Certified Fraud Examiner credential artwork

Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) Exam Guide

Validates knowledge of fraud schemes, financial transactions, investigation techniques, relevant law and fraud prevention and deterrence.

The CFE exam tests whether you can recognize fraud schemes, investigate them within the law and design controls that prevent them. Study one section at a time from the Fraud Examiners Manual and the official review questions, then sit that section while it is fresh.

Understand the exam

Syllabus

Each section's weight is its share of the 310 questions, and topic percentages are shares of the section.

Section 1Fraud schemes and financial crimes39%
  1. 1Accounting concepts (6%)
  2. 2Financial statement fraud (4%)
  3. 3Asset misappropriation: Cash receipts (5%)
  4. 4Asset misappropriation: Fraudulent disbursements (13%)
  5. 5Asset misappropriation: Inventory and other assets (2%)
  6. 6Corruption (6%)
  7. 7Theft of data and intellectual property (4%)
  8. 8Identity theft (4%)
  9. 9Financial institution fraud (4%)
  10. 10Money laundering (7%)
  11. 11Securities fraud (4%)
  12. 12Payment fraud (6%)
  13. 13Insurance fraud (4%)
  14. 14Health care fraud (3%)
  15. 15Consumer fraud and scams (4%)
  16. 16Bankruptcy fraud (4%)
  17. 17Tax fraud (3%)
  18. 18Cyberfraud (6%)
  19. 19Government and public sector fraud (3%)
  20. 20Procurement fraud (8%)

Example scenario: A vendor added last quarter has no phone number, shares an address with an employee and bills just under the approval limit. Which scheme fits, and which records would you test first?

Section 2Fraud investigations and legal issues39%
  1. 1Planning and conducting a fraud examination (6%)
  2. 2Legal issues in conducting investigations (8%)
  3. 3The law related to fraud (7%)
  4. 4Basic principles of evidence (7%)
  5. 5Collecting evidence (11%)
  6. 6Data analysis and reporting tools (5%)
  7. 7Sources of information (6%)
  8. 8Tracing assets (5%)
  9. 9Interview theory and application (9%)
  10. 10Admission-seeking interviews (6%)
  11. 11Covert operations (5%)
  12. 12Report writing (3%)
  13. 13Overview of the legal system (3%)
  14. 14Criminal prosecutions (7%)
  15. 15Non-criminal actions (8%)
  16. 16Testifying (4%)

Example scenario: An employee agrees to an interview about missing funds. In what order would you ask introductory, informational and admission-seeking questions, and what would you avoid doing?

Section 3Fraud prevention and deterrence22%
  1. 1Understanding financial crime (10%)
  2. 2Corporate governance (8%)
  3. 3Management’s fraud-related responsibilities (6%)
  4. 4Auditors’ fraud-related responsibilities (11%)
  5. 5Fraud prevention programs (16%)
  6. 6Fraud risk assessment (20%)
  7. 7Fraud risk management (14%)
  8. 8Ethics for fraud examiners (15%)

Example scenario: A small nonprofit has one bookkeeper who records donations, deposits them and reconciles the bank account. Which control change would reduce the risk most?

Official CFE Exam Content Outline · Effective June 2, 2026

Format

Questions
310
Duration
6h 30m
Passing score
75% per section
Delivery
Test centre or online
Languages
English

Question types

Choose the best answer from the options; the question states if more than one answer applies.

CertUp example

An accounts payable clerk creates a fictitious vendor and approves invoices from it just under the approval limit. Which type of scheme is this?

  1. Billing scheme
  2. Skimming
  3. Payroll scheme
  4. Check tampering
Show answer

A. Invoices from a shell vendor are the classic billing scheme; skimming takes cash before it is recorded, and the other two involve payroll or altered checks.

Eligibility and booking

Requirements for the exam and the credential

ACFE Associate Membership

Required

You must be an active Associate Member to apply for the exam, and you must keep your membership to hold the CFE.

50 qualifying points

Required

You need 40 points to take the exam and 50 to be certified. Points from education, experience and approved certifications add up.

Bachelor's degree or higher40 points
College study without a degree10 points per year, up to 40
Fraud-related work experience5 points per full year
ACFE-approved certification such as CPA, CIA or CMA10 points each

2 years of fraud-related experience

Required

Most of each role's duties must relate to fraud, for example accounting and auditing, fraud investigation, compliance, loss prevention or fraud risk management.

Three professional recommendations

Required

Submit them with your exam application from people who can speak to your character and professional skills.

You can take the exam with 40 points before you reach two years of experience. Your passing results stay valid for five years from your last passed section, which gives you time to complete the experience and points.

Join ACFE, then submit the CFE Exam Application with the $480 fee, supporting documents and three recommendations. Online applications are usually processed in 3 to 5 business days. Once approved, you have a 60-day window to schedule and sit your sections with Prometric. Apply at least 60 days before you plan to test.

CFE Exam FAQs2026 CFE Exam update

Make a study plan

Check your points first, then study and sit one section at a time.

Most candidates spend 50–110 hours. Plan for the low end if your work already covers fraud examination, accounting and law; plan for the high end if you must learn one of those areas from scratch, such as law for accountants or accounting for investigators.

10 weeksto be ready
  1. 1Understand the examRead the syllabus and format, check you’re eligible and pick a target date.4 h
  2. 3Learn the core conceptsWork through one main course or book, topic by topic.48 h
  3. 4Practice with mock examsTake timed practice tests and review every mistake.24 h
  4. 5Prepare for exam dayBook the exam and check the ID and delivery rules.4 h

Learn the core concepts

Start with the ACFE Prep Course, which is written from the same body of knowledge as the exam. The live review course is a short supplement once you have studied.

Best official courseCFE Exam Prep Course, Silver PackageACFE · $899/year · member price, $1,124 for non-members · 1 year of accessBest with study guideCFE Exam Prep Course, Gold PackageACFE · $1,150/year · member price, $1,437 for non-members · 1 year of accessBest live reviewVirtual CFE Exam Review CourseACFE · $1,685 with a Prep Course bought in the last 2 years · $2,285 without · includes the exam application fee
See all 3 CFE courses →

Practice with mock exams

Use the review questions in the Prep Course for each section, and add a third-party set only if you want more timed practice.

CFE Exam Prep Course (Silver Package)ACFE · $899 members · $1,124 non-members · 1 year or until you pass, no auto-renew
See all 1 CFE practice tests →

Are you ready?

  • You clear 75% on a section's review questions without recognizing the answers from memory
  • You can explain why each wrong option is wrong
  • You can work through 120 questions in two and a half hours

Prepare for exam day

Each section is a separate appointment. Use the checklist for your delivery route.

Before testing with ProProctor

  • Have a physical, unexpired government photo ID that matches your ACFE application
  • Use the latest Chrome, a webcam that can show a 360-degree room check, and at least 5 Mbps download and 0.5 Mbps upload
  • Test from a private room with nothing on the desk
  • Plan for no breaks; an emergency break is limited to five minutes and the clock keeps running
  • Results arrive within 24 hours, usually within an hour
  • You have up to five attempts per section; attempts four and five need a 30-day wait
  • After passing all sections, ACFE takes up to three weeks to review your file before certifying you

CFE Exam FAQs

Advice from exam takers

The new format kept the familiar question style.

One candidate who sat the new Fraud Prevention and Deterrence section in June 2026 found the questions in the same style as before and kept the same method of redoing review questions until scores were in the 90s.

r/CFEReddit: Feedback on the new CFE exam