Saudi CMA exam day (CME): centres, rules, retakes and results

Where you sit the exam

You sit CME papers in person at a Financial Academy (FA) test centre; no FA or CMA page offers remote sitting or names a test vendor. The FA's Testing Centres page lists five centres (FA Testing Centres):

Official pages disagree: The FA's FAQ lists four centres, with no Hail, and puts Dammam at the university's Continuing Education Center, Room 1012 (FA FAQ). The exam pages show a shorter list of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam (FA CME-1A page). Go to the venue on your booking confirmation.

CISI offers remote invigilation for its own exams elsewhere (CISI, On the day), but no FA or CMA page offers it for CME papers. The CMA sets the requirement and registers people; the FA runs the exams, including booking, fees, centres, study material, policy and Hadaf; CISI provides the A papers and works with the FA on the B papers (CMA CME page). For booking, see booking and fees; the CME guide lists every paper's time and pass mark.

Before the day: complete the QRF

Complete the online qualification registration form (QRF) before your exam: the FA's policy says no official result notice is issued without it (FA exam policy).

Not published: the form's full official name, where you complete it (your FA account or CISI) and how far ahead.

Arrival, ID and banned items

Arrive at least 30 minutes before the start; anyone who arrives after the exam has begun may be refused entry (FA exam policy).

Official pages disagree: The FA's general rule is 30 minutes, but the CISI section of the same policy says 20 (FA exam policy, CISI rules). Arriving 30 minutes early meets both.

The policy also sets these rules (FA exam policy):

• ID: bring a valid national ID or iqama, a temporary document from the General Directorate of Passports, or a valid passport. If the name doesn't match your booking, you will be refused entry.
• Banned items: phones, watches, programmable or digital devices and calculators may not be brought in or used. The CISI workbooks the FA links for the A papers say every CISI computer-based exam comes with an on-screen calculator instead (FA CME-1A workbook); no FA page confirms one at its centres.
• Language: a CISI paper's language can't be changed after booking. Every paper's FA page, such as the CME-1A page, offers it in Arabic and English.

Conduct

The FA's policy treats unauthorised aids, recording or publishing exam content, getting help, false documents and leaving without permission as misconduct (FA exam policy). Misconduct is reported to the candidate's employer and can lead to cancellation and a ban from FA exams of up to three years. If you think a question is wrong, leave a comment on it in the exam system: that comment is the first step of any later result review.

Special arrangements

The FA's policy says only that special arrangements can be coordinated with its exam delivery department (FA exam policy). Ask before you book. The FA's contacts are 8001010015 (Sunday to Thursday, 8:30 AM to 4 PM), cs@fa.gov.sa and exams@fa.gov.sa (FA FAQ).

Retakes

You can retake a failed paper, but how often and how soon depends on which of the FA policy's two rulebooks applies (FA rules; CISI rules):

The A papers list CISI as provider, so CISI's rules govern them. Every attempt is paid for, and a no-show doesn't count as an attempt (FA exam policy).

Not published: which rulebook applies to the B papers. Their FA pages name the FA, in partnership or cooperation with CISI, as provider, and the policy doesn't say. Until the FA confirms, plan around the stricter CISI limits.

Results

The FA publishes no timeline for CME results and doesn't say what the score report shows; its policy says only that results aren't officially announced until the QRF is complete (FA exam policy).

Not published: when official results arrive, whether your score shows on screen, what the score report contains and who issues the B-paper certificate. The FA FAQ's promise of certificates within 48 hours covers training programmes and events, not exams (FA FAQ). For CISI's own multiple-choice exams elsewhere, results appear in MyCISI within 24 working hours and stay provisional for five working days (CISI policies), but neither the FA nor CISI says this applies to CME papers sat at FA centres.

Result reviews

A review costs SAR 400 per request, and the FA considers it only if you take these steps in time (FA exam policy; FA FAQ):

• During the exam, record your objection as a comment on the question.
• Within three working days of the exam, email the review request form to exams@fa.gov.sa. Email is the only channel accepted.
• Within three days of the request, deliver a certified cheque for SAR 400, payable to the Financial Academy, to its standards department.

The FA decides within 20 working days of receiving everything and refunds the fee if it confirms an error. These steps are in the policy's general rules. Its CISI section adds a feedback form for exam-day complaints, due within 48 hours, and a separate form for comments on content; the policy doesn't say whether the review steps also cover the A papers.

Certificates

Your certificates are in your FA account: click your name, then the control panel, then Show certificate (FA website user guide 2025). A qualification certificate needs both papers; the CME 1 certificate, for example, needs CME-1A and CME-1B (FA CME-1B page). CISI certificates can be checked through the FA's Verify Certificate service, using the issue number printed on them (FA FAQ). You need the certificate and your tax invoice to reclaim fees through Hadaf (see booking and fees).

No official source sets an expiry date, a continuing professional development (CPD) requirement or a deadline for passing the second paper of a pair, and the Capital Market Institutions Regulations contain no CPD rule.