CAMS Exam Cheat Sheet

Exam at a glance

Source: ACAMS CAMS certification page and candidate handbook (checked October 2026). Confirm with ACAMS before scheduling.

• 120 multiple-choice and multiple-selection questions; timed, computer-based, 3.5 hours.
• The candidate handbook lists a passing score of 75. ACAMS has not published a pass rate that we could find.
• Eligibility: active ACAMS membership plus 40 qualifying credits from education, experience, other certifications and training.
• Recertification every three years with 60 credits, at least 12 of them from ACAMS-provided training.

Money laundering and terrorist financing

Know the stages and how terrorist financing differs.

• Placement: illicit cash enters the financial system (structuring deposits, cash-intensive businesses).
• Layering: transactions that obscure the source (wire transfers, shell companies, rapid movement between accounts).
• Integration: laundered funds re-enter the economy looking legitimate (real estate, luxury goods, business investment).
• Terrorist financing can use legitimately earned money; the focus is the destination and use of funds, not only the source.

International standards

Bodies and frameworks CAMS expects you to recognize.

• FATF (Financial Action Task Force): the 40 Recommendations, mutual evaluations, and the lists of high-risk and monitored jurisdictions.
• Risk-based approach: apply stronger controls where risk is higher and simplified measures where it is demonstrably lower.
• Egmont Group: the network of national Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) that share information.
• Wolfsberg Group: banking industry AML guidance, including correspondent banking principles.

US Bank Secrecy Act numbers

The most-tested US thresholds and deadlines (FinCEN regulations).

• Currency Transaction Report (CTR): cash transactions over $10,000 in one business day, aggregated.
• Suspicious Activity Report (SAR): file within 30 calendar days of initial detection; up to 60 days if no suspect is identified. Bank thresholds: any amount for insider abuse, $5,000 when a suspect is identified, $25,000 regardless of suspect.
• Never tip off: disclosing that a SAR was filed, or would be filed, is prohibited. SAR filers have safe-harbor protection from civil liability.
• Monetary instrument log: cash purchases of $3,000 to $10,000 in monetary instruments.
• Record retention: generally five years.
• CDD Rule: identify and verify beneficial owners holding 25% or more, plus one individual with significant managerial control.

Compliance program pillars

The elements regulators look for in a BSA/AML program.

• Internal policies, procedures and controls.
• A designated BSA/AML compliance officer.
• Ongoing, relevant training.
• Independent testing (audit).
• Risk-based customer due diligence, including ongoing monitoring (often called the fifth pillar).

Classic red flags

Scenario questions often hinge on spotting these.

• Structuring: repeated cash deposits just under reporting thresholds.
• Activity inconsistent with the customer's stated business or profile.
• Rapid in-and-out movement of funds, especially through high-risk jurisdictions.
• Reluctance to provide identification or beneficial-ownership information.
• Politically exposed persons (PEPs) with unexplained wealth.

Official sources

• ACAMS — CAMS certification
• FATF Recommendations
• FinCEN — Bank Secrecy Act resources