The Canadian Forces Aptitude Test (CFAT) is a mandatory multiple-choice examination required for all applicants to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The test measures three cognitive abilities: Verbal Skills, Spatial Ability, and Problem Solving. Your composite score determines which military occupations you qualify for — making thorough preparation essential before your recruiting centre appointment.
This free printable CFAT practice test PDF gives you representative questions across all three sections so you can assess your readiness and identify weak areas before test day.
The Verbal Skills section is the shortest but also the fastest-paced — you have only 20 seconds per question on average. Questions include vocabulary (choosing the word closest in meaning to a given word), verbal analogies (A is to B as C is to ___), and sentence completion (selecting the word that best fills a blank in a sentence). A strong English vocabulary and the ability to recognize logical word relationships are critical. Reading broadly in the weeks before your exam is one of the most effective preparation strategies for this section.
The Spatial Ability section tests your capacity to mentally manipulate two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. Question types include mental rotation (identifying the same object shown from a different angle), 2D-to-3D visualization (determining which 3D shape results from folding a flat net), and pattern folding. This section is particularly important for technical trade occupations such as Aircraft Structures Technician, Combat Engineer, and Vehicle Technician. Practice with physical puzzle cubes, net-folding exercises, and dedicated spatial reasoning apps to build this skill quickly.
Problem Solving is the longest section and carries significant weight in occupation scoring. It covers arithmetic reasoning (applying basic math operations to real-world scenarios), word problems (extracting numeric relationships from descriptive text), and number series (identifying the rule governing a sequence and predicting the next term). You are not permitted a calculator, so practising mental arithmetic and quick estimation techniques is essential. Review fractions, percentages, ratios, rates, and basic algebra before your exam date.
Each CAF occupation has a minimum CFAT score profile. Combat Arms occupations (Infantry, Armoured) generally require lower composite scores but higher Problem Solving performance. Technical trades (Avionics Systems Technician, Signals) require stronger Spatial Ability and Problem Solving results. Officer occupations require high scores across all three sections. Your recruiter will tell you the specific score thresholds for the occupations on your list.
If you do not achieve qualifying scores on your first attempt, the CAF allows retakes, but a mandatory waiting period applies. As of current policy, candidates must wait at least six months before retesting. You may retake the CFAT a limited number of times over your application lifetime. Because retake opportunities are limited, investing in serious preparation before your first sitting is strongly recommended.
The CFAT and the U.S. Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) measure similar cognitive abilities but are not interchangeable. The ASVAB has nine subtests and produces multiple line scores used for U.S. military job placement. The CFAT has three sections and produces a composite score profile used exclusively by the Canadian Armed Forces. Scores from one test are not transferred to the other country's military application process.
Print the PDF and simulate real test conditions as closely as possible. Use a timer for each section — 5 minutes for Verbal Skills, 10 minutes for Spatial Ability, and 30 minutes for Problem Solving. Work in a quiet space without a calculator. When the timer expires, stop and mark your answers, then score your work against the answer key.
After scoring, calculate your accuracy rate per section. If your Spatial Ability score is below 60%, spend the next two weeks doing daily mental rotation and pattern-folding exercises. If Problem Solving is your weak point, drill arithmetic word problems using a structured workbook. Return to this PDF a week before your scheduled CFAT appointment for a final timed run-through.
Most candidates benefit from four to eight weeks of structured preparation. Divide your study time roughly in proportion to the number of questions in each section — Problem Solving deserves the most time because it has twice as many questions as each of the other two sections. Use the first two weeks to diagnose weaknesses with practice tests, then dedicate the middle weeks to targeted skill drills, and finish with full timed simulations in the final week.
Mental flexibility matters as much as content knowledge on the CFAT. The test is deliberately fast-paced, so learning to skip stuck questions and return to them later can protect your score. On Verbal Skills in particular, avoid spending more than 20 seconds on any single item — an educated guess and a quick move forward is better than a perfect answer that costs you three subsequent questions.