Is a fully-online CPR certificate right for me?

It is right if you need it for personal preparedness, you are a parent or caregiver, you are refreshing between certifications, or your employer explicitly accepts fully-online certificates. It is wrong if you need healthcare BLS, California EMSA childcare certification, or your workplace requires an in-person skills check.

Where do I get a hands-on class if I need one?

Our parent brand A-B-CPR teaches in-person and hybrid classes in Southern California, including AHA BLS for healthcare providers, EMSA childcare courses, and on-site training for teams. Outside Southern California, any AHA Training Center offers verified cards accepted everywhere.

The fit check

Is online certification right for you?

Q: What should I do if I am not sure what my employer requires?

Ask them before buying anything: "Do you accept a fully-online CPR certificate with no in-person skills test, or do you require a specific card such as AHA BLS or EMSA?" One email prevents a wasted purchase.

The wrong certificate wastes your money and, worse, gets discovered at the worst time. This page exists so that does not happen. Sixty seconds, honest answers, and you leave knowing exactly what to buy, whether it is from us or not.

Online-only is a good fit if…

You want CPR or first aid skills for personal or family preparedness
You are a parent, babysitter, nanny, or caregiver (informal, not state-licensed)
You are refreshing skills between in-person certifications
Your employer explicitly accepts a fully-online certificate

Choose an online course

You need a hands-on, verified card instead if…

You are a healthcare provider who needs BLS → BLS for Healthcare Providers
You are a licensed California childcare provider → EMSA Childcare CPR & First Aid
Your OSHA-regulated workplace requires an in-person skills check, or you want to train a whole team → On-Site Training
Your employer or licensing board says online-only is not accepted → In-person classes

Go to a-b-cpr.com

Walk it through: which course do you actually need?

I need it for personal or family preparedness

Online is the right fit. If you mainly want CPR, take the Online CPR course ($19.95). If you also want injury response (most people do), take the CPR & First Aid combo ($29.95).

I need it for work, and my employer accepts online certificates

Match the course to the stated requirement: CPR only → Online CPR; CPR and first aid → the combo; first aid only → Online First Aid; bloodborne pathogens → BBP ($4.95). Buying for several employees? Contact us about group seats.

I need it for work, and I'm not sure what my employer accepts

Ask before you buy, from us or anyone. Send your HR or safety contact one question: "Do you accept a fully-online CPR certificate with no in-person skills test, or do you require a specific card such as AHA BLS or EMSA?" If the answer is online-is-fine, come back and pick the matching course. If they require hands-on, use the next option.

I work in healthcare, licensed childcare, or my job requires a skills check

You need in-person or hybrid training, and an online-only certificate would be rejected. Healthcare BLS → BLS at a-b-cpr.com. California childcare → EMSA course. Team or workplace training → on-site classes. In Southern California and want any in-person class → the class schedule.

My certification expired and I need to renew

If your role accepts online certificates, the Online CPR Renewal course ($19.95) gets you a current two-year certificate in about an hour. If your expiring card is AHA BLS or EMSA, renew hands-on → BLS renewal at a-b-cpr.com.

Why we send some buyers away

Because we are a training company first. A-B-CPR has been an American Heart Association Training Center since 1998, and both of these products, the online certificate and the verified in-person card, are ours. Selling you the wrong one helps nobody. The instant-certificate sites bury this distinction in fine print; we put it on its own page and link to it from every course.