CQI exam outline: four BoK sections
The ASQ Certified Quality Inspector (CQI) exam is ASQ's exam for inspectors who measure, test and judge product against specifications. ASQ's 2025 CQI Body of Knowledge spreads its 100 scored questions over four sections, and inspection and test is the largest. Use your free check to find the section where your score trails.
- Questions
- 110
- Time
- 258 minutes
- Exam fee (paid to ASQ, not us)
- $460
- Where
- Prometric test centers and Prometric live remote proctoring (ProProctor)
The four sections
- Inspection and Test (32 questions): blueprint reading and GD&T, sampling, inspection planning and methods, and nonconforming material.
- Metrology (26 questions): measuring tools, their selection and use, calibration and traceability.
- Quality Assurance and Improvement (23 questions): quality tools, statistical process control, audits and corrective action.
- Technical Mathematics (19 questions): shop math, unit conversions, geometry and trigonometry, and basic statistics.
ASQ says about 20% of the questions need a calculation.
The exam in brief
- Length: 110 multiple-choice questions in 4 hours 18 minutes, 10 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.
Moving on to engineering? The CQE exam outline covers ASQ's quality engineer exam.
Try one question
Question 1 of the free 10-question check on ASQ CQI. No signup. Then ask Mic, the AI study assistant, why the answer is right and the others are wrong.
Inspection and Test
Which hardness test suits a soft rubber seal?
Press A-D or 1-4 to choose an answer while this question is on screen.
Choose an answer to begin
Start with the free 10-question check
See which of the four sections to work on first. Take the free 10-question CQI check. It is weighted to the BoK, needs no signup and explains every answer.
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Sources
Show the list
- Certified Quality Inspector, ASQ, read 7 November 2026.
- 2025 CQI Body of Knowledge, ASQ, read 7 November 2026.
- ASQ certification candidate handbook, ASQ, read 7 November 2026.
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The ASQ CQI course
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- 12modules of lessonsEvery task on the outline
- 2full-length timed exams110 questions in 258 minutes each
- 300practice questionsEach one explained
- 1week-by-week study planSet to your exam date
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Exam facts
| Questions | Computer-based: 110 multiple-choice questions, 100 scored and 10 unscored pretest questions in random order. Paper-based: 100 questions, no pretest. English only |
| Time | 258 minutes |
| Book | Open book: candidates bring their own references, which must be bound and stay bound (ring, spiral or snap binders count; hand-stapled pages do not). 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 without an alphabetic keyboard is allowed with programmable memory cleared; 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) | $460 |
| Retakes | Retake fee $260 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 | Three years of full-time, paid on-the-job experience in one or more areas of the CQI Body of Knowledge. One education waiver of two years may be claimed (diploma, associate, bachelor's, master's or doctorate) |
What the exam covers
| Technical Mathematics | 19% |
| Metrology | 26% |
| Inspection and Test | 32% |
| Quality Assurance and Improvement | 23% |
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.
Your next step
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Prefer paper? Free printables
- Print a class quiz (free PDF). 10 practice questions with an answer key on page 2.
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