Getting an ICF credential
The International Coaching Federation is the body most clients have heard of, and its credentials — ACC, PCC, MCC — are the ones worth holding. This is the route PCN recommends for getting there.
PCN does not award these. The ICF does, through schools it accredits. We recommend Erickson Coaching International because their three levels line up cleanly with the three credentials, and you can start with no prior qualification at all.
Erickson Coaching International
Level 1
Toward ACC$3,999
- You earn
- Erickson Accredited Coach (EAC)
- Prerequisite
- None
- Duration
- About 4–7 months
- Client-coaching hours needed
- 100
Where almost everyone starts. No prerequisite, so you can begin from nothing.
Level 2
Toward PCC$7,699
- You earn
- Erickson Certified Professional Coach (ECPC)
- Prerequisite
- None
- Duration
- About 5–7 months
- Client-coaching hours needed
- 500
The level most working coaches settle at. Still no formal prerequisite, though the client hours are the real gate.
Level 3
Toward MCC$7,999
- You earn
- Erickson Certified Master Coach (ECMC)
- Prerequisite
- Should already hold, or be working toward, PCC
- Duration
- About 4 months
- Client-coaching hours needed
- 2,500
MCC Journey plus Mentor Bundle. Years of coaching away for most people — the 2,500 hours are the work, not the course.
How this maps to your PCN level
Your General Coaching level on PCN runs on the same five rungs. The first two are ours; the last three are the ICF’s own credentials, which is why they carry the ICF’s names rather than names we made up.
| PCN General Coaching | How you get it |
|---|---|
| Junior | PCN reading and video, signed off by your supervisor |
| Intermediate | PCN reading and video, plus reviewed sessions |
| ACC | Erickson Level 1, then apply to the ICF |
| PCC | Erickson Level 2, then apply to the ICF |
| MCC | Erickson Level 3, then apply to the ICF |
Send your supervisor the proof once a credential comes through and your level moves. PCN records it; PCN cannot grant it.
Before you pay anyone
- Check the current figures. The prices and durations above were accurate on 22 September 2026 and schools change them.
- The hours are the real cost. A course takes months; the client hours take years. Nobody buys their way to MCC.
- Erickson is a recommendation, not a requirement. The ICF accredits many schools. Coaching for PCN never depends on where you trained.
- PCN does not take a commission on anything you pay a school.