The ICF Credentialing Exam is the assessment the International Coaching Federation requires for its three coach credentials: Associate Certified Coach (ACC), Professional Certified Coach (PCC), and Master Certified Coach (MCC). It measures how well you apply the ICF Core Competencies and the ICF Code of Ethics. The format differs by level, and from November 10, 2026, PCC and MCC candidates can choose between the current ICF Credentialing Exam and the new PCC-MCC Exam. What follows is what every candidate should know before they schedule.
Summary
The ICF Credentialing Exam is the same core idea at every level: a computer-based test that asks you to apply ICF’s professional standards to realistic coaching situations. What varies is the format at each level, the eligibility hours you need behind you, and, from November 10, 2026, the choice PCC and MCC candidates have between the current exam and the new PCC-MCC Exam.
Key Takeaways
- One assessment covers all three credentials, but the format is different at ACC than at PCC/MCC, and from November 10, 2026, PCC and MCC candidates can choose between the current ICF Credentialing Exam and the new PCC-MCC Exam.
- The current ACC exam is 60 knowledge-based multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes. Pass mark: 460 / 600.
- The current PCC and MCC exam is 78 situational judgment items in 180 minutes. Pass mark: 460 / 600.
- From November 10, 2026, PCC and MCC candidates can also take the new PCC-MCC Exam: 80 items in 150 minutes, mixing situational judgment and knowledge-based questions. Pass mark: 460 / 600.
- The exam is delivered by Pearson VUE, online with remote proctoring or in a test center.
- Everything the exam tests traces back to official ICF documents.
Table of Contents
- What Is the ICF Credentialing Exam?
- Key Topics Covered
- Common Mistakes to Avoid
- How to Prepare for the ICF Credentialing Exam
- Understanding Pass Rates and Results
- FAQs About the ICF Credentialing Exam
What Is the ICF Credentialing Exam?
The ICF Credentialing Exam is a computer-based test that measures how well a coach can apply the ICF Core Competencies and Code of Ethics to real coaching situations. It is written and owned by the International Coaching Federation and delivered by Pearson VUE, either online with remote proctoring or in person at a test center. Passing it is the final gate on the way to your ICF credential, once you have completed the training hours, coaching experience, and mentor coaching your level requires.
Purpose of the Exam
The exam exists so ICF can evaluate how well the coach understands and applies its professional standards. Training hours document education, coaching hours document experience, and mentor coaching documents feedback. The exam is the piece that documents applied judgment. Passing it signals to your clients, sponsors, and employers that your practice sits inside the same competency and ethics framework every other ICF-credentialed coach works from.
Credential Levels: ACC, PCC, MCC
The three credential levels reflect depth of practice, not a change in what a coach does. Eligibility is where the levels actually diverge:
| Credential | Coach-specific training | Client coaching experience | Mentor coaching |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACC (Associate) | 60+ hours | 100+ hours (75 paid, 8 clients) | 10 hours |
| PCC (Professional) | 125+ hours | 500+ hours | 10 hours |
| MCC (Master) | 200+ hours | 2,500+ hours | 10 hours (plus prior PCC) |
A recorded performance evaluation also sits alongside the exam at each level. Confirm the current hour and evaluation requirements for your path on the official ICF Credentialing pages before you apply, since ICF updates the details periodically.
Exam Structure and Content
There is one exam family, delivered in different shapes for ACC and for PCC/MCC. The table below compares the current formats side by side, plus the new PCC-MCC Exam available from November 10, 2026:
| Detail | ACC Exam | Current PCC/MCC Exam | New PCC-MCC Exam (Nov 10, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Items | 60 knowledge-based MC | 78 situational judgment | 80 items (44 SJ + 36 MC) |
| Time | 90 minutes | 180 minutes | 150 minutes |
| Sections | 2 × 30 items | 2 × 39 items | 4 sections |
| Pass mark | 460 / 600 | 460 / 600 | 460 / 600 |
| Standards version | 2019 Core Competencies, 2020 Code of Ethics | 2019 Core Competencies, 2020 Code of Ethics | 2025 Core Competencies, 2025 Code of Ethics |
The exams are scored by content domain, and the domains differ by level. The ACC exam uses three domains: Coaching Ethics (30%), Definition and Boundaries of Coaching (30%), and Coaching Competencies, Strategies, and Techniques (40%). The current PCC/MCC exam and the new PCC-MCC Exam use four domains: Foundation, Co-Creating the Relationship, Communicating Effectively, and Cultivating Learning and Growth. Your score report breaks your performance out by domain, which is why studying by competency (not just by question count) is the fastest way to prepare.
Exam Format
All three versions of the exam are computer-based and are delivered by Pearson VUE. You can take them online with Pearson OnVUE remote proctoring, or in person at a Pearson VUE test center. Both channels use the same content and time limits.
The ACC exam is entirely knowledge-based. Some questions are conceptual, and some place you in a short coaching scenario and ask what a coach should do. All are single-answer multiple choice.
The current PCC and MCC exam uses situational judgment items, sometimes called Best/Worst Action Scenarios. Each item presents a coaching situation with four possible responses. You judge which response is the best action and which is the worst, rather than picking a single right answer.
The new PCC-MCC Exam available from November 10, 2026 keeps the situational judgment format for 44 items and adds 36 knowledge-based multiple-choice items to it. The four content domains, the difficulty level, and the pass rate all stay the same. For the full breakdown of what is changing and how to decide which exam to take during the transition, our companion post is The New ICF PCC-MCC Exam 2026: What’s Changing and Which One Should You Take?.
Key Topics Covered
ICF Core Competencies
The exam is built on ICF’s competency model. For the current ACC, PCC, and MCC exams, that is the 2019 ICF Core Competencies. The new PCC-MCC Exam (November 10, 2026) is built on the 2025 ICF Core Competencies. Both versions organize the same eight competencies:
- Foundation: Demonstrates Ethical Practice, Embodies a Coaching Mindset.
- Co-Creating the Relationship: Establishes and Maintains Agreements, Cultivates Trust and Safety, Maintains Presence.
- Communicating Effectively: Listens Actively, Evokes Awareness.
- Cultivating Learning and Growth: Facilitates Client Growth.
Study each competency at the behavioral-indicator level, not just the headline definition. When two answer options both look client-centered, the tiebreaker is almost always a specific behavior a competency does or does not describe.
ICF Code of Ethics
The Code sets the standards for professional conduct: confidentiality, conflict of interest, dual relationships, referrals to therapy, and the difference between coaching and consulting or mental-health support. Exam questions never ask you to quote a standard. They ask you to recognize which standard applies in which scenario and to pick the response that follows it.
For the current ACC, PCC, and MCC exams, the assessed version is the 2020 ICF Code of Ethics. The new PCC-MCC Exam uses the 2025 Code. The 2025 Code is an expansion of the 2020 version, not a replacement, so reviewing the newer document deepens rather than displaces older material. Start with our overview of what changed in the ICF Code of Ethics, then read the Insights and Considerations for Ethics case studies from ICF itself.
ICF Credentialing Exam Sample Questions
Below are two items from our free practice tests: one in the ACC knowledge-based format, and one Best/Worst pair in the current PCC/MCC situational judgment format. Each includes a full rationale.
ACC sample question. A client has developed two possible action plans and asks the coach which one they should choose. What is the best action for the coach to take?
- A) Ask which plan the client is most ready to act on and what their first step will be.
- B) Share resources that might help the client make a decision.
- C) Invite the client to list the pros and cons of each plan.
- D) Ask what is holding them back from making the decision.
D is correct. This response aligns with ICF Core Competency 7, Evokes Awareness. Good questions help a client see what shapes their thinking. A client who asks the coach to choose is usually stuck on something they have not named. Asking what is holding them back brings that into the open, and the choice stays with them.
Why the others fall short:
- A) Ask which plan the client is most ready to act on. This pushes for a commitment before the block is clear.
- B) Share resources. This adds material, but the client already has two plans.
- C) Invite the client to list pros and cons. Helpful on the surface, but it does not address the underlying block, which risks the sustainability of any chosen plan.
PCC/MCC sample scenario. During the initial consultation, you and your client discuss the goals, structure, and expectations of their potential coaching relationship. Your client expresses interest in addressing both professional and personal development goals but is unsure about how coaching can support personal objectives. What is the BEST action? What is the WORST action?
- A) Assure your client that coaching can seamlessly integrate both professional and personal development goals, and propose a broad, flexible coaching agreement that can be adjusted over time.
- B) Explain the coaching process in detail, including how it can address both types of goals and offer to draft a specific agreement that outlines the structure of the coaching engagement. (Best)
- C) Ask if your client wants to focus on professional development goals first, and revisit personal development goals at a later stage.
- D) Recommend that your client seeks separate support for personal development goals, emphasizing that coaching is most effective when focused on professional objectives. (Worst)
B is the best action. This aligns with ICF Core Competency 3, Establishes and Maintains Agreements. Explaining the coaching process and offering to draft a specific agreement fosters transparency and clarity, so the client can make an informed decision about how to approach both personal and professional goals. Option A is not the best because a broad, flexible agreement lacks the clarity and specificity the competency asks for.
D is the worst action. It undermines Embodies a Coaching Mindset, which requires the coach to remain open and curious about the client’s full range of objectives. Assuming that personal development cannot be integrated into coaching is prescriptive and limits the client’s growth. Option C is not the worst: it shows some flexibility, but it still may prematurely narrow the client’s focus.
The pattern is what to notice. Two options will usually sound plausible, and the tiebreaker sits in a specific competency or ethics standard. You can practice this pattern with our free ICF exam practice tests, which include worked rationales for every question.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Relying on your own coaching experience. ICF expects you to internalize its definition of coaching, the ACC and PCC Markers, the Core Competencies, and the Code of Ethics, and to know how those standards are applied. Your own style may be effective with clients and still be the wrong answer on the exam.
Only reading through the core documents. Nothing beats practicing the exam in its specific format. Reading alone is often insufficient to understand what the exam tests and how the concepts are applied. Especially on the PCC/MCC exam, long scenarios can be tiring to read if you are not used to them.
Cramming last minute. Both exams are moderately challenging, with around an 80% pass rate — roughly 1 in 5 coaches fail on their first attempt. Steady practice beats a last-week sprint.
How to Prepare for the ICF Credentialing Exam
Effective Study Techniques
Most candidates who pass on the first attempt do a version of the same four things. In order of impact:
Read the source documents. Not summaries — the actual documents:
- 2019 ICF Core Competencies (current ACC and PCC/MCC exams) and the 2025 ICF Core Competencies (new PCC-MCC Exam)
- ICF Code of Ethics (2020 for current exams; 2025 for the new PCC-MCC Exam)
- ICF Definition of Coaching
- Insights and Considerations for Ethics, including the case studies
- Referring a Client to Therapy guide
- The ACC Minimum Skills Requirements (ACC Markers) and the PCC Minimum Skills Requirements (PCC Markers) for your level
Once through slowly, then a second time with a highlighter on the behaviors and standards you find yourself second-guessing.
- Practice with rationales, not just right-or-wrong answers. A practice question that only tells you “C is correct” trains almost nothing. A practice question that walks you through why C is correct, and which specific competency or ethics standard beats each distractor, teaches the pattern the real exam turns on.
- Simulate the exam at least once. Full length, on the clock, in one sitting. This is the only way to learn how you actually make decisions in the last thirty minutes of a long exam, and it exposes pacing habits you cannot fix once you are in the test room.
- Review by domain. Every ICF result comes with a domain-level breakdown. Use the same lens in practice: if you keep losing points in a domain, study the competencies inside that domain before you touch anything else.
ICF Credential Exam Prep Resources
A short list of what actually helps, with no attempt to be exhaustive:
- ICF’s own materials. The ICF Credentialing pages, the current Core Competencies, the Code of Ethics, and the Insights and Considerations document. Everything on the exam comes from these.
- Our eight Core Competency deep-dives. Start with the Core Competencies overview and follow the per-competency links from there.
- Our free ICF exam practice tests. Separate ACC and PCC/MCC tests with rationale explanations for each question.
- Our paid mastery courses when you want a structured plan instead of piecing resources together: the ICF ACC Mastery Program for ACC candidates, and the ICF PCC/MCC Complete Exam Prep & Practice for PCC and MCC candidates preparing for either the current exam or the new PCC-MCC Exam.
- A study group or mentor coach. Talking through why one answer beats another sharpens the distinctions the exam rewards faster than solo review does.
Going Deeper by Level
Once you know which exam you are taking, our level-specific guides go into far more detail than this pillar can:
- ACC candidates: read Everything You Need to Know About the New ICF ACC Exam for registration and format details, and How to Pass the ICF ACC Credential Exam for a full study plan and exam-day strategies.
- PCC candidates taking the current exam (through March 31, 2027): read How to Pass the ICF PCC Exam (2026) for the C-CARE framework and an eight-week study plan.
- PCC and MCC candidates taking the new exam (from November 10, 2026): read The New ICF PCC-MCC Exam 2026 for what is changing, which exam to take during the transition, and how to prepare for the new mixed format.
Understanding Pass Rates and Results
Current ICF Credentialing Exam Pass Rate
ICF has published a 75% first-attempt pass rate for the current PCC and MCC exam, based on 9,795 candidates in 2023. That is a healthier number than the difficulty of the format sometimes suggests, and it reflects a population of candidates who have already completed 125 or 500-plus hours of client coaching before they arrive.
The ACC exam pass rate in 2025 is 83%. For the new PCC-MCC Exam launching November 10, 2026, ICF has stated that the difficulty level and pass rate remain consistent with the current exam. In practical terms: both exams are moderately challenging — roughly 1 in 5 coaches fail on their first attempt.
Interpreting Your Results
You receive preliminary results immediately after you finish the exam, so you know whether you passed before you leave the test center or close the OnVUE session. Official confirmation and your score report follow within a few business days.
The score report breaks your performance out by content domain. It tells you which of the exam domains are below expectations, which lets you focus a retake on the competencies that need the most work rather than restudying everything.
If you need to retake the ACC exam, you can do so after 14 days for $105, up to six times per year. Retake rules for the PCC and MCC exam depend on your application path, so check your candidate guide. Whatever the level, treat the score report as a study plan, not a verdict.
Try Our Free ICF Practice Tests
See how the format actually behaves before you commit to a plan: Free ACC and PCC/MCC Practice Tests, with rationale explanations for every question.
FAQs About the ICF Credentialing Exam
What is the ICF Credentialing Exam?
The ICF Credentialing Exam is the assessment the International Coaching Federation requires for its ACC, PCC, and MCC credentials. It measures how well you apply the ICF Core Competencies and Code of Ethics. Delivered by Pearson VUE, it is a computer-based test you can take online with remote proctoring or in person at a test center.
What score do I need to pass the ICF Credentialing Exam?
You need a scaled score of 460 on a 200 to 600 scale. That pass mark applies to the ACC exam, the current PCC and MCC exam, and the new PCC-MCC Exam. From November 10, 2026 through March 31, 2027, PCC and MCC candidates can choose between the current ICF Credentialing Exam and the new PCC-MCC Exam.
How much does the ICF Credentialing Exam cost?
The initial exam attempt is included in your ICF credential application fee. For ACC, the Level 1/Level 2 path is $175 for ICF members and $325 for non-members; the Portfolio path is $475 for members and $625 for non-members. For PCC, the Level 2 path is $375 for members and $525 for non-members; the Portfolio path is $750 for members and $900 for non-members. For MCC, both paths are $675 for members and $825 for non-members. Each exam retake costs $105.
Can I retake the ICF Credentialing Exam if I do not pass?
Yes. Under ICF’s exam retake policy, you must wait 14 days after your first attempt and 30 days after each subsequent attempt. Each retake costs $105, and you may take an ICF exam up to six times within a 12-month (365-day) period beginning on the date of your first attempt. Use the domain-level score report you receive with your result to focus your review on the areas where you scored lowest, rather than restudying everything from scratch.
How is the ICF Credentialing Exam different at ACC, PCC, and MCC?
The eligibility requirements differ far more than the exam does. ACC candidates take a 90-minute, 60-question knowledge-based exam. PCC and MCC candidates take the same exam, which is currently 78 situational judgment items in 180 minutes. From November 10, 2026, PCC and MCC candidates can choose between the current exam and the new PCC-MCC Exam: 80 items in 150 minutes, mixing 44 situational judgment questions with 36 knowledge-based ones. What changes with level is not the test itself so much as the depth of coaching hours behind you when you take it.
What is the ICF Credentialing Exam pass rate?
ICF has published a 75% first-attempt pass rate for the current PCC and MCC exam, based on 9,795 candidates in 2023. The ACC exam pass rate in 2025 is 83%. For the new PCC-MCC Exam launching November 10, 2026, ICF has stated that difficulty and pass rate remain consistent with the current exam. Both exams are moderately challenging: roughly 1 in 5 coaches fail on their first attempt.
How should I prepare for the ICF Credentialing Exam?
For the ACC and current PCC/MCC exams, study the 2019 ICF Core Competencies and 2020 ICF Code of Ethics. For the new PCC-MCC Exam, study the 2025 versions. Also review the ICF Definition of Coaching, the Insights and Considerations for Ethics, the Referring a Client to Therapy guide, and the ACC or PCC Markers for your level. Then practice with realistic questions that include full rationale explanations, simulate the full exam under timed conditions, and review your results by competency domain.
Are practice tests worth it for the ICF Credentialing Exam?
Yes. Practice tests train the specific skill the exam measures, which is choosing the single best response when two options both look right. They also build the pacing and stamina the timed format demands. The most useful ones show you the reasoning behind each answer so a wrong answer becomes a lesson, and they mirror the current official format for the level you are preparing for.
About the author
ExpertCoach.Co Team
This guide was written and reviewed by ICF-credentialed coaches on the ExpertCoach.Co team. ExpertCoach.Co helps thousands of coaches from more than 60 countries prepare for their ACC, PCC, and MCC credentials with clarity and confidence.
