SHRM-CP guides
Direct answers for SHRM-CP format, studying, exam day, scores, and what to do next.
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The SHRM-CP has no degree, title or experience requirement and tests operational HR work; the SHRM-SCP needs three years of strategic-level HR work. Here is how SHRM counts that experience, what is identical on both exams, and how to choose.
Read the guideSHRM tests the SHRM-CP in two windows a year, and the next one runs December 1, 2026, to February 15, 2027, with applications closing December 24. Here are the steps from application to Prometric seat, plus the audit, accommodation and ID rules that can cost you the fee.
Read the guideThe SHRM-CP has 134 multiple-choice questions, 24 of them unscored, in two separately timed sections of up to 110 minutes. Here is the item mix, the 2026 content weights turned into approximate question counts, the break and calculator rules, and what changes for candidates outside the U.S.
Read the guideA 2024 SHRM article says SHRM Certification research found SHRM-CP examinees needed 40 to 80 hours of preparation. Here is how to size your own number, turn the 2026 weights into hours per area, and follow an 8-week plan, with 4- and 12-week variants.
Read the guideThe 2026 SHRM BASK merged Inclusion & Diversity and Global Mindset into Inclusive Mindset and added AI examples, and SHRM's 2026 handbook changed five of the six exam weights. Here is what changed, what didn't, and how to read SHRM's conflicting competency counts.
Read the guideThe SHRM-CP costs $399 for SHRM members and $499 for nonmembers at standard rates, with lower early-bird, student and military prices. Here is the full fee table, when membership pays for itself, and the reschedule, transfer, retake and recertification costs.
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