- The exam has two portions: 110 core questions in two hours, plus 31 specialty questions across 12 simulation cases in 90 minutes.
- Only 90 of the 110 core items are scored; 20 are unscored pretest items you cannot identify.
- Care Coordination, Intervention, and Transition Management carries the largest core allocation: 45 scored items.
- The exam fee is $359; retaking both portions costs $359, or $200 for one portion.
What This Cheat Sheet Covers
This page condenses the Accredited Case Manager (ACM) credential into one reviewable sheet. The credential is governed by the American Case Management Association (ACMA) with National Board for Case Management (NBCM) governance, and it is delivered through DRC/Pearson VUE. The facts below come from the 2026 ACMA/NBCM Accredited Case Manager Candidate Handbook, so use them as a fast reference and confirm any deadline-sensitive detail against the handbook itself.
One structural point trips up many first-time readers: the credential retains both ACM-RN and ACM-SW tracks. Candidates sit one shared core examination plus a discipline-specific simulation examination. Neither credential replaces the other, so an RN and a social worker prepare for the same core but a different simulation portion. If you are brand new to the credential, the explainers at What Is ACM Certification? and What Does ACM Stand For? cover the basics before you dive into the numbers here.
Exam Format at a Glance
The exam is built from two portions, and the totals are simple arithmetic: 141 questions and 210 minutes across both parts. That figure is not 141 core questions; the core and the specialty portion are separate sections with their own counts and timers.
| Component | Questions | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core examination | 110 multiple-choice (90 scored + 20 unscored pretest) | 2 hours | Shared by ACM-RN and ACM-SW candidates |
| Specialty simulation examination | 31 multiple-choice across 12 simulation cases | 90 minutes | Discipline-specific (RN or SW) |
| Combined total | 141 | 210 minutes | Arithmetic total of both portions |
The exam is administered in English and is based on United States practice. That matters for how you read scenario questions: regulatory references, payer structures, and care-delivery assumptions follow the U.S. health-care system. Candidates trained elsewhere should expect to study U.S. frameworks explicitly.
Content Areas and Question Allocation
The official exam-objective headings form a specific structure: three shared core areas followed by the single specialty-simulation area. The four headings supplied in the handbook outline do not mean four equal core domains, and the handbook does not publish percentage weights, so none should be inferred. What it does give is scored-item counts for the core areas: 38, 45, and seven.
Screening and Assessment
The opening core area, built around gathering and interpreting patient information to identify needs and risks.
- Identifying who needs case-management services and why
- Collecting clinical, psychosocial, and functional information
- Recognizing barriers to care and gaps in the plan of care
Care Coordination, Intervention, and Transition Management
The largest core area, carrying 45 scored items. If you can only deepen one area, make it this one.
- Coordinating services across levels of care and settings
- Planning and executing safe transitions, including discharge planning
- Intervening on barriers, escalating concerns, and communicating across the team
Process Improvement and Evaluation
The smallest core allocation, at seven scored items, but it is still fair game on exam day.
- Evaluating outcomes of case-management interventions
- Using data and quality measures to improve the process
- Understanding how your work connects to organizational performance
Assessment, Care Coordination, and Intervention (Specialty Simulation)
The discipline-specific simulation area, delivered as 31 multiple-choice questions tied to 12 cases within 90 minutes.
- Working through a case from presentation toward a decision
- Choosing the best next action among plausible options
- Applying your discipline's perspective (RN or SW) to realistic scenarios
Note the naming overlap: the specialty simulation heading blends assessment, coordination, and intervention, which mirrors skills tested in the core areas but in an applied, case-driven format. For a deeper walk through each heading, see ACM Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.
Key Takeaway
Allocate study time in proportion to scored items. Of the three core areas, Care Coordination, Intervention, and Transition Management (45 scored items) outweighs Screening and Assessment (38) and Process Improvement and Evaluation (seven). Do not neglect the smallest area, but do not give it equal time.
Eligibility Checklist
You must clear two gates before scheduling: a professional foundation and supervised experience.
- Professional foundation: a current RN license, or an accredited social-work bachelor's or master's degree, or a current social-work license.
- Experience: one year, or 2,080 hours, of supervised, paid case-management experience within the health-delivery system.
- Supervisor verification: applicants with less than two years of experience must supply supervisor contact information and an attestation.
- What does not count: internships are not accepted toward the experience requirement.
The internship exclusion is the detail most likely to derail an application, particularly for recent social-work graduates who completed substantial field placements. Paid, supervised work in the health-delivery system is the standard. Full details live in ACM Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Fees, Scheduling, and Delivery
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Examination fee | $359 |
| Expedited scheduling add-on | $46 |
| Retest, both portions | $359 |
| Retest, one portion | $200 |
| Renewal (every four years) | $209 |
Delivery runs through DRC/Pearson VUE, and you can test at a Pearson VUE test center or through OnVUE remote proctoring. The remote option adds convenience but also requirements around your testing space and equipment, so review the proctoring rules well before exam day rather than the night before.
The partial-retest pricing is worth internalizing now. Because the two portions are scored separately, failing only one means paying $200 rather than the full $359 to retake just that part. That makes it smart to know which portion is your weaker one before you ever sit. A full cost picture, including renewal planning, appears in ACM Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown, and scheduling windows are covered in ACM Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
How Passing Works
Passing means meeting each portion's form-specific, criterion-referenced standard. There is no single fixed raw-percentage cutoff that applies across forms. Different test forms can vary slightly in difficulty, and the standard is set relative to defined competence rather than a flat "get 70 percent" rule.
Because both portions must be passed, strength in one cannot compensate for weakness in the other. This is why portion-level diagnostics matter. For the nuance on scoring language, read ACM Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
What the historical pass data does and does not tell you
The ACM Certification FAQ reported component pass rates for 2022: RN core 64.9%, RN simulation 60.3%, SW core 50.2%, and SW simulation 67.6%. Handle these carefully. They are separate component figures, not a combined pass rate, and they are not results for the revised 2026 exam, which uses new multiple-choice simulation forms. Treat them as a rough signal that neither portion is trivial, not a prediction. More context is in ACM Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows and How Hard Is the ACM Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Topics to Master Cold
The ACM tests judgment inside the health-delivery system, so the highest-value knowledge is applied rather than purely definitional. Prioritize these clusters:
Transitions and care coordination
- Safe discharge planning and handoffs between acute, post-acute, and community settings
- Matching patient needs to the right level of care and the right service
- Communicating with patients, families, and the interdisciplinary team
- Recognizing when a transition plan is incomplete or unsafe
Screening and assessment
- Identifying high-risk patients who need case-management involvement
- Distinguishing clinical, psychosocial, functional, and financial barriers
- Knowing what information you still need before acting
Evaluation and improvement
- Linking interventions to measurable outcomes
- Using quality and utilization data to refine the process
Simulation reasoning
- Reading a case in full before answering its questions
- Choosing the best next step when several options look reasonable
- Applying discipline-appropriate scope, whether RN or SW
Key Takeaway
On scenario questions, ask what a case manager should do first and what falls within the case manager's role versus another team member's. Many wrong options are actions that are valid but premature, or valid but outside the role.
A Domain-Ordered Study Timeline
One short plan, ordered by exam weight and dependency rather than by calendar habit. Adjust the length to your own experience level.
Screening and Assessment
- Build the foundation: risk identification and information gathering
- These skills feed every later scenario, so learn them first
Care Coordination, Intervention, and Transition Management
- Give this the most time; it holds 45 scored core items
- Drill transition and discharge scenarios repeatedly
Process Improvement and Evaluation
- Cover outcomes, quality, and data use efficiently
- Small allocation, but easy points if prepared
Simulation practice and full review
- Work case-based sets under timed conditions for your RN or SW track
- Re-test weak areas; retake practice questions you missed
A broader plan, including resources and pacing, is in ACM Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. When you are ready to test yourself against realistic questions, the ACM practice test is the fastest way to find your weak spots before the real exam.
Renewal and Validity
The credential is valid for four years. Renewal costs $209 and requires 40 CE hours, of which at least 30 must be specific to health-care-delivery-system case management. Generic continuing education that is not tied to case management will not satisfy that 30-hour minimum, so plan your CE with the requirement in mind rather than collecting credits opportunistically. Official detail is on the ACM Recertification page at acmaweb.org.
If you are weighing the long-term value of keeping the credential current, Is the ACM Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and ACM Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis lay out the career-side considerations, and ACM Jobs covers where the credential tends to show up in hiring.
Common Traps and Outdated Information
- Old simulation formats: Study materials written for earlier simulation styles may not match the current multiple-choice case format. Confirm that your prep matches 31 questions across 12 cases.
- Assuming four core domains: There are three shared core areas plus one specialty-simulation area. Do not treat the four headings as equal parts of the core.
- Inventing weights: No percentage weights are published. Rely on the scored-item counts instead.
- Misreading the pass-rate figures: The 2022 numbers are per-component and predate the revised exam.
- Counting internship hours: They do not satisfy the experience requirement.
- Ignoring the second track: ACM-RN and ACM-SW both remain; pick materials that fit your discipline's simulation portion.
Still unsure about terminology or whether this is the right credential for your role? The quick explainers What Is ACM? and ACM Meaning settle the basics, and you can try sample items on the main practice site.
Frequently Asked Questions
The two portions together total 141 questions across 210 minutes: 110 core multiple-choice questions (90 scored, 20 unscored pretest) in two hours, plus 31 specialty questions across 12 simulation cases in 90 minutes.
Care Coordination, Intervention, and Transition Management has the largest core allocation at 45 scored items, compared with 38 for Screening and Assessment and seven for Process Improvement and Evaluation. No percentage weights are published.
You can retest just that portion for $200, rather than paying $359 to retake both. Passing requires meeting each portion's own criterion-referenced standard, so you need to pass both.
No. You need one year, or 2,080 hours, of supervised, paid case-management experience in the health-delivery system. Applicants with under two years of experience must also provide supervisor contact information and an attestation.
It is valid for four years. Renewal costs $209 and requires 40 CE hours, with at least 30 specific to health-care-delivery-system case management.