A qualification scheme is a roadmap for achieving a Professional Certification. It typically consists of a set of intermediate Credentials which build and depend upon each other which in total demonstrate that the skills and knowledge embedded in the Certification have been achieved. The ITIL V3 qualification scheme is very different from the V2 in that it defines different subject matter ladders to climb, has more levels to the scheme, provides guidance on how to achieve each type and level of Certification, delineates the prerequisites for each level and lays out the roles and responsibilities of the different organizations participating in the scheme.

• The level of Certification is based on credits that you receive for having passed examinations for specific Credentials. To progress through each level of Certification requires a minimum number of accumulated points. As in the ITIL V2 Scheme the first level of the V3 Certification is the Foundation level.
• The second level of the Certification, Intermediate, which used to be called the "Practitioner" level, is now composed of two separate subject tracks - the Lifecycle Modules (3 credits each) and the Capability Modules (4 credits each).
  The third level of certification, called "ITIL Expert", is reached by receiving credits from either the Lifecycle Modules or the Capability Modules, followed by a Credential which assesses the complete understanding of the subject matter track. A total of 22 credits is needed in order become ITIL Expert.
• A fourth level of certification, call "ITIL Master", has been planned, but is not yet available.
• The examinations themselves have been created within an academic framework that clearly structures the types and the levels of information required for each examination. Within this new framework, all examinations are multiple choice examinations.
• Intermediate Lifecycle Stream - 5 individual credentials built around the five core OGC books: Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement
• Intermediate Capability Stream - 4 individual credentials loosely based on the current V2 offerings but broader in scope in line with the updated V3 content.
• The owner of ITIL - the British Office of Government Commerce - has named the company APM Group to be the official ITIL Accreditor. In addition to creating the syllabus documents and maintaining the examination database, the APM Group has also licensed other organizations including APMG UK, EXIN and ISEB as Examination Institutes (http://www.itil-officialsite.com/ExaminationInstitutes/ExamInstitutes.asp).

There is little difference. The examination questions used, the scoring and the certificates delivered are equivalent. There is a database of exam questions that all Examination Institutes use to create their examinations.

APM Group is committed to providing examinations in a wide array of languages, including English, German, French and Italian. Normally, the English version is available first, with the other languages following within a few months. For the availability of an exam in a given language, consult the Examination Institutes (see below).

Existing ITIL certifications continue to be valid. However, as IT Service Providers make the move from ITIL V2 to ITIL V3, the older certifications will become of lesser interest. The ITIL 3 scheme includes several "Bridge" examinations that allow existing holders of ITIL certificates to upgrade their certifications to ITIL V3 via a "fast-track". They may take shorter and less expensive bridge examinations that assume knowledge of ITIL V2, and concentrate on the differences between ITIL V2 and ITIL V3. An existing ITIL Foundation Certificate is worth 1.5 credits, a Practitioner Certificates are worth 2 (singles) or 3.5 (clusters) credits, and a Manager's Certificate is worth 17 credits. By passing a bridge examination (Foundation Bridge and Manager Bridge), one can receive sufficient points to attain the corresponding ITIL V3 level.

As part of the Qualification Scheme, the APM Group and its Examination Institutes authorize companies as Training Organizations (ATOs), and individuals as trainers (ATs). There are numerous ATOs which can be found by consulting the Examination Institutes web sites (see below).
As in the past, certification at levels higher than Foundation requires participation in a course offered by an ATO. Certification at the Foundation level does not require this participation, although it is recommended.

All examinations are delivered under the responsibility of an Examination Institutes (EI). The EI decides whether to deliver examinations using the Internet, or deliver paper-based examinations. They are completely equivalent. For paper-based examinations it may take 2-3 weeks to learn the results.