Dear Selina,

HUDHousingCounselors.hud.gov Support provides technical support and general program information related to the HUDHousingCounselors.hud.gov training and certification exam program. If you have additional questions about the housing counselor training and certification program, please visit the HUD Exchange or email HUD Housing Counseling at housing.counseling@hud.gov with the subject line, “Housing Counselor Certification.”

For information related to applying to become a HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agency visit the HUD Exchange or complete the Become a HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agency Learning Pathway collection of webinars.

For other questions related to HUD policies or updates, please contact your agency's HUD Point of Contact (POC), visit HUD.gov, or call 800 333 4636.

Training/Practice Exam

The practice exam is free and accessible in both English and Spanish. You may take the practice exam as many times as you would like.

You do not need to be a housing counselor to take the practice exam; it is available to anyone who creates a HUDHousingCounselors.hud.gov account.

To access the practice exam, you must be signed into your account on HUDHousingCounselors.hud.gov.

Once you are signed in, click on the Training Center button on the home page, then click on “Take Practice Exam.” If you are already signed in, you can access the Take Practice Exam launch page directly.

Certification Requirement

Housing counseling required under or provided in connection with 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 both pass a standardized written examination covering six major topic areas, and work for an agency approved to participate in HUD’s housing counseling program. In other words, you can take the certification exam without being employed at a HUD-approved agency; however, to become certified you must pass the exam and work for a HUD-approved agency.  

Please visit the HUD Exchange to learn how to become a HUD Certified Housing Counseling Agency. For steps to certification visit the HUD Exchange website and view the HUD Certified Housing Counselor Application Process.

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.

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 210-489-1461. Hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time Monday–Friday except Federal holidays.

Sincerely,

HUDHousingCounselors.hud.gov Support Team