1.2 Exam Format, Scoring, & Logistics

1.2 Exam Format, Scoring, & Logistics

Quick Answer: The a-IPC is 100 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours — 85 scored items plus 15 unscored pretest items. The fee is $335 USD. Delivery is via Prometric test centers or ProProctor live remote proctoring. Navigation is forward-only: you cannot skip, flag, or return to a question. Scoring is criterion-referenced (modified Angoff) on a 300–900 scale with a 700 cut score.

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Exam Architecture

Every candidate receives exactly 100 four-option multiple-choice questions with a single best answer.

• 85 scored items determine pass/fail.
• 15 unscored pretest items are seeded throughout to gather statistical performance data for future forms. They are indistinguishable from scored items, so treat every question as if it counts.

The 2.5-hour appointment vs. the 2-hour exam

This is the most common logistics mix-up. CBIC schedules a-IPC appointments in a 2.5-hour window, but the examination itself is 2 hours. The extra 30 minutes is 15 minutes on each end for the tutorial and the post-exam survey. Plan your pacing against 120 minutes, not 150.

$\frac{120\ \text{minutes}}{100\ \text{questions}} = 1.2\ \text{minutes} \approx \mathbf{72\ \text{seconds per question}}$

A workable checkpoint discipline: be at question 25 by the 30-minute mark, question 50 by 60 minutes, and question 75 by 90 minutes.

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Domain Content Breakdown (2025 Practice Analysis)

CBIC conducts a practice analysis every four to five years. The current a-IPC blueprint reflects the 2025 practice analysis and governs every exam administered on and after May 22, 2026; the previous 2020 outline expired May 11, 2026, with a testing blackout from May 12–21, 2026. Any prep resource still describing a six-domain a-IPC blueprint is describing an exam that no longer exists.

The three largest domains — Surveillance, Identification, and Transmission Prevention — together carry 45 of 85 scored items (53%). Note also the verb shift in the 2025 outline: tasks are written as participate, assist, recognize, monitor, collaborate rather than the 2020 outline's develop, lead, design. Expect items that ask what an associate-level practitioner contributes to a process, not what they unilaterally decide.

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Forward-Only Navigation (Effective January 2, 2025)

CBIC changed the delivery model for the CIC, a-IPC, and LTC-CIP examinations. Candidates now progress linearly:

• You must answer every item in the order presented. Skipping is not possible.
• Once you confirm an answer and advance, you cannot go back to review or change it.
• The flag-for-review function and the review navigation panel have been removed.
• The text highlight and strikeout tools remain available and are now your primary in-item working aids.

Exam Tip: Forward-only delivery changes strategy fundamentally. There is no "come back to it later" pass. Commit to an answer within roughly 72 seconds using strikeout to eliminate distractors, then move on — dwelling on one hard item steals time you cannot recover elsewhere.

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Delivery Options

Prometric test center

Government-issued photo ID, biometric check-in (palm or fingerprint scan), visual inspection, and secured storage of belongings. Prometric supplies erasable note boards or scratch material, which must be surrendered on exit.

ProProctor remote proctoring

Taken from home or a private office at no additional cost. Requirements include a compliant computer with webcam and microphone, reliable internet, and a single monitor. The proctor performs a 360-degree room scan; the workspace must be clear of papers, books, and secondary devices. Physical scratch paper is prohibited — you use the built-in digital whiteboard.

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Scoring and Score Reporting

Modified Angoff standard setting

CBIC does not use a fixed percentage cutoff. A panel of subject-matter experts estimates, item by item, the probability that a minimally competent candidate answers correctly; the sum establishes the raw cut score for that form. Forms are then statistically equated so a slightly harder form does not disadvantage the candidate.

Scaled scores

Raw scores convert to a 300–900 scale with a fixed passing standard of 700. A scaled score is not a percentage and cannot be converted back to one, and CBIC does not disclose how many items you answered correctly.

Result timing

For standard administrations — everything from the August 28, 2026 reopening onward — a pass/fail notification appears on screen as soon as you finish the examination, and Prometric emails the score report within about an hour. If that email does not arrive, retrieve the report from Prometric's score report portal using your 16-digit exam confirmation number.

The single exception was the May 22 – July 2, 2026 beta administration of the updated outline. A beta form has no established cut score until its item statistics are analyzed, so CBIC held those results and released them roughly 60 days after that testing window closed. Guidance describing a 60-day wait applies only to the beta window; it is not the normal rule, and you should expect an immediate verdict.

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Fees, Eligibility Window, and Appointment Changes

If the 90-day window lapses, eligibility is gone: you must reapply as a first-time applicant with a new application and fee. CBIC does not publish a mandatory waiting period between attempts, so a candidate who does not pass should confirm current retake terms with CBIC directly rather than relying on third-party prep sites.