CEI Exam Syllabus: What the CEI (KAH) Exam Actually Covers
To hold a Key Appointment Holder (KAH) role at a Singapore employment agency (EA), you must first pass the CEI (KAH) exam. The first question most candidates ask is simple: what is the CEI exam syllabus, and what does the exam actually cover? This guide breaks down the structure, the law areas in each section, and the figures most worth memorising. Every number below is tagged to its official source.
Start with the exam structure
The full CEI (KAH) paper is 80 multiple-choice questions over 2 hours, split into three sections:
Section A: 45 MCQs — the regulatory core.
Section B: 30 MCQs — the broader legislation.
Section C: 5 MCQs — a case study.
If you already hold EFMA and sit the "without-EFMA" variant, it is 63 MCQs over 1 hour 45 minutes (A33 + B25 + C5). The exam fee is S$174.40 (inclusive of GST) per attempt. The passing mark is not published on the MOM page, so confirm it with the assessment provider, NTUC LearningHub — do not assume a score that has not been officially stated.
Section A: the EA regulatory framework + EFMA
This is the largest section and tests the rules that govern agencies themselves:
Employment Agencies Regulatory Framework (EARF): the Employment Agencies Act (EAA), EA Rules and EA Licence Conditions — licensing, registration, fee caps, refunds, the demerit-points system and the security bond.
Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA): this governs employers hiring foreigners — illegal employment, false declarations and kickbacks.
A classic trap is confusing EAA with EFMA: EAA governs the agency, EFMA governs the employer. For example, employing a foreigner without a valid work pass falls under EFMA, and a first conviction carries a fine of S$5,000–S$30,000, or imprisonment up to 12 months, or both. Agency fees charged to workers are capped separately: up to one month's salary per year of service, with an overall cap of two months.
Section B: the broader legislation
This section has the widest coverage and is where marks are most often lost. You need to recognise, at a glance, which law a question is testing:
Employment Act: salary payment timelines, rest days, overtime, leave and the Part IV thresholds.
Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA): no-fault statutory compensation with caps — death S$269,000, permanent total incapacity S$346,000, medical expenses S$53,000.
CPF Act: for employees aged 55 and below earning over S$750/month, the total contribution rate is 37% = 17% employer + 20% employee; the Ordinary Wage ceiling is S$8,000 from 2026.
Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) / TAFEP: fair hiring and advertising before applying for EP/S Pass. Related work-pass salary floors: S Pass S$3,300, EP S$5,600; the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS) is S$1,800/month.
Prevention of Human Trafficking Act (PHTA): all three elements — act + means + purpose — are required; once a "means" is used, the victim's consent is irrelevant. A first conviction carries mandatory imprisonment up to 10 years, a fine up to S$100,000, and caning up to 6 strokes.
Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA): a notifiable data breach must be reported to the PDPC within 3 calendar days; the assessment of whether a breach is notifiable should be done within 30 days; the scale threshold is 500 or more affected individuals.
Contract Law and the Competition Act (CCCS): bid-rigging, price-fixing, market-sharing and abuse of dominance.
Section C: the case study
The final 5 questions form a case study that mainly applies EFMA + the Employment Act + the EA regulatory framework (EARF). Answer strictly from the facts given — do not fill in conditions the scenario does not state. Circle the parties first (EA / employer / work-seeker / foreign employee / KAH), then identify the law, then find the trigger fact.
How to plan your study
Weighting effort by question count and figure density, a workable plan is:
Start with Section A (the largest, at 45 questions): master the EARF and EFMA rules on fees, refunds and penalties.
Then tackle the three most number-heavy areas: the Employment Act, work passes/EFMA and WICA. These carry the most numeric traps, and outdated figures are often used as distractors (for example the old LQS of S$1,600).
Drill the English trigger words: must / may, and / or / or both, within / at least, calendar days vs working days — one misread word changes your answer.
Finish with case-study reps: use a fixed routine of circle-the-parties, identify-the-law, circle-the-number, check-the-subject.
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