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KYC (Know Your Customer) is primarily designed to:

Help banks market new products

Verify the identity of customers, understand their activities, and assess money laundering and other financial crime risks

Evaluate credit risk only

Determine product profitability

to track

2026 Statistics

Key Facts: CKYCA Exam

100

Practice Questions

OpenExamPrep

70%

Passing Score

ACAMS CKYCA

120 min

Exam Duration

ACAMS

~$595

Exam Fee

ACAMS member

2 years

Validity

CE-based renewal

Online

Testing Format

Online proctored

The CKYCA is an entry-level ACAMS credential for KYC analysts. The exam features 100 questions delivered in 120 minutes with online proctoring, a 70% passing score, and a two-year validity period (maintained via CE). Typical fee is around $595 for ACAMS members. The credential is widely used for early-career financial-crime professionals at banks, fintechs, MSBs, investment advisers, and crypto exchanges. It complements the senior CAMS credential.

Sample CKYCA Practice Questions

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

1KYC (Know Your Customer) is primarily designed to:

A.Help banks market new products

B.Verify the identity of customers, understand their activities, and assess money laundering and other financial crime risks

C.Evaluate credit risk only

D.Determine product profitability

Explanation: KYC is a foundational pillar of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) programs. It ensures financial institutions can reliably identify their customers, understand their expected activity, and detect unusual behavior indicating financial crime.

2The Customer Identification Program (CIP) is a requirement under:

A.The USA PATRIOT Act (Section 326) and related FinCEN rules

B.GDPR

C.Sarbanes-Oxley

D.SEC Regulation Best Interest

Explanation: Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act and implementing FinCEN regulations require covered financial institutions to establish a CIP that verifies the identity of each customer to the extent reasonable and practicable. CIP is a minimum baseline of KYC.

3Which four core elements are required under the FinCEN CDD Rule?

A.Identify customer, identify beneficial owner, understand nature and purpose of relationship, ongoing monitoring

B.Only customer identity

C.Only beneficial ownership

D.Only ongoing monitoring

Explanation: The FinCEN CDD Rule (effective 2018) requires four pillars: (1) customer identification and verification, (2) identification and verification of beneficial owners of legal entity customers, (3) understanding the nature and purpose of the customer relationship to develop a risk profile, and (4) ongoing monitoring for suspicious activity and customer-information updates.

4Under the FinCEN CDD Rule, beneficial ownership must generally be identified at what ownership threshold?

A.10%

B.25% (ownership prong)

C.50%

D.75%

Explanation: The FinCEN CDD Rule requires identification of any individual who directly or indirectly owns 25% or more of the equity interests of a legal entity customer (the ownership prong), plus one individual with significant responsibility for control (the control prong). Together they form ‘beneficial owners.’

5The FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirement, effective 2024, mandates reporting to:

A.The IRS

B.FinCEN’s BOI system under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)

C.The SEC

D.OFAC

Explanation: The Corporate Transparency Act requires reporting companies (most U.S. corporations, LLCs, and similar entities) to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN, effective January 1, 2024, supplementing the CDD Rule applied to financial institutions.

6Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) is typically applied to:

A.Every customer equally

B.Customers identified as higher-risk (e.g., PEPs, high-risk jurisdictions, complex structures, high-risk industries)

C.Only retail customers

D.Only employees

Explanation: A risk-based approach requires standard CDD for most customers and EDD for higher-risk relationships. EDD includes additional identity verification, more detailed source of wealth and source of funds analysis, senior management approval, and more frequent review.

7A Politically Exposed Person (PEP) is best described as:

A.Any elected official

B.An individual entrusted with a prominent public function (foreign or domestic), and their close family members and close associates

C.Only foreign heads of state

D.Any government employee

Explanation: Per FATF and industry guidance, PEPs include individuals holding prominent public positions — and their close family members and close associates — who may pose higher money laundering/corruption risks. Categories include foreign PEPs, domestic PEPs, and international-organization PEPs.

8Which screening is required by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)?

A.Credit screening only

B.Screening of customers and transactions against the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List and other OFAC sanctions programs

C.Only tax ID screening

D.Only AML watchlists

Explanation: OFAC administers and enforces U.S. economic and trade sanctions. Financial institutions must screen customers and transactions against the SDN List, sectoral sanctions lists, and country-based programs. Transacting with sanctioned parties (or facilitating such transactions) can trigger severe civil and criminal penalties regardless of intent.

9The OFAC 50 Percent Rule states that:

A.An entity 50% or more owned (directly or indirectly, alone or in the aggregate) by one or more blocked persons is itself blocked

B.Only entities 100% owned by blocked persons are blocked

C.Only public companies are blocked

D.Only individuals are blocked

Explanation: The OFAC 50% Rule blocks any entity owned 50% or more, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, by one or more blocked persons, even if not itself named on the SDN List. This requires careful beneficial ownership analysis during KYC.

10A SAR (Suspicious Activity Report) under U.S. law must generally be filed:

A.Within 3 days

B.Within 30 days of initial detection of suspicious activity (with up to 30-day extension if no identified suspect)

C.Within one year

D.Within 6 months

Explanation: A U.S. SAR must be filed with FinCEN within 30 calendar days of initial detection of facts that constitute a basis for filing; an additional 30 days is allowed if no suspect has been identified. Filing is on FinCEN Form 111.

About the CKYCA Exam

The CKYCA (Certified KYC Associate) is an entry-level financial-crime credential administered by ACAMS (Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists). It validates foundational KYC/CDD knowledge for analysts, onboarding teams, and early-career AML professionals. The exam covers customer identification and verification, beneficial ownership (FinCEN CDD Rule and Corporate Transparency Act), risk-based due diligence (including EDD for PEPs and high-risk customers), OFAC sanctions, adverse-media and PEP screening, transaction monitoring, SAR/CTR reporting, and the FATF Recommendations applicable to KYC.

Questions

100 scored questions

Time Limit

120 minutes

Passing Score

70%

Exam Fee

~$595 (ACAMS)

CKYCA Exam Content Outline

25%

KYC Fundamentals, CIP & CDD

BSA, USA PATRIOT Act Sections 326/312/313/311, FinCEN CDD Rule four pillars, 25% beneficial ownership, Corporate Transparency Act (BOI), risk-based approach, identity verification methods, primary vs. secondary ID, eKYC (Jumio, Onfido, Trulioo, LexisNexis)

20%

Enhanced Due Diligence & Risk

EDD triggers, PEPs (foreign/domestic/international-organization), close family and associates, high-risk jurisdictions (FATF grey/black lists), source of wealth and source of funds, senior management approval, periodic reviews by risk tier

15%

Sanctions & Screening

OFAC SDN List, 50% Rule, sectoral sanctions, country-based programs, real-time and periodic screening, PEP and adverse-media screening (Dow Jones, RDC, LexisNexis, World-Check), fuzzy matching, true matches vs. false positives

15%

Typologies, Red Flags & Monitoring

Placement/layering/integration, structuring (smurfing), trade-based ML, human trafficking, shell companies and nominee directors, straw men, transaction monitoring scenarios (thresholds, velocity, round-dollar, geography, rapid movement)

15%

Reporting & Record Keeping

CTRs ($10,000 threshold), SARs (30-day filing, safe harbor, tipping-off prohibition under 31 USC §5318(g)), Unusual Activity Reports internally, 5-year BSA retention, FinCEN Form 111/112, 314(a) and 314(b) information sharing

10%

Regulatory Frameworks

FATF Recommendations (R.10 CDD, R.11 record keeping, R.15/16 VASPs and Travel Rule, R.22-23 DNFBPs), AMLA 2020 and CTA, EU AMLD6/AMLR/AMLA, MSBs, VASPs/CASPs, nested correspondent banking, Wolfsberg Group/CBDDQ

How to Pass the CKYCA Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 70%
Exam length: 100 questions
Time limit: 120 minutes
Exam fee: ~$595

Keys to Passing

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

CKYCA Study Tips from Top Performers

1Memorize the four pillars of the FinCEN CDD Rule: identify customer, identify beneficial owner, understand relationship, ongoing monitoring

2Know the 25% ownership prong plus one control-prong individual for beneficial ownership

3Study OFAC’s 50% Rule — aggregate indirect ownership blocks entities even if not named on the SDN List

4Learn the SAR mechanics: 30-day filing deadline (with +30 if suspect unknown), safe harbor under 31 USC 5318(g), anti-tipping-off rule

5Memorize the CTR threshold ($10,000) and know that structuring (smurfing) to avoid it is a separate crime

6Study the three stages of money laundering (placement/layering/integration) and identify example typologies for each

7Know the FATF Recommendations most tested: R.10 (CDD), R.11 (record-keeping 5 years), R.15/16 (VASPs and Travel Rule), R.22-23 (DNFBPs)

8Learn the PATRIOT Act sections tested: 311 (primary money laundering concern), 312 (correspondent banking EDD), 313 (shell bank prohibition), 314 (information sharing), 326 (CIP)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the CKYCA credential?

The Certified KYC Associate (CKYCA) is an entry-level credential administered by ACAMS that validates foundational KYC knowledge for onboarding, CDD, and ongoing monitoring professionals. It complements the senior CAMS credential.

How is the CKYCA exam structured?

The CKYCA exam is delivered online with proctoring. It features approximately 100 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 120 minutes, with a 70% passing threshold. ACAMS policies on scheduling, rescheduling, and retakes are available on acams.org.

How much does the CKYCA exam cost?

Typical fees are around $595 for ACAMS members; non-member fees are higher. Fees may include access to study materials depending on the package selected. Many employers reimburse CKYCA fees for qualifying employees.

How long is CKYCA valid?

CKYCA is typically valid for two years. Certification holders maintain the credential by completing continuing education (CE) credits and paying any applicable maintenance fees.

Who typically takes the CKYCA exam?

CKYCA candidates include KYC analysts at banks, investment advisers, broker-dealers, MSBs, fintechs, and crypto exchanges; compliance operations staff; AML investigators; auditors; and early-career financial-crime professionals seeking a recognized credential.

How should I prepare for the CKYCA exam?

Plan for 40–80 hours of study. Focus on the FinCEN CDD Rule (four pillars, 25% BO threshold), CIP under PATRIOT 326, OFAC sanctions and the 50% Rule, FATF Recommendations 10, 11, 15, 16, 22-23, SAR/CTR requirements under the BSA, AMLA 2020/CTA, and the typical red-flag typologies. Complete hundreds of practice questions — including this free 100-question set — and aim for 80%+ before testing.