Linux Professional Institute (LPI)

The Linux Professional Institute Inc. (LPI) is a non-profit organization that provides vendor-independent professional certification for Linux system administrators and programmers.
The Linux Professional Institute Certifications (LPIC) provide a qualification that can be used to indicate that someone is competent at a certain level.

Program

The exams cover a range of different Linux based topics. The exams are available in almost every country in the world, and are translated into a number of different languages.
The exams are primarily multiple choice questions, with some written answers. These are either taken using a computer based system, or using a paper based exam.
The organisation encourages active community participation in creating and updating exams. Anyone can use the exam Objectives Development wiki, or the Exam Development Mailing List to participate in the creation of new exams and the update of the existing ones.
The exams are distribution-neutral, requiring a general knowledge of Linux rather than specifics about a certain distribution. This is shown in the way that the exams deal with the differing package management formats .deb and .rpm. In earlier versions of the test one of these was chosen by the candidate, in the current version the candidate is expected to know both formats.

Organization

The Linux Professional Institute Inc. was founded in 1999 by Chuck Mead, Dan York, Evan Leibovitch, Tom Peters and others. It was formally incorporated as a Canadian non-profit organisation on the 25 October 1999. It is headquartered near Toronto, Ontario Canada. Jim Lacey is currently President and CEO.
The exams are not normally administered by Linux Professional Institute Inc., but instead through one of their training partners. Currently most exams are administered through a Pearson VUE test centre or at a Thomson Prometric test centre. There are also a number of exams run at major Linux and IT trade shows and conferences where the exams are often available at a reduced price, or sometimes even free of charge.
The LPI is also a founding member of the Desktop Linux Consortium.

Recertification policy

LPI has changed its recertification policy three times from its founding. At first there was no recertification policy, but on 1 September 2004 LPI decided to introduce a ten year recertification policy in order to supply relevant and current skills. Certification designations earned before 1 September 2004 were considered lifetime designations and were not affected by that policy. Again on 1 December 2006 LPI decided that the provided skills were not relevant and current so they introduced a five year recertification policy. Candidates who have earned LPIC certifications will have to re-certify every five years or alternatively earn a higher certification status even if their certification was earned prior to 1 September 2004. However, certification designations earned prior to 1 September 2003 will be considered ACTIVE certifications until September 1, 2008.