Track AACE Certified Cost Professional (CCP) practice status, review cost-engineering route fit, and request a PM Mastery coverage update.
AACE Certified Cost Professional (CCP) is the route for experienced cost-engineering and project-controls practitioners. It is the broad AACE lane when estimating, cost control, planning and scheduling, risk, earned value, and stakeholder communication all matter.
PM Mastery does not have dedicated AACE CCP web practice yet. Use this page to confirm route fit, compare adjacent PMI pages, and request an update if CCP is your actual target.
For current eligibility, fees, delivery rules, and policy details, see the official AACE CCP detail page .
CCP questions and written tasks usually reward the answer that keeps cost decisions traceable to scope, schedule, risk, assumptions, and stakeholder needs instead of treating cost as a standalone number.
| Official detail | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Time limit | 5 hours maximum |
| Question section | 119 simple multiple-choice and compound scenario questions |
| Main scored domains | Cost Management (55), Interfacing with Other Disciplines (24), and Performance Analysis (40) |
| Written component | 1 communication memo response based on a given scenario |
| Resource rule | Closed book, with onscreen formula sheets available |
| Passing standard | overall average of 70% or higher |
| Maintenance note | CCP is valid for 3 years and must be maintained through recertification or reexamination |
| Exam feature | Preparation implication |
|---|---|
| Broad cost-management scope | Practice connecting estimate basis, cost control, schedule context, risk, change, and stakeholder reporting instead of studying each topic in isolation. |
| Compound scenario questions | Look for the control decision that protects traceability: scope, assumptions, approved baseline, performance evidence, and next action. |
| Communication memo task | Rehearse short written answers that state the issue, support the recommendation, name the control concern, and explain what the project team should do next. |
| Closed-book format with formula sheets | Memorize when and why formulas apply; do not rely on formula recognition without understanding the management decision behind the result. |
| Choose CCP when… | Choose another route when… |
|---|---|
| your work spans cost engineering, estimating context, controls, schedule/risk awareness, and stakeholder reporting | your role is almost entirely estimate development, where CEP is cleaner |
| you need the broad AACE professional-level controls route rather than a technician foundation | you still need foundational cost terminology first, where CCT is safer |
| your target is total cost management across a project or program | your work is construction delivery, contracts, and governance, where PMI-CP may be the better comparison |
| If you are deciding between… | Main distinction |
|---|---|
| CCP vs CEP | CCP is broader total cost management; CEP is focused on estimating. |
| CCP vs EVP | CCP spans the wider cost-engineering lane; EVP focuses on earned value management. |
| CCP vs PMI-CP | CCP is cost engineering and controls; PMI-CP is construction delivery, contracts, stakeholders, and governance. |
| CCP vs PMP | CCP is a specialist controls credential; PMP is broad project-leadership practice. |