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CCAO-F Exam Day

Part of the CCAO-F track. Exam facts come from registry.yaml and exam-facts.md, verified on 2026-10-24 against the official exam guide v1.0, the Partner Academy certification FAQ and the Pearson VUE program page. Policies can change: read the current exam guide and Pearson confirmation email before your appointment.

At a glance

Item Detail
Items and time 60 items in 120 minutes; plan for about 135 minutes of seat time including check-in
Item types Multiple-choice and multiple-response; each item states how many responses to select
Delivery Pearson VUE: OnVUE online proctoring or a Pearson test centre
Result Shown on screen at the end; score report with pass/fail, scaled score and percent-correct by domain; badge via Credly if you pass
Passing standard Scaled score of 720 on a 100–1,000 scale (see registry.yaml)

Before exam day

Identification and name

  • Bring a valid, unexpired, government-issued photo ID. You must be at least 18; age is checked at check-in.
  • The name on your Pearson profile must match your ID exactly. If it does not, email certifications-support@anthropic.com from your registered address with the subject "Name Correction Request", using Latin characters and labelling first and last name. The FAQ says to allow 24–48 business hours; the exam guide says to do it before you schedule. A mismatch discovered at check-in means you are turned away and lose the fee.
  • Address and phone number do not need to match your ID.

Scheduling, rescheduling and cancelling

  • Deadline discrepancy: the v1.0 exam guide says you can cancel or reschedule up to 24 hours before the appointment, while the Partner Academy FAQ and the Pearson VUE page (both checked 2026-10-24) say at least 48 hours. To be safe, treat 48 hours as your deadline. Late changes and no-shows forfeit the fee.
  • After rescheduling, confirm you received a confirmation email or that the new date appears in your Pearson profile.
  • Switching between online and test-centre delivery means cancelling and rebooking.
  • Accommodations must be requested through Pearson VUE and approved before you schedule (the FAQ says at least 10 days before the exam).

If you test online (OnVUE)

  • Run Pearson's system test on the exact computer and network you will use, well before the day.
  • Corporate laptops often block the exam software or the domains it needs. Ask IT to allow Pearson's listed domains, use a personal computer that meets the requirements, or book a test centre.
  • Prepare a quiet, private room with a clear desk: no notes, books, phones, smartwatches, headphones or second monitors.
  • OnVUE is not available to candidates with IDs from some countries (listed in the FAQ); they must use a test centre.

During the exam: rules of conduct

From the official exam guide (paraphrased):

  • Stay in view of the proctor and webcam throughout an online session.
  • Keep your workspace clear of notes, books, phones, extra monitors and other materials.
  • Do not communicate with anyone.
  • Do not capture, copy, photograph or reproduce exam content in any way.
  • The exam is closed book: no notes, documentation, translation tools or AI assistants, including Claude. Browser translation is also prohibited.
  • Prohibited items include phones, smartwatches, headphones, study materials and recording devices. Permitted items, such as scratch material, are set by Pearson VUE.
  • Misconduct can lead to invalidated results, credential revocation and a ban from future exams.

Non-disclosure agreement

Before the exam starts you must accept a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement. All exam content (questions, answer options and scenarios) is Anthropic's confidential property, and you agree not to disclose, reproduce or distribute any of it. If you decline, the session ends with no refund. This repository does not contain, and will not accept contributions of, recalled exam content.

Time management for 60 items in 120 minutes

You have an average of 2 minutes per item. Scenario-based items take longer to read, so bank time on short ones.

Checkpoint Target
30 minutes About item 17
60 minutes About item 33
90 minutes About item 50
105 minutes First pass complete; review flagged items

Tactics:

  • First pass: answer everything you can in under two minutes. If an item takes longer, choose your best current answer, flag it (if the exam interface allows flagging), and move on. Never leave an item blank.
  • Second pass: revisit flagged items with fresh eyes.
  • Do not change answers without a reason. Change only when you spot a misread or recall a specific fact.

Reading scenario items

  1. Read the last sentence first to learn what is being asked: best next action, most appropriate feature, first step, most likely cause.
  2. Underline the constraints mentally: audience, data sensitivity, stakes, volume, time pressure, policy.
  3. Eliminate options that break a principle: sharing restricted data without minimisation, skipping verification on high-stakes output, relying on self-reported confidence, removing human review, over-engineering a simple task.
  4. Prefer proportionate answers. The best option usually solves the problem and respects policy, neither ignoring the risk nor abandoning the task when a safe route exists.
  5. Watch qualifiers such as "first", "most", "best" and "least".

Multiple-response tips

  • The item tells you how many to select. Select exactly that number.
  • Treat each option as a separate true/false judgement against the scenario, then pick the required number of "trues".
  • If you find more true options than required, look for the one that is true in general but does not fit this scenario's constraints.
  • How multiple-response items are scored (for example, whether partial credit exists) is not published. Assume you need every selection right.

The day itself

  • Sleep and eat normally; avoid cramming new material that morning. Skim revision-notes.md instead.
  • Online: log in early for check-in (photos of ID and workspace). Test centre: arrive early with your ID.
  • Close every other application before an online exam.
  • If a technical problem occurs, contact the proctor or Pearson support through the official channel immediately; do not try to fix it by leaving the camera's view.

After the exam

  • Pass: accept the Credly badge email, and note your renewal date (credential valid 12 months; on-time renewal is a free, non-proctored assessment on the Partner Academy).
  • Not this time: use the per-domain percentages to focus your study. Retakes follow waiting periods of 14, 30 and 90 days after the first, second and third failed attempts, with at most four attempts in a rolling 12 months; each attempt costs the full fee (see registry.yaml).
  • Appeals go to Pearson VUE support within 14 days of the decision or exam date. Individual item content and the standard-setting outcome cannot be appealed.
  • Remember the NDA: do not share or discuss specific questions, including in study groups or online forums.