ACP Practice Test

The Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) is a Project Management Institute certification for people who work in agile teams. This page gives you free practice sets by topic, worked questions with reasoning, a study plan and the exam facts PMI publishes: delivery options, eligibility, fees, format, retakes and renewal.

ACP Exam at a Glance

What the ACP is and how it works

According to Project Management Institute, “The PMI-ACP examination is comprised of 120 multiple-choice items, multiple response, drag-and-drop-style items, and exhibits. Of the 120 exam items, 20 are considered pretest items.”^[1]

The ACP is awarded by the Project Management Institute (PMI) to practitioners who can show agile knowledge and experience. You can take the exam at a Pearson VUE test center, which PMI recommends, or online with a proctor through OnVUE.

The exam has 120 questions in multiple-choice, multiple-response, drag-and-drop and exhibit formats. Of those, 100 are scored and 20 are unscored pretest items, and you cannot tell which are which. You have 3 hours (180 minutes) to finish.

To apply you need a high school diploma or equivalent, 21 hours of formal agile training, and 2 years of agile experience within the past 5 years. The fee is $495 for non-members and $435 for PMI members.

If you do not pass, you may sit the exam up to 3 times within a 1-year eligibility period. After 3 attempts you must wait 1 year from your last attempt before reapplying.

The certification runs on a 3-year cycle, and holders need to earn 30 PDUs in each cycle to keep it. We do not list a passing score here because it is not among the facts we have verified. Fees, rules and the exam outline can change, so check the PMI certification page and the exam outline before you apply or book.

ACP content outline and where to practise each area

The content areas below are copied from the official ACP content outline published by Project Management Institute, with the share of the exam each area carries. The right-hand column shows which of our practice sets covers it.

Worked examples: how to reason through ACP questions

These are practice questions written for this site, not questions from the real exam. Each explanation shows why the right answer is right and why the others are wrong.

Example 1

Question: What is the benefit of delivering value iteratively in Agile?

1. Minimizing stakeholder engagement.
2. Receiving continuous feedback to reduce risks.
3. Delivering everything at once.
4. Avoiding customer involvement until the final product is ready.

Answer: B. Receiving continuous feedback to reduce risks.

Explanation:

The correct answer is that iterative delivery gives continuous feedback, which reduces risk. Each increment puts working product in front of users and stakeholders, so wrong assumptions show up early, while they are still cheap to fix.

Minimizing stakeholder engagement is wrong because iterations only help when people react to what they see. Delivering everything at once is wrong because it is the opposite of iterating, and it postpones learning until the end. Avoiding customer involvement until the final product is ready has the same flaw: the biggest surprises arrive at the most expensive moment.

Rule to remember: in agile questions, favor the option that shortens the feedback loop and involves the customer sooner.

Example 2

Question: In the Bucket System estimation technique, items are placed into buckets labeled 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40, and 100. What makes this technique faster than Planning Poker for large backlogs?

1. It uses exact hour estimates for each bucket
2. Items are placed silently without discussion until outliers emerge
3. Only the product owner assigns bucket values
4. It requires no calibration story

Answer: B. Items are placed silently without discussion until outliers emerge

Explanation:

The correct answer is that items are placed silently, and the team only talks about outliers. That removes a round of discussion for every item, which is where Planning Poker spends its time on a large backlog.

Exact hour estimates per bucket is wrong because the buckets are relative sizes, not hours. Only the product owner assigning values is wrong because the technique relies on the team placing items, and the product owner is not the estimator. Requiring no calibration story is wrong because relative estimation still needs a reference item to compare against.

Rule to remember: relative sizing trades precision for speed, and discussion is reserved for items where people disagree.

Example 3

Question: What is the primary objective of organizational leadership in professional practice?

1. Maximizing short-term profits only
2. Creating sustainable value for all stakeholders
3. Eliminating all business risks
4. Following competitor strategies exactly

Answer: B. Creating sustainable value for all stakeholders

Explanation:

The correct answer is creating sustainable value for all stakeholders. Leadership in an organization is about direction that serves customers, staff, owners and the wider community over time, not any one group at their expense.

Maximizing short-term profits only is wrong because it ignores the long term and every other stakeholder. Eliminating all business risks is wrong because it cannot be done, and avoiding every risk also means avoiding opportunity. Following competitor strategies exactly is wrong because copying removes the chance to serve your own customers' needs and to differentiate.

Rule to remember: when options are extreme or absolute words such as only, all or exactly, the balanced, value-focused option is usually the better choice.

How to use these practice tests

Start with the official PMI exam outline and note the four content areas: Delivery, Leadership, Mindset and Product. Treat it as your checklist, because the practice sets here are written by us and are not real exam questions.

Take one set per area as a cold diagnostic, without notes. Record which topics cost you the most marks. Then read the matching section of your agile training material or the sources you used for your required training hours, and return to the same set a few days later.

For every question you miss, write one sentence on why the right answer is right and why your choice was wrong. Look for the pattern, such as picking the answer that gives the manager control instead of the team, or the one that delays feedback.

Once your results are steady across the areas, work through the mixed topics such as stakeholder engagement, estimation and risk, and practise sitting through long sessions without breaks. The real exam lasts 3 hours, so build stamina as well as knowledge. In the last days, review your written notes rather than learning new material, and read the PMI booking and exam-day rules for your delivery option.

Sources & last verified

1. Project Management Institute — number of questions, retake policy, eligibility, other (official source). “The PMI-ACP examination is comprised of 120 multiple-choice items, multiple response, drag-and-drop-style items, and exhibits. Of the 120 exam items, 20 are considered pretest items.” Verified Oct 28, 2026.
2. Project Management Institute — time limit, exam fee, validity, renewal (official source). “**Time:** You’ll have 3 hours to complete the exam.” Verified Oct 25, 2026.

How we verify: editorial & fact-checking policy. Report an error: contact us.