Exam Instructions

IFC Recommended Training and Education for Third-Party Firestop Inspectors

Have You Completed The Self-Study Program?

Do not attempt the exam until you have studied for it, using the Reading List-International Firestop Council.

The Self Study Program

Ensure completion of the self-study program before attempting the exam.

Reading List-International Firestop Council
Gauge Your Preparedness
If you score 90% or better on the practice test, then you are likely ready to take the actual exam.

If you score between 70% and 90%, you might want to take some additional time to review the material before taking the exam

If you scored less than 70%, you should consider a second reading of the self-study materials, as you would be highly unlikely to achieve the required 80% correct answers on the exam.

Exam Registration

The registration for the special inspector exam will be available in the candidate registration section after completion of the practice exam.

Register For The Exam
Rescheduling The Exam
Once you schedule your 2-hour exam with Kryterion, it is possible to reschedule if needed.
If you are a no-show for your scheduled exam session, or if you attempt to reschedule less than 24 hours before the scheduled time, you will need to pay a $50 surcharge to Kryterion in order to take your exam some other time.
If you reschedule your exam more than 24 hours before the scheduled time, there is no additional charge.
Rescheduling Instructions

Ready for the Exam?

First Step

Go to the exam platform (Exam Platform) and set up your account ID.Use the same email address for this login as your certificate wallet (Certificate Wallet).

Do not set up multiple accounts.

Email [email protected] for forgotten credentials.

Exam Platform
Testing Prerequisites

A multiple-choice practice test is required before the exam.

It is recommended that you take this practice test after you complete the entire self-study program, as a final test of your readiness.

Take The Practice Exam

Taking the practice exam is a prerequisite to the special inspector exam.

The practice exam is free until you pass or up to two times, whichever happens first.

There is a one-day waiting period between attempts.

The IFC Special Inspector Exam requires approximately 60 hours of study of the Reading List-International Firestop Council.
The practice exam provides an example of what the IFC special inspector exam questions will be like.

It does not cover every topic on the exam. It is meant to give the examinee a feel for the platform and the format of questions.
Attempt the entire test on a timed basis as if you were taking the final exam. The practice test has 11 questions, and times out after 15 minutes.

Take The Practice Exam

Your Path to Fire Safety Excellence

Embark on your path to becoming a recognized firestop expert.

  • Exam Fee:
    $500 (Per Person) Covers the full cost of the initial certification exam.

  • Re-examination Fee:
    $50 if you need to retake the exam.

  • Re-examination fee or CEU application fee (after 3 year certificate expires):
    $150, or $50 for IFC member company employees.

Need Some Additional Help With Your Studies?

Want some additional help learning/understanding some of the reading list documents? IFC Special Inspector Member Firewise Consultants have a course that provides useful explanations and elaborations of a few of the most complex and technical documents in this Reading List. The course costs $99. You can access it at https://firestoptraining.com/p/ifcreadinglist.

The IFC does not receive any revenue from the pay-per-view purchase of these videos. We make you aware of them here as a service to those seeking to broaden their learning options, from a recognized expert instructor. Viewing these tutorial videos is not necessary in order to achieve a passing score on the examination. Over 150 people have passed the examination prior to these video tutorials being available. However, it is judged that these videos will be very helpful in allowing many people to gain a fuller and quicker understanding.

Exam Specifications and Instructions

Exam Configuration
The IFC special inspector exam is a secure proctored exam.

The exam computer requires configuration to accommodate the secure proctored exam environment.
This means that the exam must be taken either on a personal Windows computer or a workplace Windows computer wherein YOU HAVE ADMINISTRATIVE RIGHTS.

If you do not have admin rights (you can confirm this through your IT department), you cannot take the exam on your work computer, and you will need to use your personal desktop/laptop.
The link below, in the exam rules section, has all the required specifications and instructions.

Exam Details

Each correct exam question answer is worth 1 point.

Incorrect answers are worth 0 points.

Points will not be deducted for incorrect answers, so if you are unsure of the answer to a question, you are encouraged to choose the answer that you think it is most likely.

You can skip a question and return to it later. You can also go back to review questions that you have already answered.

The exam has a timed limit of 2 hours. Any questions which have no answer at that time will automatically get a score of 0.

Once you start the exam, it cannot be paused or stopped., do not allow your computer to go into “sleep” or “hibernate” modes, and do not shut it down, as those will disconnect you from the exam service. In most cases, shutting your computer in one of these ways will terminate your exam session and your final exam score will equal the number of questions answered correctly to that time.

You will receive your exam results as soon as you choose to end the exam, or after the 2 hour time limit expires, whichever is first.

If you achieve a passing grade of 80%, you will be able to immediately receive a certificate attesting to the successful completion of the examination.

The certificate will be e-mailed to the e-mail address that you provided when you set up your testing account.

Exam Rules

The IFC special inspector exam is an open resource exam.

Written materials, a pencil, paper, and a calculator are permissible to have while taking the exam.

Other people are not permitted in the exam room.

Talking on the phone is not permissible.

You must remain visible to the webcam during the exam. After the exam has started, no breaks are permitted, you must remain in front of the computer and visible to the camera at all times.

Digital resources on the exam computer will not be accessible. Only the exam is viewable.

A second computer or laptop is not permitted. However, a tablet or tablet computer folded into tablet mode IS PERMITTED, so that you can reference all of the study materials, as well as any study notes that you have.

If you have chosen to utilize Bluebeam or adobe to view pdf files of study resources, you must have a separate tablet (e.g. iPad, flat-foldable laptop, or other thin flat computer) to view your study resources.

It is forbidden to use the exam PC, or your cell phone, to make any kind of screen capture during the exam. Doing so will result in termination of the exam session by the Proctor. Rescheduling a new exam session in the future will be at your expense.

There is a 3-day waiting period after an unsuccessful exam before the registration for a retake is available.

There is no rule against having food or drink during the exam session. However, keep in mind that any distraction from the exam could leave you short on time to complete all of the exam questions.

There is a total, lifetime limit of four exam attempts. If you are having trouble passing the exam, reach out to [email protected] for additional information.

What You Need To Know
Launch The Exam

The following link will tell you how to launch the exam. Our exam does not require bio authentication therefore ignore sections that reference this and just skip over them. IFC allows all types of webcams.

Launch The Exam
Technical Support

If you have trouble launching the exam, or if you have a freeze or other non-recoverable error on your computer during an exam session, reach out to the exam Chat support through the “Need Help?” icon, in the link below.

Technical Support

Renewals

You must sign in to the same user account that you created for the first exam attempt in order to be able to use the reduced fee for the 2nd attempt. If you have forgotten your exam platform login credentials please do not set up additional accounts. Email [email protected] to retrieve your credentials.

Certificate Renewal, at 3-Year Expiration

If you want to maintain your professional certificate status, you have an option to either participate in IFC’s Continuing Education Program, obtaining 30 hours of continuing education (3.0 CEUs) within 3 years OR follow the instructions below to re-take the IFC Firestop Special Inspectors Exam.

Continuing Education
Those Who Previously Passed the Exam Prior to May 2022 (at GaugeOnline, aka test.com)

For those who need to renew their exam and took the first exam on our old platform, please set up a new account at the current exam platform (see instructions above), take the practice exam, and email [email protected] to obtain a discount code to reduce the price of the first-time exam to the renewal rate.

You will register for the first-time exam which costs $500 and then use the voucher code you will be sent to reduce the cost at checkout to the renewal rate.

Renew Your Certification
Update Your Credentials

Your credential history will still exist in your certificate wallet as that’s a different system. It just doesn’t exist on the new testing platform.
Once you pass the exam the website will automatically be updated with the correct credential information.
You can update your profile on the IFC website by following these instructions.

Update Your IFC Website Listing

More Exam Information

Accredible & Premier Certificates

IFC is partnered with Accredible to generate and maintain the Exam and Premier Certificates. They also power our certificate holder directory. You will need to log in to Accredible to update your information which in turn updates the certificate holder directory on the IFC website. If you do not or cannot obtain the product training, your Exam Certificate nevertheless provides proof that you have passed the online exam, and your name will be listed at the IFC website along with any other information to provide in your Accredible profile listing.

Accredible Login
Tips and Techniques Webinar

If you will be studying for the exam, you may want to watch a replay of the IFC’s 1-hour webinar “Tips and Techniques to Help Prepare for a Successful Firestop Special Inspection Certificate Exam”. Click below to watch the video at the IFC’s YouTube channel.

IFC's 1-hour Webinar
Upgrade To a Premier Certificate

To upgrade your test certificate to a Premier Certificate, you will need to complete firestop product training by taking the online course, IFC Firestop 204: Multi-manufacturer Firestop Product Familiarization Seminar.

IFC Firestop 204 Seminar