To qualify for candidacy, each applicant must:

• Currently hold an active CSQA Certification
• Be working in the field covered by the certification designation
• Have the experience (described under the Real World Experience section) to demonstrate mastery of the skills identified in the current Software Testing Common Body of Knowledge
• Be prepared to submit documentation that supports your real-world experience in the software quality field (described under the Real World Experience section)
• Be prepared to take the required manager’s level examination
• Meet one of the following three prerequisites:
1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college-level institution plus a minimum of four years experience in the software quality assurance field, or
2. An associate degree plus a minimum of six years of experience in the software quality assurance field, or
3. Eight years of experience in the software quality assurance field.

Depending upon a compliance sample selected according to program criteria, the applicant may be required to provide detailed education and/or employment documentation supporting the prerequisite option selected on the application. If selected for verification, the applicant must supply the documentation to the program. Applicants who fail to provide the requested documentation will not be allowed to sit for the exam or, if the exam has been taken and passed, may be subject to de-certification.

A completed Certification Candidacy Application must be submitted through the Customer Portal for entrance to Software Certifications as a candidate for any particular certification. It should be submitted by individuals who:

1. Are working, or have worked at any time within the prior 18 months, in the field covered by the certification designation
2. Have significant experience and breadth of knowledge to have mastered the basics of the entire Software Quality Common Body of Knowledge
3. Have reviewed the Software Quality Common Body of Knowledge

The initial application fee is as follows:

• $600.00 (includes PDF version of the Software Quality CBOK). All fee paid in USD (see Payment Policy)
  Fees in this program are non-refundable or non-transferable

Once your Profile satisfies the Prerequisites for the CMSQ candidacy the candidate must then submit their Real-World Experience Documentation as mentioned below. After the Real World documentation has been received / approved by the Software Certification board the candidate will be fully accepted into the program allowing then to schedule their examination (see Examination section below).

Candidates for certification who rely only on limited experience/education or too few/specific study materials typically do not successfully obtain certification.  Do not apply unless you feel confident that your work/education activities and past experience have prepared you for the examination. Applicants already holding a certification from Software Certifications must submit a new application when deciding to pursue an additional certification.

Once a new application is accepted and approved, the Candidacy begins the date the application fee was processed. The candidate then has 12 months from the date the application fee was processed to take their exam. If after the 12-month period the candidate has yet to take the exam their candidacy will expire. The candidate must then reapply for candidacy and pay the current application fee to begin the process again.

1. Quality Planning
2. Define, deploy and improve work processes
3. Measurement
4. Organizational Development (teams and management)
5. Communication (leadership and behavioral skills)
6. Risk Management

The documentation for each of the three categories selected must be submitted to the Software Certifications division using the Real-World Experience Documentation Checklist.

Software Certifications
2101 Park Center Drive
Suite 200
Orlando, FL 32835-7614
Attn: Review Board - Real World Experience

This checklist ties specific skills defined in the Guide to the CSQA Common Body of Knowledge to the six categories listed above. If a candidate decides that one of these items is not applicable for their “experience” documentation, an explanation of why that item is not applicable must be included with the submitted documentation. If the documentation in a category or categories is found to be insufficient to meet the acceptance criteria, a candidate will be given feedback on the deficiencies and allowed one opportunity to resubmit corrected documentation.

Candidates for this certification must pass a four part exam composed of constructed response (essay) questions. The examination tests the candidate’s “practical” knowledge in the following four areas:

1. Quality Leadership
2. The Quality Assurance Function
3. Quality Planning and Execution
4. Communications and Relationships

The passing mark is 75% which is the average score of all four parts.

Exams are now being offered either through a Prometric Testing Center (paper-based exam) or a Sponsored Site (paper-based exam). The location where you plan to take your exam will determine whether you take it at a Prometric Testing Center or Sponsored Site. See below for more information.

Prometric Testing Center

Prometric sites are available worldwide* (Find a Prometric Testing Center locations near you).

* WARNING: Prometric Sites are NOT an option to those wanting to take their exam in one of the following locations - India, Brazil, China, or Sri Lanka (see Sponsored Sites Schedule). Exams taken at a Prometric site in any of these locations will NOT be accepted and the candidate will forfeit any fees paid for said exam.

Scheduling
1. To schedule the CMSQ certification exam a candidate must follow the instructions listed below.
2. Use the following link to find the Prometric Site(s) where you plan to take the exam (Find a Prometric Testing Center locations near you). During the process to find a location it will ask for an exam selection. Simply pick either the CSQA or CSTE exam to continue to the available sites page for all exams.
3. Write down the address information and site code for each location where you wish to schedule your examination.
4. Determine the date range in which you plan to take the examination. Make sure the date(s) selected are at least six weeks out from the day you send the email as this process does take extra time.
5. Email this location and date information to certify@softwarecertifications.org.
   
   Rescheduling
   Please contact certify@softwarecertifications.org to reschedule an existing appointment at a Prometric site. There could be a fee depending on how close to the scheduled date you are try to rescheduling.

There is no guarantee that the date / location will be available so provide multiple dates / locations if possible. The farther out you attempt to schedule the better the chances you will get the date / locations requested. Waiting to the last minute to schedule your exam only reduces the chances greatly that you will not find a seat so you need to plan accordingly as there is no guarantee a seat will be available which is all based on availability at each site.

Sponsored Sites

Sponsored Site exams are ONLY offered in India, Brazil, China, and Sri Lanka. (see Sponsored Site Examination Schedule)

Scheduling
• Complete the following steps to schedule a Sponsored Site exam in the Customer Portal
1. Go to the My Examination page in the Customer Portal.
2. Click on Pick Scheduling Option.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Sponsored Site tab.
4. Select the Examination Location from the drop-down
5. Select the Examination Date from the drop-down
6. To schedule your exam click on the Confirm this Examination Location / Date tab
• You must schedule your examination at least 30 days before the selected examination date in order to reserve a seat which are limited based on availability. (see Sponsored Site Examination Schedule)
• Candidates are strongly encouraged to check the Sponsored Site Examination Schedule page for specific location information for their scheduled examination during the days leading up to the examination sitting. Simply click on the location link of the exam you are scheduled for to view the location information as they are kept as up-to-date as possible. (see Sponsored Site Examination Schedule)
• While Software Certifications makes every possible effort to provide examinations as scheduled, last minute changes have been sometimes unavoidable in the past. Past disruptions have included exam location changes, inclement weather, and building closures.
  
  Rescheduling
• From time to time, candidates need to reschedule / postpone an examination for a Sponsored location to a later date. This is known as a Deferral**.
• To Defer an examination for a Sponsored location, a candidate must go to the My Examination page in the Customer Portal to Defer** the already scheduled exam.
• The deadline to Defer an already scheduled exam at a Sponsored location is 30 days prior to the examination date. Deferrals are not accepted less than 30 days prior to an examination date.

**NOTE: Once you Defer a scheduled exam it is final and will not be reset to the previous date / location just Deferred once inside 30 days from the scheduled exam date. Make sure you know exactly when your expiration date is as although your application may still be active when Deferring, that does not guarantee you will be able to reschedule your exam for a future date as it may be after your application expiration date. If you are not sure contact certify@softwarecertifications.org before proceeding with the Deferral as once you Defer it is final and any funds processed are not refundable or transferable (Payment Policy).

To maintain the CMSQ certification, it is a requirement that the certified manager continue to mature their technical and managerial competencies. Certified managers must earn 30 CPE (continuing professional education) points in each of the following four categories every three years (120 CPE total in three years):

• Management Skills (30 CPE / 3 years)
• Technical Skills (30 CPE / 3 years)
• Professional Development Activities in the Industry (30 CPE / 3 years)
• Additional activities in selected categories (30 CPE / 3 years)

The CSQA certification remains active as long as the CMSQ certification is maintained.