2025 NACD Directorship Certification®
Exam Changes
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NACD is pleased to announce the launch of an updated NACD Directorship Certification® exam effective March 1st, 2025. These enhancements reflect our commitment to ensuring the program continues to meet the evolving needs of the director community and maintains its status as a benchmark of excellence.
Through an extensive validation process, NACD has worked to ensure the certification remains relevant and reflects the challenges directors face in modern boardrooms. As a result, we’ve updated the exam’s structure, format, and content to align it with evolving governance practices and provide an even more valuable experience for our members.
What are the Changes?
Crafted and reviewed by hundreds of seasoned corporate board directors, the NACD Directorship Certification exam is truly an exam by directors, for directors.
The updated exam will feature the following enhancements:
- Updated Structure and Format: The exam will be streamlined for clarity and feature an improved user experience.
- Content Updates: The content will be modified to reflect modern governance challenges, evolving business practices and current regulations impacting corporate boards today.
For more information, please review the 2025 NACD Certification Exam Syllabus and Resources material.
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The exam structure will be updated to the following: |
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| Current Version | Time Allotted | Updated Version | Time Allotted | |
| Number of Multiple Choice Questions | 75 | 90 minutes | 50 | 60 minutes |
| Number of Case Studies | 10 | 95 minutes | 16 | 158 minutes |
| Estimated Total Time including tutorial, breaks, and survey | 3 hours 45 minutes | 4 hours | ||
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The exam content will be updated to the following: |
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| Current Version | Percentage of Exam | Updated Version | Percentage of Exam | |
| Domain 1 | Oversee Corporate Strategy | 33% | Provide Governance and Management Oversight |
30% |
| Domain 2 | Monitor Management Performance Against Financial Objectives | 15% | Ensure Effective Board Governance and Succession Planning | 25% |
| Domain 3 | Provide Risk Oversight | 20% | Advise Executive Management | 15% |
| Domain 4 | Contribute to Ensuring Effective Board Processes and Culture |
12% |
Review, Approve, and Oversee Corporate Vision, Mission, and Strategy | 16% |
| Domain 5 | Participate in Leadership Development, Evaluation, and Succession Planning |
20% |
Conduct CEO Selection, Evaluation, Compensation, and Succession Planning | 14% |
Key Dates for Implementation
- January 31, 2025, 11:59 p.m. EST: Final deadline to submit applications under the current exam version.
- February 1, 2025: Applications transition to the updated exam version.
- December 31, 2025: Deadline for candidates actively completing certification under the current exam version.
- January 1, 2026: The current exam will be fully retired. Any candidate who still needs to pass the exam will take the updated certification exam, regardless of their application submission date.
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CURRENT CERTIFICATION CANDIDATES
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PROSPECTIVE CERTIFICATION CANDIDATES
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