CMCC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

The Number: 75% on a 120-Question Exam

The passing criterion for the Council-certified Moisture Control Consultant (CMCC) examination is 75%. The exam is administered for the American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC), and the criterion is set by ACAC's CMCC Certification Board. The test contains 120 multiple-choice questions, each with at least four answer choices, and you have three hours to finish. It is closed book.

Many candidates work out the arithmetic by assuming 75% of 120 equals 90 correct answers. That is a reasonable planning target, and it is the number we recommend building your preparation around. One caution applies, though: ACAC's published materials describe the criterion as a percentage and do not provide a public breakdown of scored versus unscored items. If you want a safe working assumption, plan to answer roughly 90 of 120 correctly, and then aim well above that during practice so you have a margin for unfamiliar wording.

How the Board Sets the Cut: Modified Angoff

The 75% figure is not an arbitrary round number. ACAC states that the certification board sets the passing criterion using a modified Angoff approach. In general terms, the Angoff family of methods asks subject-matter experts to judge, item by item, how a minimally competent candidate would perform. Those judgments are combined into a defensible standard that reflects the knowledge a safe, competent moisture control consultant should have.

What this means for you in practice:

• The standard is about competence, not ranking. You are not competing for a limited number of passes.
• Questions are written around real consulting judgment. Expect scenario-style items about diagnosing water sources, interpreting building assemblies and choosing defensible drying decisions, rather than trivia recall.
• The cut can be reviewed by the board. Treat 75% as the current criterion and confirm it against the ACAC candidate handbook before you test, since the handbook is the controlling document.

For a broader view of how difficult candidates find the standard, see our complete CMCC difficulty guide.

What the Score Covers: Nine Domains, No Published Weights

Your single percentage score is built from questions across ACAC's nine examination objectives. These come from the ACAC chart "CMCC and CMCI Examinations," approved March 6, 2024:

1. The Science of Water
2. Site Drainage
3. Foundations
4. Walls, ceilings, and floors
5. Roofs and building envelope assemblies
6. Plumbing
7. HVAC
8. Structural Drying
9. Project documentation

Here is the part many prep sites gloss over: ACAC does not publish percentage weights or per-domain question counts. There is no official statement that, for example, Structural Drying accounts for a set share of the 120 questions. Any site claiming exact domain weights for this exam is inventing them. Because the 75% criterion applies to the whole exam, a weak domain can be offset by a strong one, but you cannot know how many questions a neglected domain will cost you. The sensible response is even coverage with extra time on your weakest areas.

Our complete guide to all nine CMCC content areas walks through each objective in more depth.

Where Candidates Tend to Lose Points

Without published weights, we cannot tell you which domain costs the most points. We can describe where the content is conceptually demanding, based on the nature of the topics:

• The Science of Water: capillary action, vapor movement and moisture behavior in materials underpin nearly every other domain. A weak foundation here makes scenario questions elsewhere harder.
• Building assemblies (walls, ceilings, floors; roofs and envelope): these questions reward understanding how water enters, moves and is trapped within layered assemblies.
• Site Drainage and Foundations: grading, drainage paths and foundation moisture are common sources of real-world complaints, and the exam asks you to connect cause to symptom.
• Plumbing and HVAC: candidates from a drying-only background may be less comfortable diagnosing supply, drain and mechanical-system sources.
• Structural Drying and Project documentation: these tie diagnosis to specifications, monitoring and defensible records.

Passing the Exam Is Not the Whole Credential

A 75% score gets you through the examination gate, but ACAC certification decisions are made by the CMCC Certification Board, which reviews your application file separately. The board uses a documented eligibility process, and the application is reviewed with unanimous board review. To qualify you generally need one of these combinations of education and documented moisture-control consulting experience:

Qualifying education is in relevant science, engineering, architecture, industrial hygiene or related fields. Your file also includes four project sheets, applicable transcripts and application verifications, and the handbook additionally requests employer affidavits. Our CMCC requirements guide covers this in detail.

Exam-Day Mechanics That Affect Your Score

The exam is delivered through Kryterion, Inc., either at a testing center or by online video proctoring. Question and answer order is randomized, and results are immediate. That last point matters for planning: you learn whether you cleared 75% right after finishing, not weeks later.

Online Proctoring Requirements

If you test remotely, you must supply your own computer, an approved webcam, a private location and a continuous 2 Mbps upload and download connection. Technical problems are a preventable way to lose focus before the first question, so verify your equipment well ahead of your appointment. Candidates sometimes underestimate how much a dropped connection or an interruption in a shared space can disrupt a three-hour session.

Pacing Three Hours Against 120 Questions

Three hours for 120 questions averages 90 seconds per item. Scenario questions about assemblies or drying decisions often take longer than definitional ones, so a practical approach is to answer quickly where you are sure, flag uncertain items, and reserve the final stretch for review. Because order is randomized, do not assume the questions follow the domain list above.

For deadlines, windows and scheduling logistics, see our CMCC exam dates guide.

Retakes, Fees and the Cost of a Miss

The initial fee for US and Canada candidates is USD 500, made up of USD 100 for the examination and USD 400 for certification for the first two-year term. The current official application quotes USD 525 for candidates outside the US/Canada. A retake costs USD 100.

These are issuer fees. Any prep course or reference books are separate expenses, and a prep course is optional. A retake is inexpensive relative to the full certification fee, but it still costs time and momentum, so the goal remains to arrive prepared. Our CMCC certification cost breakdown separates issuer fees from study spending.

Reading the 2025 Pass Ratio Without Fooling Yourself

ACAC's 2025 exam pass ratio report lists a 0% ratio, based on 0 passes from 1 examination. Candidates sometimes see that and conclude the exam is nearly impossible. That reading is wrong. A cohort of one attempt cannot establish typical difficulty for any exam. The report's scope also includes retakes and state-licensing-only examinations, so it is not a clean measure of first-attempt CMCC results for certification candidates.

Planning Around the Passing Line

Preparation should map to the actual references. ACAC's handbook points candidates to the ACAC Code of Conduct, the EPA publication Moisture Control Guidance for Building Design, Construction and Maintenance (December 2013), and Leadership in Restorative Drying (fourth edition, 2014, per the handbook). The handbook's selected review pages supplement reading the complete prescribed references; they do not establish exhaustive exam coverage. Note that one public vendor page describes the book as a 2014 Gold Edition, and we do not assume that equals the handbook's fourth-edition label, so confirm which edition you are using.

A short sequencing plan, tied to the domains, can keep you honest about the 75% bar:

Our CMCC study guide expands this plan, and you can pressure-test it with realistic questions on our CMCC practice test site. If you want a compact refresher near exam day, the CMCC cheat sheet condenses the must-know facts.

After You Pass: Term Length and Renewal

CMCC certification is valid for two years. Renewal costs USD 400 and requires 40 renewal credits (RCs): 10 for continued field activity plus 30 professional-development hours under current procedures. Keep your records, because they can be audited. Certification remains separate from any licensing-only use of an examination.

If you are weighing whether the investment pays off, our ROI analysis and salary guide separate evidence about moisture-consulting roles from any assumed certification pay premium, which is a distinction worth keeping in mind. You can also practice further at our main practice site.

Frequently Asked Questions