HUD Housing Counselor Exam
We have all the information you need to get ready for your certification exam and access to more HUD Counseling Resources.
Learn moreCertification Overview
Please contact Support if you have questions that are not answered on this website.
Certification Requirements
Housing counseling required by HUD programs must be provided only by certified housing counselors who work for organizations approved to participate in HUD's Housing Counseling Program.
In order to be certified, an individual must:
- Pass a standardized written examination covering six major topic areas.
- Work for an agency approved to participate in HUD's housing counseling program.
Note: You can take the certification exam without being employed at a HUD-approved agency, but to become certified, you must pass the exam and work for a HUD-approved agency.
The Certification Exam
- Available since August 1, 2017
- Not limited to housing counselors
- Available online and at testing centers nationwide
- Exam fee required
- Consists of 90 questions with a two-hour time limit
- Certification requires to both pass exam and work for an agency approved to participate in HUD's housing counseling program
To prepare for the Certification Exam, candidates can access training materials, choosing from study methods including an interactive online training course and a downloadable Study Guide, and take a practice exam. The testing methodology for the Certification Exam will include options to take the exam online or in person. Both options will be proctored.
Preparation
Completion of training is optional and is not required to become certified. However, to increase certification exam passing rates, candidates are highly encouraged to study the course content.
Access the Training Center to begin preparing →
Retakes
There is no limit on retakes for the Certification Exam. However, each retake must be purchased at the stated exam fee. You can take the Certification Exam as many times as necessary to achieve a passing score. If you receive a notice about maximum attempts, please call 1-800-954-1044 or create a support ticket.
Development Standards
The certification examination was developed according to professional standards recognized by the testing industry and designed and constructed to be free from bias and measure only approved examination content. The following steps were taken to achieve these goals:
- Test content was defined by a diverse panel of subject matter experts who determined the knowledge and skills required to perform the services of a competent housing counselor regardless of the counselor's cultural background or socioeconomic status. Test content is periodically updated by diverse groups of subject matter experts trained to write, review, and/or edit effective test items and to avoid potential bias.
- Subject matter experts are intentionally selected to represent a culturally and geographically diverse cross-section of the housing counseling profession. Under the guidance of a psychometrician, subject matter experts are trained to recognize potential sources for bias; to consider the appropriateness of the question subject matter; and to assess the clarity of the language used to ensure that potential bias was avoided, including cultural and linguistic bias.
Compliance
See Housing Counseling: New Certification Requirements Final Rule on the HUD Exchange for more information. On August 5, 2020, HUD published an Interim Final Rule on the Federal Register website to announce a delay in the deadline for housing counselors to become HUD certified. The new final compliance date was August 1, 2021.
Review Managing Certification After the Final Compliance Date and HUD Exchange FAQs related to compliance for more information.
Exam Options
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Becoming a certified HECM Counselor has its own path. We can guide you with practice exams and learning materials.
Learn moreUnderstanding the Role of Agencies
The role of the HUD participating housing counseling agency in HUD Certified Housing Counselor Application Process is to verify counselor employment in FHA Connection and to update FHA Connection when counselor employment status changes.
HUDHousingCounselors.hud.gov also acknowledges the important role agencies play in supporting counselors as they prepare for certification. To best support your counselors through the certification process, please consider the following important information:
- Counselor Accounts are owned by the counselor. Changes to the account or exam appointment can only be initiated by the counselor regardless of exam payment source. Access to accounts and related information is not permitted by third parties unless authorized by the counselor.
- Counselors should be encouraged to create their portal account with an email address they can access from anywhere at any time.
- Enrollment in the HUD Housing Counselor Certification Exam must be completed through each counselor's own portal account. There is no method to enroll and pay for a group of candidates in a single transaction.
- Agencies should avoid creating portal accounts for those who do not plan to take the exam.
For questions about this information, please contact Support or call 1-800-954-1044 Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET (except Federal holidays).
The purpose of HUDHousingCounselors.hud.gov is to help counselors prepare for the HUD Housing Counselor Certification Exam and provide access to the exam. After passing the exam and transferring the results to FHA Connection, counselor certification activities shift from HUDHousingCounselors.hud.gov to FHA Connection.
Counselors maintain their certification status by updating personal information on the HUD Certified Housing Counselor Database Update/Renewal page on FHA Connection. Exam results and counselor application information are stored permanently on FHA Connection. Counselors should become familiar with FHA Connection to understand which steps are required to update and maintain personal information, including changing employers.
It is important to note that agencies are required to validate the end of a counselor's employment. If a counselor is between agencies, hiring agencies will NOT be able to find the counselor in the database if the previous agency has verified their end of employment in FHA Connection. After the counselor's end of employment has been verified, they no longer meet the criteria for certification.
In order to demonstrate to hiring agencies that a counselor has been previously certified, it is recommended that counselors maintain a copy of their most recent certificate which names the counselor and the agency. Certificates are available to download and print from FHA Connection only while a counselor's employment at an approved housing counseling agency is validated in FHA Connection. Each time a counselor's employment is verified at a new agency, a certificate is available to print with the new agency's information displayed.
A certificate is not available to print during periods when the counselor is not employed by an approved agency or when the counselor is employed by an approved agency but their employment has not been verified in FHA Connection.
Please visit the HUD Exchange for more information. If you require assistance with FHA Connection, contact housing.counseling@hud.gov and include "FHAC" in the subject line of your message.
HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling