AU Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling

2026 Testing Windows for the AU Exam

If you're preparing to sit AU 60, Evaluating Commercial Underwriting Risks, the first thing to nail down isn't a study plan - it's the calendar. The Institutes Knowledge Group, which administers the AU designation, runs testing on a fixed quarterly cycle rather than allowing exams on demand. For 2026, the four regular testing windows are:

• Window 1: January 15 - March 15
• Window 2: April 15 - June 15
• Window 3: July 15 - September 15
• Window 4: October 15 - December 15

Each window spans exactly two months, and if a closing date happens to fall on a weekend, it automatically extends to the next business day. That's helpful padding, but it shouldn't be treated as extra study time - treat every listed close date as the real deadline.

Registration Deadlines and 2026 Fees

Registration for AU 60 is priced in two tiers, and the difference between them is timing, not content or difficulty:

That USD 80 gap between early and standard pricing is one of the easiest costs to control in your entire designation journey - it simply requires registering before the window opens rather than waiting. Note that these figures cover the exam only; course materials and the remaining designation exams are separate line items. For a full cost breakdown across the entire AU path, see the AU Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown guide.

How to Schedule Your AU 60 Exam

Scheduling happens through My Courses & Exams, The Institutes' candidate portal. Once you've registered for a testing window, you launch the exam session from that same platform when you're ready to sit - there's no separate third-party test-center booking. This is a meaningful convenience: you can schedule your actual sitting date any time within your registered window, giving you flexibility to adjust around work commitments as long as you stay inside the two-month period.

Practically, this means your registration date and your sitting date don't have to match. You might register in the early window to lock in the lower fee, then actually sit the exam six weeks later - as long as it's still within that window's open dates.

Exam-Day Technology and Proctoring Rules

AU 60 is delivered as a remote exam using Talview recorded remote proctoring. Before you schedule a sitting date, confirm your setup meets every requirement - technical failures during a 65-minute continuous exam are far costlier than a few minutes of pre-check.

• A working computer with a stable internet connection
• A functioning webcam and microphone
• Entire-screen sharing enabled for the full session
• A quiet, private space with no interruptions

The exam is closed book. Outside materials, web searches, AI tools, assistance from another person, and pausing the exam are all prohibited under the conduct rules. You're permitted to use a nonprogrammable basic or financial calculator and scratch paper - but not a phone or computer calculator app, since those run on a monitored device that must stay dedicated to screen sharing.

Retakes and Same-Window Rules

If your first attempt at AU 60 doesn't clear the 70% passing score, you're not locked out until the next quarter. The Institutes permits one retake within the same testing window, priced at USD 259 - the same as early registration, regardless of when you originally registered. This is a meaningful safety net: a candidate who registers early, sits mid-window, and comes up short can still schedule a second attempt before that window closes, without paying the higher standard fee twice.

That said, treat the retake as a backstop, not a plan. Understanding exactly what a 70% pass threshold demands on a 50-question exam - and how the questions are actually written - matters more than banking on a second try. The AU Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass guide breaks down what that score actually requires question by question, and How Hard Is the AU Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 covers what makes candidates fall short on the first attempt.

Planning Your Study Calendar Around the 8 Domains

AU 60's content is organized into eight official course-assignment headings. These aren't separately weighted sections of the exam - they're the structure of the underlying course material, and they give you a natural map for building a study calendar that fits inside your chosen testing window.

The remaining domains - Evaluating an Organization's Operations, Assessing an Organization's Culture, Monitoring Underwriting Decisions, and Effective Communication and Collaboration - round out the course. For a complete breakdown of what each of the eight domains actually tests and how to prioritize them, see AU Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 8 Content Areas.

This maps to The Institutes' own estimate of 4-6 weeks of study for AU 60 - tight but workable if you schedule study blocks against specific domains rather than re-reading material generically. For a day-by-day breakdown, the AU Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt goes deeper into sequencing and resource allocation.

Timing the Full AU Designation Path

AU 60 is only one exam in a five-part designation path. To earn the full AU designation, you'll also need to complete AU 61, AU 62, an elective of either CPCU 551 or CPCU 552, and Ethics 311. The Institutes estimates 9-12 months to complete the entire designation - which, mapped against quarterly testing windows, generally means sitting for a course roughly once per window if you're moving at a steady pace.

Because each course exam is registered and scheduled independently through the same quarterly window structure, you can plan your entire designation calendar in advance: pick which exam goes in which window, register early each time to capture the lower fee, and leave a buffer window in case a retake is needed. Full prerequisite and sequencing details are covered in AU Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Course Credit Validity Rules for 2026

One scheduling detail that trips up candidates who study on a stretched timeline: course-credit validity is separate from designation validity. Once earned, the AU designation itself never expires. But individual course credits - the exams you pass on the way there - do have a validity window.

• Credits earned on or after July 1, 2026 remain valid toward completing a designation for 10 years.
• Credits earned before that date remain valid through July 1, 2036.

This is separate from any insurance-license continuing education requirements you may also be tracking, so don't conflate the two when planning renewals or deadlines.

Who's Actually Scheduling This Exam

AU 60 candidates typically aren't studying in a vacuum - most are commercial lines underwriters, underwriting assistants, or risk analysts whose employers are tracking their progress toward the full AU designation as part of a professional development plan. That context matters for scheduling: many candidates coordinate their testing window choice around slower periods in their underwriting workload, such as after a renewal cycle closes. If you're weighing whether the time investment translates into career upside, AU Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and Is the AU Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 cover that angle, while AU Jobs looks at where the designation shows up in hiring criteria.

Some candidates also compare the AU path against pursuing CPCU instead. Since AU actually requires a CPCU elective course, the two aren't mutually exclusive - but if you're deciding which to prioritize first, AU vs CPCU content elsewhere on this site addresses the sequencing question directly.

Final Prep in the Days Before Your Scheduled Sitting

With your window chosen and sitting date scheduled through My Courses & Exams, the last stretch is about eliminating surprises rather than cramming new material:

1. Test your webcam, microphone, and full-screen sharing setup with Talview at least a day before your scheduled time - not the morning of.
2. Confirm your calculator is nonprogrammable and basic or financial-only; leave phone and computer calculator apps closed and out of reach.
3. Run one full practice session under the same continuous 65-minute constraint you'll face on exam day, using realistic AU 60 practice questions to simulate pacing across all 50 questions.
4. Review a condensed reference the morning of - the AU Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is built for exactly this last-mile review, not first-time learning.

If your pacing on practice sessions still feels shaky heading into your scheduled window, it may be worth pushing your sitting date back within the same window rather than rushing in underprepared - you have that flexibility since scheduling and registration aren't locked to the same date.

Frequently Asked Questions