Updates as of September 22, 2026
The CII lists IF1 as a two-hour exam of 100 multiple-choice questions with a 70 per cent nominal pass mark. It is a Level 3 unit carrying 15 CII credits against 60 nominal study hours, and the CII publishes the 2025 pass rate for the unit as 79.65 per cent. The unit covers the legal and regulatory environment together with the main insurance disciplines at an introductory level.
CIIThe current study material is the 2026 edition, which the CII states applies to exams sat from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026. General insurance units run a January to December study period, so candidates sitting in the last quarter of 2026 are on the edition that expires at the end of December and should check the edition against their intended sitting date before booking.
CIIIF1 is sat on demand rather than in fixed diets. The CII states that multiple-choice exams are available daily, subject to availability, at UK and non-UK online exam centres, with remote invigilation also offered. The default purchase route is Enrolment plus, which bundles the study text, e-learn, Key Facts Booklet, Knowledge Checker and assessment entry.
CII Assessment InformationEnrolment carries two separate clocks. The CII gives 12 months of access to digital study material on RevisionMate from the date of purchase, but the exam voucher is valid for 18 months. A candidate can therefore lose access to the study text six months before the entitlement to sit the exam lapses, which is a common reason for last-minute unprepared sittings.
CIIIF1 is the core unit of the Level 3 Certificate in Insurance, which requires one core unit plus two option units for a minimum of 40 CII credits. The CII qualification specification lists a standard qualification fee of 477 pounds, a package fee of 600 pounds, digital-only enrolment at 681 pounds and digital and printed enrolment at 720 pounds for the whole certificate, not for IF1 alone.
CII Certificate in Insurance specificationCII IF1 at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | 100 multiple-choice questions, 2 hours |
| Nominal pass mark | 70 per cent |
| Level and credits | Level 3, 15 CII credits |
| Nominal study hours | 60 |
| Qualification | Core unit of the Certificate in Insurance (minimum 40 credits) |
| Published 2025 pass rate | 79.65 per cent |
The CII describes 70 per cent as the nominal pass mark and notes elsewhere in its qualification specifications that pass marks may vary from examination to examination to take account of relative difficulty. Treat 70 per cent as the planning target rather than a fixed statutory threshold.
Dates and windows
| What | When | Status |
|---|---|---|
| IF1 exam sitting | Rolling — book on demand | Rolling |
| Exam availability | Daily, subject to availability, at UK and non-UK online exam centres or by remote invigilation | Confirmed |
| Study period for general insurance units | January to December | Confirmed |
| Current study text edition | 2026 edition, for exams sat 1 January to 31 December 2026 | Confirmed |
| RevisionMate digital material access | 12 months from date of purchase | Confirmed |
| Exam voucher validity | 18 months from date of purchase | Confirmed |
| Result for an on-screen multiple-choice exam | Immediate, per the CII statement that online multiple-choice results are immediate | Confirmed |
There is no IF1 exam season. The only dates that bind an IF1 candidate are the edition cut-off of 31 December 2026 and the personal 12-month and 18-month clocks that start on the day of purchase.
What this means for your preparation
Candidates most often underestimate the pass mark rather than the syllabus. IF1 is a broad, shallow unit with a 70 per cent nominal pass mark over 100 questions, so it tolerates 30 wrong answers and no more. That is a materially tighter margin than the 65 per cent used on the CII's Level 4 regulation unit, and it means coverage gaps, rather than depth gaps, are what fail people.
Seventy per cent over 100 questions changes the strategy
The CII sets a nominal pass mark of 70 per cent for IF1 across 100 multiple-choice questions in two hours. Arithmetically that is a budget of 30 wrong answers. Because the unit spans the legal and regulatory environment plus the main insurance disciplines at an introductory level, most questions are individually straightforward and the risk is concentrated in topics a candidate skipped rather than topics they found hard. The efficient preparation pattern is therefore breadth-first: work the full Knowledge Checker and Key Facts Booklet across every syllabus area before returning to depth, because an untouched area of the syllabus can quietly consume the whole error budget.
Two clocks, and they do not run together
Buying Enrolment plus starts two different countdowns. The CII gives 12 months of access to digital study material on RevisionMate from the date of purchase, while the exam voucher stays valid for 18 months. Candidates who plan around the longer figure can find the study text and e-learn have gone dark at month 12 with six months of entitlement left. If you intend to spread study over a year or more, either sit well inside the 12-month window or buy the printed format, which the CII offers as an optional add-on with postage charges, so the material survives the digital expiry.
The edition boundary is a real deadline
The CII states that the 2026 edition of the IF1 material applies to exams sat between 1 January and 31 December 2026, and that general insurance units run a January to December study period. Booking a sitting in early 2027 on 2026 material means revising against a superseded edition on a unit whose whole subject is legal and regulatory change. With the exam bookable daily subject to availability, there is no scheduling reason to cross that boundary. Candidates already holding 2026 material should aim to sit before the end of December 2026 and check the edition statement on the unit page before rebooking.
IF1 is a core unit, not the whole certificate
The Certificate in Insurance requires one core unit plus two option units, for a minimum of 40 CII credits in total. IF1 supplies 15 of those credits at Level 3 and is the standard core choice, with LM1 plus LM2 as the London Market route and W01, WH1 or HGT as non-UK alternatives. The CII gives the notional Total Qualification Time as 160 hours, extending to around 200 depending on the options chosen. Candidates planning a timeline should size the certificate at three units, not one, and pick the option units before starting IF1 so the study calendar is realistic.
Read the pass rate carefully
The CII publishes a 2025 pass rate of 79.65 per cent for IF1. That is a high figure and it reflects a unit designed as an entry point for insurance staff across claims, underwriting and support functions, with no prior qualification assumed. It does not mean the exam is a formality: a roughly one-in-five failure rate on a paper with a 70 per cent threshold is consistent with candidates who sat on partial coverage. Use the published rate to calibrate expectations about difficulty, not about effort, and treat a full pass through the syllabus as the minimum before booking. The CII sends RevisionMate access instructions to the registered email address, typically within two working days of purchase.
Common questions
How many questions are in IF1 and how long is the exam?
The CII lists IF1 as 100 multiple-choice questions sat in two hours, with a nominal pass mark of 70 per cent. It is a Level 3 unit worth 15 CII credits and carries 60 nominal study hours. Unlike the CII's Level 4 regulation unit, the IF1 unit page does not describe a separate multiple-response question type, so candidates should expect a single standard multiple-choice format throughout the paper.
When can I book the IF1 exam?
On demand. The CII states that multiple-choice exams are available daily, subject to availability, at UK and non-UK online exam centres, with remote invigilation also offered. There is no fixed sitting season. The exam voucher included with enrolment is valid for 18 months from purchase, so the practical limit is your own voucher expiry and the edition boundary of the study material rather than a published exam calendar.
What does IF1 cost?
The CII's unit page did not display a live unit price at the time this page was compiled. The published figures we could source are qualification-level: the Certificate in Insurance specification lists a standard qualification fee of 477 pounds, a package fee of 600 pounds, digital-only enrolment at 681 pounds and digital and printed enrolment at 720 pounds. Those cover the full three-unit certificate. For the current IF1 unit price, check the live unit page, which shows separate member and non-member pricing. The CII also offers Recognition of Prior Learning, charging 50 per cent or 20 per cent of the standard enrolment price for an exempted unit depending on the band awarded, with revised RPL pricing effective from 1 March 2026.
Which study text edition should I be using?
The CII states that the 2026 edition applies to exams sat from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026, and that general insurance units follow a January to December study period. If you are sitting in the remainder of 2026 the 2026 edition is correct. If your sitting slips into 2027, check the unit page for the replacement edition before revising, because IF1 is a legal and regulatory unit where superseded material carries real risk. Printed copies of the study text are available as an optional add-on with postage charges applied.
How many credits does IF1 carry and where do they count?
IF1 carries 15 CII credits at Level 3. The CII lists it as counting towards the Certificate, Diploma or Advanced Diploma in Insurance, and it is the standard core unit of the Level 3 Certificate in Insurance. That certificate requires one core unit plus two option units for a minimum of 40 CII credits, with a notional Total Qualification Time of 160 hours rising to around 200 depending on the option units selected.
How does IF1 compare with the CII's R01 unit?
They sit in different qualifications for different audiences. IF1 is a Level 3, 15-credit core unit of the Certificate in Insurance, aimed at insurance staff, with 100 multiple-choice questions and a 70 per cent nominal pass mark. R01 is a Level 4, 20-credit core unit of the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning, aimed at retail investment advisers, with 100 questions of which 13 are multiple response and a 65 per cent pass mark. Passing one does not exempt you from the other.
