Last updated: September 17, 2026
Effective Date: September 15, 2026
This Guide forms part of the Quantum Academy Terms of Service for candidates, under Terms §6. Read it with the Exam Rules, which govern conduct during an exam.
This Guide covers every Quantum Academy certification, from eligibility and booking through assessment, results, appeals, and credential maintenance. Program-specific numbers are in the annex at the end.
Three assessment routes exist. Nine credentials are earned by proctored exam. The Certified Chief Quantum Officer (CCQO) is earned by an independently marked capstone. PQCX is awarded automatically and is never sat.
How a sitting is supervised depends on the program, the date, where you are, and how many people are sitting. Section 2 sets out the range, and how to find out which one applies to you. Everything else in this Guide is the same for everyone.
“We” and “us” mean Post-Quantum Institute, trading as Quantum Academy. “You” means the candidate.
1. Eligibility
Some credentials require another credential first. PQCM, PQCA and PQCV each require an active PQCS. The annex lists the prerequisite for each program.
There is no formal education requirement, and you do not need to take our training. Training and exam delivery are independent. However you study, you sit the exam separately, under whichever arrangement applies to your booking.
Our training is written against the same blueprint the exam is built from, so what you study is what the exam covers. It is not a condition of sitting.
2. How your sitting is arranged
Your booking confirmation is the authoritative record for your sitting. We send it before you pay anything toward a session, and it always covers:
- who will supervise, and whether that is Quantum Academy or an approved proctoring provider
- where you will sit, and if online, what you need at your end
- whether the sitting will be recorded, and if so what is retained and for how long
- what identification to bring, and what happens to it
- what you may have with you, if that differs from the Exam Rules
- how to reschedule, and by when
Read it when it arrives. If anything in it does not work for you, tell us before the date rather than on the day.
The range of arrangements
| What may apply | |
|---|---|
| Supervision | A Quantum Academy proctor, live over video, never the instructor who taught you. Or an approved proctoring provider we appoint |
| Location | Online, from your own computer. Or, where a test centre is available for your location and the sitting, in person at that centre |
| Recording | Under some arrangements we record video, audio and screen. Under others we record nothing and supervise live only. We tell you which, before you book |
| Identification | A current government-recognized photo document in every case. Whether it is only viewed, or captured and retained, depends on the arrangement |
| Booking | By email with us, or through a provider’s scheduling system |
Test centre availability varies by country and is not guaranteed; where no centre is available for you, the sitting is online.
What never varies, whatever the arrangement
The exam blueprint, the number of questions, the time allowed, the passing score, and how the standard was set. The conduct requirements in the Exam Rules. The confidentiality of exam content. Your right of appeal, and the human review behind it. The fee.
Where things stand today. As of 15 September 2026, every sitting is supervised by a Quantum Academy proctor, online, over video, and no sitting is recorded. No test centre is available in any location yet. We expect that to evolve as the number of candidates grows, and we publish any update in this section at least 30 days before it takes effect. The arrangements in your booking confirmation are the ones that apply to your sitting, so an update published later cannot reach a booking you already hold.
3. Buying and booking
Exams are bought at quantumacademy.com, either on their own or bundled with training. Prices are in the annex.
You have 12 months from purchase to sit the exam. This is the exam-eligibility window that Digital Access §3 refers to. If the window closes unused, the fee is not refunded and a new exam must be bought.
Arrangements can move between the day you buy and the day you book. If the arrangements we can offer when you come to book differ materially from those described in section 2 on the day you bought, you may take a full refund of the unused fee instead of booking. Exam Rules §8 carries this.
Booking a sitting. Write to support@quantumacademy.com with your credential and two or three times that suit you. Exams are supervised by a person, so sittings are scheduled rather than taken on demand, and we confirm a slot within two business days. Offer times at least five business days ahead where you can.
Once the slot is confirmed we send your booking confirmation, which sets out the arrangements for that sitting, and a one-off exam link. The link works only for you, only at your scheduled time, and only once. It opens the exam after the identity and environment checks pass, and it expires when you submit or when your session ends.
Where a proctoring provider runs the sitting, you book through their scheduling system instead, and we tell you so when we confirm.
Rescheduling and no-show terms are in Refund Policy §5. In summary: reschedule more than 48 hours before the appointment and there is no charge; inside 48 hours, or if you do not appear, the attempt is forfeited, except in documented emergencies, which we assess case by case.
4. Identity verification
You must prove who you are before every sitting, with a current government-recognized photo identification document. A passport, national identity card, or driving licence is accepted.
The name on the document must match the name on your Quantum Academy account exactly. Correct your account before you book if the two differ. We cannot correct a name at the exam, and a mismatch ends the attempt with the fee forfeited.
How the check is done depends on the arrangement. We tell you which one applies when we confirm your sitting.
Where the sitting is supervised by Quantum Academy over video, you hold the document up to the camera and the proctor reads your name and checks the photograph against the person on camera. Nothing about the document is captured. It is not photographed, scanned, copied, or stored, and the only thing recorded is that identity was confirmed.
Where a proctoring provider runs the sitting, their process applies instead, and it may involve capturing an image of the document. We tell you so before you book, and the Privacy Notice sets out what is then retained.
5. What you need to sit
A computer with a working webcam and microphone, a broadband connection able to carry video, and a quiet private room where you will not be interrupted. Digital Access §4 refers to these requirements.
For a sitting supervised by Quantum Academy over video, you join a video call and share your entire desktop, not a single window or tab, for the whole sitting. Check before the day that your operating system lets the browser share the full screen; on macOS this needs screen recording permission granted to the browser, which prompts once and then remembers. There is no software to install and no lockdown browser, and a current Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge is enough.
A proctoring provider may require its own software or a lockdown browser. We send you the download and the system check with your confirmation, in time to test before the day.
The room must have no other person in it for the duration. Clear the desk. Disconnect or switch off second monitors rather than covering them. Your phone goes out of the room, not face down on the table.
Test your camera, microphone, and screen sharing the day before. An exam that cannot start because of an untested setup is a no-show.
At a test centre you need none of the above. Bring your identification and nothing else. Centres provide secure storage for personal items, and their check-in procedure replaces the room and equipment checks.
6. Accommodations
We provide reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities or medical conditions that affect how they sit an exam. Common accommodations include extra time, extra or longer breaks, a separate room, screen-reader compatibility, and a reader or scribe.
Request an accommodation by writing to support@quantumacademy.com as early as you can, and at least 14 days before the date you want to sit. Approval is arranged before a session is scheduled, and it cannot be applied retrospectively to an attempt already taken.
We may ask for documentation from a qualified professional. There is no additional fee for an approved accommodation. Accommodation requests and any supporting documentation are handled under the Privacy Notice and are not recorded on your credential.
7. On the day
Arrive, or join the video call, 15 minutes early. Your booking confirmation has the link or the address.
The proctor checks your identification and your environment. For an online sitting that means showing the room and the desk on camera and sharing your entire screen; at a test centre it means the centre’s check-in and locker procedure. You then confirm the exam confidentiality agreement. Only then does the exam open, and the clock starts when the first question loads.
The exam is closed book. The Exam Rules govern what you may have with you and how you must behave, and the proctor applies them. Follow the proctor’s instructions at the time; if you disagree, comply and appeal afterwards under section 11.
You stay under supervision until you submit. One comfort break of up to five minutes is allowed; tell the proctor first, and note that the clock keeps running.
We tell you whether your session will be recorded when you book. Where it is not recorded, the proctor watches live and writes a short note only if something needs putting in writing, and what we keep afterwards is your answers, your score, your start and end times, and that note where one exists. Where we record a sitting, we set out the retention period in your confirmation, and the Privacy Notice covers the rest.
8. Format and scoring
Every exam is closed book, multiple choice and scenario-based, with scenario items weighted more heavily at the advanced level. Questions test applied judgment rather than recall.
| Foundational exams | Advanced exams | |
|---|---|---|
| Credentials | PQCS, CQTP, CQNE | PQCM, PQCA, PQCV, CQSI, CQNA, QCSP |
| Questions | 100, of which 90 are scored | 120, of which 110 are scored |
| Duration | 150 minutes | 180 minutes |
| Passing score | 700 on a 100 to 900 scale | 700 on a 100 to 900 scale |
Ten items on every exam are unscored pilot items, included so new questions can be calibrated before they count. You are told that pilot items are present. You are not told which ones they are.
The passing score is criterion-referenced. A panel of subject matter experts sets it by the modified Angoff method against the standard a competent practitioner should meet. It is not a curve, and it does not move with how other candidates performed. Everyone who meets the standard passes.
Scoring is automated for the multiple-choice and scenario items, which is what the Privacy Notice means when it says exam scoring may be automated in part. Section 11 gives you a route to human review.
9. Your result
You see a provisional pass or fail on screen when you submit.
Your official score report follows within five business days, by email and in your account. It gives your scaled score, the pass mark, and your performance by blueprint domain. It does not give per-question results.
If you pass, we issue your credential under section 13. If you do not pass, the report shows which domains to work on before you retake.
10. Retakes
| Interval | Fee | |
|---|---|---|
| Second attempt | 14 days after the first | US$299 |
| Third and later attempts | 30 days after the previous one | Standard exam fee |
Four attempts in any twelve-month period is the maximum for a given credential. Attempts invalidated under the Exam Rules count toward that limit.
11. Appeals
You can appeal a result, an invalidated attempt, or a misconduct finding.
Write to support@quantumacademy.com within 21 days of the result or finding, with the exam, the date, and what you are appealing and why. There is no fee.
Someone not involved in the original decision reviews the appeal and makes the decision personally, not through an automated process. This is the human review the Privacy Notice refers to when it says that exam scoring may be automated in part.
Where a sitting was recorded, the recording is reviewed as part of the appeal. Where it was not, the appeal is decided on the proctor’s contemporaneous note, your account, and anything else available, and Exam Rules §7 caps the sanction where those conflict and nothing corroborates the finding.
We respond within 10 business days. We either uphold the original decision, regrade the result, reinstate the attempt, or offer a free retake. Our decision on an appeal is final, which does not affect any right you have under consumer law.
An appeal about the scoring of an individual question will not be answered with the question. Exam content stays confidential. The response will state whether the item was reviewed and whether the review changed anything.
12. Misconduct
The Exam Rules define what counts as misconduct and what the sanctions are. Findings are decided on the evidence, communicated in writing with the evidence relied on, and appealable under section 11.
13. Your credential
When you pass, we issue the credential, a digital badge, and an entry in the public verification record at a dedicated .pro domain for that credential. Employers can also verify directly at validation@quantumacademy.com.
The verification record shows the credential, the holder’s name, and the validity dates. Nothing else. You can opt out of the public record by writing to validation@quantumacademy.com; opt-out takes effect within 10 business days, and we will then verify your credential only on your written authorisation.
Using your credential. You may state that you hold it, name the credential and its validity dates, and display the badge unaltered. Do not alter the badge artwork or imply that Quantum Academy endorses your employer or its products. The credential is not a license, a degree, academic credit, or government recognition, and should not be described as one.
Stop using the credential and the badge if it lapses, is suspended, or is revoked.
14. Keeping it current
Credentials are valid for three years from the date of issue.
You renew in one of two ways:
- Continuing education. 60 CPE credits per three-year cycle, with a minimum of 15 in each year. Included in the US$149 annual maintenance fee.
- Re-examination. Sit the current exam again, at US$399.
The annual maintenance fee covers every credential you hold. One fee, not one per credential.
A lapsed credential is removed from the public verification record, and you must stop using it and its badge.
Reinstatement within 12 months of lapsing needs the outstanding maintenance fee and the CPE shortfall made up. After 12 months, the credential is earned again by sitting the current exam.
PQCX works differently. It is awarded automatically when you hold active PQCM, PQCA and PQCV at the same time. It has no exam, no separate fee, and no CPE requirement of its own. If one of the three lapses, PQCX is suspended rather than revoked, and it is restored automatically when the lapsed credential is renewed.
15. When the exam changes
We review blueprints as the field changes. Where a change is substantial enough to affect what an exam covers, we publish the new blueprint at least 90 days before it takes effect. Digital Access §5 refers to these arrangements.
If you have already booked, the blueprint in force on your booking date applies, provided you sit within 90 days of the change taking effect. After that the current blueprint applies.
A blueprint change does not affect a credential you already hold. It applies to renewals by re-examination from the date it takes effect.
16. The CCQO capstone
CCQO is assessed by capstone rather than by exam. The competence it certifies is judgment about a portfolio, which a multiple-choice exam cannot test.
The capstone brief, its length and format, the marking rubric, the submission window and the turnaround are issued with the CCQO program materials, because they belong to the program rather than to this Guide. Everything below applies whatever the brief asks for.
Your capstone is marked by two assessors who did not teach your cohort. Marking is against a rubric published with the brief, and the two marks are reconciled by a third assessor where they disagree materially.
A capstone that does not meet the standard may be resubmitted once, within 90 days, at no additional fee. A second failure requires the program to be taken again.
The Exam Rules do not apply to the capstone. What does apply: the work must be your own, sources must be cited, and confidential employer material should be redacted before submission. Submitting work that is not your own is misconduct and is handled under section 12.
17. Contact
Exams, bookings, accommodations, appeals: support@quantumacademy.com Credential verification: validation@quantumacademy.com Private and corporate training: training@quantumacademy.com
Post-Quantum Institute, 155 N Wacker Dr, Suite 4250, Chicago, IL 60606, United States. +1 (312) 803-4969.
Annex: program details
One block per credential. Values are drawn from the certification page for that credential, which remains the source.
| Credential | Prerequisite | Questions | Duration | Exam fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PQCS, Post-Quantum Certified Specialist | None | 100 | 150 min | US$599 |
| PQCM, Post-Quantum Certified Manager | Active PQCS | 120 | 180 min | US$699 |
| PQCA, Post-Quantum Certified Architect | Active PQCS | 120 | 180 min | US$699 |
| PQCV, Post-Quantum Certified Validator | Active PQCS | 120 | 180 min | US$699 |
| PQCX, Post-Quantum Certified Expert | Active PQCM, PQCA and PQCV | No exam | Not applicable | No fee |
| CQTP, Certified Quantum Technology Professional | None | 100 | 150 min | US$599 |
| CQSI, Certified Quantum Systems Integrator | Active CQTP | 120 | 180 min | US$699 |
| CQNE, Certified Quantum Network Engineer | None | 100 | 150 min | US$599 |
| CQNA, Certified Quantum Network Architect | Active CQNE | 120 | 180 min | US$699 |
| QCSP, Quantum Computing Security Professional | None | 120 | 180 min | US$699 |
| CCQO, Certified Chief Quantum Officer | None | Capstone | Not applicable | Assessment included in the program fee |
Each credential’s exam blueprint, with the domains and their weightings, is on its certification page.
All prices are in US dollars. Annual maintenance is US$149 and covers every credential you hold. Recertification by re-examination is US$399. A first retake is US$299; later retakes are the standard exam fee.