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Associate · Updated October 2026

CKYCA Certification Exam (Certified Know Your Customer Associate): free practice test

ACAMS' entry-level certification for KYC, onboarding and customer due diligence analysts. It tests the KYC lifecycle: identifying and verifying customers, finding beneficial owners, rating customer risk, enhanced due diligence and ongoing reviews.

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About the CKYCA exam

ACAMS' entry-level certification for KYC, onboarding and customer due diligence analysts. It tests the KYC lifecycle: identifying and verifying customers, finding beneficial owners, rating customer risk, enhanced due diligence and ongoing reviews.

What's on the exam

CKYCA
KYC Foundations and Regulatory Expectations
7 key facts
Customer Identification and Verification
7 key facts
Beneficial Ownership and Legal Entities
7 key facts
Customer Risk Rating
7 key facts
Enhanced Due Diligence and PEPs
7 key facts
Ongoing Monitoring, Reviews and Exits
7 key facts

Each branch is a topic in the official outline. Members see every key fact on the full mind map. Read the free study guide →

How to pass the CKYCA exam

  • 60 questions in 90 minutes gives you 1.5 minutes each. Associate questions are shorter, so you'll usually have time to review flagged ones.
  • You need 72% of the scored questions. Some questions are unscored and you can't tell which, so treat every one as if it counts.
  • Know the difference between source of funds (where this money came from) and source of wealth (how the customer built their total wealth).
  • Learn the ownership-and-control logic for legal entities: who owns 25% or more, and who actually controls the company.

Save your results and get your Readiness Score

Create a free account after the test: your score by topic, a mistakes bank, the first study-notes topic, flashcards and the AML Red Flags Cheat Sheet.

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What's in the full CKYCA prep

Full question bank

150+ exam-style questions written to each official outline. Every answer explained, with the rule it comes from.

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Flashcards + spaced repetition

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Key study notes

Each topic boiled down to the 5 to 7 facts that get tested, with the standard or rule behind them.

Mind maps

See the whole exam on one screen: every topic and the facts under it.

Sample questions with answers

These are the questions in the free test above, with answers. Try the test first. You'll learn more by getting some wrong.

1. Under the US Customer Identification Program (CIP) rule, which four pieces of information must a bank obtain before opening an account for an individual?
Answer: Name, date of birth, address and identification number. 31 CFR 1020.220 requires at least name, date of birth (for individuals), address and an identification number (for US persons, usually a taxpayer identification number).
2. What is the difference between identification and verification in KYC?
Answer: Identification collects who the customer says they are; verification checks it against reliable, independent sources. The customer gives identifying data; the firm then verifies it with documents (passport, ID card) or non-documentary methods (databases, electronic checks).
3. Company A is owned 60% by Company B. Company B is owned 50% by Ms. Lee. What is Ms. Lee's indirect ownership of Company A?
Answer: 30%. Multiply through the chain: 50% × 60% = 30%. At 25% or more she is a beneficial owner under the US CDD Rule and FATF-style thresholds.
4. If no individual owns 25% or more of a legal entity customer, who must still be identified as a beneficial owner under the US CDD Rule?
Answer: One individual with significant responsibility to control or manage the entity, such as the CEO or CFO. The control prong always applies: at least one senior managing official must be identified, even when nobody meets the ownership prong.
5. A nominee shareholder is a red flag in KYC mainly because:
Answer: They may hold shares on behalf of a hidden beneficial owner. Nominee arrangements can hide who really owns and controls a company. Firms must look through nominees to the natural persons behind them.
6. Which factors are normally combined in a customer risk rating model?
Answer: Customer type, geography, products and services, and delivery channels. Risk rating looks at who the customer is, where they and their money are, what products they use and how they're onboarded (for example, non-face-to-face).
7. A low-risk retail customer's KYC file is usually refreshed less often than a high-risk customer's because:
Answer: A risk-based approach sets review frequency by risk, with high-risk files reviewed most often. Periodic review cycles (for example yearly for high, every 2 to 3 years for medium, longer for low) follow the risk-based approach, alongside event-driven reviews when something changes.
8. Source of wealth means:
Answer: How the customer built up their total net worth, such as a business sale, inheritance or salary over time. Source of funds is where the money for a specific transaction or relationship comes from. Source of wealth is the origin of the customer's overall wealth. EDD for PEPs requires both.
9. Which customer would most clearly require enhanced due diligence?
Answer: A foreign government minister opening a private banking account. Foreign PEPs always require EDD under FATF Recommendation 12: senior management approval, source of wealth and funds, and enhanced ongoing monitoring.
10. Under FATF standards, which people are treated as related to a PEP for due diligence purposes?
Answer: Family members and close associates of the PEP. PEP requirements extend to family members (such as spouses, children and parents) and known close associates, because they can be used to hide corrupt proceeds.
11. A customer described as a 'retired teacher' starts receiving large monthly transfers from a company in a high-risk jurisdiction. What is the best KYC response?
Answer: Trigger an event-driven review, ask about the activity and update the risk rating. Activity that doesn't fit the customer profile should trigger a review. Depending on the answers, the firm updates the profile and risk rating, applies EDD or escalates for a possible SAR.
12. Adverse media screening is used to:
Answer: Find negative news linking a customer to crime, corruption or other risk. Negative news screening helps spot customers linked to fraud, corruption, organized crime or sanctions evasion who aren't on any list.
13. When can a firm apply simplified due diligence?
Answer: Only where lower risk has been identified and supported by a risk assessment, and never where there is suspicion. FATF allows simplified measures only for proven lower-risk situations. Any suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing rules them out.
14. A prospective customer refuses to provide information about who owns their company. What should the firm do?
Answer: Not open the account, and consider whether a suspicious activity report is needed. If CDD can't be completed, FATF Recommendation 10 says the firm should not open the account or perform the transaction, and should consider filing a suspicious transaction report.
15. Under the FATF standards, for how long should firms generally keep CDD records after the business relationship ends?
Answer: At least 5 years. FATF Recommendation 11 sets a minimum of 5 years. Some jurisdictions require longer, so check local law.

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Certification guide

ACAMS associate certifications: CKYCA vs CTMA vs CAFCA: ACAMS' three associate certifications are short, focused credentials for people early in their anti-financial crime career. Each exam has 60 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, and every package costs US$1,045 whether you work in the private or public sector. The difference is the job they're built for: KYC (CKYCA), transaction monitoring (CTMA) or FinTech compliance (CAFCA).

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Exam details are summarized from the official candidate information available in October 2026. ACAMS changes formats and fees, so confirm with ACAMS (Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists) before you book. AMLExamPrep is not affiliated with ACAMS or Pearson VUE.

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