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AACE CCT Exam Overview

Overview of what AACE CCT tests, how the exam is structured, and how candidates should approach preparation.

Use this page for a compact orientation to AACE CCT (Certified Cost Technician) before you move into the syllabus, study plan, or practice routine.

What this credential signals

AACE CCT is aimed at early-career or transitioning cost engineering professionals building toward cost-control and cost-management competence. It sits in AACE’s Technician certification lane and should be studied through the language of cost engineering, total cost management, project controls, and defensible professional communication.

What stronger answers usually do

  • identify the controlling project-control problem before choosing a method
  • connect the method to scope, cost, schedule, risk, estimate, earned value, claim, or decision context
  • use AACE terminology consistently without reducing the answer to memorized labels
  • show evidence quality, assumptions, limitations, and recommendation logic
  • communicate the conclusion in a way a project manager, owner, executive, or dispute stakeholder could act on

Current exam snapshot

3 hours maximum; 100 simple multiple-choice questions; Supporting Skills & Knowledge (50) and Process & Technical Skills Knowledge (50); open book using AACE CCT Primer and Skills & Knowledge only; calculator permitted; 70% overall score to pass.

Use Resources for the official AACE links before you schedule, buy study material, or rely on policy details.

Revised on Monday, April 27, 2026