AAIA exam cost: every fee, from exam to CPE

The AAIA exam costs US$459 if you are an ISACA member and US$599 if you are not. That is the figure most searches are after, but it is not the whole bill. Passing does not make you certified until you apply and pay a US$50 application processing fee, and holding the AAIA means a yearly maintenance fee and continuing education. Around those sit fees you may never pay but should plan for: US$75 to extend your six-month window, US$75 for a rescore, the full exam fee again for a retake, and, if you buy them, ISACA's own review manual, question database, online course or virtual workshop. This guide lists every fee ISACA publishes for the AAIA, what each one buys, the ways to lose the exam fee without taking the exam, and what realistic totals look like.

The short answer

• The exam: US$459 for ISACA members and US$599 for nonmembers, set by your membership status on the day you register.
• Becoming certified: a one-time US$50 application processing fee, paid after your official score is released.
• Keeping it: an annual maintenance fee of US$20 for members or US$35 for nonmembers, and at least 10 hours of AI-related continuing education a year, 30 over three years.
• More time: one six-month extension of your exam window, for US$75.
• If you do not pass: a rescore for US$75, and the full exam fee again for each retake.
• ISACA's own prep, if you want it: the review manual at US$89 or US$105, the question database at US$249 or US$349, and the online review course at US$449 or US$549, member and nonmember prices.
• No refunds on the exam. "Exam registration fees are non-refundable and non-transferable."

The exam fee: US$459 or US$599

The guide sets the rule in one line: "Exam registration fees are based on membership status at the time of exam registration." An ISACA member pays US$459 and a nonmember US$599, a difference of US$140. Membership has dues of its own, which are not in the documents this guide uses, so check ISACA's membership pages for the current figure before you decide whether joining first is worth it.

You pay before you can book anything: "the exam registration fee must be paid in full before an exam candidate can schedule and take an exam." Registration is open all year, and once you have paid you can book an appointment from 48 hours later. Registering starts a six-month window in which you must take the exam.

Five ways to lose the exam fee

Because the fee cannot be refunded or moved to someone else, the rules about forfeiting it matter as much as the price:

• Letting the window close. "You will forfeit your fees if you do not schedule and take the exam" within the six months.
• Missing the appointment or arriving late. The fee is forfeited if the appointment is missed "or if the candidate is more than 15 minutes late for a testing appointment".
• Changing plans too late. You can reschedule without penalty up to 48 hours before the appointment; after that, "you must take the exam or forfeit the registration fee."
• Bringing the wrong ID. Without a current, valid, original government-issued ID that shows your name, signature and photograph, you will not be admitted, and the fee is lost.
• Breaking the rules. "Any form of cheating will not be tolerated and will result in a voided exam without refund."

There is one exception, for genuine emergencies. "If you fail to arrive for a testing appointment due to a personal hardship you may be able to reschedule without forfeiting your exam registration fee." You contact PSI, ISACA's testing provider, within 72 hours of the missed appointment and send documentation: a doctor's note for an illness, details of a death in your immediate family, or a police report or a mechanic's or towing company's receipt for a traffic accident. The guide is clear about the alternative: "If the request is denied, you are required to register again and pay the full exam registration fee."

The extension: US$75 for six more months

If six months turns out not to be enough, the guide offers one way out: "If you need additional time to take the exam, you can purchase a six-month exam extension for US $75." The option appears on your dashboard from 30 days before your eligibility expires until 30 days after. If you already have an appointment, you must cancel it at least 48 hours ahead to extend, and "There is a maximum of one extension on an exam."

One caution. A later page of the same guide says flatly that "No eligibility extensions are allowed." The section on registration describes the extension in detail, with its price and its timing, so it reads as the specific rule. Even so, if you are counting on an extension, confirm with ISACA before your window runs short rather than after.

If you do not pass: rescores and retakes

If you fail and believe the score is wrong, you can ask for a rescore within 30 days of the results' release. "Rescores are performed by PSI", and "A fee of US $75 must accompany each request."

A retake costs the same as a first attempt: "candidates must pay the registration fee in full for each exam attempt." You get "4 attempts within a rolling twelve-month period", with waits of 30 days before the second, then 90 days before each of the third and fourth. Two attempts therefore cost US$918 for a member and US$1,198 for a nonmember; all four would cost US$1,836 and US$2,396. Every retake you avoid is a fee you keep, which is the strongest argument for preparing properly the first time.

After you pass: the US$50 application fee

Passing is the first step, not the last. ISACA's certification page lists the next one: "Pay the one-time US$50 application processing fee". The timing is set too: "Once your official exam scores have been released, you may pay the application fee and then apply for certification." There is no rush, within limits: "Candidates must apply for certification within five years of having passed the exam."

The AAIA also rests on another credential. You need an active CISA, or one of ISACA's 15 other qualifying designations with an IT audit or IT advisory role, and whatever that designation costs to keep is a cost of holding the AAIA, though it is not an ISACA fee for the AAIA itself. AAIA certification requirements lists the qualifying designations.

Keeping the AAIA: the annual fee and CPE

Once certified, you pay every year: the maintenance page lists "Pay the AAIA annual maintenance fee (US$20 for members, US$35 for non-members)". "This payment is due annually by 1 January and is required to renew through the upcoming calendar year." If you hold more than one of ISACA's Advanced certifications, you pay once: "Regardless of how many ISACA Advanced certifications you hold your total annual maintenance for all of your Advanced certifications will be $20/35."

The larger cost is time. Maintaining the AAIA requires "a minimum of 10 CPEs annually and a total of 30 CPEs over a 3-year period", and they must be in the right field: "10 hours of CPE in the specialized domain of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be required annually." The requirement starts in the calendar year after you are certified. Hours that meet another ISACA certification's requirements can count toward both. ISACA lists many ways to earn CPE, from conferences and courses to webinars and volunteering, some of them free, so what CPE costs you depends on the route you choose.

Three conditions carry costs if you ignore them:

• The CPE audit. If you are selected, you must show evidence of what you reported, and records should be kept for at least three years.
• The prerequisite. You must "Maintain active status on prerequisite certification used to apply for AAIA."
• Reinstatement. A certification revoked for not meeting the CPE policy can be reinstated on appeal, and if the appeal is approved "the individual must pay any outstanding certification maintenance fees plus a US$50 reinstatement fee before being reinstated." If it is not, the way back is to retake and pass the exam.

ISACA's own preparation, and what it costs

ISACA sells four kinds of AAIA preparation. These are the prices its store listed on October 26, 2026:

• The review manual is sold in print and as an eBook in English, Spanish and Japanese, and as a Chinese eBook, which costs members US$95.
• The question database is, in the store's words, "a 6-month subscription with the option to purchase a subscription extension", and ISACA's AAIA page describes it as "a comprehensive 200+ question database".
• The online review course carries 11 CPE hours and 180 days of access, and its terms are firm: "All purchases of online learning courses are final."
• The bundle workshop is live training plus the other products: "Enrollment includes the AAIA Review Manual (eBook edition), AAIA Questions, Answers and Explanations Database (QAE) as well as the exam cost." ISACA runs it over two days of eight hours or four days of four hours; the price above is for the session the store listed for December 14 and 15, 2026.

Two details are worth checking before you buy. ISACA's launch announcement in May 2025 said the course and the database came with a longer period, "both of which allow one year of access", while the store's pages say six months today, so read the access period on the product page itself. And the bundle includes the exam registration, so if you buy it, do not pay the exam fee separately.

ISACA also offers two things for free: a practice quiz on its AAIA page ("Test your knowledge with these 12 free questions.") and, for members only, AAIA study groups, a "member-exclusive online forum" that "acts as a global virtual study group for those preparing to take the AAIA certification exam". Which of these you need, if any, is the subject of AAIA training, and the AAIA study guide and review manual covers the book and the free sources beside it.

What the AAIA costs in total

Using ISACA's published prices only, and leaving out membership dues, your prerequisite designation's own fees and the cost of CPE:

After that, the maintenance fee is US$20 or US$35 a year. A retake adds the exam fee again, and an extension adds US$75.

The bundle is easiest to judge by its parts. Bought separately, the exam, the question database and the manual's eBook cost US$797 for a member and US$1,053 for a nonmember, so the two days of live workshop account for US$1,153 and US$1,197 of the bundle's price. Whether that is worth it depends on how much you value a live instructor over studying on your own.

Questions about AAIA costs

Is there an AAIA voucher, or a price in rupees or pounds?

The candidate guide describes registering and paying online and gives every fee in US dollars. It mentions no vouchers, no discount codes and no prices in other currencies, so ISACA's own fees are the same US-dollar figures wherever you register, India and the UK included. Membership is the one published way to pay less.

Does ISACA membership pay for itself?

A member saves US$140 on the exam, US$16 on the review manual, US$100 each on the question database and the online course, US$300 on the bundle workshop and US$15 a year on maintenance. Set those savings against ISACA's membership dues, which are on its membership pages and not in the documents this guide uses, and the answer depends on what you plan to buy.

Can I get my money back if my plans change?

Not for the exam: the fee is "non-refundable and non-transferable", which is why rescheduling more than 48 hours ahead, and the extension, are the tools to use instead. For ISACA's online courses, "All purchases of online learning courses are final."

The cheapest attempt is the one you pass

Every scenario above gets more expensive with each retake, so the real saving is preparation that works the first time. AAIA questions test judgment more than recall: each has four options and one best answer, and the qualifier in the stem decides between options that are all partly sensible. AAIA exam format and scoring explains the clock and the scale.

Where to start

Before spending on anything, see whether the way you study suits the exam. A free account opens AI models and requirements in full, lessons, questions and flashcards, with your progress kept, so you can try AAIA-style questions at no cost. Our AAIA practice questions each come with a rationale that explains why the right answer is right and why the others fall short, and the timed mock runs 90 questions on one 150-minute clock, as the exam does. Full access is a single payment with nothing to renew. For three worked questions with full rationales, see AAIA exam questions.