CON 3990V & DoD/DoW Contracting Professional Certification 2026–2027: DAWIA Requirements and FY27 Change

CON 3990V is the proctored Contracting Certification Exam used in both the DoD/DAWIA Contracting Professional framework—called the Department of War (DoW) path in current 2026 official materials—and the civilian FAC-C (Professional) framework. It is important, but it is only one part of certification. Passing the exam does not by itself complete a certification, qualify someone for a federal 1102 position, or issue a contracting officer warrant.

A second point matters for anyone planning around fiscal year 2027: the Department of War (DoW) added CON 7300V, Price Analysis, as a mandatory Contracting Professional certification course effective October 1, 2026. That DoW/DAWIA change is separate from the revised CON 3990V exam bank that launched on March 31, 2026. It should not be applied automatically to civilian FAC-C candidates.

This guide uses current official materials from Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy (DPCAP), Defense Acquisition University resources now hosted by Warfighter University (WarU), the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI), and Pearson VUE. Always confirm your own eligibility and certification plan with your acquisition career manager because components and civilian agencies can add implementation requirements.

First identify your certification path

The same exam name can appear in two different workforce systems. Start with your employer and program, not with a generic search result.

The official DoW/DAWIA Contracting certification standard lists the core course, experience, and assessment baseline. The FAI FAC-C (Professional) requirements define the civilian path and make clear that CON 3990 cannot be fulfilled through another training provider or equivalency mechanism. FAC-C is for federal civilian employees; contractors cannot earn the certification.

Certification standards are not the same as job qualification standards. The FAC-C page says there is no separate education requirement for the certification itself, while civilian 1102 hiring remains subject to Office of Personnel Management qualification standards. Do not treat certification eligibility as proof that every position qualification has been met.

Turn the rules into a certification plan

An exam page can tell you how to test, but it cannot decide whether your organization will certify you. Build a requirements record before choosing an appointment. Save the current standard, identify your acquisition career manager, and record the date on which you expect to request certification. That date—not merely the day you began a course—may determine which transition rule your organization applies.

For the DoW/DAWIA plan, first confirm that your position is coded in the appropriate acquisition career field and that your component recognizes the experience you intend to claim. Complete the assigned foundational courses in the approved order, document the 12 months of contracting experience, and obtain authorization before scheduling CON 3990V. If your certification request reaches FY27, add CON 7300V after CON 1300V unless your component gives a different written transition determination. Passing the assessment then supports, but does not replace, the component certification request.

For a civilian FAC-C plan, confirm eligibility with your agency acquisition career manager and use the course and request workflow in FAI CSOD. Satisfy the four current foundational course requirements by completing the courses or obtaining agency-approved fulfillment where permitted; then document one year of contracting experience and obtain the agency's exam authorization. FAI says CON 3990 is mandatory and cannot be substituted through a provider equivalency. After passing, submit the certification request and any agency-specific documentation; the score report alone is not a FAC-C certificate.

Keep evidence as you go: completion records, experience dates, authorization messages, score documentation, and remediation approvals if applicable. This prevents a scheduling milestone from being mistaken for final certification and makes a later reciprocity review easier. It also exposes gaps early, while a career manager can still correct course sequencing or coding.

What changes on October 1, 2026?

The Department of War's DPCAP June 5, 2026 FY27 implementation memorandum makes CON 7300V Price Analysis mandatory for the DoW/DAWIA Contracting Professional certification beginning October 1, 2026. Candidates take it after CON 1300V. Registration priority is intended for workforce members actively pursuing the certification.

The memo creates three practical groups:

• Already certified before October 1: CON 7300V is encouraged, not required solely to preserve an existing certification under this memo.
• Starting under the FY27 standard: plan on completing CON 7300V after CON 1300V as part of the required learning path.
• Already in progress on October 1: components retain discretion in applying the transition, but the memorandum states an expectation that candidates in progress complete CON 7300V. Ask your component acquisition career manager for a documented determination rather than assuming grandfathering.

This is a DoW/DAWIA workforce policy. It does not amend the civilian FAC-C (Professional) standard merely because FAC-C candidates take the same CON 3990V assessment. A civilian agency could adopt additional training through its own authority, but that would be an agency decision—not a blanket consequence of the DoW FY27 memo.

The March 31 RFO update is a different event

WarU announced that the prior CON 3990V exam set ended March 30 and the updated set aligned to the revised Required Functional Objectives (RFOs) launched March 31, 2026. The official RFO update notice and student FAQ estimate that about 30% of the question bank was affected. They also say the underlying competencies and expected initial readiness did not materially change.

Keep the dates straight: March 31, 2026 changed the active exam bank; October 1, 2026 changes the DoW/DAWIA course requirement. The first affects authorized candidates sitting for CON 3990V. The second affects DoW/DAWIA certification plans and does not automatically rewrite FAC-C.

CON 3990V exam snapshot

The current official CON 3990V course page and FAI testing FAQ describe a closed-book, proctored assessment with these core features:

• 150 multiple-choice questions
• 70% passing score
• A three-hour appointment window, which includes introductory screens, tutorials, the exam, breaks, and review steps
• Delivery through Pearson VUE at an approved test center or, when permitted, through OnVUE remote proctoring
• FAR coverage across the exam and limited DFARS coverage where the objective calls for it

Because the assessment is closed book, success depends on recognizing the correct acquisition principle and applying it under time pressure. Memorizing unauthorized recollections of live questions is both fragile and inappropriate. An official objective can remain stable while wording, distractors, and scenarios change.

Authorization and scheduling

Candidates cannot simply buy a public seat. DoW/DAWIA candidates first need appropriate workforce eligibility and authorization through their component and TAS workflow. Civilian FAC-C candidates work through their agency and FAI CSOD. The official Pearson VUE WarU page says authorized candidates receive an eligibility window—generally 90 days—and can then choose an available test-center or OnVUE appointment.

Use the same legal name in the training system, Pearson account, and accepted identification. Resolve a mismatch before test day. Pearson also says candidates are not charged a direct exam fee because the government funds authorized appointments, but a missed appointment still creates a government cost. Reschedule or cancel at least 48 hours in advance under the current policy.

Remote testing is convenient but adds technical and room rules. Complete the OnVUE system test on the same computer and network you will use, remove prohibited materials, and arrange a quiet private space. A test center may be safer if your connection, device permissions, or room setup is uncertain.

Retakes: three is not four

The attempt policy depends on the certification program. The current DoW/WarU course page permits three attempts during a rolling 12-month period, with at least 30 days between attempts. A component may require remediation before another authorization.

FAI's current FAQ permits FAC-C candidates four attempts, also separated by at least 30 days. After a fourth failure, an endorsed remediation plan is required, and an additional authorization cannot occur until at least one year after the first attempt and at least 30 days after the most recent attempt. Do not copy the four-attempt FAC-C rule into a DoW/DAWIA plan or the three-attempt DoW/DAWIA rule into a civilian plan.

A failed attempt should produce a targeted study cycle: use the official performance feedback allowed by the program, revisit weak objectives, complete assigned remediation, and take fresh practice sets. Waiting 30 days without changing the study process does not address the cause.

Exam, certification, currency, and warrant are separate

Think of the career path as four checkpoints:

1. Exam: earn at least 70% on CON 3990V.
2. Certification: satisfy the applicable courses, experience, assessment, and component or agency approval.
3. Currency: complete the required continuous learning cycle. Current DoW/DAWIA and FAI materials use 80 hours/CLPs in a two-year cycle; FAI identifies the current cycle as May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2028 on its continuous learning page.
4. Warrant: receive position-specific authority from the appointing organization. A passing score or certification does not automatically confer authority to bind the government.

Reciprocity can help an experienced employee move between DAWIA and FAC-C environments, but it is reviewed through the gaining organization and its acquisition career manager. It does not create automatic warrant portability or eliminate agency-specific requirements.

A safe preparation plan

Begin with the official RFOs and required courses. CON 1100V through CON 1400V establish the shared foundation; DoW/DAWIA FY27 candidates should place CON 7300V after CON 1300V. WarU also updated CON 3910 exam preparation for the revised RFOs, with self-paced lessons, practice quizzes, and a full practice exam.

DAWIA Contracting practice bankPractice questions with detailed explanations

A practical four-stage cycle is:

1. Take a diagnostic and map every miss to an official objective.
2. Relearn the rule in the official course material and verify current FAR/DFARS context.
3. Practice mixed scenarios without references, explaining why each distractor is wrong.
4. Simulate the full closed-book time demand, then remediate the weakest domains before scheduling.

Avoid any seller claiming to reproduce live exam questions or guarantee a first-attempt pass. No legitimate practice set can guarantee an outcome, and recalled questions may be outdated after the March 2026 bank change. The goal is durable contracting judgment, not recognition of a leaked phrase.

Final checklist

Before requesting authorization, confirm which program governs you, which standard applies on your planned certification date, and whether your component or agency has extra requirements. Verify required course completion—or agency-approved fulfillment where the FAC-C standard permits it—and 12 months of experience; for DoW/DAWIA FY27, resolve CON 7300V and any transition decision in writing. Review the current RFOs, understand your program's attempt limit, and make sure the name in your account matches your ID. Finally, remember what the appointment can and cannot accomplish: CON 3990V can satisfy the assessment checkpoint, while certification approval, currency, and a contracting officer warrant remain separate actions.