CEIPRODIGYCEI Exam Format 2026: All Six Variants Compared
There is not one CEI exam — there are six. Before you register, you need to know which one applies to you, because the duration differs, the syllabus differs, and you cannot change your selection after payment.
The six variants, side by side
Exam durations as published by NTUC LearningHub, the appointed assessment provider:
| Examination | Who takes it | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| CEI (KAH) | CEOs, directors, managers, decision makers | 2 hrs |
| CEI (KAH) non-FDW | Same, agencies not handling migrant domestic workers | 2 hrs |
| CEI (KAH) without EFMA | Same, local placements only | 1 hr 45 mins |
| CEI (Basic) | Other staff directly involved in EA work | 1 hr 15 mins |
| CEI (Basic) non-FDW | Same, no migrant domestic worker work | 1 hr 15 mins |
| CEI (Basic) without EFMA | Same, local placements only | 1 hr |
All CEI examinations are computer-based, and results are released immediately on completion.
KAH or Basic — which one is yours?
This follows your role, not your preference:
- CEI (KAH) is for key appointment holders — the people who run the agency.
- CEI (Basic) is for other employment agency personnel doing EA work.
The deadlines differ too, and the Basic one is easy to miss: key appointment holders must hold the certificate before registration, while other EA personnel must obtain CEI (Basic) before registration or within one month of it. Personnel who miss that one-month window have their registration revoked.
Which variant, and the "without EFMA" question
The variant follows your agency's licence and the work it actually does. The EFMA modules cover the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act — the rules for work passes, levies and foreign worker obligations. An agency placing only local candidates does not need them, which is why the "without EFMA" papers are shorter.
Get this wrong and it is expensive: no amendments to the examination type are allowed once registration and payment are made. Confirm the variant with your key appointment holder before you pay.
The fee, and what a re-test costs
The examination fee is $174.40 (inclusive of 9% GST), charged per sitting — the same for every variant.
The re-test rule is the part worth understanding properly. If you fail, you must attend the CEI course before you can re-take the test. After that, there is no limit to the number of re-test attempts, and you can re-sit without attending the course again.
So the real cost of failing the first time is not just another $174.40. It is the course fee you were trying to avoid, plus the wait for the next seat, plus another day off work. Passing on the first attempt is by a wide margin the cheapest route.
What is actually on the paper
The CEI syllabus spans a dozen areas of Singapore law, not one: the Employment Agencies Act and Rules, the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, the Employment Act, the Work Injury Compensation Act, contract law, the Immigration Act, the CPF Act, the PDPA, the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act, competition law, and TAFEP guidelines.
Two things follow from that. First, the exam is a test of precision, not general knowledge — most questions turn on a specific threshold, day-count or dollar figure. Second, the paper is in English, and the wording is legal English: candidates lose marks to phrasing like "must" versus "may", or "not less than" versus "more than", as often as to the law itself.
Practical registration notes
- Registration closes two working days before the examination date, subject to seat availability.
- You cannot change the examination type after registering and paying.
- MOM does not publish a pass mark, so treat any specific "you need X%" claim with caution.
Practise before you sit it. CEIPRODIGY has 1,276 original bilingual practice questions with an official source on every item, plus an 80-question mock following MOM's published structure.
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