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ISTQB® Partner Program

The ISTQB® Partner Program recognizes organizations around the world that have supported the professional development of their team(s) through ISTQB® certification.

The Partner Program includes four levels of partnership (Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Global). The partnership level of an organization is determined by the number of certification points it has accumulated. The number of certification points relates to the ISTQB® certificates held by the company’s staff.

Find out more about the ISTQB® Partner Program here.

Organizations may be eligible to become ISTQB® Partners if they have employees or external consultants working for them who provide services for more than 70% of their time and who have passed ISTQB® certification exams. This also applies to training providers.

Important: being an ISTQB® Partner does NOT confer Accredited Training Provider status and partners who are not accredited as training providers must not give the impression that any training they offer is in any way endorsed by ISTQB®by being Partner Program members.

The Partner Program is only available to legal entities or departments within a legal entity. An organization can only apply for partnership in a country where it has a legal entity and, if successful, its partnership will be publicized on the ISTQB® Partner Program website with the company name, and country.

The Partner may also choose to publicize its Partnership status elsewhere, with a link to the official ISTQB® Partner Program website.

Information on becoming an ISTQB® Partner is available here.

The partnership is managed by the local Member Board or by an Exam Provider.

Under certain circumstances, the partnership may also be managed by the ISTQB® directly, e.g. to cover areas that are not covered by a Member Board or an Exam Provider. Contact us for more information.

There are four levels defined for the Program – Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Global. You can find out more here.

In order to be eligible for the ISTQB® Partner Program, a company has to achieve a certain number of certification points, that defined the level of partnership.

To join the ISTQB® Partner Program, an organization must achieve:

  • At least 5 points for the Silver Level
  • At least 14 points for the Gold Level
  • At least 30 points for the Platinum Level.
  • A minimum of 1 Advanced Level Certificate is mandated for the Gold level
  • A minimum of 3 Advanced Level Certificates is mandated for the Platinum level.

You can find more information on eligibility points and thresholds here.

Points are accumulated according to the number of individuals in the company who have passed an ISTQB® certification exam.

The points value per certification level are currently as follows:

  • 1 for Foundation Level certification
  • 3 for Advanced Level certification
  • 5 for Expert Level certification.

Check your points using the Eligibility Grid.

To achieve the Global Partner level, a company must have:

  • A minimum of 2 locations with Gold Partner status
  • 1 location with Platinum Partner status.
  • In addition, the locations must be spread across at least 2 countries.

Find out more here.

The Eligibility Grid is an easy-to-use online calculator that can be used to check which Partner Program Level your company is eligible for.

Find out more here.

Partner Program renewal information is available here or you can contact the Member Board or Exam Provider who manages your company’s Partnership Program for more information.

Your company can upgrade its Partnership level at any time (including before the end of the validity period). Your company must meet the criteria for the next level to be eligible.

You will pay only the difference between the new level and the previous level fee (see ISTQB® Partner Program Fees). The one-year validity period will start again immediately.

Contact the Member Board or Exam Provider who manages your company’s Partnership Program for further information.

Your company can terminate the Partnership during the validity period by contacting the Member Board or Exam Provider who manages your company’s Partnership Program.

Partner Program validity rules can be found here.

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