HighLevel Certified Admin: Cost, Exam, Renewal and Whether It Is Worth It
The HighLevel Certified Admin program costs $97 a month or $970 a year, takes 7 to 10 days of coursework, and ends in a live proctored exam. The badge is valid for two years, but you must earn two extra skills badges every year and keep the subscription running or it goes inactive and your directory listing is removed. It is worth it if you sell HighLevel services to other people and want to be found. It is not worth it if you only run the platform for your own business.
What the Certified Admin credential is
It is a paid certification programme run by HighLevel for people who set up and manage the platform for others: agency owners, freelancers and in-house administrators. Passing puts you in the official HighLevel Certified Directory, where HighLevel staff, clients and employers look for people to hire.
The training is hosted in a private community, not inside HighLevel University. HighLevel describes it as a separate subscription from your platform plan. Paying for HighLevel does not include it, and being certified does not include a HighLevel account.
What it costs
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $97 per month | No long-term commitment |
| Annual | $970 per year | Two months free against monthly |
| Teams over 15 | Enterprise pricing | Through HighLevel's account management team |
The part most people miss: this is not a one-off exam fee. The subscription has to stay active to keep the certification and the directory listing. Budget roughly $1,000 a year for as long as you want the badge, not $97 once.
How long it takes and what the exam is
HighLevel says the course is designed to be completed in 7 to 10 days at a steady pace. Experienced users may finish sooner. The path is three steps: enrol and get access to the training community, complete the modules with hands-on tasks, then pass a live proctored exam. HighLevel calls the proctored session Part B.
Passing the live proctor is what earns the Admin badge and unlocks the specialised skills badges. The directory listing itself is optional, but you cannot skip the exam and still collect badges.
What you get for the money
- Directory listing. Your name in the HighLevel Certified Directory, which is where the lead flow comes from. This is the reason to do it.
- Exclusive job board. Freelance work that only certified people can bid on.
- Certified community. A private network of other certified admins.
- Dedicated certified support. A support line staffed by HighLevel experts, separate from standard platform support.
- Ongoing courses. New training as features ship, and early access to updates.
- Specialised badges. Nine further credentials you can add after the Admin badge (listed below).
Staying certified: the rules that catch people out
Two years, two badges a year, subscription always on. The Admin badge is valid for two years from the date you pass the live proctor exam. To keep it active you must earn at least two additional skills badges each year. If your certification subscription ends, the certification goes inactive and your name comes off the directory.
The 90-day rule. Cancel and re-enrol within 90 days and your certification reactivates without a retake. Leave it longer than 90 days and you sit the live proctor exam again to get your listing back.
So the real commitment is not the exam. It is a subscription plus roughly two short courses a year, indefinitely.
The nine specialised badges
These sit on top of the Admin badge and are what satisfy the two-per-year requirement. As listed by HighLevel:
| Badge | What it covers |
|---|---|
| A2P Compliance | Messaging compliance, A2P 10DLC registration, keeping verification current |
| AI Employee | Voice AI and AI automation for pricing, acquisition and fulfilment |
| HIPAA Compliance | Compliance essentials and customer data handling for regulated clients |
| Paid Ads | Lead sources, workflows, conversion tracking |
| SaaSPRENEUR "Local Hero" | Building and scaling an agency: offers, setup, acquisition, reputation |
| Course Creator | Community onboarding, engagement and scaling |
| Social Media Manager | Automating and optimising social strategy |
| Automated Swag Store | Branded merch stores as a lead and fulfilment channel |
| Quick Wins | Proven tools and automations across the client journey |
A2P Compliance and AI Employee are the two that clients ask about by name. If you are choosing your first two, those are the ones with a direct line to billable work.
Is it worth it
This is our view, not HighLevel's, and it depends entirely on who pays you.
Worth it if
- You sell HighLevel setup, migration or management to other businesses and want inbound leads you did not have to chase.
- You are a freelancer competing on Upwork-style platforms where an official badge is the difference between a reply and silence.
- You want HighLevel's own team to be able to recommend you. Directory listings are where they look.
- You already know the platform and can clear the course in a week. The cost then is mostly the ongoing subscription, which one retained client covers many times over.
Not worth it if
- You run HighLevel for your own business only. Nobody is searching a directory for you, and $970 a year buys a lot of other things.
- You want a one-time credential. This is a subscription. Stop paying and the badge goes inactive.
- You are still learning the basics. HighLevel University is free and covers the platform itself. Certification is about proving skill, not acquiring it.
- Your clients find you through your own marketing already. The directory adds little on top of a pipeline that works.
The free alternative
HighLevel University is included with any HighLevel plan and covers how the platform works. It does not give you a badge, a directory listing or the job board. If what you need is to learn, start there. If what you need is to be found, that is what the paid certification is for.
Frequently asked questions
How much does HighLevel certification cost?
$97 a month or $970 a year, as a subscription separate from your HighLevel plan. Teams larger than 15 can ask HighLevel for enterprise pricing. The subscription must stay active for the certification to remain valid.
How long does the HighLevel Certified Admin course take?
HighLevel designs it for 7 to 10 days at a steady pace. Experienced users often finish sooner. The clock that matters is the live proctored exam at the end, which is what actually earns the badge.
Is the HighLevel Admin certification worth it?
Yes if you sell HighLevel services to others and want inbound leads from the official directory. No if you only use HighLevel for your own business, because the directory and job board are the whole value and they only help people who are for hire.
Do I have to recertify every year?
The Admin badge is valid for two years from passing the live proctor exam. You do not retake that exam yearly, but you must earn at least two additional skills badges each year and keep the subscription active, or the certification goes inactive.
What happens if I cancel the subscription?
Your certification becomes inactive and your name is removed from the Certified Directory. Re-enrol within 90 days and it reactivates without a retake. After 90 days you sit the live proctor exam again.
Is certification included with my HighLevel plan?
No. HighLevel states it is a separate subscription. Your platform plan gives you the software; certification gives you the training, the credential, the community and the directory listing.
Can I take the courses without the directory listing?
The directory listing is optional. Passing the live proctor exam is still required to unlock skills badges and keep the certification, so you cannot skip the exam and only take the courses.
Where to start
Enrol in HighLevel Certification
Not on HighLevel yet? You need an account before certification makes sense. The 30-day free trial is longer than the standard 14 days.
For the wider picture of what the credential does to job flow, the directory and how agencies use it, read GoHighLevel certifications: credential, directory and job flow on netpartners.marketing.
Affiliate disclosure: the HighLevel links on this page are affiliate links. Agence Vesta Inc. may earn a commission if you enrol or sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. It does not change any figure on this page, all of which come from HighLevel's own certification page.
