Eligibility Requirements
Candidate in the Certified Internal Auditor® (CIA®) program agrees to accept the conditions of the program, including eligibility requirements, exam confidentiality, Code of Ethics, and continuing professional education (CPE), along with other conditions enacted by The IIA Certification Department.

Requirements:
CIA candidates must meet the following eligibility requirements for education, character and work experience.

Education: CIA candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree (or higher degree) or its educational equivalent from an accredited college-level institution. For further details, please see the Certifications Candidate Handbook. Please note that we will not accept any amount of experience to substitute for missing education requirements.

                                Acceptable Documents

·         Copy of your degree or official transcripts (If your name has changed since you earned your degree, you must also include your legal name change document)

·         Letter from school confirming degree

·         Letter from evaluation services confirming degree level

Character Reference: Candidates must exhibit high moral and professional character and must submit a Character Reference Form signed by a CIA, CGAP, CCSA, CFSA or the candidate's supervisor.

Character Reference Form (PDF 88kb)

Work Experience: Candidates must obtain a minimum of 24 months of internal auditing experience or its equivalent.  A Masters degree can substitute for 12 of the required 24 months. Please see the Certifications Candidate Handbook for more details. A completed Experience Verification Form is required. Candidates may apply to the program and sit for the exam prior to satisfying the professional experience requirement, but will not be certified until all program requirements have been met.

Experience Verification Form (PDF 99kb)

Eligibility Period:

Effective November 2010, the certification program’s eligibility requires candidates to complete the program certification process within four years of application approval. If a candidate has not completed the certification process within four years, all fees and exam parts will be forfeited. 

Confidentiality:
The CIA exams are a non-disclosed examinations. Candidates in the program agree to keep the contents of the CCSA exam confidential and therefore may not discuss the specific exam content with anyone except The IIA's Certification Department. Unauthorized disclosure of exam material will be considered a breach of the Code of Ethics and could result in disqualification of the candidate or other appropriate censure.

Code of Ethics
CIA candidates agree to abide by the Code of Ethics established by The IIA.

Continuing Professional Education:
Upon certification, CIA’s are required to maintain their knowledge and skills and stay abreast of improvements and current developments. For details, refer to Continuing Professional Education.

IIA Membership:
In most cases, you do not have to be a member of The IIA to take the CIA exam or become a CIA, but we encourage you to consider its advantages. There are some countries, however, that do require candidates to be IIA members to take the CIA exam. Therefore, please contact your local office to verify this requirement. IIA members receive discounts on CIA review materials and courses and have quick access to the latest information to help them with the exam, networking opportunities, and a reliable resource for current CIA news and information. In addition, Continuing Professional Education (CPE) reporting for CIAs who are IIA members is free.