CQE exam outline: seven BoK sections
The ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) exam is ASQ's exam for engineers who design, control and improve quality systems. ASQ's CQE Body of Knowledge spreads its 160 scored questions over seven sections, and quantitative methods and tools is the largest. It is a long exam, so pace matters as much as knowledge. Use your free check to find the section where your score trails.
- Questions
- 175
- Time
- 318 minutes
- Exam fee (paid to ASQ, not us)
- $550
- Where
- Prometric test centers and Prometric live remote proctoring (ProProctor)
The seven sections
- Quantitative Methods and Tools (34 questions): statistics, probability, SPC, capability and designed experiments.
- Continuous Improvement (26 questions): improvement methods, tools and corrective and preventive action.
- Product and Process Control (23 questions): control plans, sampling, measurement systems and material control.
- Product, Process, and Service Design (21 questions) and Risk Management (21 questions): design inputs and reviews, reliability and risk tools.
- The Quality System (18 questions) and Management and Leadership (17 questions).
The exam in brief
- Length: 175 multiple-choice questions in 5 hours 18 minutes, 15 of them unscored pretest questions mixed in at random.
- Book: open book with your own references, bound and staying bound. No electronic copies.
- Calculator: a basic scientific calculator is on screen.
- Where you test: computer-based through Prometric, at a test center or by live remote proctoring.
- Passing score: a scaled score of 550.
Starting on the inspection side? The CQI exam outline covers ASQ's quality inspector exam.
Try one question
Question 1 of the free 10-question check on ASQ CQE. No signup. Then ask Mic, the AI study assistant, why the answer is right and the others are wrong.
Quantitative Methods and Tools
A half-fraction 2^(3-1) design uses the defining relation I = ABC. Which effect is aliased with the main effect of B?
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Sources
Show the list
- Certified Quality Engineer, ASQ, read 9 November 2026.
- CQE Body of Knowledge, ASQ, read 9 November 2026.
- ASQ certification candidate handbook, ASQ, read 9 November 2026.
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- 7modules of lessonsEvery task on the outline
- 2full-length timed exams175 questions in 318 minutes each
- 300practice questionsEach one explained
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Exam facts
| Questions | Computer-based: 175 multiple-choice questions, 160 scored and 15 unscored pretest questions in random order. Paper-based: 160 questions, no pretest, in Mandarin and Korean at some locations. English, with bilingual forms (English/German, Spanish, Mandarin, Polish, Czech, Slovak) |
| Time | 318 minutes |
| Book | Open book: candidates bring their own references, which must be bound and stay bound (stitched or glued, or ring, spiral, snap binders, brads or screw posts; hand-stapled pages do not count). Electronic copies are not allowed. Post-it notes only as tabs attached before arrival. No collections of questions and answers or refresher-course quizzes unless the questions are removed or obscured |
| Calculator | A basic scientific calculator is on screen in every computer-based exam, and the test center can hand out a basic calculator. A silent, hand-held, battery-operated calculator with no programmable memory is allowed; TI-89-class calculators are not |
| Passing | Scaled passing score of 550. The outcome is set by the total raw score on the form; passing points are carried between forms by pre-equating. Passing candidates are not told their number correct |
| Where you test | Prometric test centers and Prometric live remote proctoring (ProProctor) |
| Exam fee (paid to ASQ, not us) | $550 |
| Retakes | Retake fee $350 each attempt, no limit on attempts. The retake must be within two years of the last attempt (otherwise a new application at full fee) and not in the same testing window as the attempt before |
| Eligibility | Eight years of full-time, paid on-the-job experience in one or more areas of the CQE Body of Knowledge, at least three in a decision-making position. One education waiver may be claimed: technical or trade school diploma 1 year, associate 2, bachelor's 4, master's or doctorate 5. Experience used for ASQ CQA, CRE, CSQE, CMQ/OE or CSQP certification counts |
What the exam covers
| Management and Leadership | 10.62% |
| The Quality System | 11.25% |
| Product, Process, and Service Design | 13.12% |
| Product and Process Control | 14.37% |
| Continuous Improvement | 16.25% |
| Quantitative Methods and Tools | 21.25% |
| Risk Management | 13.12% |
Facts come from ASQ's own documents (sources above); the latest source retrieval was . If something has changed, tell us and we will correct it within 2 business days.
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