- The One-Page Snapshot
- Format, Timing and Permitted Items
- Eligibility and Fee Mechanics
- How Scoring Actually Works
- Domain-by-Domain Cheat Sheet
- The Memo and Communication
- Reference-Version Caveats
- Attempts, Results and Historical Numbers
- Renewal Quick Reference
- Sequencing Your Review by Domain
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The exam has 119 multiple-choice and compound-scenario questions plus one written memo, all within five hours.
- Seven domain scores are averaged, and you need an overall average of at least 70% to pass.
- Analysis and Management Reports is the biggest blueprint area at 35%, with 41 of the published questions.
- Communication is a scored domain assessed only through the memo, with no separate blueprint percentage.
The One-Page Snapshot
This is the quick-reference version of everything an Earned Value Professional (EVP) candidate should have memorized before test day. The credential is issued by AACE International, Inc., through the AACE International Certification Institute, and it is delivered through Kryterion using Webassessor, either at a test center or online-proctored. If you want the conceptual background first, start with What Is EVP Certification? and come back here when you are ready to consolidate.
| Item | Must-Know Fact |
|---|---|
| Issuer | AACE International Certification Institute |
| Delivery | Kryterion / Webassessor; test center or online proctored |
| Exam content | 119 multiple-choice and compound-scenario questions plus one written memo (120 assessed items) |
| Time allowed | Five hours for the complete examination |
| Passing standard | Overall average of at least 70% across seven domain scores |
| Fee | USD 525 member / USD 690 nonmember; resit USD 260 |
| Clearance window | Six months, up to three attempts |
| Certification validity | Three years |
Format, Timing and Permitted Items
What the Questions Look Like
The objective portion mixes standard multiple-choice questions with compound scenarios, where a single situation drives more than one question or requires several steps of reasoning. Expect to read a project setup, interpret data, and then apply earned value logic rather than recall a definition. For a deeper look at how demanding this style is, see How Hard Is the EVP Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Testing Rules to Memorize
- Closed book. No reference materials during the exam.
- Calculator: a stand-alone, battery-operated calculator is permitted. It is not supplied, so bring your own.
- Online proctoring: candidates use Kryterion's Respondus environment and a biometric profile.
- Online setup allowances: AACE permits a built-in camera, blank scratch paper and a pen or pencil.
- Breaks: approved short breaks do not stop the timer, so plan your pacing across the full five hours.
Eligibility and Fee Mechanics
Who Qualifies
Eligibility requires one of two experience paths: eight years of industry-related experience, or four years of industry-related experience plus a related four-year college degree. You also need employer verification, degree evidence where applicable, and adherence to AACE's Canons of Ethics. The full walkthrough is in EVP Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
What You Pay
| Fee Type | Member | Nonmember |
|---|---|---|
| Application and exam (includes eligibility review and computer-based testing) | USD 525 | USD 690 |
| Resit | USD 260 | USD 260 |
- Fees are nonrefundable.
- AACE membership is optional.
- Preparatory courses and study-material purchases are optional.
For the full cost picture, including renewal, see EVP Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
How Scoring Actually Works
This is the section candidates most often misread, so slow down here. The handbook (blueprint on pp. 10-11, scoring on p. 42) describes seven scored domains. Six come from the knowledge-question blueprint, and the seventh, Communication, is assessed through the memo.
- Your performance is scored domain by domain, producing seven domain scores.
- Those seven domain scores are averaged.
- An overall average of at least 70% is required to pass.
Key Takeaway
The six published percentages (12%, 13%, 13%, 11%, 35%, 16%) describe the knowledge-question blueprint, not final-score allocations. Because the seven domain scores are averaged, a weak result in a small domain can hurt your overall average more than the blueprint percentages suggest. Do not write off Communication or Account Considerations because they look small.
The handbook resolves an inconsistency on the live webpage, which mentions four domains alongside its own seven-domain example. The seven-domain structure is the one to study. For the exact cutoff logic, read EVP Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Domain-by-Domain Cheat Sheet
Published question counts for Domains 1-6 are 15, 16, 15, 13, 41 and 19. Keep the printed weights as the official reference rather than recalculating percentages from the counts. The table below shows both side by side.
| Domain | Blueprint Weight | Published Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Organizing | 12% | 15 |
| 2. Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties | 13% | 16 |
| 3. Perform Budgeting Duties | 13% | 15 |
| 4. Account Considerations | 11% | 13 |
| 5. Analysis and Management Reports | 35% | 41 |
| 6. Revisions and Data Maintenance | 16% | 19 |
| 7. Communication | No separate percentage published | Assessed through the memo |
Domain 1: Organizing (12%)
Think of this as the structural foundation of an earned value system: how the work and the responsibility for it are defined and arranged before any measurement begins.
- How scope is broken down and tied to ownership
- How the management structure supports performance measurement
- How the organizing choices made early flow into later planning and reporting
Domain 2: Perform Planning and Scheduling Duties (13%)
This domain tests whether you can connect scope to time. Expect scenarios where schedule logic and the performance baseline must agree.
- Translating planned work into a schedule that supports measurement
- Understanding how schedule information feeds the time-phased plan
- Recognizing when scheduling decisions affect reported performance
Domain 3: Perform Budgeting Duties (13%)
Budget is the value side of earned value. Candidates must show they can build, allocate and time-phase budget in a way that makes performance measurable.
- Establishing and distributing budget against planned work
- Time-phasing budget to create the planned-value profile
- Keeping budget traceable to the work it supports
Domain 4: Account Considerations (11%)
The smallest blueprint area, but still one-seventh of your averaged score once you count it as a domain result. Treat it as an inexpensive place to bank points.
- How cost accounting information relates to performance measurement
- Recording and reconciling actual costs against the plan
- Understanding how accounting practices influence what the data can tell you
Domain 5: Analysis and Management Reports (35%)
The heavyweight: 35% of the blueprint and 41 questions. This is where compound scenarios concentrate, because analysis requires you to compute, interpret and then recommend.
- Calculating and interpreting variances and performance indices
- Forecasting completion cost and schedule outcomes from current performance
- Drawing conclusions for management and recognizing what a report should highlight
- Spotting inconsistencies in data presented in a scenario
Domain 6: Revisions and Data Maintenance (16%)
Baselines do not stay frozen forever. This domain covers how change is controlled and how the integrity of the data is preserved as it happens.
- Handling baseline changes in a controlled, traceable way
- Maintaining data so that past and present performance remain comparable
- Understanding the consequences of revisions on reported results
For the complete explanation of each area, including how the domains interlock, see EVP Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 7 Content Areas.
The Memo and Communication
The written memo is the one assessed item that is not multiple choice, and it is the only way Communication is scored. Because the seven domain scores are averaged, the memo carries the weight of an entire domain, which is out of proportion to its single question slot.
- Preparation source: AACE Certification Board, Memo Writing Guidance (March 7, 2023). Read it before you write any practice memos.
- Grading rhythm: memos are graded in monthly cycles, normally beginning around the 15th.
- Turnaround: results arrive approximately two to three weeks after grading begins, so your final result is not immediate.
- Reporting: results are reported only as pass/fail.
Reference-Version Caveats
Two version details trip up candidates who study from mixed sources:
- EIA-748 edition: the current EVP webpage recommends EIA-748-E, while handbook p. 8 still names EIA-748-D. Be aware of both references and note which your study materials use, since the sources do not fully agree.
- Study guide edition: the third-edition EVP study guide is preparation material. It is not the version date of the current exam blueprint, so do not treat its publication date as the blueprint date.
The official exam-objective source is the AACE International Certification Institute's Earned Value Professional (EVP) Certification Exam Handbook, updated June 22, 2026. When any study resource conflicts with the handbook, the handbook wins. Our EVP Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt explains how to organize your materials around it.
Attempts, Results and Historical Numbers
The Attempt Structure
Clearance provides six months for up to three attempts, including two reduced-fee resits at USD 260 each. After that period, a new full-fee registration is required. This makes timing a real strategic factor, and the scheduling mechanics are covered in EVP Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
What the Historical Data Shows
AACE's 2025 Certification Progress Report (as of December 31, 2025) labels 32 EVP examinations taken and 23 passed. That works out to a calculated 71.875%, or about 71.9%, pass proportion for those reported 2025 examinations. The same report records 23 certifications awarded and 437 active EVP certificants.
Renewal Quick Reference
Certification is valid for three years. You can renew by accumulating CEUs or by passing a recertification examination.
| Renewal Route | Requirement | Member | Nonmember |
|---|---|---|---|
| By activity (CEUs) | 12 CEUs, including at least one full CEU in each of at least two activity categories | USD 295 | USD 385 |
| By examination | Passed recertification exam; one attempt, no resit | USD 525 | USD 690 |
The activity fees above apply to renewal of the first or only certification. The sources are the AACE Recertification Handbook (revised February 2026, pp. 10 and 20) and AACE's pages on recertification by CEUs and by examination. Because the examination route allows one attempt and no resit, most certificants will find the CEU route lower risk. If you are weighing the long-term value of keeping the credential current, read Is the EVP Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and EVP Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis.
Sequencing Your Review by Domain
Rather than reviewing domains in blueprint order, sequence them by dependency and payoff. The logic below is specific to how the EVP domains build on one another.
Foundations: Domains 1-3
- Organizing, planning and scheduling, and budgeting create the data that every later analysis depends on
- Make sure you can explain how scope, schedule and budget tie together before touching variance work
Account Considerations and Revisions: Domains 4 and 6
- Quick wins in Domain 4, then the change-control logic of Domain 6
- These explain why reported data looks the way it does
Analysis and Management Reports: Domain 5
- Give the 35% domain the most time, with repeated compound-scenario practice
- Work calculations by hand with your permitted calculator so the keystrokes are automatic
Memo and full-length simulation
- Write timed memos against the Memo Writing Guidance
- Run a five-hour mock covering both objective questions and a memo
When you are ready to test yourself against realistic questions, use the EVP practice tests to find weak domains before the real exam does. You can also pair them with structured EVP training if you prefer guided instruction.
Frequently Asked Questions
The exam has 119 multiple-choice and compound-scenario questions plus one written memo. The 120 assessed items include the memo, so it is not 120 multiple-choice questions. You have five hours for the complete examination.
The seven domain scores are averaged, and an overall average of at least 70% is required. Results are reported only as pass/fail, so you will not receive a numeric score to review.
Analysis and Management Reports is the largest blueprint area at 35%, with 41 questions. That said, Communication (the memo) counts as its own domain in the averaged score, so neglecting it is risky despite having no published blueprint percentage.
Yes. A stand-alone, battery-operated calculator is permitted, but it is not supplied. The exam is otherwise closed book. Check the Examination Delivery, Policies and Procedures page for the current rules on permitted items.
Clearance provides six months for up to three attempts, including two reduced-fee resits at USD 260 each. After that period, you must register again at the full fee. Fees are nonrefundable, so confirm your readiness before scheduling each attempt.
If you are still deciding whether this credential fits your career, the introductory pieces What Is EVP? and EVP Jobs are good places to start, and the main practice test site is the fastest way to turn this cheat sheet into exam-ready recall.