When and where will the exam be available?
Candidates pick the date, time and location of their exam at over 5,000 Pearson VUE authorized testing centers throughout the world.

How can I register for the exam?
Registration can be done online at http://www.pearsonvue.com/acsm/ or by phone in the United States and Canada at 888-VUE-ACSM (883-2276). On site registration is also available at any Pearson VUE™ Authorized Center worldwide.

What should I expect when taking the exam?
A body of expertise delineated into Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) has been developed specifically for the ACSM/NCHPAD Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer by subject matter experts (SMEs). The SMEs developed the KSAs specifically for fitness professionals working with people with a physical, sensory or cognitive disability.

The examination is composed of approximately 100-120 multiple choice questions drawn from the KSAs for the ACSM/NCHPAD Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer. It includes 'trial' questions that are being tested for use in future examinations. These trial questions are randomly distributed throughout the exam and will not be counted in the final results. You will not be allowed to bring any materials or equipment into the examination area. There are no calculations on the exam.

How long is the exam?
Exam Time: 150 minutes (2.5 hours) Total Exam Seat Time: 175 minutes (2.75 hours); includes eligibility verification, a tutorial, pre-exam survey and a non-disclosure agreement prior to exam.

What is a common work setting for individuals seeking this certification?

• Community/public health settings e.g. YMCA, parks & recreation, after-school programs
• Commercial health clubs
• Corporate fitness centers
• University recreation centers
• Medical fitness centers

Are there workshops to help me prepare? How do I find out about them?
Workshops are not currently available, however, there will be workshops available in the near future. Once there are workshops available, sites will be listed on www.acsm.org/register. Additionally, a workshop agenda will be provided at www.acsm.org/workshops. Please continue to check these websites for updates.

Is there an ACSM member discount?
There is not an ACSM membership discount for specialty certifications, however, there is an ACSM Certified Professional discount. To receive the ACSM Certified Professional discount, e-mail your full name and 6 digit ACSM ID number, as listed on your certificate, to certification@acsm.org.

ACSM membership discounts apply to the ACSM Certified Personal TrainerSM, ACSM Health/Fitness Instructor®, ACSM Exercise Specialist® and ACSM Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist®. ACSM membership applications may be obtained by visiting www.acsm.org/join. Both printable and online applications are available. To view membership categories, fees, and benefits, visit www.acsm.org/membership options. Should you have additional membership related questions, email membership@acsm.org.

After completing the exam, when will I receive my results?
You will receive your results immediately upon completion of the exam in a printed score report. The score report will include your scaled score out of 800 and the percent that you answered correctly in each competency. If you pass, a certificate will be sent to you in 6-8 weeks.

If I do not pass the exam, how quickly can I take a re-test?
Re-test candidates will receive a re-test promotional code (promocode) on the results printout. You may retake the exam 15 days following your initial exam and every 15 days following until a passing score is achieved.

What are the continuing education requirements?
Individuals who receive a passing score will be required to earn 15 continuing education credits specific to the ACSM/NCHPAD Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer in addition to maintaining an NCCA-accredited certification and CPR certification.

Can I use the same continuing education credits (CECs) to renew the specialty certification that I use to renew my ACSM certification?
CECs from an ACSM certification can also be applied for an ACSM/NCHPAD Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer if the content covered in the course includes information covered in the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) of the specialty certification.

Will ACSM be offering continuing education opportunities for the specialty certification?
ACSM will be providing self-study opportunities for the specialty certification as well as opportunities to work with industry programs already in existence in order to obtain continuing education credits.

Can I earn continuing education credits for taking a specialty certification?
This is currently under review by the ACSM Committee on Certification and Registry Board.

What other exams does ACSM offer?
ACSM currently offers four other certifications. ACSM Certified Personal TrainerSM, ACSM Health/Fitness Instructor®, ACSM Exercise Specialist® and ACSM Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist®. For more information, visit www.acsm.org/certification.

How is the CIFT certification different from the other ACSM certifications?

The CIFT certification is a specialty certification that tests the competencies of fitness professionals desiring to work with individuals who may have a physical, sensory or cognitive disability, who are healthy or have medical clearance to perform independent physical activity. Because the eligibility requirements include a current ACSM or NCCA-accredited certification, the candidate will already have a foundation in health and fitness competencies. The certification is designed to address specifically the knowledge, skills and abilities for working with individuals with disabilities.

Does the CIFT certification qualify me to practice in the capacity of other ACSM certifications?
The CIFT certification is intended for fitness professionals to support clients in this specific area at a level that is consistent with their pre-requisite certification. For example, if an individual is eligible to take the CIFT certification exam because they hold an ACSM Certified Personal TrainerSM certification, then they are qualified to work with apparently healthy clients or those who have been cleared by their physician to take part in independent physical activity. They are required to stay within their scope of practice consistent with their personal trainer certification and the CIFT certification, if earned. The clients they are working with must be either apparently healthy or cleared by their physician to take part in independent physical activity. If an individual holds the ACSM Exercise Specialist® certification they are qualified to work with clients or patients with cardiovascular, pulmonary or metabolic disease who require clinical supervision. Therefore if they hold the CIFT certification they are qualified to work with clients or patients that have a physical, sensory or cognitive disability in addition to cardiovascular, pulmonary or metabolic disease.

What does inclusive mean?
Simply put, inclusion means including everyone. Fitness professionals can learn ways to be inclusive in their facility and in their testing and programming through education and by earning the ACSM/NCHPAD Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer certification. To learn more about certification, visit www.pearsonvue.com/acsm/cift. For education and inclusive initiatives, visit the Inclusive Fitness Coalition at www.incfit.org and the National Center on Health, Physical Activity, and Disability at www.ncpad.org.

Are there more specialty certifications available through ACSM?
Additional specialty certifications will be offered through ACSM. For all available exams, visit www.acsm.org/certification

Is the ACSM/NCHPAD Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer exam available in foreign languages?
Translated exams will be made available in different languages as demand dictates. Currently, the exam is available at any worldwide Pearson VUE authorized testing center in English.

What is the passing score for the exam?
The passing score for all ACSM certification exams is set in advance and applied to all candidates' exam results. Similar to exam scoring for a wide variety of other high stakes, national standardized exams (e.g., GRE, SAT, GMAT, etc.), ACSM certification exams are reported on a 200-800 score scale. Specifically, all candidates are expected to meet the passing standard of a scaled score of 550 in order to receive a 'Pass' on any respective ACSM certification exam. This passing standard is based upon the expectations of the subject matter experts/test developers across all topics of the competency areas, as related to each respective credential's examination blueprint. Passing candidates are expected to answer a sufficient number of test questions correctly that demonstrates a summative amount of knowledge at a level of at least minimal competency or the lowest acceptable score to pass the exam. Finally, each content area is weighted proportionally, based on the results of a periodic comprehensive job task analysis/role delineation study. In other words, some content areas are more important(thus, have more questions) and count more with respect to the overall score than other content areas. On the score report, candidates receive their overall score, their pass/fail status, as well as a breakdown by each specific content area (either by a percentage or a sub-section scale score respectively).