One Exam in Two Parts
The AMA exam is the assessment for Advanced Mortgage Advice, the Level 4 unit that turns CeMAP into the CeMAP Diploma. It is one unit assessed in two parts, and you must pass both to complete the qualification. This guide covers the CeMAP Diploma exam format part by part.
| Part | Format | Marks | Pass mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part A | 50 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes | 50 | 70% (35 out of 50) |
| Part B | Coursework | 100 (85 for content, 15 for communication) | 50% |
Part A covers learning outcomes 1 to 16 of the unit and Part B covers outcomes 17 and 18. The qualification is graded Pass or Fail only, with no Merit or Distinction above the pass line for either part.
What Part A Asks
Part A is a single paper that samples across all 16 learning outcomes. Fifty questions across sixteen outcomes averages about three per outcome, so the paper is broad rather than deep. The outcomes fall into four rough groups:
- The property and the transaction. The house-buying process; property defects and the factors that move a valuation; valuations, surveys and specialist reports; and property ownership and legislation.
- The market and its rules. The economic and regulatory context; the MCOB rules and the rules derived from the Mortgage Credit Directive; conforming lending and risk-based pricing; and fees, charges, mortgage illustrations and offers.
- The borrower and the lending decision. Borrower types and lender requirements; additional security, guarantors and higher lending charges; protection, insurance and state benefits; and arrears, default and insolvency.
- Specialist lending. Self-build finance; second properties and overseas purchase; non-standard lending and specialist products; and raising additional funds.
Much of that list will look familiar from CeMAP Module 2. What changes is the level. The assessment criteria for AMA use verbs such as analyse, evaluate, appraise and critically compare, and the questions follow suit. A Module 2 question on surveys typically asks you to recall what a particular survey includes. A Level 4 question on the same topic hands you a client and a property and asks for a recommendation.
To illustrate the style, here is an example we have written for this post. It is an illustration only and is not taken from any exam paper. A couple are buying a house built in the 1890s that has been extended twice and shows some cracking to the rear wall, and their budget for repairs after completion is small. The question would ask which survey the adviser should recommend and why. Each option would pair a survey with a reason, and more than one reason would sound plausible. The mark would rest on matching the survey to the age, alterations and visible defects of that particular property, and on the reason that goes with it.
That pattern repeats across the paper, whether the topic is ownership structures, arrears or additional security. Recall still matters, because you cannot weigh facts you do not have, but the assessment criteria are written for judgement.
What Part B Asks
Part B is coursework, and it tests the two learning outcomes that a multiple-choice paper cannot: gathering and using client information, and formulating and justifying suitable mortgage advice. You work from client information, identify what matters and set out advice with its reasoning. It is marked out of 100, with 85 marks for the content of the advice and 15 for how well it is communicated, and the pass mark is 50%.
Multiple-choice practice does not prepare you for Part B, and our question bank does not cover it. Selecting the best option from a list is a different skill from writing a recommendation a client could act on, and the communication marks reward clear written English as well as correct analysis. The course materials, the coursework brief and the marking scheme are the guide here. LIBF releases the coursework three months after the start of your study session.
Pacing
Ninety minutes for 50 questions works out at 1 minute 48 seconds per question. A Level 4 stem carries a scenario that has to be read before the options make sense, so the time is less generous than it looks.
Answer what you can on the first pass, flag anything you are torn on and come back with the time that remains. Our guide to multiple-choice exam technique covers the habits that help under timed conditions, and how the CPSP exam works is a useful comparison if you have sat that paper.
How You Sit It
Part A is delivered online through LIBF's Brightspace platform with remote invigilation. It is available on demand, so there is nothing to book and you sit it when you are ready.
Before the exam starts you are asked to pick up your laptop or webcam and do a full 360-degree scan of the room you are in. Your equipment needs to be movable and your room clear, so check both before exam day.
The two parts can be taken in either order. If you submit the coursework first, you have up to twelve months from the start of your studies to sit the multiple-choice exam.
Resits and Registration
Registration costs £550, which includes the study materials and your first exam entry, and it lasts twelve months. To register for AMA on its own you need CeMAP or an equivalent Level 3 mortgage qualification.
Study sessions start in September, January and May, and registration closes about a week before each start date. The current deadlines are 7 September 2026, 4 January 2027, 4 May 2027 and 6 September 2027.
If you do not pass Part A, you can resit up to three times in a week and up to ten times in any twelve-month period, and a resit fee applies each time. The fees at the time of writing are £120 for an exam resit, £230 for a coursework resit, £120 for a coursework resubmission and £175 to defer an assessment.
Preparing For It
The two parts reward different preparation.
For Part A, question practice maps directly onto the exam. Breadth matters, and the Level 4 pitch means practising the choice between plausible options and reading the reason attached to each one. If you passed CeMAP recently, the facts are largely in place and the work is in learning to weigh them against a client's circumstances. Our AMA question bank covers all 16 learning outcomes, with one topic per outcome and an explanation on every question.
For Part B, the preparation is writing. Working through the course material with the coursework brief beside you, and practising setting out a recommendation with its reasoning in plain English, is the closest thing to rehearsal.
If you are still deciding whether to take the unit, what the CeMAP Diploma is covers the qualification itself, the CeMAP Diploma after CeMAP covers whether it is the right next step, and the CeMAP Diploma compared with DipFA covers the choice between the two Level 4 routes.