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ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-CEP) Exam
The ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-CEP) exam is the clinical-level certification examination of the American College of Sports Medicine for professionals who work with patients who have cardiovascular, pulmonary, and metabolic diseases or other chronic conditions. It requires an application with documented clinical experience before registration, is built from the Job Task Analysis in ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription (12th edition), and is delivered by Pearson VUE at test centers or via OnVUE online proctoring.
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Questions115 items: 100 scored multiple-choice items and 15 unscored (pretest) items
Testing time3.5 hours
ScoringPassing requires a scaled score of 550 on a scale from 200 to 800, consistent across all ACSM certification exams
Exam feeUSD 350 ACSM professional/alliance member / USD 460 non-member / USD 235 re-test; a USD 50 non-refundable application fee is included in the exam fee (Pearson VUE's ACSM page describes the member benefit as a 20% discount on exams)
Prep options
Study resources for ACSM-CEP
Independent prep
Courses and study resources
Exam overview
What to know before choosing your prep
- Who runs it
- ACSM
- Category
- Clinical Exercise Physiology
- Current version
- Current specification aligned to the Job Task Analysis in ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 12th edition (GETP 12)
- Where it applies
- United States — national
- Exam languages
- English
- Score scale
- 200–800 (scaled, equated)
- Testing provider
- Pearson VUE
- Format
- Computer-based multiple-choice exam, administered at Pearson VUE test centers or through OnVUE online proctoring (24 hours a day, seven days a week; not available in some countries)
- Availability
- Year-round by appointment at over 5,000 Pearson VUE test centers worldwide, or via OnVUE online proctoring 24/7 (online testing unavailable in China, Cuba, India, Iran, Japan, both Koreas, and Sudan)
- Results
- Exam results are provided immediately upon completion via email from Pearson VUE; certification status is provisional pending validation, with the ACSM welcome email arriving no more than two weeks after passing
- Remote testing
- Available
Exam structure
One multiple-choice exam of 115 items (100 scored, 15 unscored) drawn from the Job Task Analysis in GETP 12; unscored questions are randomly distributed and do not count toward the result; a calculator is provided within the exam and metabolic equations are accessible via the Exhibit tab for the CEP exam
Where rules vary
A U.S. professional certification of the American College of Sports Medicine; delivered at Pearson VUE test centers worldwide and via OnVUE online proctoring, but the exam specification is the single uniform U.S. national one (OnVUE is unavailable in some countries, e.g. China, Cuba, India, Iran, Japan, both Koreas, and Sudan)
Eligibility
Completed application with documentation required before registration: either a master's degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology (or equivalent) with 600 hours of hands-on clinical experience, or a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science/Exercise Physiology (or equivalent) with 1,200 hours of hands-on clinical experience; plus Basic Life Support Provider or CPR for the Professional Rescuer certification (new CAAHEP degree requirements take effect 2027)
Retake policy
Retake allowed 15 days after a failed attempt; up to 4 attempts in a 12-month period; if a passing score is not achieved in 4 attempts in 12 months, the candidate must wait 12 months after the 4th attempt to retake; eligibility does not need to be resubmitted unless CPR/AED certification has lapsed