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.
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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.
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.