Credential
Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS)
The Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) is the broad, widely-recognized AML credential from ACAMS, gated by a 40-point qualification system and a required ACAMS membership, with a $2,095 private-sector / $1,595 public-sector standard package.
Last reviewed 2026-07-28 by Urban Algorithm LLC
The Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) is administered by the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS). It is the broad AML specialist credential and the one most candidates first hear about.
Eligibility: the 40-point system
CAMS uses a points-based system: you need 40 points to sit the exam. Education, professional experience, and financial-crime-related training each contribute points, and the categories stack:
- Education: Associate degree 10 points, Bachelor’s 20 points, Master’s 30 points, JD or PhD 40 points.
- AML-related professional experience: 10 points per year, with no cap.
- Financial-crime-related training: 1 point per hour, with no cap.
ACAMS membership is required both to sit the exam and to hold the credential once earned.
Exam format and passing score
The CAMS exam is 120 multiple-choice questions (a mix of theoretical and scenario-based items), delivered as a computer-based, timed test lasting 3.5 hours. The passing score for the current (6th) edition is 75.
Cost
The standard CAMS certification package (electronic study guide, practice materials, and one exam attempt) costs $2,095 for private-sector candidates and $1,595 for public-sector or government candidates. ACAMS membership is a separate, mandatory purchase: $295 a year private-sector, $195 a year public-sector. A retake, if needed, costs $299 private-sector or $199 public-sector.
Recertification
CAMS recertifies on a 3-year cycle, requiring 60 CAMS credits total, at least 12 of which must come from ACAMS training events. The recertification submission fee is $200 if filed by October 1, $250 by December 15, or $300 if filed late (by March 31).
Verification note
acams.org returned an HTTP 403 Cloudflare bot challenge on every direct-fetch attempt during the 2026-07-28 research pass, including the candidate handbook PDF. The figures above are cross-referenced across three or more independent, mutually-agreeing secondary sources that each quote the same acams.org pages, not a direct primary-source read. See the comparison matrix for the full source record.
Use the eligibility and cost checker to see where you stand against the 40-point threshold, or the recommender to weigh CAMS against CGSS, the ICA ladder, CFCS, and CFE for your specific role.
Ready to plan the exam itself? The CAMS study plan, exam day, and retake guide covers a realistic week-by-week schedule for the 120-question exam, the real application and scheduling sequence, and what a retake costs if you do not pass the first time.
Have a foreign degree, military experience, or another background that does not fit the headline rule cleanly? The eligibility edge cases guide covers foreign degree equivalency, combined and part-time experience, military and law enforcement experience, self-employment, membership lapse, and whether CAMS and CGSS can share the same underlying experience, sourced and honest about what nobody has published yet.
Weighing whether the cost is worth it? Is CAMS worth it? sets the full all-in cost next to sourced US compliance-role wage data, with no claim that CAMS causes a raise.
Compare this credential against the others in the comparison matrix, or use the recommender.