AAISM exam dates: registering and scheduling

The AAISM has no fixed exam dates. ISACA's registration is open all year, and once you register you have six months to take the exam on a date you choose, at a PSI test center or at home with a remote proctor. You book the appointment yourself, as early as 48 hours after paying and as far ahead as 90 days. This guide walks through every step from ISACA's AAISM Exam Candidate Guide, version 1.26: registering, scheduling, choosing between a test center and an online exam, rescheduling and extending, what to bring, and how to pick a date that leaves you ready.

The short answer

• No exam dates to wait for. "Exam registration is continuous, meaning candidates can register at any time, no restrictions."
• Six months from registering. "Upon registration, exam candidates have a six-month eligibility period."
• Book 48 hours to 90 days ahead. You can schedule "as early as 48 hours after payment of exam registration fees", and "Exam appointments are only available 90 days in advance."
• Test center or online, except for residents of India, mainland China and Hong Kong, for whom "The AAISM exam is exclusively available at testing centers."
• Reschedule up to 48 hours before, free. Inside 48 hours, you take the exam or lose the fee.
• One extension, US$75, for six more months, if you need it.
• The fee: US$459 for ISACA members, US$599 for nonmembers, paid in full before you can book.

When can you take the AAISM exam?

Whenever you are ready, within your window. There are no exam sessions or registration deadlines. The guide: "Exam registration is continuous, meaning candidates can register at any time, no restrictions." Registering starts the clock: "This means that from the date you register, you have six months to take your exam."

So the date question is really two decisions: when to register, which starts your six months, and when to book, which can be any open appointment from 48 hours after you pay to 90 days ahead. A sensible order is to study first, register when you can see your exam date, and book soon after, while appointments near that date are still open.

How to register for the AAISM exam

Registration is online, in three steps the guide lists:

1. "Select your certification exam: AAISM"
2. "Log in or create an account."
3. "Complete the registration process."

Three details save trouble later.

• Your name. If you are creating an account, the guide says to "ensure your name is the same as what appears on your government-issued identification that you will present on exam day."
• Your test option. "Before you register for the exam, it is important to verify availability near you or have a compatible device for remote testing." If you plan to test at home on a company laptop, ISACA notes you "may need your IT department's assistance or approval."
• The terms. During registration you accept ISACA's Terms of Use, section 16, on exams, and the guide warns that "Noncompliance with these Terms of Use can result in score nullification and certification revocation."

Pay the fee in full: "Candidates cannot schedule a testing appointment until exam registration fees are paid in full. Exam fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable." Then watch your inbox: "Candidates will receive a Notification to Schedule email within one business day following registration and payment of the exam."

How to schedule your exam appointment

Scheduling happens on PSI's site, which you reach through your ISACA account. The guide's five steps:

1. "Log in to your ISACA account."
2. "Click Certification & CPE Management."
3. "Click Schedule Your Exam or Visit Exam Website." This takes you to the PSI dashboard.
4. "On the PSI dashboard, click Schedule Exam."
5. "Follow the step-by-step instructions in the Exam Scheduling Guide."

After booking, "you will receive a confirmation email from no-reply@psiexams.com confirming the exam appointment." If you cannot find a date, remember the horizon: "If you do not see your exam site or date available more than 90 days in advance, please check back when it is closer to your desired exam date." And if dates still do not appear, the guide suggests checking that your eligibility has not expired in your ISACA account.

Test center or online?

ISACA offers both: its exams "are computer-based and administered at authorized PSI testing centers globally or as remotely proctored exams."

At a test center. The guide's checklist is to locate the center and confirm the start time, map the route, plan "to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the exam start time", and plan where to store your belongings. It also warns that you may share the room: "Your exam may be administered in a room with other test takers. Please note that some noise should be expected and is considered normal."

Online, with a remote proctor. Run the compatibility check before exam day. At check-in, "you must complete a room scan as part of the check-in process": a 360-degree scan of the room, a desk scan, and a floor-to-ceiling scan, using an external webcam, your laptop camera with a mirror, or your phone through a QR code. A mirror check follows, to show the proctor your screen, keyboard and the edges of your laptop. "Candidates can communicate with remote proctors in English using a live chat tool during the exam."

The online rules are strict. Among the things the guide says are not allowed: "Having someone else in the room during the exam", "Using a camera, recording device, or any other electronic device(s), including smart devices such as watches and glasses", "Reading exam questions out loud, talking to someone else in the room, or talking to yourself", "Eating, drinking, or chewing gum" and "Looking away from the computer screen". A breach voids the exam and forfeits the fee.

Three regions are test-center only. ISACA's AAISM page: for residents of India, mainland China and Hong Kong, "The AAISM exam is exclusively available at testing centers." If that is you, do what the guide advises for everyone and "verify availability near you" before you register.

Rescheduling, extensions and missed appointments

• Rescheduling. "You can reschedule your exam at any time during the eligibility period, without penalty, a minimum of 48 hours prior to your scheduled testing appointment." Inside that window, "you must take the exam or forfeit the registration fee."
• Extending. "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 "30 days before and after the expiration of your eligibility", a booked exam must be canceled at least 48 hours ahead to extend, and "There is a maximum of one extension on an exam."
• What forfeits the fee. Not taking the exam in the six months, missing the appointment, or being "more than 15 minutes late for a testing appointment."
• If the center closes. For severe weather or an emergency, "If the testing site is closed, the exam will be rescheduled at no additional charge."

Changing your name, language or exam type

The guide lists three common changes. Your name must match your ID, and you update it in your ISACA profile. To change your exam language, which can be English, Spanish or Japanese, you reschedule: "If you need to change your exam language, you also must reschedule the testing appointment." To change between a test center and remote testing, contact ISACA support. "All change requests must be completed a minimum of 48 hours prior to your scheduled testing appointment."

Special accommodations

"Special testing accommodations must be requested during the registration process and approved by ISACA before scheduling the exam." You tick the accommodation field when you register, complete ISACA's request form with your healthcare professional, and submit it through ISACA's support site. Two deadlines matter: requests are not considered until the fee is paid, and "All requests must be submitted to ISACA no later than four weeks prior to your preferred exam date". An approval covers one exam administration.

What to bring: identification

Whether you test at a center or online, you need "a current, valid, and original government-issued ID" with your name, signature and photograph. The first and last name must match the name you registered with, and "Digital IDs and Military IDs are not accepted." The guide's acceptable forms include a driver's license, a state ID card, a passport, a passport card, a green card, an alien registration card and a permanent resident card. Without one, you will not be allowed to test, and the fee is forfeited.

How to pick your exam date

ISACA publishes no recommended study time, so the date has to come from your own plan. Our course's estimate for the AAISM is about 76 hours, or 8 weeks at about 9.5 hours a week; less if the AI side is familiar, more if it is not. Three rules of thumb:

1. Work backward from the date. Count your available hours per week, divide 76 by it, and add a week for a timed mock and review.
2. Register when the date is in sight. Registering starts the six months, and booking opens 90 days ahead, so there is no advantage in registering long before you can book.
3. Leave room for a second attempt. "Individuals have four attempts within a rolling 12-month period to pass the exam", and the wait after a first attempt is 30 days, so a date well before any deadline of your own gives you a second chance inside it.

A study plan helps most once you have a date. In our course you enter your exam date and your weekly hours, and the plan lays out the weeks from today to the exam, area by area.

A checklist, from registration to result

1. Confirm your CISM or CISSP is active, and that your ISACA account name matches your ID.
2. Check a test center near you, or run the compatibility check on the computer you will use.
3. Register for the AAISM and pay the fee in full; your six months start.
4. Watch for the Notification to Schedule email, within one business day.
5. If you need accommodations, request them now: at least four weeks before your preferred date.
6. Book your appointment on PSI's dashboard, between 48 hours and 90 days ahead, and keep the confirmation email.
7. Reschedule only if you must, and at least 48 hours before the appointment.
8. On the day, bring an acceptable ID, arrive 30 minutes early at a center or complete the room scan at home, and do not be more than 15 minutes late.

After the exam

"Candidates will be able to view your preliminary passing status on screen immediately following the completion of your exam", and "The official score will be emailed and available online within 10 working days." If you pass, you apply for certification, with "five years from passing the exam to apply for AAISM certification." AAISM certification requirements covers the application and what follows it.

Where to start

Before you register, try the material. A free account opens the first topic, AI governance and regulation, in full: its 147 questions with rationales, its lessons and its flashcards, plus a short diagnostic and a study plan that works from your exam date. The AAISM exam format explains what happens on the day, and what the AAISM costs covers every fee. Full access is a single payment, with nothing to renew.