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Certified Quality Auditor — Requirements & Free Practice

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Certified Quality Auditor

Professional certification recognizing demonstrated proficiency in quality auditing; it is not a license or registration.

Licensing authority: ASQExcellence

Initial by examination
Certified Quality Auditor
Education Waivers
Only one waiver of the eight-year experience requirement: technical/trade diploma one year; associate degree two years; bachelor's degree four years; master's or doctorate five years. The institution's accreditation must be accepted by ASQ; non-US degrees/diplomas must be equivalent to US educational institutions.
Experience
Eight years of full-time paid experience in one or more CQA BoK areas, including at least three years in a decision-making position (authority to define, execute or control projects/processes and responsibility for the outcome; management or supervision is not necessary).
Prior Certification Experience
Experience used for ASQ certification as quality engineer, reliability engineer, supplier quality professional, software quality engineer or quality manager may also qualify for CQA. Those certifications are not additional examination dependencies.
Professionalism
Agree to the ASQE Testing Agreement and ASQ Code of Ethics; supply application documents and fee and obtain application approval.
Selected Window
December 1-31, 2026 computer-based examination; application deadline November 9, 2026. This window does not define the credential's or route's starting date.

Certified Quality Auditor

Provider
Prometric
Format
One-part, English-language, open-book, four-choice multiple-choice examination; some questions use case studies and related audit documents.
Exam questions
Total questions: 165; Scored questions: 150; Unscored questions: 15; The total includes the scored and unscored questions.
Time limit
Selected computer-based delivery: 5 hours 18 minutes exam time; 5 hours 30 minutes appointment time.
Examination outline
  • Auditing Fundamentals (24.67%)
    • Types of quality audits
    • Purpose and scope of audits
    • Criteria to audit against
    • Roles and responsibilities of audit participants
    • Professional conduct and consequences for auditors
  • Audit Process (30%)
    • Audit preparation and planning
    • Audit performance
    • Audit reporting
    • Audit follow-up and closure
  • Auditor Competencies (20%)
    • Auditor characteristics
    • On-site audit resource management
    • Conflict resolution
    • Communication and presentation techniques
    • Interviewing techniques
    • Team dynamics
  • Audit Program Management and Business Applications (15.33%)
    • Audit program management
    • Business and financial impact
  • Quality Tools and Techniques (10%)
    • Basic quality and problem-solving tools
    • Process improvement techniques
    • Basic statistics
    • Process variation
    • Sampling methods
    • Change control and configuration management
    • Verification and validation
    • Risk management tools
Examination sources