AACE and Kryterion continue to monitor the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Currently, many testing centers are now open and available to take an on-site exam. To see if there is a testing center near you, please click here. If a testing center is not available, you may still be eligible for an online proctored (OLP) exam. Please click here to review Kryterion’s online testing requirements. Be sure to run Kryterion’s System Check to test your microphone, webcam, and upload/download speeds to see if you have a computer that meets the minimum system requirements. AACE does allow the use of internal cameras.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact certification staff at certification@aacei.org.

Expertise Level Certifications


Certified Forensic Claims Consultant (CFCC)

A CFCC is an experienced claims professional and testifying expert working in the construction dispute resolution and litigation support arenas. With emphasis on claims arising from design and construction projects in countries with common law or mixed law, where common law is part of mixed law, the CFCC represents practitioners and specialists who meet a demanding set of claims preparation and dispute resolution criteria comprising of experience, education, and compliance with industry-accepted ethical requirements.

NOTE: Click here to review the Application Policy & Procedure before submission

Eligibility Requirements 

  • 12 years claims relevant experience in preparation and submission of claims, and dispute resolution (the experience cited must be centered on and deal directly with the prosecution, defense and resolution of claims and disputes)
  • 4-year college degree
  • 4 letters of recommendation from industry professionals to verify years of experience*
  • A current certification or license after education which must be one of the following**:

    • CCCA - Certified Construction Contract Administrator - Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)
    • CCEA - Certified Cost Estimator/Analyst - International Cost Estimating & Analysis Association (ICEAA)
    • CCM - Certified Construction Manager - Construction Management Association of America (CMAA)
    • CCM - Certified Cost Manager - Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)
    • CCM - Certified Cost Manager - Construction Management Association of Korea (CMAK)
    • CCP - Certified Cost Professional - AACE International (AACE)
    • CEP - Certified Estimating Professional - AACE International (AACE)
    • ChPP - Chartered Project Professional - Association of Project Management (APM)
    • CM - Master, Expert, or Fellow Level - Cost Management - Guild of Project Controls (GPC)
    • CPC - Certified Professional Constructor - American Institute of Contractors (AIC)
    • CPCostE - Certified Professional Cost Engineer - Association of Cost Engineers (ACostE)
    • CPE - Certified Professional Estimator - American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE)
    • CPPD - Certified Practicing Project Director - Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM)
    • CQS - Chartered Quantity Surveyor - Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
    • CSPM - Certified Senior Project Manager - International Association of Project Managers (IAPM)
    • ECCCS - Expert Certified Construction Claims Specialist - Society of Construction Claims Specialists (SCCS)
    • ECCDA - Expert Certified Construction Delay Analyst - Society of Construction Claims Specialists (SCCS)
    • Esq - Admitted to the Practice of Law - Any state or national bar association
    • FA - Master, Expert, or Fellow Level - Forensic Analysis - Guild of Project Controls (GPC)
    • FCIArb - Fellow Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)
      Level A or B - Level A or Level B Certification - International Project Management Association (IPMA)
    • PC - Master, Expert, or Fellow Level - Project Controls - Guild of Project Controls (GPC)
    • PE, PEng, CEng - Professional, Chartered, or Registered Engineer - Any state or national engineering association or licensure organization
    • PgMP - Program Management Professional - Project Management Institute (PMI)
    • PMI-SP - Project Scheduling Professional - Project Management Institute (PMI)
    • PMP - Project Management Professional - Project Management Institute (PMI)
    • PPQ - Project Professional Qualified - Association for Project Management (APM)
    • PRINCE 2 - Prince 2 - AXELOS
    • PS - Master, Expert, or Fellow Level - Planning & Scheduling - Guild of Project Controls (GPC)
    • PSP - Planning & Scheduling Professional - AACE International (AACE)
    • RA, RAIA, RAIC - Registered, Chartered, or Licensed Architect - Any state or national architecture association or licensure organization

      If an individual has a post education professional certification not on the above list, they may submit proof of the certification and information from the certifying association or organization to AACE International, for consideration as fulfillment of this requirement. Click here to complete the request form. 
  • An electronic submission of an expert report submitted as evidence, a formal claim submittal, or a professional paper accepted for publication, for which authorship by the prospective candidate is verifiable, any of which must have been written within the 24 months prior to applying to sit for the examination***

*References - Four (4) letters of recommendation from industry professionals (attorneys, in-house legal counsel, and/or clients, past or present) familiar with the candidate’s claims related experience and who can attest to the applicant’s years of claims-relevant experience.

**If an individual does not have one of these certifications or another certification acceptable to AACE International, they may substitute an additional four (4) years of claims analysis experience, in lieu of a post education professional certification.

***The written report or professional paper will be reviewed by one or more of AACE’s CFCC SMEs for acceptance. If the formal claim submittal, expert report, or professional paper submission does not represent the rigorous detailed analysis customarily prepared by an experienced claims analyst or testifying expert and that has been accepted for publication or submitted to a court, board, arbitration or other trier of fact in support of planned testimony, the prospective candidate will not be cleared to sit for the CFCC examination. 

Note: There are no exceptions to the eligibility criteria. One must satisfy all of the eligibility criteria in order to sit for the CFCC examination. Having some, or most, or all but one does not meet the full complement of eligibility requirements. The established certification examination eligibility requirements reflect the expectations of the claims and dispute resolution profession and fairly measure the individual’s knowledge, experience and best management practices in the development, submission, presentation/testimony and resolution or litigation of construction claims. 

Recommended Study Materials

There are no recommended study materials for this examination, since it is built around your claims job-experience and related experience requirements, based on common law or mixed law, where common law is part of mixed law). 

However, it may be beneficial to review the AACE's Certified Forensic Claims Consultant Application and Examination Guide to learn about topics covered in the exam.

Examination Structure

  • 5 hour maximum
  • 100 simple, multiple choice questions
  • 4 written essays, randomly selected from a pool of real dispute scenarios requiring the response to be written in an onscreen text box
  • Domains: Legal, Damages, Scheduling, Project Management, and Ethics
  • Open Book – candidate’s choice of 2 reference books maximum
    (downloaded reference books should be printed and bound in a notebook; no loose paper, iPads, Kindles, etc. will be permitted for resource materials)
  • Any style, battery operated calculator permitted (not provided by the testing center)

 

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Decision & Risk Management Professional (DRMP)

A DRMP is a senior-level practitioner with business experience in life cycle asset and project management with exhibited knowledge and skills ranging from analytical to socio/psychological to management. A DRMP also has extensive technical experience in specialized tools and services such as decision analysis, cost risk and uncertainty analysis, and schedule risk analysis. DRMPs demonstrate strong communication skills to connect with all levels of project stakeholders and are increasingly employed by owners and stakeholders in their decision-making process – whether it is for a go, no-go decision on an investment interest or determination of time and cost contingency amounts for capital projects.

Please note: we are not currently accepting new applications for DRMP examination.

NOTE: Click here to review the Application Policy & Procedure before submission

Eligibility Requirements 

  • 4-year college or university degree*
  • 4 years of industry related experience
  • 4 years of experience (does not need to be continuous) directly related to the field of decision and risk management, with at least 18 months of recent experience required, demonstrated by providing any combination of the following:
    • Three (3) letters of recommendation from a client (past or present) describing the complexity of the project, type of risk management implemented on the project, and the candidate’s role in the implementing or providing such risk management services. All letters submitted must include the duration of time the candidate actually spent in tasks related to decision and risk management. If 3 letters of recommendation and no work products are submitted, those durations must sum to 4 years of combined experience.
    • Three (3) work products personally produced by the candidate that demonstrates having performed any aspect of the risk management work (decision analysis, schedule and cost risk analyses, implementation of risk management programs, risk workshops, etc.) on his or her projects to sum 4 years. The candidate must demonstrate that he or she was the primary author/contributor in developing the work product. Merely being a junior-level participant or member of a larger team without being the lead is not adequate demonstration of a senior-level practitioner. NOTE: A candidate may provide a total of three (3) letters of recommendation or three (3) work products, or combine two (2) letters of recommendation and one (1) work product, or one (1) letter of recommendation and two (2) work products, etc.

Depending on the combination that works for your application, keep in mind that at least one recommendation letter or one work product must demonstrate recent experience within the past 18 months.

*Applicant may substitute a 4-year of college degree with an additional 4 years of industry related experience or one of the following professional certifications: AACE’s CCP; CEP; EVP; PSP; Certified Construction Manager (CCM); Certified Professional Constructor (CPC); Professional engineer (PE); Registered Architect (RA); or Chartered Surveyor.

Examination Structure

  • 5 hours maximum
  • 119 simple, multiple and compound scenario questions
  • 1 memo writing assignment where the candidate will choose from an onscreen list of suggested scenarios and will write a response in an onscreen text box
  • Closed Book
  • Any style, battery operated calculator permitted (not provided by the testing center)


Please note: we are not currently accepting new DRMP examination applications. 

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Expertise Level Application & Examination Investment

While AACE membership is not required for certification, members receive the benefit of reduced examination fees.

  • US$200 application fee for members, followed by US$400 examination fee
    Total investment of US$600 for members
  • US$250 application fee for non-members, followed by US$450 examination fee
    Total investment of US$700 for non-members
  • US$250 resit fee (member and non-members)

All fees are due upon submission of an application and are non-refundable. The fee includes our eligibility documentation review and computer based testing (CBT) fee. 

Recertification & Maintenance

The CFCC and DRMP certifications are valid for 3 years and must be recertified through the accumulation of 12 CEUs in at least two categories or reexamination. Click here to learn more about recertification. 

To remain strong and responsive to the needs of certified members and other cost professionals, the public, and AACE International, our certification programs solicit input from all interested individuals and organizations as to the policies and procedures used in administering the Association’s certification programs. Please address any comments you may have regarding the administration of certification programs to the Certification Board via e-mail to certchair@aacei.org or via U.S. mail at Certification Board, AACE International, 726 East Park Avenue #180, Fairmont, WV 26554 USA

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