for ITIL MP or all the two modules for ITIL SL.

The Module ITIL Strategist – Direct, Plan & Improve (in blue) is common to both streams.

How many credits do you have in the ITIL v3 certification scheme? Find several tips depending on your achieved credits below:

ITIL v3 Foundation (2 credits)

if you are already ITIL v3 Foundation certified, our advice is to follow the new ITIL 4 foundation training in order to achieve the ITIL 4 Foundation Certificate. ITIL 4 Foundation is completely renewed with lots of new content, that’s why a new exam to show your knowledge about the ITIL 4 Foundation guidance is required.
After the achievement of the Foundation module, you will have the chance to follow the stream that fits better your needs upon the new ITIL Certification Scheme.

ITIL v3 Foundation + ITIL Intermediate and / or Practitioner (up to 6 credits)

If you have reached the Foundation level and you have further 3-4 credits you have two options:

• achieving the ITIL 4 Foundation plus another module belonging to the stream of your choice in order to have the chance to become ITIL Specialist, Strategist or Leader. If you are not interested in pursuing the ITIL Managing Professional designation, there are still options to be offered among the ITIL Specialist modules and/or ITIL Strategist module. In the last case, the route we recommend you is to take the most relevant module in your area of practice/interest.
• Or you can choose to gain up to 17 credits in ITIL v3 to switch to the ITIL 4 scheme through the ITIL Managing Professional Transition Module. You have time to gain credits until June 2020, after this date, Axelos will dismiss all the ITIL v3 modules and taking further ITIL v3 exams won’t be possible.

Our advice: better to undertake directly the ITIL 4 Certification path by enrolling for the ITIL 4 Foundation exam.

ITIL v3 Intermediate/Practitioner (more than 6 credits)

if you already gained more than 6 credits we advise you to carry on obtaining credits within the ITIL v3 scheme to prepare the transition to ITIL 4 through the module ITIL Managing Professional Transition.

ITIL v3 Expert

If you are an ITIL Expert you can apply for the module ITIL Managing Professional when it turns available. Once obtained the certification ITIL Managing Professional, if interested in pursuing the ITIL Strategic Leader qualification, you will just achieve the ITIL Leader Digital & Strategy module.
If you complete both streams (ITIL Managing Professionals and ITIL Strategic Leader) you can opt to carry on your ITIL path to achieve the ITIL Master level.

Do you have further doubts or do you want to know more?

Download the brochure in German too!

To find more information about the motivation behind the update, visit this informative page!

Sources: Axelos, ITIL® Credit System; ITIL 4: all the answers to the most asked questions