= Members Only Content
Certified IRA Services Professional (CISP)
About CISP | Apply | Exam Information | Exam Outline | Benefits | Maintain Certification | Advisory Board
CISP exam
- Registration
- Fees
- Exam dates
- Outline and knowledge areas
- Format and length
- Exam preparation
- Scoring and reporting
- Retakes
- Examination misconduct
| Examination Fees* | Membership Fees** | ||
| Application and Exam Fee | $295 | Annual Membership Fee | $199 |
| Exam Site Change Fee (for all exam site change requests less than 3 weeks prior to the exam date) |
$100 | Multiple Certification Discount | $350 (2 certs) $450 (3 or more) |
| Exam Retake Fee | $150 | ||
| Exam Withdrawal Fee | $125 | ||
*The Exam Fee, minus a $100 nonrefundable Application Fee, is 100% refundable upon written request prior to the published withdrawal deadline. A $125 withdrawal fee is assessed if a candidate cancels or withdraws after the published withdrawal deadline from a scheduled exam date for which the candidate is registered. However, requests for withdrawal received on or less than fourteen (14) business days prior to the exam date will not be honored and the entire exam fee will be forfeited. ICB will consider waiving the forfeiture fee in case of a medical emergency. Your request for such a waiver must be made in writing and supported by documentation from a physician, which clearly states that you are unable to appear for the exam due to personal or immediate family medical issues. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
** Membership Fee is assessed annually every year after certification has been granted.
***Applies to individuals who hold more than one certification.
| Exam Date | Exam Site | Application Due Date |
Withdrawal Deadline* |
| Fri, 12/9/11 | Ascensus Online Candidates | Tue, 10/25/11 | Mon, 10/31/11 |
| Sat, 5/5/12 | Ascensus IRA Institute San Antonio, TX |
Tue, 3/6/12 | Tue, 3/13/12 |
| Fri, 6/1/12 | Individual Proctored Exam*** and Ascensus Online Candidates |
Mon, 4/2/12 | Mon, 4/9/12 |
| Sat, 8/4/12 | Cannon Financial Institute Boston, MA |
Tue, 6/5/12 | Tue, 6/12/12 |
| Sat, 11/3/12 | Ascensus IRA Institute Clearwater, FL |
Tue, 9/4/12 | Tue, 9/11/12 |
| Fri, 12/7/12 | Ascensus Online Candidates | Mon, 10/8/12 | Mon, 10/15/12 |
***Individual proctored exam means that the candidate has the option of taking the exam at his/her company with an ICB-certified member serving as exam proctor. Another option is for ICB to locate an exam site that is within 2 hours driving time from the candidate's company. There will be a $100 fee for all exam site change requests less than 3 weeks prior to the exam date.
The CISP advisory board has determined that a competent IRA professional includes the following knowledge areas:
I. Employer Plans - SEP and SIMPLE
Ill. IRA Eligibility and Contribution Requirements
IV. Retirement Plan Portability
V. IRA Distribution Requirements
VI. IRA Fees and Investments
VII. Retirement Planning
When applicable, the exam will also test your knowledge of establishing and administering these accounts, processing distributions providing sales support and customer service, and monitoring federal laws and regulations as they relate to the IRA product within these seven knowledge areas.
Click here to see sample questions from the CISP certification examination.
An exam development team continuously creates new questions for consideration. The appropriate advisory board members review each question for relevance, content and difficulty.
ICB employs psychometricians to ensure that each question is complete, fair and measures only the required knowledge areas. In addition, the psychometricians along with the advisory board members ensure the exam's validity. A question is not considered for inclusion until one, right, clear answer has been identified, all cultural, geographical or organizational biases have been removed and details related to minutiae have been eliminated.
Some questions contain graphics or case studies, which you must review and resolve. Several questions may be based on a single piece of information. Some questions may contain a superlative (i.e. MOST), a pejorative (i.e. LEAST), or a negative (i.e. NOT) to recreate some types of decisions that you may confront.
Please note that, while ICB recommends these resources for appropriate examination preparation, ICB does not guarantee that you will pass the exam by completing these educational programs or studying these materials alone. The CISP exam assesses not only your knowledge of the topics on the exam outline, but also your application of that knowledge. You should refer frequently to the CISP exam outline when preparing for the exam.
Study resources
Additional study aids
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IRS Publication 590
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IRS Publication 560
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Internal Revenue Code Section 408A
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Internal Revenue Code Section 219
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Ascensus IRA Compliance & Operations Manual
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Ascensus IRA Fact Book
Scores are processed and communicated in writing within four to six weeks of the exam date. All scores are kept confidential and only you will be informed of your score. You must sign an Examination Score Release Form to authorize a third party to receive your score results.
All ICB exams are electronically scored using advanced methods of statistical analysis. Scores are recorded based on a "Pass/Fail" system. The advisory boards determine the exam's pass/fail standard using a criterion-referenced methodology, which defines the performance standard and degree of difficulty for each item. Your score is based on your personal performance measured against these standards, not based on a composite "grade curve" for a group or date.
All questions for an exam are scored three times: once by scanner and twice by computer. During the scoring process, a variety of electronic and manual quality controls are conducted to ensure accuracy.
Upon receiving your score, you may appeal it if you feel an error has been made by requesting a hand scoring within 30 days of the postmark date on your score report. A $75 fee is assessed for hand scoring. To request a hand scoring, please address your written request to: ICB, 1120 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036, Attn: Exam Manager. Requests for hand scoring must include: your name, examination date, the fee and an explanation as to why you are requesting that a hand scoring be performed. A response to your request will be sent to you within 14 business days upon receipt of your request. Requests submitted without the fee will be returned. Requests received more than 30 days after the postmark date of your exam score report will be returned. Should a discrepancy between the results of the hand scoring and the computer scoring be revealed, the hand scoring results will prevail.
Your exam performance in each of the knowledge areas will be provided in your exam score report. This information will assist you in identifying those areas in which to place emphasis during preparation, if you elect to retake the exam.
There is no limit to the number of times you can take the exam. However, all exam retakes must occur on a nationwide examination date only. You must pass the exam within a three (3) year period from the date of your first exam attempt. The appropriate fee must be submitted, along with the exam retake form, for each retake 45 days prior to the scheduled date of the retake exam.
All persons taking one of ICB's examinations are expected to abide by all rules and regulations governing the examination before, during and after the examination. Possession of copies of any current or previous examination given by ICB is not authorized and is a violation of ICB's rules governing certification exams. Persons taking ICB certification examinations are not permitted to take notes about the examination.
