One Exam, Two Parts
CPSP is assessed by a single exam. There is one unit and one paper, so there is no sequencing to plan and no order to sit things in.
The paper runs for two hours and carries 70 marks, split across two parts:
| Part | Format | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part A | Stand-alone multiple-choice questions | 50 | 50 |
| Part B | 4 case studies, each with 5 linked multiple-choice questions | 20 | 20 |
Every question is multiple choice and every question carries one mark. The pass mark is 70%, so you need 49 out of 70. The programme is graded pass or fail, with no Merit or Distinction above the pass line.
What Part A Asks
Part A is the knowledge half. Questions are self-contained, and they tend to fall into a few recognisable shapes:
- Definitions and distinctions. What separates a closed bridge from an open one, a debenture from a legal charge, or a mandatory HMO licence from a selective one.
- Classification. Given a set of facts, is the loan regulated or unregulated? These are worth practising, because the regulated boundary is the single most heavily tested idea in the syllabus and it turns on details that are easy to skim past.
- Who does what. The responsibilities of the valuer, the monitoring surveyor, the solicitor and the broker are all fair game, as is which party carries a given risk.
- Calculations. Loan-to-value, loan-to-cost, loan-to-gross-development-value, gross against net loan, retained and rolled-up interest, interest coverage ratios and debt service cover.
None of the arithmetic is difficult. It is the kind that goes wrong under time pressure when you use the wrong base, so it rewards practice more than it rewards revision.
What Part B Asks
Part B is four case studies, each followed by five linked questions. A case study gives you a borrower, a property, a proposed loan and a stated plan, and the five questions work through it.
A typical run of questions looks something like this:
- Is this loan regulated, and on what basis?
- Which product suits these circumstances?
- Is the stated exit credible, and what would make it more so?
- What should the lender require before completion?
- What happens if the plan fails?
The reason this part is worth more attention than its 20 marks suggest is that it cannot be answered by recall. You have to hold several facts about one deal in mind at once and reason from them. That is a different skill from knowing what a debenture is, and it is closer to the job.
The other reason is arithmetical. If you misread the case study, you can lose all five marks on the same misunderstanding. Reading the scenario carefully before looking at the first question is time well spent.
Pacing
Two hours for 70 questions works out at about 1 minute 40 seconds per question. That is comfortable for Part A and tighter than it looks for Part B, because the case study text has to be read before any of its five questions can be answered.
A reasonable plan is to give Part A around 65 minutes, leaving roughly 13 minutes for each case study. If you finish Part A faster than that, the spare time is better spent on the case studies than on second-guessing answers you already know.
Our guide to multiple-choice exam technique covers the general habits that help under timed conditions.
How You Sit It
The exam is delivered online through LIBF's Brightspace platform with remote invigilation. There is no need to book a slot in advance, and you can sit it whenever you are ready.
Before starting, you are asked to pick up your laptop or webcam and do a full 360-degree scan of the room you are sitting in. Your equipment therefore needs to be movable, and your room needs to be clear. It is worth checking both before exam day rather than discovering a problem at the start of a timed session.
Resits and Registration
Registration lasts twelve months from the point you sign up. Within that period you can sit the exam up to three times in a week and up to ten times in any twelve-month period, and a resit fee applies each time.
Feedback comes through analysis sheets on MyLIBF, which show where you scored well and where you did not. If you do have to resit, those sheets are the most useful thing you will get, because they tell you which parts of the syllabus to work on rather than leaving you to guess.
Preparing For It
The syllabus is broad and shallow. It expects you to recognise a great deal of the sector rather than to know any one corner of it in depth, which makes wide practice more useful than deep reading.
Two things repay attention out of proportion to their share of the marks. The first is the regulated and unregulated boundary, because it underpins questions all the way through both parts of the paper. The second is exit strategy, because it is the question a bridging lender is really asking and the case studies keep coming back to it.
Our CPSP question bank covers all 16 topics of the syllabus, including scenario questions written in the style of the Part B case studies, with an explanation on every question. If you are new to the qualification, what CPSP is and who it is for is the place to start.