Exam Information

The ACE examination is "closed book," online, and administered by a proctor who remains in the room during the test. It consists of 150 multiple-choice and true-false questions and should be taken in one sitting of 3-hours or less. Once set, the applicant should send their exam date and proctor information to ace@entocert.org with at least 10 days' notice. Exams are scheduled weekly and instructions are sent to the proctor and applicant 7-10 days before their exam date, including the username and password to access the exam. The exam is rigorous by design. The Certification Board feels that applicants, regardless of how long they have been in the industry, should prepare for the exam with a minimum of 40 hours of self-study prior to attempting the exam. Please see the ACE resources page for more information on how to study for the ACE exam.

General Guidelines

The ACE examination is designed to recognize practicing pest management professionals who have a solid grasp of the practical aspects of applied entomology. The major categories of competency covered by the exam include these four areas:

• Inspection and Identification (45% of the exam)
• Monitoring (12% of the exam)
• Selection and Implementation of Control Methods (28% of the exam)
• Evaluation (15% of the exam)
   

Content Outline

The content outline is the four Domains broken into a series of Skills and Tasks. It is more detailed information on the types of materials covered in the examination. 

Sample Exams

You can take a sample ACE exam. This will give you a better understanding of the types of questions asked and your overall preparedness for the exam. The sample exam can be viewed here: https://goo.gl/forms/7VxAVv6UWR2jMqsu2

After the Exam

The exam is scored immediately by the testing software and a score is sent to the applicant. Passing score is 75%.

If the exam is passed, ESA will contact the applicant with an official welcome to the ACE program. The ACE is issued as a digital credential and the applicant will also be mailed a physical welcome kit. Digital credentials can be shared in the holder's mobile wallet as well as shared online. Renewals will be every 3 years and will require CEUs, but not retesting. 

All applicants must pass the exam within 3 years of their application acceptance date or the application will expire.

If an applicant does not earn a passing score the first time they take the exam, they can retake it no sooner 30 days and no more than 365 days later. To schedule a retake, the applicant need only email ace@entocert.org with their exam date and proctor. As with scheduling initial exams, please make sure to give ESA staff at least 10 days' notice. There is no fee to retake the ACE exam.