Questions, answered plainly.

Tuition is $450, paid once. It covers your application, your background check, all 8 modules, 3 final exam attempts, and your certificate after you pass.

Yes. The background check is part of the $450. You don’t pay anything extra for it.

Our graduates work one-on-one with people. Before we certify anyone, we check criminal history and the sex offender registry. You give written consent first, and if something comes up, we show you the report and give you time to respond before we decide.

You have 90 days from the day your modules open, after your background check clears, to finish the course and pass the exam. Not done in time? Extend for another 90 days for $150.

It’s up to you. There are no waiting periods between modules. A good rhythm is one module a week, about 8 weeks in all.

No. The program is self-paced and online. You work through the modules on your own schedule.

100 questions, 120 minutes, closed book, covering all eight modules. You need 80% to pass, with 24 hours between attempts. 3 attempts are included. More attempts are $75 each, with 5 attempts in total.

Yes. Before the timer starts, you take a photo of your ID and a quick selfie. It takes a few minutes. If a disability makes the selfie hard, email us before your exam and we’ll set up another way.

Pass the final exam and you earn Certified Professional Coach, Lantern Academy of Coaching. Each certificate has a credential ID that anyone can check on our verify page.

No. No US state licenses life coaches, and this certificate is not a license. Coaching is not therapy, counseling or mental health treatment.

If you cancel before your background check starts, we refund the full $450. If you aren’t accepted, we refund your $450 minus what the background check actually cost. Once your modules open, there are no refunds.

Your rate, plus a flat $5 booking fee added on top. You keep your full rate. Free intro calls have no fee.

If you want. Certified graduates can publish a profile in our graduate directory, set their own rate, and take bookings. The directory is a place to be found. It doesn’t promise clients or income.

Yes. It was built by a licensed counselor and draws on three approaches with a long history in counseling: person-centered work, motivational interviewing, and brief directive work. Each one is adapted for coaching. You work on goals and next steps, with no diagnosis and no treatment.

It comes from Carl Rogers’ person-centered approach in counseling, adapted for coaching. The client is the expert on their own life. You learn to speak plainly and hold people accountable without shame, so clients tell you the truth and keep moving. Module 2 covers it.

Motivational interviewing was developed in counseling by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick. In Module 4 you learn a version made for coaching: helping clients hear their own reasons to change, instead of arguing for change yourself. Reasons a client says out loud are the ones they act on.

It comes from brief, structured counseling work. You keep the conversation organized around a goal and a next step, and the client makes every decision. Each session ends with a clear action the client owns. Module 3 covers it.

No. They are adapted for coaching only. Coaches trained here don’t diagnose or treat any condition, and they refer to a licensed professional when a client needs more than coaching.