Readiness Checklist PCC · Professional Certified Coach
PCC Readiness Checklist
Everything between you and your PCC, on one page. The requirements gate the application; the four areas below gate your confidence — and the PCC exam tests judgment, not recall.
1 · The requirements (know your numbers)
Requirement
Target
Where I stand
Coach-specific education
125 hours
______ hrs
Coaching experience ICF also sets minimums for paid hours and client count — verify the current split.
500 hours
______ hrs
Mentor coaching Complete 10 hours over a minimum period of three months; group/individual mix rules apply. Verify with ICF.
10 hours
______ hrs
Skill demonstration Currently a performance evaluation (recorded session + transcript) on the portfolio path — see the 2027 note below.
Per current pathway
☐ ready
ICF Credentialing Exam Taken after your application and documentation are accepted; scenario-based best/worst format.
Pass
☐ application in
April 2027: ICF has announced that ACC/PCC Portfolio performance evaluations are scheduled to be replaced by an enhanced mentor-coaching requirement effective April 1, 2027. If you're applying near that date, check which rules apply to your application before you record and submit.
2 · Credential requirements readiness
My 125 education hours are from coach-specific training, and I can produce the certificates.
My coaching log is current — 500 hours takes months of steady coaching, and untracked hours can't be claimed.
My mentor coaching covers 10 hours over a minimum period of three months with a qualified mentor coach.
I know my application pathway (accredited program vs. portfolio) and its exact document list.
My application and documentation are ready to submit — the exam invitation follows acceptance, so paperwork is the critical path.
3 · Exam preparation
I've practiced the best/worst format specifically — both picks scored, not just "a good answer."
I can tell a good coaching response from the best one — and name why the worst one fails.
I can apply the Code of Ethics to messy scenarios under time pressure.
I review every miss by competency and know which families I keep missing.
My recent practice scores are stable at or above my target — not one lucky run.
4 · Coaching skill readiness
Every session opens with a client-confirmed agreement: what we're working on and what success looks like.
When a client brings a problem, my first move is partnering — not solving, advising, or storytelling.
My questions regularly create new awareness; the client leaves with thinking they didn't arrive with.
I coach the who, not just the what — identity, values, and beliefs, not only the task in front of the client.
I close sessions with client-owned actions and accountability, not my homework assignments.
5 · Recording & feedback readiness
I record real sessions regularly (with written client consent).
I've reviewed at least one recording against the PCC markers, marker by marker.
A mentor coach has reviewed a recording and given me marker-based feedback.
I know my most-flagged habit (advising, weak agreement, stacked questions, staying surface-level) and I'm training against it.
If my pathway requires a submission: clean audio, accurate transcript, session within the allowed length.