PROFESSIONALISM THROUGH CERTIFICATION
The Institute for RFID Education, Research and Certification
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
General Questions
Application Requirements Questions
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Subject-Matter Expert Questions
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What qualifications do i need to have to be a subject-matter expert?
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Who owns the intellectual property created by subject-matter experts?
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Why do subject-matter experts need to sign a non-disclosure agreement?
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Can RFID professionals outside of the USA become subject-matter experts?
General Questions
What is the RFID Professional Institute?
The Institute is an autonomous, for-profit educational organization, dedicated to advancing the state-of-the-art in effective and appropriate application of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in industry, government, and non-commercial organizations through technology-neutral, vendor-neutral, and independent RFID education and certifications.
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It was originally formed as a not-for-profit organization called the International RFID Institute. It was renamed in 2014 to better reflect the Institute's emphasis on improving professionalism within the global RFID industry. Over time, the founding members had personal commitments that led to their inability to devote further time to the Institute, and in 2022, they voted to disband the organization and transfer its assets—that is, the curriculum for the exams, as well as the question banks—to RFID Strategies LLC, a consulting firm owned and run by Mark Roberti, a founding member.
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Since then, Roberti (who was the founder of RFID Journal and ran it for 20 years) has worked to revive and rebuild the institute. Its mission remains the same as at its founding—to promote the “public good” that comes from having industry and professionals achieve high levels of professionalism through the education and the development of technology- and vendor-neutral certification exams.
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Why was the Institute formed?
A group of individuals concerned about the professionalism of RFID implementors and the success of RFID deployments came together in April 2012 to launch an effort to replace RFID+ Certification, which was retired by CompTIA in 2011. All individuals participating in the creation of the Institute donated their time and expertise for the betterment of the RFID industry.
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Who created the Institute?
The RFID Professioanl Institute was founded by several leaders in the RFID industry who believed the industry needed an organization focused on certification exams. The goal was to enable companies to hire those who had demonstrated their expertise in RFID by passing a certification exam. While the founders are no longer involved in the Institute, we continue to recognize their contribution. You can view the list of founders here.
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What technologies are covered by the RFID Professional Institute’s certification program?
The Institute takes a broad view of the term “radio frequency identification” because it is essential that implementers understand all the tools at their disposal. The exams cover all types of passive and active RFID. They also cover non-RFID technologies that can also identify and track unique items. Learn more about the scope of our certifications.
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What certificates does the Institute offer?
The RFID Professional Institute currently has two certificates: The Associate Certificate, introduced in 2014, and the Professional Certificate, introduced in 2019.
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Our goal is to introduce advanced certificates in the future. View the full Certification Program developed by the founders.
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Why did the Institute change from a not-for-profit to a for-profit organization?
After the board voted to shut down the Institute in 2022 and transfer the assets to Mark Roberti, Roberti invested his own money to completely rebuild the Institute's website, update the exams, create study guides and more. He hopes to recoup the money invested. His goal is build the Institute into a self-sustaining organization, to hire professional staff and, at that point, file for not-for-profit status.
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What happens to the Institute's profits?
The Institute is currently operating at a loss. When it become profitable, profits will be reinvested to further develop the organization. The goal is to generate enough income to hire full-time professionals to run the Institute and return it to not-for-profit status.
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RFID Application Requirements Template Questions
What is an RFID appli-cation requirements document?
An RFID application requirements document describes in detail the business purpose of the RFID project, the solution requirements—characteristics, features, and functions of the RFID system that will fulfill the business purpose—the needs of the stakeholders, the data formats, and data flow and much more. Putting together these requirements takes time and effort, but the more complete the document, the more accurate the cost estimate will be and the more likely the project is to succeed. Our template will reduce the amount of time drafting and redrafting the requirements by providing a list of topics to include.
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Why did the Institute create an RFID applica-tion requirements template?
Our mission is not just to run certification exams. It is also to promote professionalism in the industry through education. Our hope in creating the RFID application requirements template is to help end users of RFID systems, as well as implementors, prepare for successful deployments. The template includes the issues that will need to be addressed by most RFID projects, and it therefore gives companies a means of preparing to the fullest extent possible.
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How did the Institute create the RFID applica-tion requirements template?
We took the RFID application requirements documents used in several successful RFID projects and harmonized them, so the final product includes all the issues those templates addressed. We then shared the document with experts to get further input, and we interviewed RFID professionals with decades of experience in the industry to enable us to create sample inputs to help guide the user as to what information they need to include in the document.
Is the RFID application requirements template for systems integrators or end user?
The template was created primarily to help companies that want to manage their own RFID deployment. But the template can be used by end users working with systems integrators because it will help the end-user company ensure the system integrator is addressing all the issues that will likely need to be addressed. Experienced systems integrators have their own application requirements template. But automatic data capture companies just getting into RFID integration would certainly benefit from using the template.
How much does the RFID application require-ments template cost?
The RFID Application Requirements template costs $49. However, our plan is to include it with the study guide for the RFID Professional Certificate, which will be available by the end of 2024.
Subject-Matter Expert Questions
What is a subject-matter expert?
A subject-matter expert (SME) is someone who has either academic or other expertise in an area, usually with real-world experience. Subject-matter experts are recruited to help develop the Institute's programs (e.g. education and certification materials). Learn more.
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What qualifications do I need to be a subject-matter expert?
Essentially, you need 10 years' experience in business or academia with a focus on RFID or automatic data capture technologies in general. See our Qualification Guidelines for a more complete list. If you meet the qualifications and would like to contribute your expertise, please apply here.
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How can I become a subject-matter expert?
If you would like to become a SME, please see our SMEs section for more information, including our Qualification Guidelines. If you meet the guidelines and would like to contribute your expertise, please apply here.
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What exactly do subject-matter experts do?
Subject-matter experts can suggest topics to cover on our exams and submit specific questions to be included on the exams. But the main tasks are to take draft exams and point out any questions that might be misleading or worded poorly, so these can be edited or removed. We also need SMEs to review our educational materials for clarity and factual accuracy.​
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Do subject-matter experts get paid?
Subject-matter experts work on a volunteer basis. We ask for no more than a few hours of your time each month, and your contribution will help promote professionalism in the RFID industry through standardized certification exams. We believe this will help grow the industry and benefit everyone.​
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What are the benefits of becoming a subject-matter expert?
The biggest benefits of becoming a subject-matter expert are free vouchers to take the exams and the prestige that comes with being seen as an established, recognized RFID subject-matter expert. View the full list of benefits.​
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Who owns the intellectual property contributed by subject-matter experts?
The intellectual property contributed by the subject-matter experts consists mainly of questions for the exams and educational materials. These must remain the property of the Institute for the Institute to survive and deliver a consistent product. The agreement all SMEs sign includes a clause stating that all IP contributed belongs to the Institute.
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Why do subject-matter experts need to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA)?
The integrity of our certifications relies on a fair and objective assessment of the knowledge of certificate candidates. Therefore, it is essential that specific questions not be revealed to anyone who might want to take the exam.
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Can RFID profession-als outside the USA become subject-matter experts?
Yes. In fact, one of our goals is to find subject-matter experts from different countries and regions. This will enable us to cover topics that might be more relevant in specific regions. It also helps ensure the fairness of the exam. Experts from the Argentina, Austria, Canada, India, Singapore, the United States, and elsewhere helped develop the current exams.
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Do you offer memberships?
We currently do not have a membership program. Our goal, as we build out the organization and its resources, is to be able to offer individual and corporate membership.
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Do you offer training?
The Institute does not currently offer training. Our goal is to produce study guides and eventually video courses that candidates can access on demand. RFID4U offers in-person certification training, and the Institute can arrange training for groups of 10 or more. For more information, send email to contactus@rfidpros.org.
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