How to prepare for the CGSS exam in 2026

The CGSS exam tests whether you can apply sanctions rules, not just recite list names. Candidates with AML backgrounds often underestimate how different sanctions logic is: strict liability, ownership rules and blocking versus rejecting.

What you're preparing for

• 100 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions in 175 minutes (check the current candidate handbook for the pass mark and any changes).
• Topic areas across the ACAMS courses: sanctions frameworks and governance, building a sanctions compliance programme, detecting and investigating evasion, and case studies. Expect due diligence, screening, evasion red flags, investigations and asset freezing.

How long to study

ACAMS says certification can take as little as four months including the courses. If you work in sanctions daily, 6–8 weeks of focused exam preparation after the courses is typical; from a pure AML background, plan 10–12 weeks.

What to master

1. The regimes and how they differ: UN, US (OFAC, State, Commerce export controls), EU, UK (OFSI). Who must comply, how assets are frozen, licensing.
2. Ownership and control: OFAC's 50 percent rule (aggregate ownership by blocked persons) versus EU and UK ownership-and-control tests.
3. Primary vs secondary sanctions and extraterritorial reach.
4. Screening: customer vs payment screening, fuzzy matching, false positives, secondary identifiers, list updates.
5. Evasion techniques: front companies, transshipment, ship-to-ship transfers, AIS manipulation, use of family members and proxies, trade documents.
6. Investigations and enforcement: blocking reports (10 business days to OFAC), rejected transactions, voluntary self-disclosure, egregious vs non-egregious cases, mitigating factors.

Study method

• Start with a free CGSS diagnostic to see your weakest area.
• After each ACAMS course, practise that topic and keep a one-line note for every mistake.
• Build a comparison table US vs EU vs UK: it answers a large share of exam questions.
• Use CGSS flashcards for deadlines, authorities and terms.
• Sit a timed mock: 100 questions in 175 minutes is 1 minute 45 seconds each.

Typical traps

• Treating a sanctions hit like an AML suspicion (investigate and report) instead of block or reject.
• Forgetting that OFAC civil liability is strict: intent doesn't matter.
• Missing indirect ownership when adding up the 50 percent.
• Assuming EU rules mirror OFAC rules.

Exam day

Same rules as other ACAMS exams: valid ID, early log-in for online proctoring, flag and return to doubtful questions.

Independent guide, not affiliated with ACAMS. Facts checked November 2026; always confirm on the official website.