- The Exam at a Glance
- Scoring and Reference Rules
- Fees, Membership, and Retakes
- Who Can Sit for the Exam
- The 16 Content Areas on One Page
- Must-Know Facts: Domains 1 through 8
- Must-Know Facts: Domains 9 through 16
- Making the Open-Book Format Work for You
- A Domain-Ordered Review Schedule
- Where the Credential Fits in Your Career
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Certified in Engineering Graphics is administered by ATMAE: 142 multiple-choice questions, open book, two hours, delivered online with an approved proctor.
- Passing requires a cumulative score of 70 points or higher, not a flat 70 percent.
- Printed references are allowed; Internet resources and software-based references are prohibited during the exam.
- Retakes cost $25 per attempt with no waiting period under the current FAQ.
The Exam at a Glance
This page condenses the facts a Certified in Engineering Graphics candidate needs to keep in front of them: the exam format, the money, the rules for what you can bring, and the 16 content areas that make up the scope. It is a reference sheet, not a substitute for working through the standards themselves. For a full preparation plan, pair it with the CEG Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
| Item | What to Know |
|---|---|
| Credential | Certified in Engineering Graphics (CEG) |
| Administered by | Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) |
| Question count | 142 multiple-choice questions (per the current credential page) |
| Time allowed | Two hours (per the current certification FAQ) |
| Book status | Open book; printed references only |
| Delivery | Online with an approved proctor |
| Passing requirement | Cumulative score of 70 points or higher |
| Retakes | $25 per attempt, no waiting period |
Scoring and Reference Rules
The 70-point threshold
The passing standard is phrased as a cumulative score of 70 points or higher. That is deliberately different from "70 percent," and you should not assume the two are interchangeable. Plan to maximize correct answers across the whole exam rather than aiming for a percentage you have calculated yourself. For a deeper treatment of how the threshold works, see CEG Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
What you can and cannot use
- Allowed: printed reference materials, such as your standards excerpts, tables, and annotated notes.
- Prohibited: Internet resources of any kind.
- Prohibited: software-based references, including digital copies of notes opened on a device.
Because the exam is delivered online with an approved proctor, expect your workspace to be part of the process. Confirm the proctor's setup requirements when you register rather than discovering them on exam day.
Fees, Membership, and Retakes
The fee structure depends on your status and route. The individual routes bundle membership and certification upon passing, while institutional routes work differently.
| Route | Fee (USD) | What It Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Student member | $25 | Applicable membership and certification upon passing |
| Student non-member | $50 | Applicable membership and certification upon passing |
| Professional member | $50 | Applicable membership and certification upon passing |
| Professional non-member | $150 | Applicable membership and certification upon passing |
| Institutional assessment-only | $25 per student | Testing only; does not itself include membership or certification |
| Group certification testing | $75 per student | Group route for certification testing |
| Retake | $25 per attempt | No waiting period under the current FAQ |
Annual dues after you pass
- Student: $25 membership plus $25 per certification each year.
- Professional: $100 membership plus $35 per certification each year.
Initial CEG status continues with annual dues and does not require continuing education. That is worth remembering if you have seen other graphics credentials that demand ongoing professional development units. The separate senior credential, CSEG, carries its own renewal-style requirements, and those belong to CSEG, not to CEG. For the full money picture, read CEG Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Who Can Sit for the Exam
Eligibility is built around academic standing in a technical field. Any one of these paths qualifies:
- The last year of an eligible four-year technical, technology, technology-management, or engineering-related BA/BS program.
- The second year of an eligible two-year AA/AS/AAS program.
- ATMAE-approved equivalency.
If your program's eligibility is unclear, or you are coming from work experience rather than a degree, the equivalency path is the one to investigate. The details are covered in CEG Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify, and timing questions are addressed in CEG Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
The 16 Content Areas on One Page
The official scope comes from the content-area headings in the ATMAE study guide. These are the exam objectives themselves. Use them as your master checklist.
| # | Content Area |
|---|---|
| 1 | ASME Standards, Terms, and Line Conventions |
| 2 | ASME Standard Sheets, Title Blocks, Revision Blocks, and Part Lists |
| 3 | Units, Measuring Devices, Scaling Issues, and Metric/Inch Conversion |
| 4 | Geometry Terms, Definitions, and Constructions (2D and 3D) |
| 5 | Orthographic Projection Theory, Standard Representation, and Spatial Visualization |
| 6 | Sectional View Standards, Terms, and Conventional Practices |
| 7 | Auxiliary View Standards, Terms, and Conventional Practices |
| 8 | Pictorial Drawings and 3D Modeling Representation Methods |
| 9 | Assembly Drawing Methods |
| 10 | Dimensioning Standards, Including Choice and Placement Methods |
| 11 | Tolerancing Calculations and Practices |
| 12 | Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GDT) |
| 13 | Machining Specifications, Callouts, and Surface Texture Symbols |
| 14 | Screw Thread Representation |
| 15 | Springs and Fasteners |
| 16 | Specialized Examples: Gears, Sheet Metal, Welding, Castings, Plastics, etc. |
For a deeper walk through each area, see CEG Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 16 Content Areas.
Must-Know Facts: Domains 1 through 8
These first eight areas form the visual and conventional foundation of the discipline. Questions here reward candidates who can recognize correct drawing practice at a glance.
Domains 1 and 2: Standards, Line Conventions, Sheets, and Title Blocks
These are the vocabulary-and-convention areas. You are expected to know what the standard says and how a compliant drawing looks.
- Know the alphabet of lines: what each line type represents and when each is used.
- Know the purpose of title blocks, revision blocks, and part lists, and what information belongs in each.
- Be able to recognize standard sheet sizes and the logic behind them.
- Distinguish between terms that sound similar but mean different things in the standards.
Domain 3: Units, Measuring Devices, Scaling, and Metric/Inch Conversion
Expect practical, calculation-flavored items.
- Be fluent in converting between metric and inch values and in recognizing which unit conventions apply to a drawing.
- Understand scale notation and how scale affects what you can measure from a printed drawing.
- Know what common measuring devices are used for and how readings are taken.
Domains 4 and 5: Geometry and Orthographic Projection
This is where spatial reasoning gets tested directly.
- Know geometric terms and constructions in both 2D and 3D, including how to construct common figures.
- Understand the logic of orthographic projection: how views relate to each other and why standard view arrangement exists.
- Practice visualizing an object from a set of views and identifying a missing or incorrect view.
Domains 6 and 7: Sectional and Auxiliary Views
Both areas hinge on conventional practice, meaning the accepted shortcuts and exceptions.
- Recognize the section types and when each is appropriate.
- Know the conventions for what gets sectioned and what conventionally does not.
- Understand why auxiliary views exist: to show true shape or true length of inclined features.
- Be able to identify which kind of view a described situation calls for.
Domain 8: Pictorial Drawings and 3D Modeling Representation
Know the families of pictorial representation and what distinguishes them, along with how 3D model representation methods differ from one another. The emphasis is on concepts and terminology rather than on operating any one software package.
Must-Know Facts: Domains 9 through 16
The back half of the scope is where dimensioning, tolerancing, and manufacturing communication live. These areas tend to separate prepared candidates from casual ones, as discussed in How Hard Is the CEG Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Domain 9: Assembly Drawing Methods
Understand how assemblies are represented, how components are identified, and how the relationship between a part list and the drawing works.
Domain 10: Dimensioning Standards, Choice, and Placement
This is more than rules for arrows and numbers.
- Know the principles for choosing which dimensions to show and where to place them.
- Recognize good versus poor dimensioning practice, such as redundancy or ambiguity.
- Understand how dimensioning choices relate to how a part is made and inspected.
Domain 11: Tolerancing Calculations and Practices
Expect to work numbers.
- Be comfortable with limit dimensions, allowances, and fit concepts.
- Practice tolerance stack-up reasoning and be able to calculate resulting limits.
- Know the difference between bilateral and unilateral tolerance presentation.
Domain 12: Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GDT)
GD&T is a symbol-driven language, and the open-book format helps only if you already know where to look.
- Learn the characteristic symbols and what each controls.
- Understand datums and why feature control frames are read in a specific order.
- Know the common modifiers and what they change about a requirement.
Domain 13: Machining Specifications, Callouts, and Surface Texture Symbols
Know how holes and machined features are called out, and how surface texture requirements are symbolized and read.
Domains 14 and 15: Screw Threads, Springs, and Fasteners
- Know the thread representation conventions and how thread callouts are structured and decoded.
- Recognize common fastener types and how they are specified on drawings.
- Understand how springs are drawn and what information must accompany them.
Domain 16: Specialized Examples
This catch-all area covers gears, sheet metal, welding, castings, plastics, and similar topics. Treat it as breadth rather than depth: know the vocabulary, the characteristic symbols or conventions, and the basic purpose of each process area.
Making the Open-Book Format Work for You
Open book sounds generous, but it is a trap for candidates who treat it as permission not to learn. Two hours for 142 questions leaves very little room for looking things up repeatedly. The practical way to use printed references is to treat them as a confirmation tool for items you are 80 percent sure about, not as a primary source for items you have never seen.
- Index your own materials. Tab or label sections by content area so you can find the thread chart, the GD&T symbol table, or the line-type summary in seconds.
- Prefer tables to prose. Condensed reference tables are faster to scan than paragraphs under time pressure.
- Keep your references printed. Anything that lives on a screen or online is off limits.
- Know your weak areas cold. If you rely on lookup for every tolerancing calculation, you will run out of time.
Key Takeaway
Budget your time before you start. With 142 questions in two hours, you have well under a minute per item on average. Answer what you know quickly, flag what needs a lookup, and return to the flagged items with whatever time remains.
A Domain-Ordered Review Schedule
Rather than a generic plan, sequence your review by dependency: later areas build on earlier vocabulary. Adjust the pacing to your own calendar.
Conventions and Units
- Domains 1, 2, and 3: line conventions, sheets, title blocks, and unit conversion.
- Build your first printed reference tabs here.
Views and Visualization
- Domains 4 through 7: geometry, orthographic projection, sections, and auxiliary views.
- Practice sketching missing views to strengthen spatial reasoning.
Representation and Dimensioning
- Domains 8, 9, and 10: pictorials, 3D representation, assemblies, and dimensioning choices.
Tolerancing and GD&T
- Domains 11 and 12: tolerance calculations first, then GD&T symbols and datums.
- This is the densest material, so give it the most repetition.
Manufacturing Callouts and Timed Practice
- Domains 13 through 16: machining callouts, threads, springs, fasteners, and specialized topics.
- Finish with timed mixed-domain practice using the CEG practice test.
Where the Credential Fits in Your Career
CEG is aimed at people entering technical fields: students in their final stretch of a technology or engineering-related degree, or those completing an eligible associate program. It signals command of drawing standards and graphics communication, which is relevant to roles in drafting, design, manufacturing, and quality functions. The credential is a knowledge verification, not a software skills test, so employers who care about specific CAD tools will still want to see those skills separately.
If you are weighing the investment, three companion articles go deeper: Is the CEG Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026, CEG Jobs, and CEG Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis. If you are still sorting out the basics of what the credential is, start with What Is CEG Certification?
Frequently Asked Questions
The current credential page specifies 142 multiple-choice questions, with two hours allowed per the current certification FAQ. Older documents list different figures, so rely on the current ATMAE sources.
Yes, the exam is open book and printed reference materials are permitted. Internet resources and software-based references are prohibited, so digital notes on a device are not allowed.
A cumulative score of 70 points or higher. This is stated as points rather than as a percentage, so aim to answer as many questions correctly as you can rather than targeting a specific percent.
You can retake the exam for $25 per attempt, and the current FAQ lists no waiting period. Use the interval to review the content areas where you were weakest before sitting again.
No. Initial CEG status continues with annual dues and does not require continuing education. Student dues are $25 membership plus $25 per certification, and professional dues are $100 membership plus $35 per certification.
When you are ready to test your recall under realistic conditions, work through timed questions on the main practice test site, and revisit CEG Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows to set realistic expectations before exam day.