100+ Free CEDS Practice Questions

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: CEDS Exam

~145 questions

The CEDS exam has about 145 four-option multiple-choice questions

ACEDS CEDS Certification Handbook

4 hours

Time allotted to complete the CEDS examination

ACEDS CEDS Certification Handbook

~69.6%

Scaled passing standard for the CEDS exam

ACEDS CEDS Certification Handbook

EDRM-aligned

Exam content follows the Electronic Discovery Reference Model lifecycle

ACEDS / EDRM

Kryterion-proctored

The CEDS exam is delivered through Kryterion, online or at a test center

ACEDS CEDS Certification Handbook

Rule 37(e)

FRCP Rule 37(e) governs sanctions for failure to preserve ESI

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

~US$1,495

Typical ACEDS prep-and-exam bundle price before discounts

ACEDS

100

Free original practice questions in this bank

OpenExamPrep

The Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS) is ACEDS's flagship e-discovery certification. The proctored exam has about 145 four-option multiple-choice questions, allows up to four hours, and uses a scaled passing standard of roughly 69.6%. Questions are scenario-based and aligned to the EDRM lifecycle: information governance, identification, preservation and legal holds, collection, processing, review and analysis (including TAR), production and presentation, plus the FRCP, Sedona Conference principles, proportionality and ethics. ACEDS prep-and-exam packages typically cost around US$1,495 with periodic discounts. This 100-question bank provides original scenario practice across all of these areas with full answer explanations.

Sample CEDS Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your CEDS exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1In the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM), which stage comes immediately before Collection?

A.Preservation

B.Processing

C.Review

D.Production

Explanation: The EDRM proceeds from Information Governance to Identification, then Preservation, and then Collection. Preservation protects relevant ESI from alteration or loss before it is collected. Collection then gathers that ESI in a defensible manner.

2A company adopts policies governing how data is created, stored, retained, and disposed of to reduce risk and cost before any litigation arises. Which EDRM stage does this describe?

A.Identification

B.Information Governance

C.Processing

D.Presentation

Explanation: Information Governance is the left-most EDRM stage and addresses the proactive management of an organization's information, including retention and defensible disposition, before litigation is anticipated. Good governance reduces the volume and cost of later e-discovery.

3Under the U.S. common-law duty to preserve, when does the obligation to preserve potentially relevant ESI generally arise?

A.When a complaint is served on the party

B.When litigation is reasonably anticipated

C.When the first discovery request is received

D.When the court enters a scheduling order

Explanation: The duty to preserve is triggered when a party reasonably anticipates litigation, which can occur well before a lawsuit is filed. At that point the party must suspend ordinary destruction of relevant ESI and take steps to preserve it.

4A general counsel sends a written litigation hold to relevant custodians instructing them not to delete certain emails and files. What is the BEST next step to make the hold defensible?

A.Wait for custodians to volunteer any concerns

B.Track issuance, obtain custodian acknowledgements, and send periodic reminders

C.Delete the hold notice after 30 days to save storage

D.Rely solely on IT to image every custodian's laptop

Explanation: A defensible legal hold is not just a single notice; the issuer should document distribution, obtain acknowledgements from custodians, and send periodic reminders and updates. This creates a record that reasonable steps were taken to preserve ESI.

5Which Federal Rule of Civil Procedure specifically addresses the failure to preserve electronically stored information (ESI) and the measures or sanctions a court may impose?

A.Rule 26(b)(1)

B.Rule 34

C.Rule 37(e)

D.Rule 502(b)

Explanation: FRCP Rule 37(e), amended in 2015, governs the failure to preserve ESI that should have been preserved. It permits curative measures for prejudice and reserves the most severe sanctions, such as an adverse-inference instruction or dismissal, for cases where a party acted with intent to deprive another of the information.

6Under FRCP Rule 37(e)(2), a court may impose the most severe sanctions (such as an adverse-inference instruction or dismissal) only when the party that lost ESI acted with what state of mind?

A.Negligence

B.Gross negligence

C.Intent to deprive another party of the information's use

D.Strict liability regardless of intent

Explanation: Rule 37(e)(2) authorizes the harshest measures only on a finding that the party 'acted with the intent to deprive another party of the information's use in the litigation.' Mere negligence is insufficient for those measures, though lesser curative steps may be available under 37(e)(1).

7An IT department's email system automatically purges all messages older than 90 days. The company reasonably anticipates litigation about events from six months ago. What should the company do FIRST?

A.Let the auto-purge continue to reduce data volume

B.Suspend the auto-deletion for relevant custodians and data

C.Collect every email in the company immediately

D.Wait until a preservation letter arrives from opposing counsel

Explanation: When litigation is reasonably anticipated, the party must suspend ordinary records-destruction policies, including automatic email purging, for potentially relevant ESI and custodians. Failing to suspend auto-deletion is a common cause of spoliation findings.

8What is the primary purpose of the 'Identification' stage of the EDRM?

A.To convert documents to TIFF images

B.To locate potential sources and custodians of relevant ESI

C.To apply privilege coding to documents

D.To negotiate production formats with opposing counsel

Explanation: Identification is the EDRM stage where the team determines who the key custodians are and where potentially relevant ESI may reside, such as email systems, file shares, cloud applications, mobile devices, and databases. This scoping informs preservation and collection.

9A litigation team interviews key custodians and maps the organization's systems before preservation. This activity is BEST described as building a:

A.Privilege log

B.Data map

C.Load file

D.Bates index

Explanation: A data map documents where an organization's ESI resides, including systems, applications, custodians, and retention practices. Building or updating a data map during identification helps the team scope preservation and collection accurately.

10Which Sedona Conference principle best supports the idea that responding parties are usually best situated to decide how to preserve and produce their own ESI?

A.The principle of proportionality only

B.The principle that the producing party is best positioned to evaluate its own ESI procedures

C.The principle that all metadata must always be produced

D.The principle that ESI must always be produced natively

Explanation: The Sedona Principles recognize that responding parties are typically best situated to evaluate and select the procedures, methodologies, and technologies appropriate for preserving and producing their own ESI. This supports cooperative but party-driven e-discovery decisions.

About the CEDS Exam

The Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS) is the professional certification offered by the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS). It validates broad, practical competence across the electronic discovery lifecycle as organized by the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM): information governance and records management; identification of electronically stored information (ESI); preservation and legal holds; collection and forensics; processing; review, analysis and technology-assisted review (TAR); production; and presentation. The exam also tests the governing law and standards, including the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (notably the Rule 37(e) framework for failure to preserve ESI), Sedona Conference principles, proportionality, ethics and cross-border data-privacy considerations such as the GDPR. The proctored exam contains roughly 145 four-option multiple-choice questions, many framed as litigation scenarios, and is delivered through Kryterion.

Assessment

Approximately 145 four-option multiple-choice questions, many written as e-discovery scenarios aligned to the EDRM lifecycle (information governance, identification, preservation/legal hold, collection, processing, review, analysis, production and presentation) plus rules, ethics and proportionality.

Time Limit

Up to four hours to complete the examination.

Passing Score

Approximately 69.6% (a scaled passing standard set by ACEDS); candidates receive a pass or fail result.

Exam Fee

ACEDS sells exam-only and prep-plus-exam packages; the standard prep-and-exam bundle is around US$1,495, with periodic seasonal discounts and member pricing. Confirm current fees on the ACEDS site. (Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), administered via Kryterion)

CEDS Exam Content Outline

15%

Information Governance & Identification

Records management and information governance to reduce risk and support defensible disposition, plus identifying and mapping potential sources of ESI across custodians, systems, cloud services and data repositories at the front of the EDRM.

22%

Preservation, Legal Holds & Spoliation

When the duty to preserve is triggered (reasonable anticipation of litigation), issuing and tracking litigation holds and custodian acknowledgements, suspending auto-deletion, and the spoliation and FRCP Rule 37(e) sanctions framework for lost ESI.

22%

Collection & Processing

Defensible, targeted collection, forensic imaging and write-blocking, chain of custody and metadata integrity, then processing tasks: de-duplication, de-NISTing, filtering, exception handling, file-type identification and metadata extraction into a review platform.

18%

Review, Analysis & TAR

Linear and tiered review workflows, technology-assisted review (TAR/predictive coding), analytics such as clustering, near-duplicate detection, email threading and concept search, quality control and statistical sampling, and privilege review and logging.

12%

Production & Presentation

Negotiating and delivering production formats (native, near-native, image/TIFF with load files, PDF), redaction, Bates numbering, family handling, privilege logs, confidentiality designations, and presenting ESI at deposition and trial.

11%

Project Management, Ethics, Rules & Case Law

E-discovery project management, budgeting, cost-shifting and proportionality under FRCP Rule 26(b)(1), the FRCP framework and Sedona Conference principles, professional-responsibility and competence duties, and cross-border transfers and GDPR conflicts.

How to Pass the CEDS Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: Approximately 69.6% (a scaled passing standard set by ACEDS); candidates receive a pass or fail result.
Assessment: Approximately 145 four-option multiple-choice questions, many written as e-discovery scenarios aligned to the EDRM lifecycle (information governance, identification, preservation/legal hold, collection, processing, review, analysis, production and presentation) plus rules, ethics and proportionality.
Time limit: Up to four hours to complete the examination.
Exam fee: ACEDS sells exam-only and prep-plus-exam packages; the standard prep-and-exam bundle is around US$1,495, with periodic seasonal discounts and member pricing. Confirm current fees on the ACEDS site.

Keys to Passing

Complete 500+ practice questions
Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
Focus on highest-weighted sections
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

CEDS Study Tips from Top Performers

1Learn the EDRM stages in order (information governance through presentation) and be able to say what tasks, deliverables and risks belong to each stage; many questions test which stage a scenario describes.

2Master FRCP Rule 37(e): the duty to preserve attaches when litigation is reasonably anticipated, and curative measures versus the severe sanctions (adverse-inference, dismissal) turn on whether a party acted with intent to deprive.

3Memorize the key processing concepts and how they differ: de-duplication, de-NISTing, near-duplicate detection, email threading and metadata extraction, and what each one removes or organizes.

4Understand TAR/predictive coding workflows and validation: training, control sets, recall and precision, and elusion sampling, plus when courts have approved TAR over objections.

5Be precise about production formats and their trade-offs (native vs. image/TIFF with load files vs. PDF), Bates numbering, redaction, family relationships and privilege logs.

6Tie everything back to proportionality under FRCP Rule 26(b)(1) and Sedona Conference principles; the 'defensible and proportional' answer is usually correct over the most exhaustive or cheapest one.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the CEDS exam and how long is it?

The CEDS examination contains approximately 145 four-option multiple-choice questions, and candidates are allotted up to four hours to complete it. Many questions are framed as e-discovery scenarios.

What passing score do I need for the CEDS exam?

ACEDS uses a scaled passing standard of roughly 69.6%. You receive a pass or fail result rather than a raw percentile, and the standard is set so the exam reflects competent professional practice.

What does the CEDS exam cover?

It covers the full EDRM lifecycle: information governance, identification, preservation and legal holds, collection, processing, review and analysis including TAR, production and presentation, plus the FRCP, Sedona Conference principles, proportionality, ethics and cross-border data privacy.

Who administers the CEDS certification and how is it delivered?

The Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS) owns the CEDS credential, and the proctored exam is delivered through Kryterion, either online-proctored or at a testing center.

Do I need experience to sit the CEDS exam?

There is no formal degree requirement, but ACEDS recommends practical e-discovery experience and familiarity with the EDRM before testing. CEDS is aimed at attorneys, paralegals, litigation-support and e-discovery professionals.

Are these official ACEDS CEDS practice questions?

No. These are original OpenExamPrep questions modeled on the CEDS content areas and U.S. e-discovery practice. ACEDS provides its own study manual, video modules and any official sample materials separately.