- Exam is 100 MCQs in 150 minutes, remotely proctored, scored 300-900 with 664 to pass.
- Behavior (18-22%) and Communication (15-20%) are the two heaviest domains - study these first.
- Exam alone is US$365; the exam plus optional educator course is US$895 total.
- You need 35 dementia-specific training hours completed within the prior 2 years to sit for the exam.
Quick Facts Snapshot
This is the condensed, print-and-pin version of everything a Certified Alzheimer Educator (CAEd) candidate needs before test day. It's built for a last scan the night before your exam or a quick reference while you finish your CAEd study guide routine. If you want the long-form explanations behind any line item here, this cheat sheet links out to the deeper articles.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Certifying body | National Certification Board for Alzheimer Care (NCBAC) |
| Format | 100 multiple-choice questions |
| Time limit | 150 minutes |
| Delivery | Remotely monitored browser platform, no advance appointment needed |
| Passing score | 664 on a 300-900 scaled score |
| Exam fee | US$365 |
| Exam + optional course | US$895 combined (course adds US$530) |
| Course access window | 90 days or until the exam is taken, whichever comes first |
| Training requirement | 35 dementia-specific hours within the preceding 2 years |
| Minimum age | 21 |
| Renewal | US$65 annually plus 12 continuing-education hours |
Domain Weights at a Glance
The CAEd exam is built from nine content domains, and NCBAC publishes each as a percentage range rather than a fixed number. Knowing the relative size of each domain tells you where to spend your limited study hours. For the full breakdown of what each domain actually tests, see the CAEd exam domains guide.
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1. Knowledge of Disease | 12-16% |
| 2. Communication | 15-20% |
| 3. Patient Rights | 5-8% |
| 4. Behavior | 18-22% |
| 5. Activities | 10-14% |
| 6. Health | 5-10% |
| 7. Caregiver Needs | 2-5% |
| 8. Safety | 4-6% |
| 9. Adult Learning Theory & Techniques | 12-17% |
Three domains - Behavior, Communication, and Adult Learning Theory & Techniques - together can account for close to half of the exam. That's not a coincidence; the credential is built for people who both manage dementia-related behaviors day-to-day and teach others how to do the same.
Domain 4: Behavior (18-22%)
The single largest domain on the exam. Expect scenario-based questions about triggers, de-escalation, and non-pharmacological responses to behaviors like wandering, agitation, sundowning, and resistance to care.
- Know the difference between reactive management and proactive prevention
- Be able to identify likely causes behind a described behavior (pain, environment, unmet need)
- Understand appropriate staff and family responses versus inappropriate ones
Domain 9: Adult Learning Theory & Techniques (12-17%)
This domain sets the CAEd apart from purely clinical dementia-care credentials. Because the role centers on educating caregivers and staff, you need working knowledge of how adults actually learn.
- Principles of adult learning (relevance, experience, self-direction)
- Matching teaching methods to audience - new staff, family caregivers, or seasoned clinicians
- Evaluating whether training actually changed behavior, not just knowledge
For a side-by-side comparison of how difficult each domain tends to feel to candidates in practice, read how hard the CAEd exam really is.
Registration & Exam-Day Mechanics
The CAEd exam is delivered on NCBAC's remotely monitored browser platform. There's no test center to book and no advance appointment slot to reserve - you take the exam from your own space once you're ready and eligible.
- Monitoring: Your browser activity and camera feed are monitored throughout the exam.
- Materials: No books, notes, or calculators are permitted during the exam.
- Results timing: Results normally follow recording review within 2 business days after you finish.
- Time limit: 150 minutes for 100 questions - that's an average of 90 seconds per question, though scenario items will eat more time than recall items.
Because there's no fixed testing calendar to plan around, timing your attempt is really about your own readiness rather than a registration deadline. Details on how this remote model affects scheduling are covered in the CAEd exam dates guide.
Key Takeaway
Test the night before: log into the proctoring platform's system check, confirm your camera and internet work, and clear your desk. A failed equipment check on exam day wastes far more time than a five-minute check the evening prior.
Scoring & Passing
The CAEd exam uses a scaled score, not a raw percentage. According to the linked educator handbook, a scaled score of 664 on a 300-900 range is required to pass. This means you cannot simply count "70% of 100 questions" and assume that's the bar - scaled scoring adjusts for question difficulty across the pool, so the raw number of questions you need correct isn't published as a fixed count.
Because results follow a recording review rather than instant on-screen scoring, expect a short wait - normally within 2 business days - before you receive your outcome. Plan any employer deadlines or job applications with that buffer in mind.
Eligibility Recap
Before you can register, you need to satisfy both an age requirement and one of several education/experience pathways, plus a specific training-hours requirement.
- Age: 21 or older.
- Pathway A: High-school diploma plus a CAC credential and 4 years of qualifying experience.
- Pathway B: 2 years of college or LPN license plus 3 years of experience.
- Pathway C: Bachelor's degree or RN license plus 2 years of experience.
- Pathway D: Graduate degree plus 1 year of experience.
- Pathway E: The stated 5-year experience/teaching exception route.
- Experience definition: The handbook specifies direct-care or supervisory experience of at least 25 hours weekly.
- Training hours: 35 dementia-specific training hours completed within the preceding 2 years - this is the current live requirement, and it supersedes the older 30-hour figure referenced in the original handbook.
If you're unsure which pathway fits your background, walk through the full breakdown in the CAEd requirements guide. Many candidates also ask who actually values this credential once earned - that's covered in the CAEd jobs overview and the CAEd salary guide.
Final-Week Review Plan
If you've already worked through a full study plan and this is your last week before sitting the exam, don't restart from scratch - triage by domain weight instead. This is the one place in this cheat sheet where general study technique applies, and only because it maps directly onto CAEd's published weightings.
Behavior + Adult Learning Theory
- Re-drill Behavior scenarios (18-22% of the exam) - triggers, de-escalation, non-drug responses
- Review adult learning principles (12-17%) - how you'd teach a family caregiver vs. new staff
Communication + Knowledge of Disease
- Communication techniques for different dementia stages (15-20%)
- Disease progression basics and terminology (12-16%)
Activities + Patient Rights + Safety
- Meaningful activity planning by cognitive stage
- Rights, dignity, and consent scenarios
- Fall risk, wandering prevention, environmental safety
Health + Caregiver Needs
- Comorbid health conditions common in dementia care
- Caregiver burnout and support resource questions - smallest domain, quick review only
Full Mix + Logistics
- Timed practice covering all nine domains
- Confirm camera/laptop setup and photo ID are ready
- Light review only - avoid cramming new material the day before
This sequencing isn't arbitrary - it front-loads the two domains that carry the most combined weight (Behavior and Adult Learning Theory together can be well over a third of the exam) while still touching every domain before test day. For a week-by-week plan built from day one rather than just the final week, see the complete CAEd study guide.
Renewal Numbers
Passing the exam isn't the end of the cost or time commitment. CAEd certification requires annual renewal.
- Renewal fee: US$65 per year.
- Continuing education: 12 CE hours annually.
Factor this recurring cost into any long-term evaluation of the credential. If you're still deciding whether to pursue CAEd in the first place, weigh the full cost picture - exam fee, optional course, and ongoing renewal - against career benefit in the CAEd ROI analysis, and see the complete fee structure in the CAEd certification cost breakdown.
Key Takeaway
Budget for the full lifecycle, not just the exam: US$365 (or US$895 with the course) up front, then US$65 plus 12 CE hours every year after that.
Want to see how this credential compares against other paths, or want the deep dive on pass-rate data, domain-by-domain difficulty, or what "CAEd" even stands for? Check the CAEd pass rate analysis, the what is CAEd overview, or run a full practice exam on our CAEd practice test platform to see where you currently stand against the nine domains above.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The exam runs on NCBAC's remotely monitored browser platform, and no advance appointment is required - you test once your eligibility and equipment are confirmed.
No. It's a scaled score of 664 on a 300-900 range, not a percentage of questions answered correctly. Treat the two systems as unrelated.
No. NCBAC requires a camera-enabled PC, laptop, or Chromebook. Tablets and phones are explicitly excluded from the remote-proctoring platform.
The current live requirement is 35 dementia-specific training hours completed within the preceding 2 years. This supersedes an older 30-hour figure found in the original handbook.
Not instantly. Because your session recording is reviewed, results normally follow within 2 business days of completing the exam.