The Certified Communications Professional (CCP) credential is offered by the Professional Club Marketing Association to active members. This page gives you free practice sets by topic, three worked questions with full reasoning, a study plan, and the delivery, fee, scoring and retake rules taken from the official source.

CCP Exam at a Glance

What the CCP is and how it works

According to Professional Club Marketing Association, “Achieve a passing score of 80% or greater on the final exam for the certification of CMP, CCP, or CRP within eighteen (18) months of initial enrollment”^[1]

The CCP is a certification from the Professional Club Marketing Association (PCMA) for members working in communications. To enroll, you must be an active PCMA member in the Professional or Professional Education classification of membership.

The final exam is available in person at the Annual Membership and Marketing Conference. The fee is $1,200. To earn the certification, you need a passing score of 80% or greater on the final exam within 18 months of initial enrollment.

If you do not pass, you may retake the exam virtually on a date determined by the association. The retake must be completed within 3 months of notification. You need an electronic device with a camera and audio capabilities to take it.

This page does not list the number of questions, the time allowed or the official content areas, because none of those were verified. Check the official PCMA certification page at askpcma.org before you enroll, since fees, dates and rules can change. Our practice questions are written by us with AI tools. They are not real exam questions, and they are meant to build understanding of the topics rather than to predict what appears on the exam.

Worked examples: how to reason through CCP 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: Kotter's 8-Step Change Model begins with which step most relevant to communicators?

1. Form a guiding coalition
2. Generate short-term wins
3. Create a sense of urgency
4. Consolidate gains

Answer: C. Create a sense of urgency

Explanation:

The correct answer is to create a sense of urgency. In Kotter's model this comes first, and for a communicator it means writing a clear message about why change is needed now. Without it, later steps have no audience ready to act.

Forming a guiding coalition comes after urgency is established. Generating short-term wins comes later, once the change is under way. Consolidating gains comes near the end, when early results are used to drive further change.

Rule to remember: people have to understand why before they will care about how, so the first message in any change effort explains the reason.

Example 2

Question: The ADKAR change management model stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and:

1. Accountability
2. Reinforcement
3. Retention
4. Alignment

Answer: B. Reinforcement

Explanation:

The correct answer is Reinforcement. ADKAR moves from Awareness to Desire, Knowledge and Ability, and ends by reinforcing the change through recognition, feedback and continued communication so people do not slip back.

Accountability sounds plausible, but it is not a stage in the model. Retention is also not a stage, though it describes a similar idea. Alignment is a common goal in change work, but it is not the final letter here.

Rule to remember: with named models, learn the exact wording of each stage and watch for distractors that sound reasonable but are not the model's term.

Example 3

Question: What is the first step in crisis communication?

1. Ignore the crisis until more information is available.
2. Assess the situation and prepare a clear, consistent message.
3. Start communicating with the media immediately.
4. Focus only on managing the internal team.

Answer: B. Assess the situation and prepare a clear, consistent message.

Explanation:

The correct answer is to assess the situation and prepare a clear, consistent message. You need to understand the scope and likely impact before you speak, so that the organization says one thing to all stakeholders.

Ignoring the crisis until more information is available leaves a silence that others will fill. Starting with the media immediately risks sharing unverified or conflicting details. Focusing only on the internal team neglects customers, partners and the public, who also need accurate information.

Rule to remember: act quickly, but verify first, then communicate one consistent message to every audience.

How to use these practice tests

Start by reading the official PCMA certification page so you know the eligibility rules, the fee and the passing score of 80%. Then work through the practice sets in this order.

1. Take one set cold, for example Integrated Communication Strategy, to see where you stand.
2. Note each topic where you miss questions, and read the explanation for every miss, not only the ones you got wrong by a wide margin.
3. Spend most of your time on the weakest sets, such as Crisis Communication or Change Management.
4. Write a short summary in your own words of each model you meet, including the order of its stages.
5. Repeat each set until you can explain why the wrong options are wrong.

In the last stretch before the conference, go back over your notes rather than starting new material. If you need a retake, use the same method on the sets where you were weakest, and keep the 3 month window in mind.

Sources & last verified

1. Professional Club Marketing Association — passing score, exam fee, retake policy, delivery (official source). “Achieve a passing score of 80% or greater on the final exam for the certification of CMP, CCP, or CRP within eighteen (18) months of…” Verified Oct 29, 2026.

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