Validates knowledge of quality auditing, including audit fundamentals, planning and performing audits, auditor competencies and quality tools.
The exam checks that you can run an audit from planning to closure and manage an audit program. About 10 to 15 percent of the questions are case studies built on audit documents you read during the exam. It is open book, so know the process well and tab your reference for the details.
Example scenario: A customer asks your supplier for an audit of its quality system against a signed quality agreement. Is this a first-, second- or third-party audit, and what would you audit against?
Example scenario: During a supplier audit you find one gauge with no calibration record. What further evidence would you collect to decide whether this is an isolated lapse or a system finding?
Example scenario: An auditee keeps steering you away from one production area and answers questions slowly. Which techniques would you use to continue the audit without losing the schedule?
Example scenario: You must cover 40 suppliers with a small team. How would you use risk to set audit frequency, and what results would you give management each quarter?
Official CQA Body of Knowledge · 2026 BoK, effective April 1, 2026
Choose the single best answer from four options.
During a process audit, two of ten sampled work orders lack the supervisor sign-off the procedure requires. What is the best next step?
A. Record the evidence and check more samples. Objective evidence and sample size decide whether the gap is isolated or a system problem, not a pass rate alone.
Read a short audit scenario with supporting audit documents shown on screen, then answer several four-choice questions about it.
Case: A supplier audit report records a missing calibration record. The supplier's corrective action plan promises new equipment labels within 30 days but does not mention why the record was missing. Which question should the auditor ask before accepting the plan?
A. Does the plan remove the cause of the missing record? A corrective action plan is acceptable only if it addresses the cause, not just the symptom.
Apply on asq.org for a testing window and pay the fee. After approval, ASQ emails a Prometric eligibility ID so you can book a test centre or remote appointment. CQA runs in even-numbered months, and your eligibility covers three consecutive windows from the one you choose. The next window is December 2026; apply by November 9, 2026.
Read the Body of Knowledge and try a short practice set first. Spend most of your time on the sections where you score lowest, which is often the statistics and quality tools.
Most candidates spend 50–100 hours. Plan for the low end if you audit regularly; add time if sampling, Cp and Cpk or program management are new.
The handbook is ASQ’s reference for the exam. Add a course if you want guided lessons on what changed in the 2026 outline.
Best official courseCQA Certification Preparation
Best video courseCertified Quality Auditor TrainingBest official referenceASQ Certified Quality Auditor Handbook, 5th editionOrganize your notes. Arrange bound notes so you can find a topic quickly. One passer found the case-study questions answerable from the documents provided.
Practice shows how ASQ words best-answer and case-study questions. Time at least two full sets, and review why each wrong option is wrong.
See all 3 CQA practice tests →Bring accepted ID and bound references, and follow the checklist for your delivery route.
Remote proctoring is not available in China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar or Pakistan.
A June 2026 passer with 16 years of experience says two or three options often looked right and you must pick the best. Another candidate found the question wording needed practice to see the intent. An August 2026 passer found the case studies straightforward and barely used references.
A May 2026 passer who prepared for three months while already doing audit work found the question bank useful for question style and case studies, but photographed several questions that were wrong or outside the Body of Knowledge. The simulator also does not flag questions or show the question number.
A December 2025 passer used the full five hours with one break, going through the exam three times, and saw the pass result straight away.
A candidate who studied the handbook for three months and took ASQ’s prep course failed. Replies advise repeating ASQ’s practice exams and organizing notes so they are quick to search.
