These are common questions about the CAE, eligibility, the application process, the CAE exam, renewal, recognition, retired status, registered providers, and course sponsors.
FAQs By Topic
CAE
In accordance with CAE policy, the names of all publicly sanctioned certificants and the violations of the ASAE Standards of Conduct, CAE Code of Professional Conduct, and/or CAE program policies involved, as determined by the CAE Commission, must be made publicly available. A listing of all recently sanctioned individuals is provided below. For details and processes for revocation, suspension, or other disciplinary actions, see standing rules and policies, Policy #15. For a list of currently sanctioned individuals, please contact CAE staff.
The exam does not test communication skills or behavior. It emphasizes the application of the concepts and principles of sound association management practices. High-level cognitive skills, such as data interpretation and problem-solving, are assessed in multiple-choice questions that pose management dilemmas and situations requiring resolution. Some of these questions will be derived from a case set, which develops a scenario and asks questions based on that scenario. Other questions will be presented as individual items.
Psychometricians—experts in test development—prefer this form of question to the less sophisticated and more subjective essay question.
The CAE program is governed by the CAE Commission, an independent certifying body of ASAE. The commission awards the Certified Association Executive credential and is responsible for setting standing rules and policies related to the CAE program.
Once association professionals earn the CAE, they renew at high rates.
As of April 27, 2025, there are 4,474 CAEs. To view a full list of association professionals who currently hold the credential, visit the CAE Roster page.
Exam results are available approximately six to eight weeks after the exam. For security reasons, the credentialing department cannot release results via email, fax, or over the phone.
The pass-fail cut-off will be determined using a criterion-referenced method.
The CAE program was granted accreditation by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) in 2010. The announcement of accreditation coincided with the 50th anniversary of the CAE program. The CAE Program was reaccredited in 2020.
NCCA accreditation provides independent validation that the CAE program meets or exceeds 24 standards concerning various aspects of the certification program, including its purpose, structure, governance, psychometric foundation, policies, and procedures.
Accreditation is a mark of quality and validates the integrity of the program. Earning accreditation is a public demonstration of the commitment of ASAE and the CAE Commission to the CAE credential as a true professional certification.
The application fee is $500 for ASAE members and $750 for nonmembers. The fee must be submitted with the application. If you do not sit for the exam within the next two test dates after your application has been accepted, your application will expire and all fees will be forfeited. Once your application expires, you will need to reapply to sit for the exam.
This is a method where candidates are evaluated against a predetermined standard rather than relative to each other.
Becoming a Certified Association Executive shows your commitment to the association profession. As a CAE, you commit yourself to lifelong learning and an ongoing pursuit of knowledge in the profession. Among association leaders, the CAE designation has become known and appreciated as a mark of distinction that offers a wide range of benefits.
Individuals pursue the CAE for a variety of reasons, including professional development, career planning and professional pride, dedication to their career, a personal belief in the association profession, and self-fulfillment.
The CAE examination is offered twice annually, in a two-week window in May and December. See the exam schedule for upcoming exams and deadlines
ASAE founded the CAE program in 1960. The program was designed to elevate professional standards, enhance individual performance, and designate those who demonstrate knowledge essential to the practice of association management.
Following currently accepted practices for certifying bodies, the CAE Commission is not involved in CAE candidate preparation, believing it to be a conflict of interest to develop materials to assist candidates in preparing for an exam designed and administered by the commission. ASAE has compiled a list of study resources.
Association professionals who meet certain employment experience criteria, as well as qualifying independent contractors, consultants, and industry partners, may pursue the CAE. Learn more about eligibility requirements.
Your peers, the CAE Commission, and its committees. The group judges the difficulty of each test question against the content and the degree to which the incorrect responses are difficult to distinguish from the correct responses. They use a mathematical formula derived from a modified Angoff method (comparable to par on a golf course) to perform this analysis. This procedure is used before and after the exam is administered.
The CAE Item-Writing Committee, composed of qualified CAEs, writes the exam questions reflective of the competencies in the CAE exam content outline.
The CAE Exam Committee, composed of qualified CAEs, uses the content outline to develop each CAE examination form. Following the content outline, they use questions from a question bank to develop each examination form.
CAE Course Sponsors
The CAE Registered Provider Committee has a responsibility to maintain the integrity and quality of programs offered by registered providers. The committee reserves the right to monitor registered courses and operations as part of periodic random samplings, and to terminate the use of the CAE Registered Provider designation when there is ample evidence that a provider is not upholding CAE education criteria and commitments to follow CAE Registered Provider guidelines.
CAE Registered Provider recognition is withdrawn for failure to comply with the criteria and conditions of qualification. Registered providers are notified in writing of any failure to comply and have a probationary period of 60 days to demonstrate compliance. If registered providers fail to comply by the end of that period, registration is withdrawn and providers are removed from the program. Organizations that have had Registered Provider status withdrawn may apply for reinstatement beginning one year after the date of withdrawal.
Yes. Any continuing professional education offered by any professional entity may be accepted toward the professional development requirement as long as it is directly related to either association or nonprofit management as defined by the CAE exam content outline. Only CAE Registered Providers can publicize that their programs are approved for CAE credit.
No, your organization will only submit courses that are being offered and/or promoted for CAE credit. Once approved, your organization will receive a Registered Provider digital seal that you will use to notate each course that has been approved for CAE credit.
Live courses, workshops, seminars, or classes earn CAE credit for actual clock time of qualifying education, including partial credits, up to a maximum of 8 CAE credits per day. For example, 45 minutes of qualifying education equals .75 CAE credits.
Asynchronous courses earn CAE credit for contact hours of participation in organized continuing education conducted by a qualified instructor. A contact hour is equivalent to one 60-minute interaction between an instructor and the participant. Partial credit may be given for partial contact hours.
Conferences earn CAE credit for the actual clock time of qualifying education. Breaks between education sessions, lunches, and expo hours do not qualify for CAE credit. Your organization will need to list each education session separately on the CAE Registered Provider Course reporting form.
Complete the online application (opens in a new tab) to become or renew your organization’s CAE Registered Provider status. The system will guide you step-by-step through the process, from entering your organization’s contact information to paying the applicable fees.
Access instructions for the online application process here:
(This application is intended for providers who have not been previously approved as a CAE provider.)
(This application is intended for providers whose CAE provider status has expired.)
If your course is directly related to association or nonprofit management as defined by the CAE exam content outline and meets the format guidelines, the course will qualify for CAE credit. For example:
- Strategies for Building a Cohesive Team – Domain 2, Executive Leadership
- Hacking for Good: Facing Cyber Threats Head-On– Domain 4,Operations
- Aligning Unit Goals and Imperatives – Domain 2, Executive Leadership
Only current, approved CAE Registered Providers may submit courses or conferences for CAE credit review. To be eligible for CAE credit, courses must be directly related to association or nonprofit management topics as defined by the CAE Exam Content Outline.
Course submission should include the following: category (live or asynchronous); activity type (conference, webinar, workshop, seminar, or class); title of program; program start and end date; CAE credits requested and ethics credit eligibility; applicable CAE domains; learning objectives; official course description; detailed time agenda (optional); course lookup code (optional); and a publicly accessible registration link (optional).
Programs must be submitted for approval in advance. The CAE Program recommends submitting programs at least 30 days before the program date to allow sufficient time for the approval process.
Once your organization’s application is reviewed and approved, your CAE Registered Provider status will become effective from the application date submission and will remain valid for one year.
No, it is not required to have all programs finalized at the time of your application. You should submit only those courses or conferences that currently meet the course submission criteria. As additional events qualify, you may submit them for review. If the number of approved courses subsequently reaches the next pricing tier, an invoice reflecting the price difference will be emailed to the point of contact within your organization.
There is an annual application fee of $295 for local and regional Societies of Association Executives (SAE) (opens in a new tab) members and $695 for non-SAE members.
For non-SAE members, fees for live (non-conference) and asynchronous programs are as follows: 1 to 5 CAE-eligible courses, $195; 6 to 10 courses, $395; 11 to 20 courses, $595; 21 to 50 courses, $995; 50 or more courses, $1,995.
For conferences submitted by non-SAE members: 1 to 5 CAE-eligible conferences, $595; 6 or more conferences, $995.
Upon submission, your organization will receive an email confirmation within 30 days, indicating whether your application has been approved.
The Registered Provider should keep a list of attendees, the presenters, the program date, the description, and the number of CAE credits. This information should be kept for five years, as exam applicants may include education taken within a five-year period. Providers should be able to provide participants with a certificate of attendance or a letter confirming participation.
A course generally covers one specific topic or concept and may be led by one or more instructors. Types of courses include webinars, seminars, workshops, classes, and instructor-led training.
A conference is a large multi-day formal meeting where people come together to debate issues, learn from others’ experiences, and network with those who share their interests. A conference will feature a series of speakers, often with a keynote speaker, presenting on a variety of subjects related to the conference’s focus.
The CAE Registered Provider Committee, which is composed of volunteers, will review the professional development that is submitted for review.
Please contact Credentialing staff at 202-626-2759 or email caedept@asaecenter.org for questions and assistance.
CAE Digital Recognition
Yes, you can download your information from the Share Badge page. Your downloaded recognition contains Open Badge Infrastructure (OBI)-compliant metadata embedded into the image. This allows you to store your badge on other OBI-compliant badge sites, such as the Mozilla backpack.
ASAE has collaborated with Credly to recognize your CAE credential digitally through the company’s Acclaim platform. The technology Credly uses is based on the Open Badge Standards maintained by IMS Global. This enables you to manage, share, and verify your competencies digitally.
You can find answers to more frequently asked questions at support.youracclaim.com.
Representing your skills digitally allows you to share them online in a way that is simple, trusted, and verifiable in real time. Digital recognition provides employers and peers concrete evidence of what you did to earn your credential and what you’re now capable of.
You can easily configure your privacy settings. You’re in complete control of what information about you is public.
Digital recognition includes web-enabled versions of a credential, certification, or learning outcome that can be verified online in real time.
You can share your badge directly from the Acclaim platform to LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook; over email; embedded in a website; or in your email signature.
CAE Exam
No. All professional development listed on your CAE exam application must come from courses you have attended. Speaking and/or teaching would not be eligible for CAE credit toward the exam application.
Any course that is directly related to the CAE exam content outline will qualify for CAE credit. You do not have to take courses through ASAE or a CAE Approved Provider.
No. However, obtaining professional development in all eight domains may better prepare you for the CAE exam.
No. However, college, self-study, and mentoring professional development require supporting documentation with your application.
If your course is directly related to association or nonprofit management as defined by the CAE exam content outline and meets the format guidelines, the course will qualify for CAE credit. For example:
- Strategies for Building a Cohesive Team – Domain 2, Executive Leadership
- Hacking for Good: Facing Cyber Threats Head-On– Domain 4,Operations
- Aligning Unit Goals and Imperatives – Domain 2, Executive Leadership
“C-suite” refers to the executive-level positions within the organization. C-suite staff ensure that the organization’s strategies and operations align with its policies and procedures. Common C-suite executives include the chief executive officer (CEO) or executive director (ED), chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), and chief information officer (CIO). All other positions would be considered general staff members.
Courses that receive academic credit, which is generally applied to a degree, would earn CAE credit based on the college credit criteria.
Courses that receive a certificate of completion, CEUs, contact hours, etc., for completing the course would not receive CAE credit based upon the college credit criteria. These courses will earn CAE credit based on the actual clock time of education.
Generally speaking, about two-thirds to three-quarters of candidates pass the CAE exam.
View CAE Pass rates by year
You may apply a maximum of 50 CAE self-study credits toward the CAE exam application.
No. CAE credits are based upon clock time of qualifying professional development. Breaks between education sessions, lunches, and expo hours do not qualify for CAE credit.
Eight years of any professional work experience will fulfill this requirement. The additional work experience may come from any professional organization. It does not have to be from a qualifying organization.
You may list the conference as one entry on your application. Enter the total number of education sessions you attended, which will determine the number of CAE credits earned. For example, if you attended five one-hour education sessions each day at a two-day conference, you earned 10 CAE credits.
Viewing a recorded webinar would not be eligible for CAE credit unless it includes an assessment component. Self-study courses must include a quiz, post-test, or other learning assessment attached to the course. A certificate of completion must be provided with your application.
Generally, a nonprofit or association will have a tax-exempt status of 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(6), among others. You may review your organization’s tax-exempt status to confirm that your organization is a qualifying organization.
You are eligible to sit for the CAE exam within 12 months of your application being approved. For example, a candidate whose application was approved on September 15, 2021, would be eligible to sit for the December 2021 and/or May 2022 CAE exam.
A live course is any course that you must attend at the initial broadcast. Courses do not have to be in person to qualify as live. Webinars, conferences, seminars, etc., may qualify as live if you attend the course when it is initially broadcast.
A self-study course is any course that you complete at your own pace. Self-study courses may have an online facilitator. If you are given a period in which to complete a course at your own pace, this would be considered a self-study course.
CAE Registered Provider
Not necessarily. The CAE Program has established specific standards for whether a course is eligible for CAE credit. CAE Registered Providers are aware of these standards. While not all programs offered by a CAE Registered Provider may meet these standards, CAE Registered Providers will display a web sticker next to courses that meet the standards for CAE credit.
No. Any course which meets the CAE Program standards as determined after review by CAE Program staff may be utilized toward meeting your CAE application or renewal requirements. While CAE credits are not required to come from CAE Registered Providers, using qualifying courses from CAE Registered Providers gives you confidence that the course qualifies for CAE credits as advertised.
CAE Registered Providers receive clear guidelines on what qualifies for CAE credits and how to properly represent the CAE eligibility of their courses. In addition, CAE Registered Providers receive the CAE Exam Content Outline and listing of the CAE Core Resources to help ensure that the provider is aware of the content of the examination, and the basis for the positions tested on the exam.
A CAE Registered Provider is an organization that offers programming that is eligible for CAE credit. When selecting a CAE-eligible course from a CAE Registered Provider, you can be confident that the course will be recognized for CAE credit as advertised.
Organizations wishing to become a CAE Registered Provider must submit training that meets or exceeds the CAE Program standards for CAE credit and agrees to accurately communicate course eligibility for credit. In addition, CAE Registered Providers must maintain the necessary records to support the use of coursework toward CAE applications and pay an annual fee to the CAE Program.
The CAE Registered Providers page includes direct links to more information about the providers’ qualifying courses.
The CAE Registered Provider program was established in response to requests from CAE candidates for a clearer system to identify courses that qualify for CAE credit and requests from course providers seeking a way to identify their program as eligible for CAE credit. The specific aspects of the program were designed with full consideration of the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs and modeled after similar programs offered by other NCCA Accredited credentialing programs.
CAE Renewal
Any course that is directly related to the CAE exam content outline will qualify for CAE credit. You do not have to take courses through ASAE or a CAE Approved Provider.
No. However, obtaining professional development in all nine domains will help you keep your knowledge up to date in all areas of association management.
No. Completing the CAE renewal requirements allows you to maintain the certification. You do not have to work in the association industry in order to maintain your certification.
No. However, college, self-study, and mentoring professional development require supporting documentation with your application.
If your course is directly related to association or nonprofit management as defined by the CAE exam content outline and meets the format guidelines, the course will qualify for CAE credit. For example:
- Strategies for Building a Cohesive Team – Domain 2, Executive Leadership
- Hacking for Good: Facing Cyber Threats Head-On– Domain 4,Operations
- Aligning Unit Goals and Imperatives – Domain 2, Executive Leadership
Courses that receive academic credit, which is generally applied to a degree, would earn CAE credit based on the college credit criteria.
Courses that receive a certificate of completion, CEUs, contact hours, etc., for completing the course would not receive CAE credit based upon the college credit criteria. These courses will earn CAE credit based on the actual clock time of education.
Once association professionals earn the CAE, they renew at high rates.
You may receive a maximum of 20 CAE self-study credits toward the CAE renewal application.
No. CAE credits are based upon clock time of qualifying education. Breaks between education sessions, lunches, and expo hours do not qualify for CAE credit.
You may list the conference as one entry on your application. Enter the total number of education sessions you attended, which will determine the number of CAE credits earned. For example, if you attended five one-hour education sessions each day at a two-day conference, you earned 10 CAE credits.
Viewing a recorded webinar would not be eligible for CAE credit unless it includes an assessment component. Self-study courses must include a quiz, post-test, or other learning assessment attached to the course. A certificate of completion must be provided with your application.
Holding a leadership title such as chair, vice chair, president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer for an association, professional society, committee, section, or special interest group will receive two CAE credits for each year of service within your renewal cycle.
All professional development must be completed during your CAE certification period. For example, a CAE who submitted their completed renewal on October 31, 2023, would have their next CAE renewal period begin on January 1, 2024. Any professional development completed in November and December 2023, after they submitted their renewal application, would not count toward the next renewal period. Credits for the next renewal would need to be taken between January 2024 and December 2026.
A list of current ASAE ethics-related courses is available on the CAE Ethics Courses page to help you meet the ethics requirement.
A live course is any course that you must attend at the initial broadcast. Courses do not have to be in person to qualify as live. Webinars, conferences, seminars, etc., may qualify as live if you attend the course when it is initially broadcast.
A self-study course is any course that you complete at your own pace. Self-study courses may have an online facilitator. If you are given a period in which to complete a course at your own pace, this would be considered a self-study course.
CAE Retired Status
No, those with CAE (Ret.) status are not eligible for such appointments, including appointments on the CAE Commission and some ASAE committees.
Yes, individuals with CAE (Ret.) status may serve as mentors to CAEs and CAE candidates. See the CAE eligibility requirements and renewal requirements pages for more information about mentoring policies.
No, there is no continuing education requirement for CAE (Ret.) designees.
CAE (Ret.) designees are not required to complete recertification or renew their CAE (Ret.) status. As long as the designee continues to meet the eligibility requirements for retired status, he or she may continue to use the designation.
Those interested in the designation may submit an application, along with a one-time nonrefundable retired-status fee of $350.
Individuals with the CAE (Ret.) designation may use CAE (Ret.) after their name and in correspondence, publications, speaking engagements, and other public mentions to indicate their status as a Certified Association Executive at the time of their retirement from association management. CAE (Ret.) designees may not use the CAE designation without the (Ret.) suffix and may not portray themselves as a current CAE. An individual on inactive status may not use the CAE designation.
In both cases, there is a three-year period to reactivate the CAE. If more than three years pass since the last date of being a CAE in good standing and the required number of credit hours is not submitted, then the individual must meet eligibility requirements, submit a qualifying application and fees, and achieve a passing examination score to regain the CAE.
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