Training, exams and certification
Training, exams and certification
Sixty questions in two hours, open book, seventy per cent to pass. More than half of the paper is on the risk management process; principles and the framework share what is left.
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The PECB Certified ISO 31000 Risk Manager exam tests whether you can apply the principles, the framework and the process of ISO 31000 to manage risk in an organization of any kind.
| Questions | 60, multiple choice with three options each — standalone and scenario-based |
|---|---|
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Pass mark | 70% — 42 of 60 |
| Materials | Open book — a hard copy of ISO 31000, the training course materials and your own notes from the course |
| Delivery | Online in the PECB Exams app with a remote invigilator, or on paper at a PECB partner’s site |
| Non-native language | 20 additional minutes for Manager-level exams taken on paper, on request |
| Retakes | One free retake within 12 months for candidates trained by a PECB partner (included in our Exam Bundle) |
| Typical course | Three days, plus the exam |
| Validity | Three years, with CPD and an annual maintenance fee |
| Credential | Passing the exam is one of several requirements. See below |
Three domains, sixty questions, weights from PECB’s current candidate handbook (version 1.5, 2026):
| The risk management process | 34 questions · 56.67% | |
| The risk management framework | 14 questions · 23.33% | |
| Fundamental principles and concepts of risk management | 12 questions · 20% |
Thirty-four questions on the process, and a pass mark of 42: the process alone cannot carry you. You need at least eight of the twenty-six questions on principles and framework, and in practice many more, because nobody gets every process question right.
PECB has published two different splits for this exam over time; the one above is from the 2026 handbook. Whichever version you meet, the process is the largest domain.
The exam is one requirement of several. PECB awards two credentials from this paper, separated by professional experience:
| Provisional Risk Manager | No experience required |
|---|---|
| Risk Manager | 2 years, 1 in risk management · 200 hours of risk management activity |
Know the process step by step. Scope, context and criteria; risk assessment as identification, analysis and evaluation; treatment; monitoring and review; communication and consultation; recording and reporting.
Do not skip the framework. Leadership and commitment at the centre, then integration, design, implementation, evaluation and improvement: fourteen questions.
Budget two minutes a question. Open book helps on the scenario questions; on the standalone ones, looking things up costs more time than it saves.
Sixty multiple-choice questions, with three options each, standalone and scenario-based.
70 per cent, which is 42 of 60.
Two hours. Manager-level exams taken on paper allow 20 extra minutes, on request, for candidates sitting in a language other than their own.
Yes: a hard copy of ISO 31000, the course materials and your own notes from the course.
No. The Risk Manager exam can be taken directly.
Sources. Every figure on this page comes from PECB’s published candidate handbooks, brochures and certification pages, checked in October 2026.
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