EnCE Practice Test

The EnCE suits forensic examiners who work with EnCase and want the OpenText credential. This page gives free practice sets by topic, from evidence acquisition and file systems to reporting and legal procedures, plus worked answers, a study plan and the fees, scoring and retake rules published by OpenText.

EnCE Exam at a Glance

What changed for EnCE in 2026

• Oct 26, 2026: Eligibility changed to 64 CPE hours of computer forensic training or 12 months of experience (previously 64 CPE hours of forensic training or 12 months of experience).^[1]
• Oct 26, 2026: Delivery (Phase I (written exam)) changed to Taken online with Certiverse (previously Taken with Certiverse).^[1]
• Oct 26, 2026: Retake policy (Phase II (practical exam)) changed to Wait 60 days from the due date; a second failure means restarting at Phase I (previously Wait 60 days from due date; a second failure means restarting at Phase I).^[1]
• Oct 26, 2026: Score release changed to Email notice plus electronic certificate and wallet card (previously Emailed notice plus electronic certificate and wallet card).^[1]

What the EnCE is and how it works

According to OpenText, “The exam has 18 questions. You must answer all questions to your best ability in order for your submission to be considered for grading.”^[1]

The EnCE is the EnCase Certified Examiner credential from OpenText, aimed at people who examine digital evidence with EnCase. It is split into Phase I, a written exam, and Phase II, a practical exam.

Phase I is taken online with Certiverse. You have 2 hours to complete it, and the minimum passing score is 80%. Phase II has 18 questions, and all of them must be answered for your submission to be graded. Its minimum passing score is 85%.

To apply you need 64 CPE hours of authorized computer forensic training, online or classroom, or 12 months of work experience in computer forensics. The exam fee is $500 USD, and OpenText Learning Subscriptions do not include it.

If you fail Phase I, you wait 60 days before retesting and pay the fee again. If you fail Phase II, you wait 60 days from the date the test was due. A second failure means restarting at Phase I. Passing Phase II brings an email notice, then an electronic certificate and wallet card.

The certification is valid for 3 years. Renewal costs $250 USD if you begin before expiration, and $500 if the application arrives after it. Policies can change, so check the OpenText learning paths page before you book. We have not verified an official list of content areas, so treat the topic sets below as general practice and not a map of the real exam.

Worked examples: how to reason through EnCE 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: Which professional attribute is most valued in internet artifacts within the EnCE field?

1. Working in isolation
2. Accountability and commitment to standards
3. Avoiding challenging situations
4. Prioritizing personal convenience

Answer: B. Accountability and commitment to standards

Explanation:

The correct answer is accountability and commitment to standards. Examiners handle evidence that may be challenged later, so people need to trust that each step was done the same documented way and that the examiner owns the result.

Working in isolation is wrong because forensic work depends on review, shared procedures and clear records. Avoiding challenging situations is wrong because difficult findings still have to be reported honestly. Prioritizing personal convenience is wrong because shortcuts weaken the reliability of the work and can damage the evidence.

Rule to remember: when a question asks about professional conduct, choose the option that shows responsibility, documentation and adherence to accepted standards.

Example 2

Question: Which principle is fundamental to good encase software practice?

1. Writing as much code as possible
2. Separation of concerns and modularity
3. Avoiding all abstraction
4. Never refactoring code

Answer: B. Separation of concerns and modularity

Explanation:

The correct answer is separation of concerns and modularity. Splitting work into small parts that each do a single job makes it easier to understand, test, maintain and extend, which matters when you build repeatable processes around a tool.

Writing as much code as possible is wrong because more code usually means more mistakes and more to maintain. Avoiding all abstraction is wrong because abstraction hides detail and keeps the design manageable. Never refactoring code is wrong because refactoring is how structure stays clean as needs change.

Rule to remember: for design principle questions, favor options that reduce complexity and improve clarity, and distrust absolute words such as all and never.

Example 3

Question: Why is bit-stream imaging used?

1. Shrink files
2. Improve graphics
3. Clone exact drive contents
4. Install patches

Answer: C. Clone exact drive contents

Explanation:

The correct answer is to clone exact drive contents. A bit-stream image copies the storage device sector by sector, including active files, deleted files and unallocated space, so the examiner can work on the copy and leave the original media untouched.

Shrinking files is wrong because imaging does not aim to reduce size; it aims for fidelity. Improving graphics is wrong because the image is unrelated to display quality. Installing patches is wrong because it would change the system, and forensic imaging is meant to avoid altering the source.

Rule to remember: acquisition is about preserving the original state, so pick the answer that describes an exact, unaltered copy.

How to use these practice tests

Start with the official OpenText learning paths page so you know how Phase I and Phase II differ and what the eligibility rules require. Then use the practice sets to find weak spots before you pay the exam fee.

Begin with EnCE Fundamentals & Core Concepts and Evidence Acquisition & Preservation, since later topics build on them. Move on to File Systems & Artifact Examination, Registry Analysis, Internet Artifacts and Email Forensics. Finish with Data Analysis & Reporting, Report Writing and Legal Procedures.

After each set, read the explanation for every miss and write down the rule behind it in your own words. Then repeat the set a few days later without notes. Our questions are written by us and are not real exam questions, so use them to test understanding, not to memorize answers. Because Phase II is practical, spend time in EnCase itself on the same topics.

Sources & last verified

1. OpenText — number of questions, time limit, passing score, exam fee (official source). “The exam has 18 questions. You must answer all questions to your best ability in order for your submission to be considered for grading.” Verified Oct 26, 2026 · source checked Oct 26, 2026.

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