CPPM Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling

Why the CPPM Has No Fixed Test-Date Calendar

If you searched for a table of "2026 CPPM exam dates" expecting a list of national sitting days, here is the first thing to understand: the NPMA Certified Professional Property Manager exam is not published as a fixed set of annual testing windows in the issuer material we reviewed. The exam is administered by Kryterion, and the issuer describes online-proctored or testing-center delivery. That delivery model means your real "date" is the appointment you book once NPMA clears you to test.

That shifts the planning question. Instead of asking "when is the exam?" the better questions are:

• When will my application and Work Experience Summary be approved?
• Do I want to test before or after the fee change?
• Do I want to take the optional one-day review course first, and when is it offered?
• Which delivery format, remote or in person, fits my situation?

This article walks through each of those decisions using only what the issuer publishes. Where details could not be confirmed, we say so rather than guess. For a broader look at what the credential involves before you commit to a calendar, see our overview of what CPPM certification is.

Kryterion Delivery: Online-Proctored vs. Testing Center

Because Kryterion handles delivery, you choose a format and book a slot rather than waiting for a cohort date. The two paths have different practical implications for scheduling.

We did not retrieve the Candidate Handbook, so check the current handbook and Kryterion's own system-requirements page for exact room, ID, and equipment rules before booking. Do that early; a failed system check on exam morning is an avoidable scheduling problem.

Booking Window Reality Check

The issuer materials we reviewed do not publish a guaranteed lead time between approval and the first available appointment. Treat seat availability as something you verify at the time you book, not something you assume. If you have a hard deadline, such as a promotion review or a fee cutoff, book as soon as you are cleared rather than waiting for a "better" week.

The September 1, 2026 Fee Change and Your Scheduling Deadline

The single most date-sensitive fact for 2026 is the fee adjustment. NPMA published a dated notice, "CPPM Exam Fees," and the new schedule took effect September 1, 2026. This notice supersedes the older $250 member / $325 nonmember table that still appears in some older course or handbook materials.

Practically, that means any 2026 plan should be built around the new numbers unless you can document that your registration was completed under the older schedule. If you are reading older blog posts, forum threads, or archived course pages that show $250 or $325, treat those as stale. For a full breakdown of every cost layer, including membership and review-course pricing, see our CPPM certification cost guide.

Eligibility Comes Before the Calendar

You cannot book a seat on a whim. NPMA requires the following before you test:

• An active CPPA credential
• A CPPM application
• An approved Work Experience Summary
• Six years of property-management experience across at least seven functional areas, including four years of managerial experience

The practical scheduling consequence is that your approval date, not your preferred test month, usually sets your earliest possible exam date. If your Work Experience Summary is still being compiled, that is the true critical path. Start it first. The issuer maintains a dedicated Work Experience Summary page describing what to document; gather employer details, dates, and responsibilities across the functional areas before you submit.

For a deeper walk-through of the prerequisites and how reviewers evaluate experience, read our guide to CPPM requirements and how to qualify.

What You Are Scheduling: Format, Timing, and Scoring

Knowing exactly what the sitting looks like helps you choose a time slot that matches your focus peak. The current exam, as described by the issuer, is built like this:

• 110 delivered multiple-choice questions, made up of 100 scored items and 10 unscored development items
• 116 minutes total for the exam and a short survey
• Single-best-answer, multiple-choice situational-judgment style, in place since January 2023
• Immediate scoring at the conclusion

You will not know which items are the unscored development questions, so treat every question as if it counts. At 110 questions in 116 minutes, plus a short survey inside that window, you have roughly a minute per question with little slack. Choose an appointment time when you are alert and unlikely to be interrupted.

How Situational-Judgment Credit Works

The issuer describes four response categories graded on a 1-to-4 scale: Least Correct (1 point), Better Option (2 points), MQC Response (3 points), and Best Possible Option (4 points). This is issuer-described graded credit. Importantly, these categories do not reveal a numerical passing threshold, and the passing score remains unverified in our sources. If you want to understand what is and is not known about scoring, see our explainer on the CPPM passing score.

The One-Day Review Course Is Separate From Your Exam Slot

NPMA offers an optional one-day review course, titled CPPM Certification Review Online in the June 12, 2026 listing, carrying 8 CEUs. Two scheduling points matter:

1. The course price does not include the Kryterion exam. You book and pay for the exam separately.
2. The 8 CEUs describe continuing-education credit for the course. They are not exam timing and they are not blueprint weights.

If you want the review course, decide whether to schedule your exam shortly after it (to keep material fresh) or after a deliberate study gap. Because course dates are posted as individual events, check NPMA's events listing for the next offering instead of assuming a recurring schedule. Our CPPM training overview covers how the review course fits alongside self-study options.

Working Backward: Placing the 17 Functional Areas on Your Calendar

Once you have an approval date and a target booking window, build a study plan backward from it. The reviewed course material lists 17 functional areas. These are issuer course-preparation topics, not official, weighted exam domains, and no complete current blueprint was verified. That means you should spread your time across all of them rather than gambling on a few.

The 17 areas are: Acquisition; Audits; Consumption; Contracts and Agreements Closure; Control: Ownership, Responsibility, and Accountability; Disposition and Retirement; Environmental Considerations; Identification; Maintenance; Movement and Transfers; Physical Inventory; Property Accounting; Receiving; Records; Reporting; Requirements Planning; and Risk Management. Our guide to all 17 CPPM content areas explains each in depth.

Here is one way to cluster them across a roughly six-week runway, grouped by how they connect in real property-management workflows (this grouping is editorial, not an official weighting):

Because the exam is situational-judgment, practice by asking "what is the best action given competing priorities?" rather than memorizing definitions. Several functional areas interact: a Disposition decision touches Records, Accounting, and Environmental Considerations at once. Reserve your final week for mixed scenarios that cross these boundaries. For a fuller preparation framework, see our CPPM study guide, and when you want realistic repetition, use the CPPM practice tests.

Choosing Your Booking Date Against Difficulty

If you are unsure how much runway you need, calibrate honestly against the exam's demands. Our analysis of how hard the CPPM exam is discusses what makes situational-judgment items demanding. For context on outcomes, NPMA's 2024 annual report recorded 21 successful examinations out of 29, roughly 72%. That is a small, historical sample and not a forecast for 2026; our CPPM pass rate breakdown explains how to read it responsibly.

Retake Planning and Renewal Timing

Smart scheduling includes a plan B. The retake fee is $125 for members and $200 for nonmembers, well below the initial fee, which lowers the financial penalty of a first-attempt miss. We did not verify a mandatory waiting period between attempts in the sources reviewed, so confirm the current retake policy in the Candidate Handbook before you book. Do not assume you can rebook the next day.

Once certified, the credential is valid for five years. Renewal is governed by four qualifying criteria, not a verified fixed CEU count, so we do not state a number of credits. Put your renewal window on your calendar at the time you pass, and review the issuer's Certification Renewal page rather than relying on a secondhand figure. If you are weighing the long-term value of keeping the credential current, our CPPM ROI analysis and salary guide provide context on what the certification can mean for your career.

Source Notes and What Remains Unverified

Transparency matters on a scheduling topic where wrong information costs money. Here is what we could and could not confirm:

• Verified through indexed issuer excerpts: the fee notice, exam format and timing, Kryterion delivery, eligibility structure, and the 17 review-course functional areas.
• Not retrieved: the Candidate Handbook. Direct retrieval of issuer pages returned access errors, so we relied on indexed excerpts reviewed on October 2, 2026.
• Not verified: a published national calendar of testing windows, the numerical passing threshold, official domain weights, and a complete current blueprint.
• Page-title quirk: one issuer page's indexed title reads CPPS while its body describes the CPPM, and its URL suffix is not an exam-version year. Do not read the URL as a version indicator.

For the authoritative current word on dates and availability, check NPMA's certification pages and your Kryterion candidate account directly. If you are new to the credential and still orienting yourself, our primer on what the CPPM is is a good starting point, and career-minded readers can explore CPPM jobs to see where the credential is put to use.

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