To qualify for candidacy, each applicant must:

• Currently hold an active CSQA Certification
• Be working in the field covered by the certification designation
• Have the experience (described under the Real World Experience section) to demonstrate mastery of the skills identified in the current Software Testing Common Body of Knowledge
• Be prepared to submit documentation that supports your real-world experience in the software quality field (described under the Real World Experience section)
• Be prepared to take the required manager’s level examination
• Meet one of the following three prerequisites:
1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college-level institution plus a minimum of four years experience in the software quality assurance field, or
2. An associate degree plus a minimum of six years of experience in the software quality assurance field, or
3. Eight years of experience in the software quality assurance field.

Depending upon a compliance sample selected according to program criteria, the applicant may be required to provide detailed education and/or employment documentation supporting the prerequisite option selected on the application. If selected for verification, the applicant must supply the documentation to the program. Applicants who fail to provide the requested documentation will not be allowed to sit for the exam or, if the exam has been taken and passed, may be subject to de-certification.

A completed Certification Candidacy Application must be submitted through the Customer Portal for entrance to Software Certifications as a candidate for any particular certification. It should be submitted by individuals who:

1. Are working, or have worked at any time within the prior 18 months, in the field covered by the certification designation
2. Have significant experience and breadth of knowledge to have mastered the basics of the entire Software Quality Common Body of Knowledge
3. Have reviewed the Software Quality Common Body of Knowledge

The initial application fee is as follows:

• $450.00 (includes PDF version of the Software Quality CBOK).
  
  All fee paid in USD (see Payment Policy)

Once your Profile satisfies the Prerequisites for the CMSQ candidacy the candidate must then submit their Real-World Experience Documentation as mentioned below. After the Real World documentation has been received / approved by the Software Certification board the candidate will be fully accepted into the program allowing then to schedule their examination (see Examination section below).

Candidates for certification who rely only on limited experience/education or too few/specific study materials typically do not successfully obtain certification.  Do not apply unless you feel confident that your work/education activities and past experience have prepared you for the examination. Applicants already holding a certification from Software Certifications must submit a new application when deciding to pursue an additional certification.

Once a new application is accepted and approved, the Candidacy begins the date the application fee was processed. The candidate then has 12 months from the date the application fee was processed to take their exam. If after the 12-month period the candidate has yet to take the exam their candidacy will expire. The candidate must then reapply for candidacy and pay the current application fee to begin the process again.

1. Quality Planning
2. Define, deploy and improve work processes
3. Measurement
4. Organizational Development (teams and management)
5. Communication (leadership and behavioral skills)
6. Risk Management

View the Real-World Experience Documentation Checklist which can be used as a guide to help prepare your documentation for the three categories selected.

The hard-copy documentation for each of the three categories selected must be submitted to the Software Certifications division using the address below.

Software Certifications
2101 Park Center Drive
Suite 205
Orlando, FL 32835-7614
Attn: Review Board - Real World Experience

Soft-copy submissions sent via email are NOT accepted. This checklist ties specific skills defined in the Guide to the CSQA Common Body of Knowledge to the six categories listed above. If a candidate decides that one of these items is not applicable for their “experience” documentation, an explanation of why that item is not applicable must be included with the submitted documentation. If the documentation in a category or categories is found to be insufficient to meet the acceptance criteria, a candidate will be given feedback on the deficiencies and allowed one opportunity to resubmit corrected documentation.

1. Quality Leadership
2. The Quality Assurance Function
3. Quality Planning and Execution
4. Communications and Relationships

The exam will take over 4 1/2 hours to complete which includes breaks (3 - 10 minutes each). The passing mark is 75% which is the average score of all four parts.

Locating a Prometric Test Center

• Click Here to Go to Prometric's site.
• Once you get to the Prometric site, click the Start tab.
• Enter the Country / State where you wish to sit, then hit Next.
• Find the Locate a Test Site link and click.
• Make your Exam Selection** from the drop-down, then hit Next.
  **NOTE: CSTE / CSQA exams are the only available selections in the drop-down so simply select either one to continue.
• All available site in the area selected will appear.
• To refine your search and locate alternative testing locations, simply enter a specific address, city or zip/postal code where you wish to take your test.

To schedule a CMSQ certification exam at a Prometric Test Center a candidate must follow the instructions listed below.

Prometric Scheduling - CMSQ Certification

• Click Here and follow the steps below.
  1. Once you get to the Prometric site click the Start tab.
  2. Enter the Country / State where you wish to sit, then hit Next.
  3. Find the Locate a Test Site link and click.
  4. Make your Exam Selection**, then hit Next.
     **NOTE: Since the CSTE / CSQA exams are the only ones listed simply select either one to continue.
  5. All available site in the area selected will appear.
  6. To refine your search and locate alternative testing locations, simply enter a specific address, city or zip/postal code where you wish to take your test.
• Write down the site code and address information for the location(s) where you wish to schedule your examination.
• Determine the date range in which you plan to take the examination making sure the date(s) selected are at least six weeks out from the date you submit your scheduling request as this process does take extra time.
• Email the location and date information to certify@softwarecertifications.org.
• DO NOT contact or try to schedule with Prometric directly, and again an Eligibility ID is NOT needed.

Prometric Rescheduling / Cancellation - CMSQ Certification

• Contact Software Certifications at certify@softwarecertifications.org to reschedule / cancel an existing paper-based exam appointment at a Prometric site.
• No Rescheduling / canceling is permitted within 7 days of the scheduled appointment for U.S. / Canada Test Sites.
• No Rescheduling / canceling is permitted within 14 days of the scheduled appointment for International Test Sites.

Sponsored Site exams are ONLY offered in India, Brazil, China, and Sri Lanka. See Sponsored Site Examination Schedule for the complete schedule.

All candidates must first apply online and have paid the application fee through the Customer Service Portal before scheduling an exam at a Sponsored Site. You MUST schedule your examination at least 30 days before the selected examination date in order to reserve a seat.

To schedule a CMSQ certification exam at a Sponsored Site a candidate must follow the instructions listed below.

Sponsored Site Scheduling - CMSQ Certification

• Go to the My Examination page in the Customer Portal.
• Click on Pick Scheduling Option.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Sponsored Site tab.
• Select the Examination Location from the drop-down.
• Select the Examination Date from the drop-down.
• To schedule your exam click on the Confirm this Examination Location / Date tab.
• You must schedule your examination at least 30 days before the selected examination date in order to reserve a seat which are limited based on availability.
• Candidates are strongly encouraged to check the Sponsored Site Examination Schedule page for specific location information for their scheduled examination during the days leading up to the examination sitting.
• To view the Examination Information details simply click on the link of the exam location currently scheduled to attend. If no link is available that simply means we have not yet been provided any location information from the exam host for that sitting. Once provided it will be posted so simply check back occasionally as they are kept as up-to-date as possible.
• While Software Certifications makes every possible effort to provide examinations as scheduled, last minute changes have been sometimes unavoidable in the past. Past disruptions have included exam location changes, inclement weather, and building closures.

Occasionally a candidate may need to reschedule / cancel an existing scheduled Sponsored Site examination. This is known as a Deferral**.

Sponsored Site Rescheduling / Cancellation - CMSQ Certification

• To Defer an existing scheduled examination for a Sponsored Site location, a candidate must go to their My Examination page in the Customer Portal and click Defer.
• The deadline to Defer an already scheduled exam at a Sponsored Site location is 30 days prior to the existing scheduled examination date.
• Deferrals are NOT accepted less than 30 days prior to an examination date.

**NOTE: Make sure you know exactly when your application expiration date is as although your application may still be active when Deferring, that does not guarantee you will be able to reschedule your exam as the next possible Sponsored Site exam date(s) may occur after your application expiration date. If you are not sure of your applications expiration date contact certify@softwarecertifications.org before Deferring to ensure you can reschedule for a later Sponsored Site exam date(s) as once a Deferred exam is less than 30 days prior to the examination date it is FINAL and NO changes will be made.

To maintain the CMSQ certification, it is a requirement that the certified manager continue to mature their technical and managerial competencies. Certified managers must earn 30 CPE (continuing professional education) points in each of the following four categories every three years (120 CPE total in three years):

• Management Skills (30 CPE / 3 years)
• Technical Skills (30 CPE / 3 years)
• Professional Development Activities in the Industry (30 CPE / 3 years)
• Additional activities in selected categories (30 CPE / 3 years)

If you had an active CSQA certification at the time of applying the CSQA certification will remain active and mirror the CMSQ certification's expiration as long as maintained.