Saudi CMA CME-2 (2A and 2B): compliance and AML/CFT exams, fees

What CME-2 is

CME-2 is the compliance and anti-money laundering qualification in the Saudi CMA's Capital Market Examinations, the qualification exams the Capital Market Authority (CMA) requires before it registers someone for a compliance or AML/CFT function. The CMA sets the requirement and registers people; the Financial Academy (FA) runs the exams; CISI (the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment) provides the A paper and works with the FA on the B paper (CMA CME page; FA FAQ). The FA's pages say both papers must be passed for the certificate (FA CME-2B page).

English names from the CMA's announcement of the series; Arabic names from the CMA's Arabic guide.

Official pages disagree: The CMA's CME page shortens CME-2B's English name to "Saudi Capital Market Rules and Regulations – Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering". The CMA's announcement and its Qualification Examinations Guide give the full name used here. The workbook uses the short form.

Who needs CME-2

The CMA requires three papers, CME-1B, 2A and 2B, for people registered to perform compliance or AML/CFT functions (CMA announcement, 7 November 2022; CMA CME page). It is the only route that needs three papers and the only one that borrows a paper from another qualification. The FA's pages apply 2A and 2B to everyone to be registered for compliance work (FA CME-2A page). The registered functions include the compliance officer and the money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), and staff that an outsourced compliance or MLRO provider assigns must also pass or be exempted (Articles 19(b) and 20(e)(3), Capital Market Institutions Regulations). Other roles: which CME do I need.

None of the three papers needs a prior certificate or an academic qualification, and holders of a CME certificate from before February 2023, such as the old Compliance and AML/CTF module, can still register (CMA CME page; CMA guide).

Format, pass mark and fees

CME-2A has 100 questions in two hours and CME-2B 25 questions in 30 minutes, with pass marks of 70 (70%) and 17 (68%) and fees of SAR 2,100 and SAR 1,700. CME-1B adds 50 questions in an hour for SAR 1,100.

A first attempt at all three costs SAR 4,900. Fees can be reclaimed on HRDF's Hadaf platform only once both papers of a qualification are passed; claim with the tax invoice, not the preliminary invoice (FA FAQ). Booking steps are on the booking page.

Not published: The FA's exam pages give pass marks as raw points, with no question counts; the counts above come from the Examination Specification in each paper's workbook. The 2A workbook describes a two-hour exam of 100 multiple-choice questions and says computer-based sittings may add up to 10% unscored trial questions with extra time; no FA page confirms trial questions at its centres. No official page says 2B is multiple choice, though every practice question in its workbook is. Whether Hadaf treats 1B as part of the compliance qualification, and whether fees include VAT, isn't stated. No expiry date, continuing-education requirement or time limit for passing the other papers is published (FA exam policy, CISI rules).

Official pages disagree: The fee table in the CMA's Qualification Examinations Guide is older than the FA's exam pages, and one of its rows mislabels CME-2A. Go by the FA pages.

Chapters and their share of the exam

Each workbook's Examination Specification sets how many questions come from each chapter, and the FA's exam pages (2A; 2B) give the same split as percentages. A chapter's count can move by up to two questions from one paper to the next. The chapter names are the workbooks' own; CME-1B's chapters are on the CME-1 page.

2A is international: it tests compliance and financial-crime principles, not Saudi rules. The Saudi rules are in 2B and 1B.

Which rule versions CME-2B tests

The FA publishes no rule on which version of a regulation is examinable (FA exam policy, CISI rules). The latest CMA texts carry these amendments on their covers:

The 2B workbook, first published in October 2022, mentions no amendment later than 2021 and describes the offer rules as last amended in January 2021. Check those topics against the current texts; the fund changes are summarised on the CME-4 page and dated on what's changed.

Not yet checked: the latest versions of the Investment Accounts Instructions and of the anti-money laundering and terrorism-financing laws and rules behind 2B's last three chapters (40% of the paper).

Study material and editions

Each FA exam page links free official study material in Arabic and English. Under the FA's policy, moving to a date covered by newer material makes it a new exam, with the new material (FA exam policy, CISI rules), so study the edition linked for your booked date.

• CME-2A in English: the FA links CISI's Global Financial Compliance, workbook version 12.1 (July 2026). This guide's other pages give its exam window as 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2028 (FA workbook).
• CME-2B: the FA links Edition 1, workbook version 1.10 (August 2026), for exams from 1 February 2023 to 31 December 2026 (FA workbook).
• Practice questions: the workbooks end with practice sets the size of the real papers, 100 for 2A and 25 for 2B, and say they are for revision and don't necessarily match the exam's standard.

Not published: when the next 2B workbook is due. The current one covers exams only to 31 December 2026, so check the FA page before you book a 2027 date. The Arabic 2A edition and its window are not yet checked.

Opening Bell's practice questions and timed mocks follow these formats.