CACS Paper 1 and Paper 2: fees, pass marks, exemptions, which to sit first

CACS has two papers, and IBF gives them the same format and the same fee: 80 computer-based multiple-choice questions in 2.5 hours, at S$446.90 for IBF corporate members or S$534.10 for others, including GST. What differs is the pass mark (75% for Paper 1, 70% for Paper 2), the subject (rules and codes against products and markets) and the exemption: IBF says there are none for Paper 1, while CFA charterholders are exempted from Paper 2 from 1 January 2019. A failed paper can be rebooked straight away, at the full fee again. The table below sets every figure side by side, each from IBF’s own pages, read on 13 November 2026. ProSyllabus is an independent study site. It is not affiliated with IBF, the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) or MAS, and nothing here is official.

IBF, CACS Examination Details, read 13 November 2026.

IBF says the CACS Assessment “is applicable to private banking professionals (or “Covered Persons”) who are in a client-facing role and provide financial advisory services to accredited investors”, and points to the Private Banking Code of Conduct issued through the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS). The PB Code defines a Covered Person more widely: an individual in a client-facing role who provides financial or wealth advisory, banking transactional (deposit taking or payments), brokerage or credit services to accredited investors on behalf of a Covered Entity. It names relationship managers, client advisors, investment advisors and consultants, product specialists and wealth planners as examples.

Paragraph 2.1.1 of the PB Code says the Covered Person “is expected to pass the Client Advisor Competency Standards (“CACS”) before he/she provides any financial/wealth advisory service to AIs on behalf of his/her Covered Entity”, and paragraph 2.2.1 says a Covered Person who does not pass “should not advise clients”. Paragraph 2.1.2 adds that this applies even where the employer has its own IBF-accredited programme. We found no deadline in months for passing CACS in the PB Code. Our suggestion: ask your employer’s compliance or HR team what timeline it works to.

IBF’s wording is one line: “From 1 January 2019, CFA Charterholders are exempted from CACS 2.” The PB Code, paragraph 2.1.5, puts it as “can be exempted”. Both refer to CFA charterholders, and neither page we read extends it to candidates who have passed some CFA levels but are not charterholders; if that is you, ask IBF before you rely on it. There is no matching exemption for Paper 1: IBF says “There are no exemptions to CACS 1 paper as it is a Rules and Regulations exam.”

Our suggestion: confirm your Paper 2 exemption before you book Paper 2, not after. IBF’s FAQs list registering for an exam and later realising you “do not need to sit for the examination”, for example because of an exemption, among the cases where it gives strictly no refund. IBF’s public pages we read do not set out how the CFA exemption is recorded or applied for, so confirm the step with IBF or your employer.

The two papers share a format but not a subject. Paper 1 is about the rules a private banker works under; Paper 2 is about the products and markets a client’s money goes into. IBF lists the headings below; we found no question counts or weights by heading on the IBF pages we read.

IBF’s 5 May 2024 announcement of the new CACS exams, available from 6 August 2024, lists what changed: more content on ethics and professional conduct in the Paper 1 study guide, updated product content and new products in the Paper 2 study guide, an “Increase in application-based questions”, and Paper 1’s time raised from 2 hours to 2.5 hours. Paper 2 “remains unchanged at 2.5 hours”, and the pass marks stayed at 75% and 70%.

For the public rules behind each Paper 1 heading and a 3-week Paper 1 plan, see our CACS Paper 1 study guide page.

On 80 questions, Paper 1’s 75% means 60 correct answers and room for 20 wrong; Paper 2’s 70% means 56 correct and room for 24 wrong. Both papers give 2.5 hours, an average of 112.5 seconds a question (our arithmetic).

IBF’s FAQs say you “may register for another examination slot to re-sit your examination immediately after your failed examination attempt”. There is no cheaper resit fee. Since 1 April 2023, IBF says it has “standardised the fees for both the first attempt and subsequent attempts”, and “There will be no discounts for subsequent attempts.” Before that change, IBF’s fee announcement shows, a CACS resit was cheaper than a first attempt.

The member rate is not only for company bookings. IBF’s FAQs say an employee of an IBF member company can get it when registering as an individual online, by giving the company’s UEN and their own corporate email address, and entering the one-time password sent to that address. IBF also lists separate fees for online CACS sessions, S$1,438.80 for members and S$1,744.00 for others per paper; it runs those only in exceptional circumstances, and the employer registers the candidate.

We found no limit on the number of CACS attempts, and no CACS pass rate, on the IBF pages we read. Nor did we find a validity period for a CACS pass. IBF’s FAQs do say FMRP results have no validity period, but that is a different exam and says nothing about CACS. Treat each of these as unknown rather than assume an answer.

We found no required order for the two papers on the IBF pages we read or in the PB Code. IBF’s FAQs allow you to register for several papers in one transaction, as long as each is in a different exam session, and say you can view and book exam dates up to 2 months ahead. The table is ours, built on the facts above.

We found no recommended study hours for either paper on the IBF pages we read (13 November 2026), so the timings below are ours. One fact shapes any plan: IBF says candidates who have successfully registered for an exam are given access to a PDF of its study guide through the IBF Portal, and that the access expires on the day of the registered exam. Our plan assumes you use the access that comes with each paper’s registration.

IBF’s 2024 announcement says the new exams have more application-based questions. Here are two questions from the independent ProSyllabus CACS Paper 1 practice test, printed exactly as the test shows them, with its explanation.

For booking, ID rules and the exam day, see our CACS Paper 1 registration guide; for Paper 2 notices, the CACS Paper 2 updates page; and for where CACS sits in a private banking career, how to become a private banker in Singapore. Two more worked Paper 1 questions are on our practice questions page.