Leadership & Strategy
10%of exam
Facility Operations
10%of exam
Risk Management
10%of exam
Finance & Business
10%of exam
Sustainability
10%of exam
Communication
10%of exam
Quality
10%of exam
Real Estate
10%of exam
Facility Technology and Data Management
10%of exam
Project Management
10%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam questions
- 120 total, 100 scored
- Pretest items
- 20 unscored, mixed randomly
- Item format
- Three-option multiple choice
- Testing time
- 3 hours, 4-hour appointment
- Scoring
- Pass/fail on total correct
- Cut score
- Criterion-referenced, not published
- Blueprint
- 10 domains, 10 items each
- Pass rate
- 65%, published by IFMA
- Delivery
- Prometric centers, no remote
- Language
- English only
- Eligibility
- 5 years, or 3 with degree
- Tier 1 fee
- $615 member/$910 non-member
- Retake fee
- $265 member/$365 non-member
- Validity
- 3 years, ends December 31
- Ethics deadline
- 30 days after passing
- Results
- Immediate email; 21-day review
Ten Domain Order
Leaders Fix Risk, Finance, Sustain, Communicate, Quality, Realty, Tech, Projects
Leadership, Facility ops, RiskFinance, Sustainability, CommunicationQuality, Real estate, TechnologyProject Management tenth
11 Competencies vs 10 Domains
11 core competencies
- Study and training framework
- Includes Occupancy & Human Factors
- Used across IFMA credentials
10 exam domains
- Scored blueprint, domains A-J
- 10 items each, 100 total
- No human factors domain
The exam scores domains
Eligibility Path Picker
- FM bachelor's or master's→Option 1(3 years experience)
- Any other education level→Option 2(5 years experience)
- Only internship experience→Not yet eligible(Internships never count)
- Experience is narrow→Broaden first(Most domains required)
- Passed, ethics outstanding→Finish within 30 days(Otherwise credential inactive)
Exam Blueprint Map
- A Leadership & Strategy
- Strategy, change, relationships10 items
- B Facility Operations
- Systems, maintenance, FF&E, security10 items
- C Risk Management
- Resilience, planning, emergencies10 items
- D Finance & Business
- Budgeting, procurement, analysis10 items
- E Sustainability
- Energy, water, waste, wellness10 items
- F Communication
- Communication skills, plan management10 items
- G Quality
- Quality management, improvement10 items
- H Real Estate
- Master planning, programming10 items
- I Facility Technology
- Data, technology, cyber-security10 items
- J Project Management
- Design, delivery, closeout10 items
Exam Numbers
120 items, 100 scored, 3 hours
20 unscored pretestThree-option items4-hour appointment
Scored vs Pretest Items
100 scored
- Decide your pass/fail result
- Spread evenly across domains
20 pretest
- Unscored, being trialled
- Mixed in and unmarked
Answer all 120 items
Credential Rules
- Eligibility Option 1
- FM degree, 3 years
- Eligibility Option 2
- Any education, 5 years
- Internships
- Never count as experience
- Ethics assessment
- Required within 30 days
- Ethics renewal
- Every six years
- Eligibility window
- 90 days after approval
- Window extension
- 90 more days, $50
- Application audit
- Random; verifies experience, degree
- Fee tiers
- Country-based; Tier 1 highest
Recertification Math
Three each in two categories, six total
At least three activities per categoryMinimum two of four categoriesSix activities per three-year cycleEthics training every six years
Grace Period vs Late Period
Grace period
- January 1 to March 31
- No penalty applies
Late period
- April 1 to June 30
- $100 late fee
After June 30, retake
Exam Day Rules
- Arrival
- 30 minutes before appointment
- Late arrival
- Over 15 minutes, no-show
- Identification
- Two IDs, one photo
- Calculators
- Not permitted
- Notes and books
- Not permitted
- Scratch paper
- Allowed, must be returned
- Breaks
- Unscheduled; timer keeps running
- Exhibits
- Single item or symbol
- Official confirmation
- Within 21 business days
FCI Bands
Good 5, fair 10, poor 30
Under 5% good5-10% fair10-30% poorAbove 30% critical
Preventive vs Predictive
Preventive
- Fixed calendar or runtime
- Runs regardless of condition
Predictive
- Condition data triggers work
- Vibration, thermography, oil analysis
Interval versus condition
Maintenance Strategy Picker
- Failure risk is critical→RCM(Analyze failure modes)
- Condition data available→Predictive(Sensors trigger work)
- Known wear interval→Preventive(Fixed time or runtime)
- Asset cheap and non-critical→Run-to-failure(Lowest program cost)
- Fault already reported→Corrective(Repair this period)
- Funding was cut→Deferred(Raises FCI over time)
Maintenance Strategies
- Preventive (PM)
- Fixed time or runtime
- Predictive (PdM)
- Condition data triggers work
- Corrective
- Repairs a found fault
- Deferred
- Postponed past due date
- Reliability-centered (RCM)
- Failure mode drives strategy
- Run-to-failure
- Cheap, non-critical assets
- MTBF
- Mean time between failures
- MTTR
- Mean time to repair
Operations Metrics
- FCI
- Deferred maintenance over replacement value
- FCI good
- Under 5%
- FCI fair
- 5-10%
- FCI poor
- 10-30%
- FCI critical
- Above 30%
- PM completion rate
- Completed over scheduled PMs
- Work management system
- Estimate, plan, schedule, track
Building Systems
- Infrastructure
- Structure, systems, envelope
- Building systems
- HVAC, electrical, plumbing, transport
- FF&E
- Movable, non-permanent connections
- Grounds
- Exterior non-structure elements
- Renewal
- Restores previous good condition
- Renovation
- Enhances or changes use
Continuity Four Rs
Respond, recover, resume, restore
BCP defines each stageRTO sets the clockRPO limits data loss
RTO vs RPO
RTO
- How fast to restore
- Measured as downtime
RPO
- How much data lost
- Sets backup frequency
Time versus data loss
Emergency Response Picker
- Odor plus occupant symptoms→Evacuate the area(People before investigation)
- Need restoration deadline→RTO(Comes from impact analysis)
- Need data loss limit→RPO(Backup frequency follows)
- Multi-site global incident→Multiple command posts(ICS scales up)
- Unsafe condition during response→Safety Officer stops work(Direct authority)
Risk & Continuity
- BIA
- Ranks processes by impact
- RTO
- Target restoration time
- RPO
- Maximum tolerable data loss
- Resilience
- Adaptive capacity under change
- Business continuity
- Delivery at predefined levels
- BCP
- Respond, recover, resume, restore
- ICS
- Scalable incident command structure
- Incident Commander
- Holds overall tactical authority
- Safety Officer
- Can stop unsafe operations
Risk Responses
- Avoid
- Removes the hazard entirely
- Mitigate
- Reduces likelihood or impact
- Transfer
- Insurance or contract clause
- Accept
- Retain; mitigation costs more
- Risk assessment
- Identify, analyze, evaluate
- Self-insured retention
- Loss retained before insurance
CapEx vs OpEx
CapEx
- Long-lived asset, depreciated
- Approved as capital project
OpEx
- Recurring annual operating cost
- Funded from operating budget
Asset life drives classification
Capital Metric Picker
- Need total lifetime cost→LCCA(Design through salvage)
- Compare timed cash flows→NPV(Positive means accept)
- Need a return rate→IRR(Beat the hurdle rate)
- Need recovery speed→Simple payback(Ignores time value)
- Rank savings projects→Savings-to-investment ratio(Above 1 is viable)
- Compare ownership options→TCO(Includes disposal cost)
Capital Appraisal
- LCCA
- Sums design through salvage
- NPV
- Discounted flows minus investment
- IRR
- Discount rate where NPV zero
- Simple payback
- Investment over annual savings
- Discounted payback
- Payback including discount rate
- ROI
- Net gain over investment
- Savings-to-investment ratio
- Above 1 is viable
- TCO
- Acquire, operate, maintain, dispose
- Hurdle rate
- Minimum acceptable return
Budget & Procurement
- OpEx
- Recurring operating budget spend
- CapEx
- Long-lived asset investment
- Chargeback
- Allocates cost to occupants
- Zero-based budget
- Justify every line yearly
- RFI
- Gathers market information
- RFQ
- Price-driven, defined specification
- RFP
- Scope plus evaluated approach
- Best value
- Weighs quality and price
GHG Scopes
One burns, two buys, three beyond
Scope 1 direct combustionScope 2 purchased energyScope 3 value chain
Sustainability Metrics
- EUI
- kBtu per square foot
- Energy baseline
- Reference for performance comparison
- Scope 1
- Direct onsite combustion emissions
- Scope 2
- Purchased electricity, steam, cooling
- Scope 3
- Indirect value chain emissions
- Waste diversion rate
- Diverted over total waste
- Water footprint
- Quantified water-related impacts
- ISO 50001
- Energy management system standard
- ISO 14046
- Water footprint standard
Energy Audit Levels
- ASHRAE Level I
- Walk-through, benchmark, low-cost
- ASHRAE Level II
- Survey, savings and costs
- ASHRAE Level III
- Investment-grade, capital projects
- Peer benchmarking
- Compare against similar buildings
- Submetering
- Isolates end-use consumption
- Demand response
- Curtails load on request
Communication Plan
- Planning
- Strategy to influence stakeholders
- Delivery
- Right method, right timeframe
- Evaluation
- Tests plan effectiveness
- Power/interest grid
- Right-sizes stakeholder effort
- Manage closely
- High power, high interest
- Keep satisfied
- High power, low interest
QA vs QC
Quality assurance
- Process focused and proactive
- Prevents defects occurring
Quality control
- Product focused and reactive
- Detects defects after work
Prevent versus detect
Quality & Performance
- Quality assurance
- Process focused, prevents defects
- Quality control
- Product focused, detects defects
- KPI
- Measured indicator of performance
- SLA
- Committed service levels, remedies
- Service level assessment
- Evaluate service you offer
- PDCA
- Plan, do, check, act
- ISO 9001
- Quality management system standard
- ISO 41001
- Facility management system standard
Usable vs Rentable Area
Usable (USF)
- Space the tenant occupies
- Excludes shared common areas
Rentable (RSF)
- Usable plus common share
- Basis for rent charged
Load factor links them
Real Estate & Space
- Gross lease
- Landlord pays operating expenses
- Triple net (NNN)
- Tenant pays proportional expenses
- Modified gross
- Expenses split by agreement
- Base year stop
- Tenant pays increases above
- Usable area
- Space the tenant occupies
- Rentable area
- Usable plus common share
- Load factor
- Rentable over usable area
- Master planning
- Long-range portfolio direction
- Functional programming
- Translates needs into space
CMMS vs IWMS
CMMS
- Work orders and maintenance
- Asset register focused
IWMS
- Space, leases, projects, assets
- Enterprise-wide integration
Scope of coverage differs
FM Technology Systems
- CMMS
- Work orders, assets, maintenance
- IWMS
- Integrates space, leases, assets
- CAFM
- Space and occupancy planning
- BAS
- Controls HVAC and lighting
- BIM
- Model-based building information
- Information security
- Confidentiality, integrity, availability
- Security event
- Possible breach or failure
- Security incident
- Events threatening business operations
Project Lifecycle
- Planning and design
- Scope, budget, schedule defined
- Execution and delivery
- Controls and produces deliverables
- Project closeout
- Close contracts, record performance
- Substantial completion
- Owner may occupy facility
- Punch list
- Remaining minor corrective items
- Design-bid-build
- Sequential; bids after design
- Design-build
- Single contract, overlapping phases
Common Traps
Competencies vs exam domains
11 competencies are training ≠ 10 domains are scored
Old form vs current
Legacy form had 180 ≠ Current exam has 120
Cut score vs percentage
Criterion-referenced cut score ≠ IFMA publishes no percentage
Appointment vs testing time
Appointment blocks 4 hours ≠ Timer counts 3 hours
Remote vs test center
Prometric test centers only ≠ Live remote no longer allowed
Corrective vs deferred
Corrective repairs this period ≠ Deferred postponed past due
Usable vs rentable area
Usable excludes common areas ≠ Rentable adds common share
Retake window vs unlimited
Reduced fee within 12 months ≠ Later attempts need reapplication
Expiry vs exam anniversary
Always December 31 ≠ Three years from exam
One price vs country tier
Tier 1 is highest ≠ Tiers 2 and 3 lower
Last Minute
- 1.120 items; 100 scored, 3 hours
- 2.Ten domains, ten items each
- 3.Three-option items; answer everything
- 4.Pass/fail; cut score unpublished
- 5.Prometric centers only; no remote
- 6.Two IDs; no calculator allowed
- 7.Breaks unscheduled; timer keeps running
- 8.FCI = deferred over replacement value
- 9.RTO = downtime; RPO = data
- 10.QA prevents; QC detects
- 11.Rentable = usable + common share
- 12.CapEx buys assets; OpEx runs them
- 13.Evacuate first when occupants symptomatic
- 14.Ethics assessment within 30 days
- 15.Credential ends December 31, three years
Buy on AmazonSame family resources
Explore More IFMA Facility Management Credentials
Continue into nearby exams from the same family. Each card keeps practice questions, study guides, flashcards, videos, and articles in one place.
More From This Family
Videos and articles for deeper review.