Question: What score do I need to pass the CIA exam?
Answer: There are 100 questions per part. Your score is based on the number of scored questions that you answer correctly, with each scored question contributing equally to your total score. There is no penalty for incorrect answers, so be sure to choose an answer for every question, even those you are unsure of.
The IIA pretests multiple-choice questions that do not count toward your final score on each exam part. You will not know which are “pretest” questions and thus must answer each question as if it will be graded.
The exact number of correct answers required to pass the exam may vary from one exam to another. Therefore, to ensure a common standard, all raw scores are converted into a reporting scale of 250 to 750 points.
A scaled score of 600 points or higher is required to pass the CIA exam. A candidate would need to answer 75% of the questions correctly on an exam with a difficulty equal to what the Board of Regents deems appropriate. However, if an exam is found to be more difficult than the norm, a candidate may only need to answer 70% of the questions correctly to achieve 600 points.