Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine the motivations and benefits for pursuing or not pursuing the PHR and SPHR. Design/methodology/approach: Using a sample of 1,862 participants, the study used multinomial logistic and hierarchical linear regression to test six hypotheses. Findings: Participants pursuing SPHR were more likely to report intrinsic motivations pursuing certification, while PHR respondents were more likely to report extrinsic reasons. Other-driven reasons were not significant predictors. Respondents not pursuing certification saw a lack of perceived benefits. Non-pursuers of SPHR were concerned about time constraints. The pursuing and non-pursuing groups did exhibit differences in their demographic and commitment profiles. Research limitations/implications: The sample is limited to only those professionals active in their local SHRM chapters. The data were cross-sectional. Future research needs to address the validity of Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) certification and the lack of empirical research on the connection between certification and objective measures of job performance. Practical implications: Results regarding perceived certification benefits suggest that organizations could run into retention problems if HR professionals continue to view marketability as the top benefit and view pay and promotion as unaffected by certification. The profiles of pursuers and non-pursuers suggest that HRCI should target younger, less educated professionals when promoting the PHR and highlight increased marketability as the key benefit. Furthermore, HRCI should target those with high levels of affective commitment when promoting the SPHR. Originality/value: The paper provides some of the first empirical evidence for why professionals pursue or do not pursue PHR and SPHR certification. (Contains 11 tables and 1 note.)