AXELOS ITIL certification cost
AXELOS is now PeopleCert
AXELOS was a joint venture created in 2013 between the UK Cabinet Office (on behalf of HM Government) and Capita to hold and grow the global best-practice portfolio, including ITIL and PRINCE2. PeopleCert, which already ran the ITIL examinations on AXELOS's behalf, announced its agreement to acquire AXELOS on 21 June 2021 and completed the deal the following month, booking it in its Q3 2021 accounts at £380m on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Since then PeopleCert owns the ITIL intellectual property outright and controls all exam fees, credentialing, and accreditation.
The practical consequence for anyone budgeting: there is no separate AXELOS price list to compare against PeopleCert. The two are the same commercial entity for ITIL purposes. AXELOS-branded certificates earned before the transition remain valid, and the ITIL 4 syllabus is unchanged by the ownership move.
What AXELOS ITIL certification costs today
The costs below are the current PeopleCert and reseller figures that the AXELOS name now maps to. Two routes price Foundation: an exam-only voucher through a reseller for self-study candidates, and PeopleCert's own direct bundle. Above Foundation, PeopleCert makes accredited training mandatory on every module, so there is no exam-only route at those levels.
| Certification | Cost | Route |
|---|---|---|
| ITIL 4 Foundation (reseller voucher) | £269 | Exam-only voucher, self-study |
| ITIL 4 Foundation (PeopleCert bundle) | £541 | Voucher plus official eBook and resource kit |
| ITIL 4 Foundation (ATO training bundle) | £280 to £1,650 +VAT | Course plus exam voucher, self-paced to classroom |
| MP / SL module (each) | £1,359 eLearning | Accredited training mandatory; £682 exam bundle is retake-only |
| Managing Professional (4 modules) | £5,400 to £6,600 | CDS, DSV, HVIT, DPI with training |
| Strategic Leader (DITS + DPI) | £2,700 to £5,000+ | Both modules with training |
| ITIL 4 Master | Price on application | Portfolio assessment, prior certifications required |
The reseller Foundation voucher (about £269) is the lowest route to the credential; PeopleCert's own cheapest direct option is the £541 exam bundle, which PeopleCert labels a self-study option.
Above Foundation the module price is £1,359 for PeopleCert eLearning with the exam included, uniform across the Managing Professional and Strategic Leader modules. Read the cheaper £682exam bundle carefully before budgeting against it: PeopleCert attaches the note "For exam retake only. Training through an accredited partner or ITIL Official eLearning required" to that option on every module above Foundation. It is a resit product, not a first-sitting route for someone who trained elsewhere, so a candidate taking an Accredited Training Organization course gets the exam voucher inside the course price rather than buying the £682bundle alongside it. The uniform figure applies to the designation modules above, not to the whole ITIL 4 catalogue: the practice-based Specialist modules (Monitor, Support and Fulfil; Plan, Implement and Control) list from £684 and the single-practice ITIL 4 Practitioner modules from £227.
Recertification under PeopleCert
ITIL 4 and ITIL (Version 5) certifications carry a three-year renewal cycle across all levels, Foundation included, running from the original certification date. There are three ways to stay current. The cheapest is often free: PeopleCert treats every certification in a product suite as sharing one renewal date, three years after the most recent exam, so passing another ITIL exam re-dates the lot. Otherwise holders hold a PeopleCert Plus membership, which PeopleCert lists at £129 / yr inc VAT, and log 20 continuing-professional-development points a year for three consecutive years, at least 5 of them from professional experience. Where credits fall short, full re-examination at the original fee is the fallback. This renewal model is set by PeopleCert and did not exist in the same form under the earlier AXELOS scheme.