New ICF PCC-MCC Exam from 10 November 2026: what changes

On 27 July 2026 ICF announced the biggest change to the PCC and MCC exam since the CKA was retired: a new PCC-MCC Exam that mixes scenario items with direct knowledge questions. If you are applying for PCC or MCC in the next few months, this changes how you should prepare, and you have a choice to make.

This guide gives you the verified facts, the dates that matter and a simple way to decide. Every number was checked against ICF's own pages on the date at the end of the article. It is written by a PCC who trained in the ICF PCC Markers assessor programme and built an independent practice tool; the tool is not affiliated with or endorsed by ICF.

Key facts you can quote

• From 10 November 2026 ICF offers a new PCC-MCC Exam for the PCC and MCC credentials.
• It has 80 items: 44 situational judgment items and 36 knowledge-based multiple-choice questions.
• You get 150 minutes, with one optional 10-minute break midway.
• It incorporates the most recent updates to the ICF Core Competencies and the Code of Ethics.
• ICF states that the overall difficulty and the expected pass rate stay consistent with the current exam.
• Transition: from 10 November 2026 to 31 March 2027 you can choose either exam. 31 March 2027 is the last day to sit the current ICF Credentialing Exam; from 1 April 2027 only the new exam is offered.
• The ACC exam is not part of this change.

Source: https://coachingfederation.org/blog/candidates-guide-to-updated-credentialing-exam/

Old exam vs new exam

The current exam's details are on ICF's PCC-MCC exam page: https://coachingfederation.org/credentialing/icf-credential-exams/pcc-mcc-exam/

What actually changes for you

Less time per item, two kinds of thinking. The current exam gives you a little over two minutes per scenario. The new one gives you just under two minutes per item on average, but a knowledge question should take far less time than a scenario. Plan your pace by section: move briskly through the 18 knowledge questions and bank time for the 22 scenarios that follow.

Recall is back. Since the CKA was retired, PCC and MCC candidates have only been asked to judge scenarios. With 36 knowledge questions, you will again be asked what the competencies, the Code of Ethics and the definition of coaching actually say. "I would recognise good practice when I see it" is no longer enough for almost half the items.

The scenario logic stays. The 44 situational judgment items keep the familiar format: choose the most and the least effective response. Everything in the BEST/WORST method guide still applies.

Newer source documents. ICF says the new exam incorporates the latest updates to the Core Competencies and the Code of Ethics, while the current exam is built on the 2019 competencies and the 2020 Code. If you test after 31 March 2027, read the current versions on coachingfederation.org, not your training notes from a few years ago.

What ICF has not said yet

As of the verification date, ICF's announcement does not state the languages of the new exam or how it will be scored. The current exam is offered in 16 languages and reports a scaled score from 200 to 600 with 460 to pass; check ICF's exam pages before you book rather than assuming both carry over. ICF has also said it will publish a free tutorial on the new format before launch, and it is worth doing once it is out.

Current or new: how to choose

You only have a real choice if you sit the exam between 10 November 2026 and 31 March 2027. Within that window:

1. You have been preparing for the 78-scenario format and can test by the end of March 2027: staying with the current exam keeps your preparation aligned with what you will see.
2. You have not started preparing yet, or your exam date is close to the cut-off: consider the new exam. A retake after 31 March 2027 would have to be the new format anyway, so preparing for it from the start avoids learning two formats.
3. Your strength is knowledge, your weak spot is scenario judgment: the new exam spreads the risk across two item types.

Either way, scenario judgment remains the core skill, because more than half of the new exam is still best/worst items.

A separate change in 2027: no Performance Evaluation on the Portfolio path

Do not mix this up with the exam change. In a separate announcement ICF said that from 1 April 2027, ACC and PCC applicants on the Portfolio path no longer submit a recorded Performance Evaluation. Instead they complete enhanced mentor coaching with a mentor coach who holds ICF's new Mentor Coach Specialization (MCS). Level-path applicants are not affected, and MCC candidates keep the Performance Evaluation.

Source: https://coachingfederation.org/blog/mentor-coaching-requirement-replacing-acc-pcc-performance-evaluations/

How to prepare from here

1. Pick your exam using the decision list above and put the date in your calendar.
2. Learn the BEST/WORST method; it covers the scenario half of both exams.
3. For the knowledge half of the new exam, re-read the current Core Competencies, the Code of Ethics and the ICF definition of coaching, and practise answering direct questions on them under time pressure.
4. Use the 4-week study plan and the free sample questions to structure your weeks.
5. ICF Exam Prep gives you 101 PCC/MCC best/worst scenarios with explanations, plus 100 multiple-choice questions on ethics, coaching boundaries and the competencies in the ACC bank (the full bundle includes both), in the same 16 languages as the current exam. Start with 7 free questions, no sign-up.

We will update this guide as soon as ICF publishes more detail on the new exam.

Last verified against coachingfederation.org: 2 October 2026