AFSB Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling

2026 Testing Calendar Overview

Unlike a single cumulative exam, the Associate in Fidelity and Surety Bonding designation is earned by passing a sequence of course exams administered by The Institutes: AFSB 151 (Understanding Surety Bond Basics), AFSB 152 (Analyzing Contract Surety Bonding), AFSB 153 (Mastering Commercial Surety Bonding and Crime Insurance), CPCU 530 (Applying Legal Concepts to Insurance), CPCU 540 (Contributing to Insurer Financial Performance), and the free Ethics 311 course. Because each exam is scheduled independently, "AFSB exam dates" really means understanding the recurring testing windows that apply to every course in the sequence.

This matters for scheduling strategy. You are not booking one exam date for the year - you are potentially booking up to five paid exam sittings, each falling inside one of the same four quarterly windows. If you're still confirming which course to start with, our AFSB requirements guide breaks down prerequisites and sequencing in more detail.

The Four Testing Windows

The Institutes run testing on a fixed quarterly cadence rather than allowing exams every single day of the year. For 2026, the four windows are:

If a closing date falls on a weekend, it is extended to the next business day - so always confirm the exact calendar date rather than assuming March 15 or September 15 is a fixed weekday deadline. Within any given window you can sit for one course exam (or multiple, if you're pacing yourself across several courses at once), but the window itself is your outer boundary for both the original attempt and any permitted retake.

Registration Timing & Fees

Fees for 2026 are structured around an early-registration discount versus a standard rate, and they differ by course level:

Add the free Ethics 311 course and the full five-exam sequence totals $1,675 if you register early for every course, or $2,075 at standard pricing - before study materials or other extras, and assuming no prior course credits. For a fuller breakdown of what drives that total and how to trim it, see our AFSB certification cost breakdown.

The practical scheduling lesson: registering early inside a window isn't just about securing a seat, it directly changes your total spend across five exams by hundreds of dollars. Build your registration date into your study plan the same way you'd build in the exam date itself.

Scheduling Logistics & Online Exam Requirements

AFSB course exams are administered as online, closed-book tests. Instead of a live human proctor watching you in real time, The Institutes use Talview session recording, with the possibility that The Institutes reviews the recording afterward. That distinction matters when you're picking your test time and location:

• You need a supported laptop or desktop with a working webcam and microphone.
• Whole-screen sharing must be enabled for the duration of the exam.
• Scratch paper is permitted, as is a nonprogrammable basic or business/financial calculator - but it cannot have alphabetic keys or word storage.
• Phone calculators and computer/software calculators are explicitly prohibited.

Because the session is recorded rather than monitored live, schedule your exam block somewhere quiet and stable - inconsistent internet or an interrupted screen share can create review flags after the fact, which is the last thing you want after weeks of preparation. If you want a room-by-room rundown of what's allowed on the desk versus what isn't, our AFSB study guide covers exam-day logistics alongside content prep.

Which Course Exam to Schedule First

Most candidates open their AFSB sequence with AFSB 151, Understanding Surety Bond Basics, since it establishes the foundational vocabulary and concepts the later courses build on. The course-assignment topics for AFSB 151 map to seven domains:

For a deeper walkthrough of how these seven areas connect and where candidates typically underestimate difficulty, read our complete AFSB exam domains guide. If you're still weighing whether the content is manageable relative to your background, how hard the AFSB exam actually is is worth reviewing before you commit to a testing window.

Retake Policy Within a Window

One same-window retake is permitted per course exam. In practice, this means if you sit AFSB 151 in the Q2 window and don't pass on the first attempt, you can retake that specific exam again before June 15 - but not carry the attempt into the Q3 window. Once the window closes, a failed attempt requires re-registering (and paying again) in a subsequent window.

This retake structure changes how you should think about "when" versus "how ready." Scheduling your first attempt for the earliest possible date in a window gives you breathing room to retake if needed; scheduling it for the final week leaves no cushion. For context on what score you actually need to clear, see our AFSB passing score explainer, and for a realistic sense of how often candidates pass on the first try, our AFSB pass rate analysis is a useful gut-check before you lock in a date.

Course Credit Expiration & Designation Timeline

Two separate clocks matter here, and candidates frequently confuse them:

• The completed designation does not expire. Once you've passed all required courses and earned the Associate in Fidelity and Surety Bonding designation, it stands permanently.
• Individual course credits can expire while you're mid-sequence. Course credits earned on or after July 1, 2026 expire ten years after you pass that exam. Credits earned before that date remain valid through July 1, 2036.

The practical impact: if you pass AFSB 151 in early 2026 but take a multi-year break before finishing AFSB 152, 153, and the two CPCU courses, you need to track your own personal expiration clock for each passed exam - not just the designation as a whole. Note also that state-license continuing education requirements are entirely separate from these designation credit rules and shouldn't be confused with them.

Building a Five-Exam Schedule Across 2026

With four fixed windows per year, most candidates can realistically sit one or two course exams per quarter without overloading their study time. A sensible sequencing approach, especially if you're new to surety concepts, is to move through the courses roughly in order - starting with the domains inside AFSB 151 before layering on contract surety and commercial surety specifics.

Once AFSB 151 is behind you, the same rhythm applies to AFSB 152 and AFSB 153 in later windows, then CPCU 530 and CPCU 540. This is the one place where general study pacing techniques are worth mentioning: spacing your domain review across weeks rather than cramming right before your registered date lines up naturally with how the quarterly windows are structured - you have roughly two months of runway in each window to prepare before the close date arrives.

Before you register for any specific date, run a full timed session on our AFSB 151 practice test platform so you know exactly where your pacing and accuracy stand relative to the 70% passing standard. If you'd rather see the whole designation path spelled out in one place, our AFSB certification overview lays out how the five paid courses and the free ethics course fit together.

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