Why certification matters every year
Medicare Advantage carriers require agents to recertify every year — certification is not a one-time event. Your annual certification is what allows you to:
Sell new business for that carrier in the upcoming plan year, and
Continue receiving commissions on your renewal business — most carriers tie renewal commission payments to maintaining current certification, so letting a certification lapse can cost you income on business you already wrote.
Each carrier sets its own certification requirements and deadlines, so treat certification as a per-carrier annual task, completed before the Annual Enrollment Period begins.
The general pattern
For most Medicare Advantage carriers, annual certification involves:
Complete AHIP certification for the upcoming plan year. Most carriers require AHIP as the foundation and accept your AHIP score transmitted directly from the AHIP site. (Messer offers discounted AHIP — see the Discounted AHIP page in the Agent Center — and some Messer program members receive AHIP free or discounted.)
Complete each carrier's own certification — product training and annual compliance modules on the carrier's certification portal, on top of AHIP.
Confirm your Ready to Sell status once certifications process — certification is a prerequisite for RTS, not the same thing. Check your RTS Report in MyMFG (see Ready to Sell (RTS): What It Means and How to Check Your Status) to confirm each carrier shows you ready before selling.
Carrier certifications for the upcoming plan year typically open in the summer. Complete them early — certification backlogs near AEP can delay your Ready to Sell status into the selling season.
Where to find each carrier's certification instructions
Messer collects every carrier's certification instructions in one place in the MFG Agent Center:
Go to mfgagentcenter.com/login and log in with your assigned username and password.
Click Medicare at the top of the page.
Choose Medicare Certifications by Carrier.
Each carrier listed there links to its certification instructions for the current cycle. The page is updated as carriers open their certifications, so check it at the start of each certification season. If you have trouble logging in to the Agent Center, contact Producer Support.
Quick reference
Situation | What to do |
New plan-year certifications opening | Complete AHIP first, then each carrier's certification via the Agent Center page |
Unsure which carriers you must recertify with | Recertify with every carrier you have active business or plan to sell for |
Certification complete but can't enroll | Check your RTS Report in MyMFG — certification feeds RTS, but RTS is the gate |
Worried about renewal commissions | Keep every certification current — lapses can interrupt renewal payments under carrier rules |
Trouble accessing the Agent Center | Contact Producer Support |