Everything You Need to Know About the CFE Exam

The exam will test your knowledge in the four major areas of fraud examination — Financial Transactions and Fraud Schemes, Law, Investigation, and Fraud Prevention and Deterrence. These four areas correspond to the four sections of the Fraud Examiners Manual, which is the source of knowledge for all subject matter that appears on the CFE Exam.

Financial Transactions and Fraud Schemes

This section tests your comprehension of the types of fraudulent financial transactions incurred in accounting records. In this section of the exam, you will be required to demonstrate knowledge of the following concepts:

• Basic accounting and auditing theory
• Fraud schemes
• Internal controls to deter fraud
• Other auditing and accounting matters

Law

This section focuses on the statutes and common law principles involved in prosecuting fraudsters. It also ensures your familiarity with the many legal ramifications of conducting fraud examinations, including: 

• Criminal and civil law
• Rules of evidence
• Rights of the accused and accuser
• Expert witness matters

Investigation

This section tests your understanding of the basic tools and techniques necessary to gather information and evidence when conducting a fraud examination and identifying perpetrators. It includes questions about:

• Interviewing
• Taking statements
• Obtaining information from public records
• Tracing illicit transactions
• Evaluating deception
• Report writing

Fraud Prevention and Deterrence

This section examines your understanding of why people commit fraud and the ways to prevent it. Topics covered in this section include: 

• Crime causation
• White-collar crime
• Occupational fraud
• Fraud prevention
• Fraud risk assessment
• The ACFE Code of Professional Ethics 

View the CFE Exam Content Outline

The CFE Exam is a closed-book and closed notes exam comprised of four sections, each containing 100 multiple choice questions. Exam takers have a two-hour time limit on each section. Each exam is generated from a master database; no two exams are exactly alike.

View the CFE Exam technical details

• Your CFE Exam will correspond with the CFE Exam Prep Course year you are using to study. For example, if you're studying with the 2022 CFE Exam Prep Course, you will take the 2022 CFE Exam.
• The 2022 Exam is valid through December 31, 2023. Exams and Prep Courses purchased after December 2022 are updated in real time and are not specific to any year.
• To pass, you must accurately answer at least 75% of the questions in each section of the CFE Exam. You must pass each section of the exam within three attempts.

Upon receiving approval, you can begin working your way through the exam process. Follow these steps if you are taking the exam at a test center or online. 

Step 1: Schedule your exam appointments through Prometric.

Upon receiving approval from the ACFE, you must schedule your exam appointments directly through Prometric. You will have 60 days to complete all four sections of the exam. We strongly recommend you schedule your exams at least 30 days ahead of time to secure the appointments of your choice.

• Login to your Certification Portal by clicking on your approved exam application.
• Click on the green “Activate Eligibility” button. Make note of your eligibility number. It will take you to the Prometric website.
• Select the remote proctoring or test center scheduling link.
• Enter your Prometric eligibility number (your ACFE member number) and the first four characters of your last name when prompted.
• Schedule your first exam appointment.
• Return to the Prometric website and repeat steps 3–5 for the other three exam sections.

Please make note of the reschedule/cancellation policy below to ensure you are not subject to any fees if you need to make changes to your appointments.

Step 2: Take the CFE Exam and receive your results.

Once you start a section of the exam, you must complete it in one sitting. You are not required to complete all four sections in one sitting. In fact, we recommend only taking a section or two at a time.  

After you complete a section and are satisfied with all your answers, select “End Exam.” Your exam will automatically submit. Within 24 hours of completing each exam section, you will receive an email from Prometric with your score report. 

Rescheduling or Cancelling Your Exam Appointments

The CFE Exam application fee includes one remote proctoring attempt for each exam section. If you choose to take your exams at a testing center, you will be charged an additional $10 fee for each exam section. The same is true for retakes — the cost of a remote proctored appointment is covered by the ACFE’s retake fee, but there will be an additional $10 charge if a testing center is used.

If you need to make a change to your scheduled exam appointment, you may incur additional fees imposed by Prometric. Fees are based on the timing of an appointment change: 

• 30+ days before your scheduled appointment: There is no charge for changing or cancelling an exam appointment 30 days or more before a scheduled appointment. 
• 3-29 days before your scheduled appointment: Changes made between 3 and 29 days are subject to a $35 fee, paid directly to Prometric at the time of the appointment change. 
• Less than three days before your scheduled appointment: You may not reschedule an exam less than three days prior to your appointment. If you fail to show up for an exam or cancel within three days of a scheduled appointment, you will be subject to a $50 rescheduling fee (paid directly to the ACFE) and forfeiture of an exam attempt. 

 
View CFE Exam FAQs