ACSM-CEP · exam facts · checked Oct 27, 2026
ACSM-CEP exam facts, checked against the handbook
Each rule here is taken from the July 2025 candidate handbook, the content outline in force since July 10, 2025, or the pass-rate table on the certifying body’s site, all read on Oct 27, 2026. In short: 115 questions in 3 h 30 min, a scaled 550 of 800 to pass, and a first-time pass rate that fell to 55% under the new outline.
ACSM-CEP practice test Study guide
Updated Oct 27, 2026 · Not affiliated with NSCA, ACSM, BOC, CSCCa, ISSA or USAW.
- 115 (100 scored)questions
- 3 h 30 minseat time
- 550 of 800to pass
- 55% first-time (2025)under the new outline
Clinical items, any time
ACSM-CEP practice questions with every answer explained, in a study app. Not affiliated with NSCA, ACSM, BOC, CSCCa, ISSA or USAW.
Format and scoring
| Fact | Detail | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Questions on the exam | 115 questions: 100 scored and 15 unscored | ACSM-CEP exam content outline, effective July 10, 2025 (PDF) · ACSM Candidate Handbook, July 2025 (PDF) [1][2] | |
| Unscored questions | 15 unscored pretest questions, placed at random | ACSM-CEP exam content outline, effective July 10, 2025 (PDF) [1] | |
| Question types | Multiple choice (A–D) at recall, application and synthesis levels, with clinical vignettes; the outline’s sample item includes a single-lead ECG | ACSM-CEP exam content outline, effective July 10, 2025 (PDF) [1] | |
| Sections | One section | ACSM-CEP exam content outline, effective July 10, 2025 (PDF) [1] | |
| Testing time | 210 minutesAt a test center breaks do not stop the clock; OnVUE allows no breaks. The tutorial is outside exam time. | ACSM-CEP exam content outline, effective July 10, 2025 (PDF) · ACSM Candidate Handbook, July 2025 (PDF) [1][2] | |
| Where you test | Pearson VUE test centers or online with Pearson OnVUE remote proctoring | ACSM Candidate Handbook, July 2025 (PDF) · ACSM: Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist [2][3] | |
| Passing score | Scaled score of 550Forms are equated, so the number of correct answers behind a 550 varies. | ACSM Candidate Handbook, July 2025 (PDF) [2] | |
| Score scale | 200 to 800 | ACSM Candidate Handbook, July 2025 (PDF) [2] | |
| Results | Score and pass/fail on screen right after the exam; a domain breakdown is given to candidates who fail | ACSM Candidate Handbook, July 2025 (PDF) [2] |
How the scaled score works
A 550 is a point on a scale, not a share of items. Each form is placed on the 200–800 scale with Rasch-based equating, so a slightly harder form needs fewer correct answers for the same 550 of 800 (handbook, p. 8).
- On screen: A calculator is built into the exam, and metabolic equations are supplied with the questions that need them; other formulas, such as body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio, are not.
- After a fail: the score report adds a domain-by-domain breakdown; build the retake plan from it (retakes).
Pass rate under the new outline
55% of first-time candidates passed in July–December 2025, down from 65% in 2024. Repeat candidates 49%. 2024: 65% first-time, 47% repeat; 2023: 60% and 42%. The 2025 figure covers only the administrations from July 10 to December 31, 2025, the first under the new outline and GETP 12 (pass rates); the page gives no candidate counts, so treat a half-year rate as a signal, not a settled number.
For comparison, the EP’s first-attempt rate over the same months was 70%. At least one widely ranked prep page still quotes a 69% first-time rate for the CEP; none of the three published years shows it.
Retakes
Wait at least 15 days after a failed attempt; up to 4 attempts in a 12-month period. After 4 attempts in 12 months without a pass you wait 12 months from the 4th attempt. Attempt counts were reset to zero on February 20, 2025. Each retest is $235 as of Oct 2026, and you do not resubmit eligibility documents unless your life-support card has lapsed (handbook, p. 18).
What the July 2025 outline changed
Exam content outline effective July 10, 2025 (2024 job task analysis), aligned with GETP, 12th edition. The job task analysis behind it broadens the work with clinical populations and puts more emphasis on clinical exercise testing, risk management and working with multidisciplinary care teams (exam changes 2025).
Two practical consequences. GETP 11 no longer matches the exam. And the two domains built on live patients under load, exercise testing (18%) and exercise training (24%), carry 42 of the 100 scored items between them.
Keeping the credential
- Credits: 60 continuing education credits (CECs) every 3 years; CPR/AED and first-aid courses count for up to 5 CECs a year.
- Cycle: every 3 years; certified before 2025, the credential expires on December 31; newly certified from 2025, 3 years from the certification date.
- Fee, as of Oct 2026: $70 per certification; late fee $80 within the 6-month grace period, reinstatement $225.
The six CEP domains
- Patient Assessment18% of the exam
- Exercise Testing18% of the exam
- Exercise Prescription22% of the exam
- Exercise Training and Leadership24% of the exam
- Education and Behavior Change13% of the exam
- Legal and Professional Responsibilities5% of the exam
- ACSM-CEP overviewWho the credential is for, the six domains, the route to the exam
- ACSM-CEP practice testA mixed set across all six domains, weighted like the July 2025 outline
- ACSM-CEP costMember and nonmember fees, what the audit refunds, retests, extensions and renewal
- ACSM-CEP requirementsTwo degree pathways, clinical hours, the audit, the 2027 rule
- ACSM-CEP study guideThe two texts, how to split the hours, ECG and drug skills
Sources
- ACSM-CEP exam content outline, effective July 10, 2025 (PDF) acsm.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
- ACSM Candidate Handbook, July 2025 (PDF) acsm.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
- ACSM: Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist acsm.org · checked Oct 27, 2026
Exam-day facts people look up
How many questions are on the ACSM-CEP exam?
115, of which 100 are scored. The 15 unscored ones are pretest items you cannot identify.
What is the passing score?
A scaled 550 of 800. How many items that takes depends on the form you get.
How long is the exam?
3 h 30 min (210 minutes) of seat time; a break does not stop the clock.
When can I sit it again after a fail?
The wait and the yearly limit: 15 days; 4 a year. Each retest costs $235 as of Oct 2026.