CPC Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling

Which CPC This Article Covers

This article is about the Certified Professional Constructor credential, the Level II certification from the American Institute of Constructors (AIC) and its Constructor Certification Commission. It is not the medical coding credential that shares the same three letters. If you arrived looking for medical coding exam dates, none of the schedules, fees, or deadlines below apply to you. For a plain-language orientation, see What Is CPC Certification? and What Does CPC Stand For?.

The CPC sits above the Level I Certified Associate in Construction (CAC) credential. Because the Level II exam is built around the application and analysis of construction management knowledge, the calendar is only one piece of the planning puzzle. Your eligibility, your fee path, and your study runway all have to line up with the testing window. This guide walks through each of those pieces in the order you will actually encounter them.

How the Spring and Fall Windows Work

AIC currently delivers the CPC through online proctored administrations offered in spring and fall. That is a meaningful change from older paper-and-test-center language that still circulates in legacy documents. The official 2024 study guide and the older candidate handbook contain testing instructions written for earlier delivery methods, and those instructions should not override whatever AIC publishes in its current administration notice.

Each administration has three distinct stages, and candidates routinely confuse them:

1. Application: You submit your credentials and documentation so the Commission can determine whether you are eligible to sit for the exam.
2. Registration: Once eligible, you register for the exam and pay the examination fee.
3. Testing: You take the 175-question, four-hour exam during the published testing window.

Treating these as one deadline is the most common scheduling mistake. A candidate who waits until the registration window to submit an application may find that the application stage has already closed.

The Fall 2026 Calendar

AIC's dedicated Fall 2026 examination notice publishes the following schedule for the fall administration:

Notice that the application and registration windows overlap from September 1 through September 15. That overlap does not mean you can skip the application stage. It simply means that candidates with clean, complete documentation can move quickly from approval to registration if the Commission acts fast.

If you are reading this in early October 2026, treat the published dates as a reference for how the cycle works rather than an assumption that anything is still open. No one should assume registration remains available on a given day without confirming it with AIC.

The Registration Deadline Conflict

There is an unresolved discrepancy in AIC's own published materials. The dedicated Fall 2026 notice lists registration closing October 1. The general certification information page, meanwhile, lists registration through October 15. These two pages are both official AIC sources, and they do not agree.

It is tempting to quietly pick the later date and hope for the best. Do not do that. A two-week difference at the end of a registration period can decide whether you sit this fall or wait for the spring administration. The responsible approach is:

• Treat the earlier date (October 1) as your working deadline.
• Contact AIC directly to ask which date governs and whether a late registration option exists.
• Get the answer in writing, by email, so you have a record if there is later confusion.
• If the later date is confirmed, treat it as a safety margin rather than a plan. Do not build your preparation around the last possible day.

Eligibility Has to Be Settled Before the Calendar Matters

The application stage exists because not everyone who wants to take the CPC is eligible to. Under the Commission's published policy on educational and experiential criteria (Policy 1.2, revised December 1, 2022), candidates need a CAC in good standing, or an approved Level I exemption, plus additional qualifying construction-related experience. The policy specifies four additional years of acceptable construction experience beyond Level I eligibility, including at least two years managing construction execution.

Several details affect timing:

• One qualifying work year represents 2,000 hours. Extra hours worked in a single year do not create an additional work year.
• Some work categories earn only partial credit, which can push your eligibility date later than a simple calendar count suggests.
• Employment and supervisor documentation is part of the application, so you need time to gather it.
• The exemption route requires documenting Level I education and experience eligibility along with the four additional experience years.

There is also a wording conflict worth knowing about. The undated candidate handbook describes the upgrade from CAC as four additional years of education, experience, or a combination, while Policy 1.2 specifically requires additional construction-related experience. If you were planning to count additional education as a substitute, get the Commission's eligibility determination before you treat it that way. For the full breakdown, read CPC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

The takeaway for scheduling: if your qualifying years will not be complete until after the application deadline, the relevant window for you is the next cycle, not this one. Counting your hours honestly in advance prevents a wasted application.

Fees Tied to Your Path

The examination fee you pay at registration depends on whether you hold the CAC and whether you are an AIC member. The current published USD fees are:

The published retake fee is $500, and AIC permits repeated attempts. An older claim of a separate $200 preparation fee does not appear in the published 2026 schedule, so it is not included in the totals above.

Membership status interacts with the calendar in a practical way. If you plan to join AIC to lower your fee, do it before you register, since the member rate only helps if your membership is active when you pay. Compare the cost of membership against the savings for your category before committing. Our full pricing analysis is in CPC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Remote Testing Logistics

The exam is online proctored, so your testing "location" is a room you control. The latest named testing partner I could verify is PointLeader, which appeared in AIC's Fall 2025 notice. The reviewed 2026 notice does not separately confirm the vendor, so do not assume the booking provider has stayed the same, and do not rely on legacy references to older testing vendors. Confirm the current provider and booking process through AIC's official announcement before you pay for anything.

Plan the practical side well ahead of your testing slot:

• Identification: The candidate handbook describes identification requirements, so confirm what is accepted for a remote session.
• Closed-book rules: The exam is closed-book, so no reference materials should be within reach.
• Calculators: The handbook permits a restricted class of calculators, including basic and trigonometric functions, and prohibits programmable, alphabetic, printing, and phone calculators. Confirm how this is implemented in a remote session with the provider rather than assuming the handbook language maps perfectly.
• Accommodations: If you need them, request them early, since arrangements take time to approve.
• Technology check: Test your computer, camera, microphone, and internet connection beforehand. Four hours is a long time to discover a connectivity problem.

Working Backward From the Testing Window

Because the application closes weeks before testing begins, your real starting line is earlier than most candidates assume. Work backward from the testing window and tie your study order to the exam's nine official domains. The weights below come from the Commission's examination specifications:

One naming note: AIC's current landing page and 2024 study guide call Domain VIII "Construction Safety Management," while the formal weighted specification says "Construction Risk Management." This article uses the formal blueprint name, which covers the broader risk-and-safety territory. For deeper coverage of each area, see CPC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 9 Content Areas.

Here is one way to sequence an eight-week runway before a November testing window, assuming your application is already approved:

This sequencing is deliberate. Front-loading the numerical domains gives you the most repetition on the material that fades fastest, while saving Ethics for the end keeps the heaviest-weighted domain fresh on exam day. For a fuller plan, see CPC Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and for a quick-reference review of key facts, the CPC Cheat Sheet 2026 is a useful companion.

Planning for a Retake Window

Because AIC permits repeated attempts and publishes a $500 retake fee, a missed result does not end your candidacy. It does, however, reshape your calendar. With spring and fall administrations only, a retake generally means waiting for the next administration, so your effective gap between attempts is measured in months rather than weeks.

That reality argues for treating your first attempt seriously rather than as a trial run. Pass-rate figures should be read with caution here. AIC reported 77% for a special summer 2025 CPC administration and 100% for fall 2025, but these are cohort-specific figures, not a verified annual, first-time, or overall 2026 rate, and cohort sizes were not supplied. A numeric passing cut score has also not been verified from Commission policy, so avoid relying on any prep vendor's claimed percentage. For more context, read CPC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows and CPC Passing Score 2026.

After the Exam: Renewal Dates

Earning the credential starts a new set of dates. The CPC operates on a two-year review cycle that requires 32 continuing professional development (CPD) credits over 24 months, with at least 20 educational credits and no more than 12 membership or service credits. Recertification involves an affidavit and possible audit. Annual maintenance is $50 for AIC members or $350 for nonmembers, and this is separate from membership dues.

Build your CPD tracking from the day you pass, not from month twenty-three. The recertification details are laid out in AIC's policies, and you can weigh the long-term value of keeping the credential in Is the CPC Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026. If your motivation is career-related, CPC Jobs and the CPC Salary Guide 2026 explain what is and is not known about the credential's market value. Note that the available salary data is limited and dated, so treat any pay premium as unverified.

When you are ready to turn the calendar into actual preparation, start with realistic question practice on the main CPC practice test site, and use it to find your weak domains before the application window even opens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Dates, fees, and deadlines can change between cycles, so treat this article as a planning framework and verify every figure against AIC's current announcements before you apply.