11 May 2026
Since publishing our earlier article on the ICF Mentor Coach Specialisation (MCS), many coaches have continued reaching out with practical questions and concerns.
This post is designed as an ongoing Questions and Answers discussion space where you can ask questions and we can share answers based on the information currently available.
Rather than responding individually to emails, we will answer broader questions here so that the responses can support the wider coaching community and ongoing discussion.
27 Replies to “Frequently Asked Questions About the ICF Mentor Coach Specialization (MCS)”
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Do your coaches through the reciprocal mentor coaching help determine if you’re eligible for ACC or PCC through the portfolio pathway? I have a diverse background in coaching-focused education spanning doctoral coursework in educational leadership, professional certifications such as ICP-ACC – ICAgile Certified Professional in Agile Coaching, coaching webinars through coaching.com and ICF, and a leadership course I adapted and delivered with an explicit coaching lens for a federal contract. I would be grateful for your review and any direction you can offer before I pay for mentor coaching. I’ve provided a draft application for ICF in the website in case that helps. I have about 400 coaching hours through my work am working towards 500.
I think you may be asking about ICF credential applications via the portfolio route. In this case, please contact the ICF directly via their website: https://coachingfederation.org
I’d like to enquire if there’s a specific Performance Evaluation form to mark / document alongside, when I mentor coaches who are working towards ACC. I was mentored by Co-Active Institute MCCs, they have a form created by the school. Now after I become PCC, newer coaches are looking for me to mentor them, I just wonder what’s the best way that complies with ICF Credentialing. By the way – I am also in the learning process towards ReciproCoach MCS Mentor Coach Training, and didn’t see any evaluation form mentioned. Can you please help to clarify what’s the best approach? Thank you!
Hi Shaojun,
At this stage, the ICF is still in the process of rolling out all of the final documentation relating to MCS Mentor Coaching. The forms will be a part of this, and we’ll update you as soon as they are publicly available. We provide various forms that you might find helpful in your general mentor coaching process in sessions 3 and 5 of the MCS training. As soon as we have all final MCS documentation, we’ll also update session 6 to give you a head start on working with all the new MCS processes and documentation.
I was about to sign up but just realized something I hadn’t noticed before. Is this 10-hour training for the MCS only available to mentor coaches who already did mentor coach training with ReciproCoach? Or can anyone who is on the Credit for Prior Learning pathway do this training for their 10 hours?
Thank you!
Hi Tracy,
The MCS training available on our website now is suitable for anyone wanting to apply for the MCS via the Credit for Prior Learning Pathway. You don’t need to have done the previous version of our training, which the current version is based on. Please note that the current MCS Mentor Coach Training we offer is NOT suitable for the Standard Pathway, as it is asynchronous learning. For the Standard Pathway, as we currently understand it, you need 41 hours of training, half of which must be synchronous learning. Therefore, when you consider the PCC Marker Training is 20 hours of asynchronous training already, then that leaves 21 hours of synchronous training to be done via the Standard Pathway.
Can you please point me to providers of the ICF Evaluation Training for ACC?
Here are the links to all of the ICF Assessor training. Please note that you can only access this training if you have the relevant credential.
* ICF ACC BARS Training
https://learning.coachingfederation.org/cw/course-details?entryId=18158588&itemId=781520&subscribed=false
* Comprehensive ICF PCC Marker Assessor Training
https://learning.coachingfederation.org/cw/course-details?entryId=11500788&itemId=656667&subscribed=true
* ICF PCC Marker Assessor Follow-up Training
https://learning.coachingfederation.org/cw/course-details?entryId=11500516&itemId=656542&subscribed=false
* ICF MCC BARS Training
https://learning.coachingfederation.org/cw/course-details?entryId=18301986&itemId=784113
Even in the Credit For Prior Learning pathway, an MCQ candidate still needs 10hrs of specific mentor coach training. Does Reciprocoach have such an offering, or can provide pointers to such offerings? Many of the existing offerings are for the full 40hrs, or a shortened 24 hrs, but I haven not yet seen anything that caters to the 10hr requirement for Prior Learning.
Yes, we do offer a 10 hour asynochronus MCS training option. Here’s the direct link:
https://reciprocoach.com/en/events/reciprocoach-mcs-mentor-coach-training-2026-early-bird
From your page, I understand that ICF requires evidence of five clients who have obtained credentials within the past three years. However, on the International Coaching Federation website, when reviewing the “prior learning pathway” (New ICF Mentor Coach Specialization), I understand that mentor coaches (MCQ) may choose between two options:
Either providing evidence of five clients who have obtained credentials within the past three years, or
Providing a letter from an ICF-accredited coaching education provider verifying that mentor coaching was delivered to at least five students within the past three years.
If you provide mentor coaching for an ICF-accredited coaching education provider, then you can ask them for a letter of attestation. Most ReciproCoaches have done their training with us, and not with a coaching education provider. In this case, coaches doing private mentor coaching in which the mentee provides your name as the mentor (rather than the coach education provider) need to provide details of five mentees who have achieved their credential in the last three years.
I would love to learn from this training as I prepare to earn this credential. Is it included in my PCC Mentoring PLUS membership?
No, the MCS training is not included in any of our current memberships.
After completing MCS do I still need to apply to Credit prior learning through the ICF? The process is not clear for me I would appreciate some clarification.
If you apply for the MCS via the Standard Pathway, you do not need to apply for the Credit for Prior Learning or provide five mentees. The Standard Pathway seems to be designed for mentor coaches who don’t have any/much experience and cannot provide details five mentees who have achieved their credential, which is required for the Credit for Prior Learning Pathway.
I was scrolling over the offered courses but I am not sure what is the path to complete MCS, what are the exact courses I need to register for. I am a PCC with no mentoring experience.
If you are not an experienced mentor coach, with at least five mentees who have achieved their credential in the last three years, then you will need to take the standard MCS pathway and complete 20 hours of synchronous mentor coach education. At this stage, our training is suitable for the Prior Learning Pathway for experienced mentors. We are waiting for the ICF to release full details of the MCS Education requirements for the standard pathway, and then will very likely provide a synchronous training option suitable for that in the second half of this year, so that you can begin mentoring coaching as an MCS in 2027.
Aah, thanks for this answer. I was wondering the same thing and would be very keen to participate in 20.5 hours or synchronous mentor coach training as part of the requirements for the standard MCS pathway. Wonderful to hear it’ll likely happen in the 2nd part of this year so that I (and other future-MCSs) can hopefully complete it and still apply for the MCS standard pathway before the Jan 27 cutoff. Is there somewhere we can register please so that we know as soon as a new course is announced?
Great idea. I would be interested too
Hi Claudia and Francesca,
You can register your interest in a live training option suitable for the standard MCS pathway here: https://reciprocoach.com/en/events/reciprocoach-mcs-mentor-coach-training-2026-live-training?round_id=4980
Greeting RC Coordinator,
Thank you for your response above in regards to the standard MCS path. You mentioned 20 hours; however, based on the ICF website (see below) one must complete 41 hours for the Standard MCS Path.
Apply using the Standard Path by meeting the following requirements:
Credential: Hold an active PCC, MCC, or renewed ACC in good standing.
Training:
Complete at least 41 hours of mentor coaching education aligned to the ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies, including formative evaluation methods, feedback practices, facilitation of client skill development. At least 50% should be synchronous learning.
Complete the current ICF evaluation training courses (ACC BARS, PCC Markers, MCC BARS) or equivalent for each level of qualification you seek to earn.
Note: ICF evaluation trainings count as asynchronous education hours.
Can you clarify?
Thank you
Hi Catherine,
Our current understanding is that the PCC Assessor Training provided by the ICF may be used to fulfil the asynchronous training component of the 41-hour MCS Standard Pathway requirement, leaving 20.5 hours of synchronous mentor coach education to be completed. If this pathway is of interest to you, we are now accepting expressions of interest for a potential live ReciproCoach MCS Standard Pathway training program here: https://reciprocoach.com/en/events/reciprocoach-mcs-mentor-coach-training-2026-live-training
What is the deadline of MCS training?
You will need an MCS designation if you want to continue mentor coaching in 2027. You will also need to allow time to do the training, and submit your application for the MCS designation. One other factor to consider if you are listed on the Mentor Coach Registry is the expiry date of that listing. If you want to remain on the registry, you may need to get your training done and application submitted before your Mentor Coach Registry listing expires.
I intend to apply for MCC in 2027. Are the 10 hours of mentor coaching required for the MCS equivalent to the mentor coaching requirement for the MCC credential as well?
Here’s an answer based on the two possible interpretations of this question.
If you mean whether the MCS training replaces the mentor coaching requirement for MCC, then no, it does not. The MCS relates to the qualification and requirements for mentor coaches themselves, not the removal of mentor coaching requirements for credential applicants.
If you are asking whether mentor coaching you previously completed for your MCC application will still count, our understanding is yes, provided it was completed before the new MCS requirements take effect in 2027. Our current understanding is that mentor coaching completed before 2027 does not need to have been provided by an MCS-qualified mentor coach. However, mentor coaching completed from 2027 onwards would need to be provided by a mentor coach who holds the MCS.
That said, we would still recommend checking directly with the ICF, as some details are still evolving and further clarifications may yet be released.