CAMS Exam Information and Outline
Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist
Syllabus Update Checked on: November 9, 2026
CAMS Exam Syllabus & Study Guide
Before you start practicing with our exam simulator, it is essential to understand the
official CAMS exam objectives. This course outline serves as your roadmap.
The information below reflects the 2026 syllabus defined by
ACAMS.
Below are complete topics detail with latest syllabus and course outline, that will help you good knowledge about exam objectives and topics that you have to prepare. These contents are covered in questions and answers pool of exam.
- Exam Format
- 120 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions
- Duration: 3.5 hours (210 minutes)
- Domain 1: Risks and Methods of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (26%)
- Stages of money laundering: placement, layering, integration
- Money laundering methods across banking, securities, insurance, casinos and DNFBPs
- Trade-based money laundering and correspondent banking risks
- Terrorist financing and proliferation financing
- Cryptoassets and emerging payment risks
- Corruption, tax evasion and other predicate offences
- Domain 2: Compliance Standards for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorist Financing (25%)
- FATF Recommendations and mutual evaluations
- Basel Committee, Wolfsberg Group and Egmont Group
- EU AML Directives
- USA PATRIOT Act, Bank Secrecy Act and OFAC sanctions
- Other international and regional standards
- Domain 3: AML/CFT Compliance Programs (28%)
- Risk assessment (enterprise-wide)
- Policies, procedures and internal controls
- Customer due diligence, EDD and beneficial ownership
- Transaction monitoring and sanctions screening
- Independent testing and audit
- Training and culture of compliance
- Governance and the role of the compliance officer
- Domain 4: Conducting and Supporting the Investigation Process (21%)
- Initiating investigations and handling alerts
- Suspicious transaction reporting
- Responding to law enforcement and regulatory requests
- Subpoenas, production orders and asset seizure
- International cooperation and information sharing