CPI Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

The Number: 70% on Every Exam

The passing standard for the Certified Pump Installer (CPI) credential from the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) is 70%. That figure applies to each examination you sit: the Water systems general exam, and whichever specialty exam you pair it with. Testing is delivered by PSI Services at its testing centers, and results are available immediately when you finish.

That immediacy is worth appreciating. You do not wait weeks wondering whether you cleared the bar. You leave the testing center knowing where you stand, which also means you can start planning a retake or your certification enrollment the same day.

If you are still deciding whether to pursue this credential at all, our overview of what CPI certification is and the CPI requirements guide cover eligibility before you worry about the score.

What the 70% Actually Applies To

A common misunderstanding is to treat the CPI as one big test with one blended score. It is not. The credential is earned by passing separate, separately timed examinations, and the 70% standard is applied to each of them individually.

The complete route requires the general exam plus at least one specialty. So at minimum you are looking at two examinations: 100 questions and two hours in total, but not one combined 100-question test and not an uninterrupted two-hour sitting. Each exam stands alone, with its own clock and its own pass/fail result.

What 70% Means in Questions and Minutes

With 50 questions per exam, 70% translates to answering at least 35 questions correctly. That means you can miss up to 15 on any single exam and still pass. The questions are multiple choice, and the exams are computer-based and closed-book, so there are no reference materials to lean on in the room.

The 60-minute limit gives you roughly 72 seconds per question on average. That is comfortable for a candidate who knows the material and tight for one who has to reason through every item from scratch. A practical pacing approach:

• Move quickly through items you recognize, banking time for calculation-style or scenario questions.
• Flag anything that stalls you beyond a minute or so and return to it.
• Answer every question; an unanswered item cannot earn credit toward your 35.

For a realistic sense of how demanding that margin feels in practice, see How Hard Is the CPI Exam? and the discussion of what the data shows on CPI pass rates.

The 12-Month Window That Matters as Much as the Score

Here is the detail that catches candidates off guard: the required examinations must be passed within one 12-month period. Clearing 70% on the general exam does not protect that result indefinitely while you take your time getting to the specialty exam. The clock matters.

Plan the two exams as a pair, not as two unrelated projects. If you pass the general exam in the spring, schedule your Exam K or Exam L attempt with enough runway to retake it if needed, all still inside the same 12-month window.

There is a second deadline layered on top. Certification enrollment must be completed within 12 months of passing the qualifying examination. So passing is only the middle of the process, not the end of it. Both clocks are covered in more detail in CPI exam dates, testing windows and scheduling.

What You Are Being Scored On: The Seven Duty Areas

Your 70% is earned across the practical work of installing and servicing pumps. The preparation competencies come from NGWA's DACUM Research Chart for Pump Installers, which organizes the occupation into seven duty headings. These are job-task competencies for preparation purposes, not an official statement of exam domain counts or a uniform allocation across the General, K and L examinations. The sections below walk through each one.

A detailed walkthrough of how these areas connect lives in CPI Exam Domains: Complete Guide to All 7 Content Areas.

Why You Cannot Pinpoint a Domain Cut-Off

Many candidates want to know how many points they need in each domain. The honest answer is that no percentage weights are published in the retrieved NGWA preparation sources. You will not find an official statement that, for example, one duty area makes up a fixed share of any exam.

There are a few related caveats worth knowing so you do not over-read the materials:

• The seven duty headings come from a DACUM chart developed June 12-13, 2003. They are preparation competencies, not an exhaustive current exam blueprint.
• NGWA's Exam Preparation Success Guide (May 2019) uses six preparation categories rather than seven, omits the administrative duty, and varies its reference coverage by examination. It does not establish that every duty appears on every component exam.
• The examination page retains an examination-category date of November 1, 2009. Neither that date nor the 2003 chart means a newly revised 2026 examination exists.

After You Pass: What Happens Next

Clearing the 70% standard on the required exams gets you through the testing requirement, but the certificate is not issued on a passing score alone. You also need to satisfy the individual eligibility requirements: be at least 20 years old, document 24 consecutive months of full-time drilling and/or pump-installation experience, and provide two written professional references unaffiliated with your current employer. You complete the application, sign the certification agreement and provide the required affidavit of legal standing. NGWA membership is not required.

Keep in mind that CPI is an individual certification. It is not company certification and it is not a substitute for a state license, so check what your state requires separately. If you are weighing the payoff, Is the CPI Certification Worth It? and the CPI salary guide are good next reads.

Maintaining the credential

Once certified, annual maintenance requires seven continuing education points (CEPs), a renewal fee and an affidavit addressing professional standing and required licensure. CEPs are points, not classroom hours, so do not translate the seven into seven hours of coursework. The initial certificate expires December 31 of the year following certification, and newly certified individuals earn and report their first CEPs in that following year.

The currently linked renewal form lists CPI renewal at US$50 for members and US$150 for non-members. One caution: the form's front page instructs applicants to add a US$50 late fee after December 31, while its reverse and NGWA's maintenance webpage accept renewals through January 31 without a late fee. Because those instructions conflict, confirm the applicable deadline and any late fee directly with NGWA before relying on the grace period.

A Score-Driven Study Sequence

Because each exam needs 35 correct answers and no domain weights are published, your plan should build breadth first and then depth where your practice results show gaps. Here is one way to sequence the work around the seven duty areas, assuming you are targeting the general exam first and a specialty exam afterward.

Sizing and troubleshooting get the longest runway because they demand reasoning rather than recall, and those are the items most likely to eat into your 60 minutes. Once you pass the general exam, repeat the cycle with emphasis on the flow range that matches your chosen specialty: under 100 gpm for Exam K, over 100 gpm for Exam L. For a fuller plan, see the CPI study guide, and keep the CPI cheat sheet handy for quick review.

Timed practice is the best way to confirm you are reliably clearing 35 of 50 before you pay an exam fee. You can run full-length sets on our CPI practice test site, and the practice questions there mirror the multiple-choice, closed-book format you will face at PSI.

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