General Information About CRISC Exam You Should Know

The CRISC certification is designed to meet the growing demand for professionals who can integrate enterprise risk management (ERM) with discrete IS control skills. The technical skills and practices the
CRISC certification promotes and evaluates are the building blocks of success in this growing field, and the CRISC designation demonstrates proficiency in this role.
Note: As information regarding the CRISC examination, requirements and locations and dates may change, please refer to www.isaca.org/certification for the most up-to-date information.

REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION
To earn the CRISC designation, the following requirements must be met:
1. Pass the CRISC exam.
2. Submit an application (within five years of the passing date) with verified evidence of a minimum of at least three years of cumulative work experience performing the tasks of a CRISC professional across at least two CRISC domains. Of the two required domains, one must be risk-related, either Domain 1 (IT
Risk Identification) or 2 (IT Risk Assessment). There will be no substitutions or experience waivers. A processing fee must accompany all applications.
3. Adhere to the ISACA Code of Professional Ethics.
4. Agree to comply with the CRISC continuing education policy.
Please note that certification application decisions are not final as there is an appeal process for certification application denials. Appeals undertaken by a certification exam taker, certification applicant or by a certified individual are undertaken at the discretion and cost of the exam taker, applicant or individual. Inquiries regarding denials of certification can be sent to [email protected].

SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE CRISC EXAM
The exam is open to all individuals who wish to take it. Successful exam candidates are not certified until they apply for certification (and demonstrate that they have met all requirements) and receive approval from ISACA.

EXPERIENCE IN RISK AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS CONTROL
Work experience must be gained within the 10-year period preceding the application for certification or within five years from the date of initially passing the exam. An application for certification must be submitted within five years from the passing date of the CRISC exam. All experience must be verified independently with employers.
Note: A CRISC candidate may choose to take the CRISC exam prior to meeting the experience requirements.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAM
The CRISC Certification Working Group oversees the development of the exam and ensures the currency of its content. The exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions that cover the CRISC job practice domains. The job practice was developed and validated using prominent industry leaders, subject matter experts and industry practitioners.

REGISTRATION FOR THE CRISC EXAM
The CRISC exam will be administered twice annually. Please refer to the ISACA Exam Candidate
Information Guide at www.isaca.org/examguide for specific registration dates and deadlines, as well as important key information for exam day. Exam registrations can be placed online at www.isaca.org/examreg.

CRISC PROGRAM ACCREDITATION UNDER ISO/IEC 17024:2012
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has voted to continue the accreditation for the CISA,
CISM, CGEIT and CRISC certifications under ISO/IEC 17024:2012, General Requirements for Bodies
Operating Certification Systems of Persons. ANSI, a private, nonprofit organization, accredits other organizations to serve as third-party product, system and personnel certifiers.
ISO/IEC 17024 specifies the requirements to be followed by organizations certifying individuals against specific requirements. ANSI describes ISO/IEC 17024 as “expected to play a prominent role in facilitating global standardization of the certification community, increasing mobility among countries, enhancing public safety, and protecting consumers.”

ANSI’s accreditation:
- Promotes the unique qualifications and expertise ISACA’s certifications provide
- Protects the integrity of the certifications and provides legal defensibility
- Enhances consumer and public confidence in the certifications and the people who hold them
- Facilitates mobility across borders or industries
Accreditation by ANSI signifies that ISACA’s procedures meet ANSI’s essential requirements for openness, balance, consensus and due process. With this accreditation, ISACA anticipates that significant opportunities for CISAs, CISMs, CGEITs and CRISCs will continue to open in the United States and around the world.

PREPARING FOR THE CRISC EXAM
The CRISC exam evaluates a candidate’s practical knowledge of the job practice domains listed in this manual and online at www.isaca.org/criscjobpractice. That is, the exam is designed to test a candidate’s knowledge and experience of the proper application of IT risk and IS control best practices. Since the exam covers a broad spectrum of risk and IS control issues, candidates are cautioned not to assume that reading CRISC study guides and reference publications will fully prepare them for the exam. CRISC candidates are encouraged to refer to their own experiences when studying for the exam and refer to
CRISC study guides and reference publications for further explanation of concepts or practices with which the candidate is not familiar.
No representation or warranties are made by ISACA in regard to CRISC exam study guides, other ISACA publications, references or courses assuring candidates’ passage of the exam.

TYPES OF EXAM QUESTIONS
CRISC exam questions are developed with the intent of measuring and testing practical knowledge and the application of general concepts and standards. All questions are multiple choice and are designed for one best answer.
Every question has a stem (question) and four options (answer choices). The candidate is asked to choose the correct or best answer from the options. The stem may be in the form of a question or incomplete statement. In some instances, a scenario may also be included. These questions normally include a description of a situation and require the candidate to answer two or more questions based on the information provided. The candidate is cautioned to read each question carefully. An exam question may require the candidate to choose the appropriate answer based on a qualifier, such as MOST important or BEST. In every case, the candidate is required to read the question carefully, eliminate known incorrect answers and then make the best choice possible. To gain a better understanding of the types of question that might appear on the exam and how these questions are developed, refer to the Item Writing Guide available at www.isaca.org/itemwriting.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE EXAM
ISACA has contracted with an internationally recognized testing agency. This not-for-profit corporation engages in the development and administration of credentialing exams for certification and licensing purposes. It assists ISACA in the construction, administration and scoring of the CRISC exam.

SITTING FOR THE EXAM
Candidates are to report to the testing site at the time indicated on their admission ticket. NO

CANDIDATE WILL BE ADMITTED TO THE TEST CENTER ONCE THE CHIEF EXAMINER BEGINS READING THE ORAL INSTRUCTIONS. Candidates who do not attend the scheduled exam date or arrive after the oral instructions have begun will not be allowed to sit for the exam and will forfeit their registration fee. To ensure that candidates arrive in time for the exam, it is recommended that candidates become familiar with the exact location of, and the best travel route to, the exam site prior to the date of the exam. Candidates can use their admission tickets only at the designated test center on the admission ticket.
To be admitted into the test site, candidates must bring the email printout OR a printout of the downloaded admission ticket and an acceptable form of photo identification such as a driver’s license, passport or government ID. This ID must be a current and original government-issued identification that is not handwritten and that contains both the candidate’s name as it appears on the admission ticket and the candidate’s photograph. Candidates who do not provide an acceptable form of identification will not be allowed to sit for the exam and will forfeit their registration fee. Candidates are not to write on the admission ticket.

The following conventions should be observed when completing the exam:
- Do not bring study materials (including notes, paper, books or study guides) or scratch paper or notepads into the exam site. For further details regarding what personal belongings can (and cannot) be brought into the test site, please visit www.isaca.org/criscbelongings.
- Candidates are not allowed to bring any type of communication, surveillance or recording device
(including, but not limited to, cell phones, tablets, smart glasses, smart watches, mobile devices, etc.) into the test center. If candidates are viewed with any such device during the exam administration, their exams will be voided and they will be asked to immediately leave the exam site.
- Candidates who leave the testing area without authorization or accompaniment by a test proctor will not be allowed to return to the testing room and will be subject to disqualification.
- Candidates should bring several no. 2 pencils since pencils will not be provided at the exam site.
- As exam venues vary, every attempt will be made to make the climate control comfortable at each exam venue. Candidates may want to dress to their own comfort level.
- Read the provided instructions carefully before attempting to answer questions. Skipping over these directions or reading them too quickly could result in missing important information and possibly losing credit points.
- Mark the appropriate area when indicating responses on the answer sheet. When correcting a previously answered question, fully erase a wrong answer before writing in the new one.
- Remember to answer all questions since there is no penalty for wrong answers. Grading is based solely on the number of questions answered correctly. Do not leave any question blank.
- Identify key words or phrases in the question (MOST, BEST, FIRST …) before selecting and recording the answer.
- The chief examiner or designate at each test center will read aloud the instructions for entering information on the answer sheet. It is imperative that candidates include their exam identification number as it appears on their admission ticket and any other requested information on their exam answer sheet.

Failure to do so may result in a delay or errors.

BUDGETING TIME
The following are time-management tips for the exam:
- It is recommended that candidates become familiar with the exact location of, and the best travel route to, the exam site prior to the date of the exam.
- Candidates should arrive at the exam testing site at the time indicated on their admission ticket. This will give the candidate time to be seated and get acclimated.
- The exam is administered over a four-hour period. This allows for a little over 1.5 minutes per question.
Therefore, it is advisable that candidates pace themselves to complete the entire exam. In order to do so, candidates should complete an average of 37.5 questions per hour.
- Candidates are urged to record their answers on their answer sheet. No additional time will be allowed after the exam time has elapsed to transfer or record answers should candidates mark their answers in the question booklet. The exam will be scored based on the answer sheet recording only.

RULES AND PROCEDURES
- Candidates are asked to sign the answer sheet to protect the security of the exam and maintain the validity of the scores.
- Candidates who are discovered engaging in any kind of misconduct—including, but not limited to, giving or receiving help; using notes, papers or other aids; attempting to take the exam for someone else; using any type of communication, surveillance or recording device, including cell phones, during the exam administration; removing test materials, answer sheet or notes from the testing room; or attempting to share test questions or answers or other information contained in the exam (as such are the confidential information of ISACA)—will have their exam voided and be asked to leave the exam site.
Candidates who leave the testing area without authorization or accompaniment by a test proctor will not be allowed to return to the testing room and will be subject to disqualification. Candidates who continue to write the exam after the proctor signals the end of the examination time may have their examination voided. Candidates may not access items stored in the personal belongings area until they have completed their exams. The testing agency will report all cases of misconduct to the respective ISACA
Certification Working Group for review in order to render any decision necessary. Sharing the confidential test items subsequent to the exam will also be considered misconduct resulting in a voided examinations score.
- Candidates may not take the exam question booklet after completion of the exam.
- Candidates are not permitted to access items stored in the personal belongings area during the exam.
- The ISACA Exam Candidate Information Guide includes candidate information about exam registration, dates and deadlines and provides important key candidate details for exam day administration. This publication is available online at www.isaca.org/examguide. We encourage exam candidates to review the information in this guide to familiarize themselves with the rules for exam day.

GRADING THE CRISC EXAM AND RECEIVING RESULTS
The exam consists of 150 items. Candidate scores are reported as a scaled score. A scaled score is a conversion of a candidate’s raw score on an exam to a common scale. ISACA uses and reports scores on a common scale from 200 to 800. A candidate must receive a score of 450 or higher to pass the exam. A score of 450 represents a minimum consistent standard of knowledge as established by ISACA’s CRISC
Certification Working Group. A candidate receiving a passing score may then apply for certification if all other requirements are met.
Passing the exam does not grant the CRISC designation. To become a CRISC, each candidate must complete all requirements, including submitting an application for certification.

The CRISC examination contains some questions which are included for research and analysis purposes only. These questions are not separately identified and the candidate’s final score will be based only on the common scored questions.

A candidate receiving a score less than 450 is not successful and can retake the exam by registering and paying the appropriate exam fee for any future exam administration. To assist with future study, the result letter each candidate receives includes a score analysis by content area. There are no limits to the number of times a candidate can take the exam.

Approximately eight weeks after the test date, the official exam results will be mailed to candidates.
Additionally, with the candidate’s consent during the registration process, an email containing the candidates pass/fail status and score will be sent to paid candidates. This email notification will only be sent to the address listed in the candidate’s profile at the time of the initial release of the results. To ensure the confidentiality of scores, exam results will not be reported by telephone or fax. To prevent the email notification from being sent to the candidate’s spam folder, the candidate should add [email protected] to his/her address book, whitelist or safe senders list.

In order to become CRISC-certified, candidates must pass the exam and must complete and submit an application for certification (and must receive confirmation from ISACA that the application is approved) within five (5) years of the passing date. We encourage applicants to apply as soon as they have met the requirements. The application is available on the ISACA web site at www.isaca.org/criscapp. Please select the CRISC application that corresponds to your passing date. Once the application is approved, the applicant will be sent confirmation of the approval. The candidate is not CRISC-certified, and cannot use the CRISC designation, until the candidate’s application is approved. A processing fee must accompany your CRISC application for certification.
The score report contains a subscore for each job practice domain. The subscores can be useful in identifying those areas in which the candidate may need further study before retaking the exam.
Unsuccessful candidates should note that taking either a simple or weighted average of the subscores does not derive the total scaled score. Candidates receiving a failing score on the exam may request a rescoring of their answer sheet. This procedure ensures that no stray marks, multiple responses or other conditions interfered with computer scoring. Candidates should understand, however, that all scores are subjected to several quality control checks before they are reported; therefore, rescores most likely will not result in a score change. Requests for hand scoring must be made in writing to the certification department within 90 days following the release of the exam results. Requests for a hand score after the deadline date will not be processed. All requests must include a candidate’s name, exam identification number and mailing address. A fee of US $75 must accompany this request.