Exam Details
Scrum Alliance · CSM
Understand Agile principles and lead Scrum teams effectively.
Practice with ExamOS for Certified Scrum Master. Learn daily with scenario-based questions, timed quizzes, detailed explanations, and exam-style difficulty.
Who is this for?
Level: Beginner. This highly popular certification focuses on understanding and applying Scrum practices in agile team environments. There are no prior experience requirements in software development or agile frameworks. However, the Scrum Alliance officially requires you to attend a two-day (16-hour) training course delivered by a Certified Scrum Trainer before you can sit for the exam.
Are you ready?
You are prepared to pass if you can confidently explain Scrum roles and events, facilitate team collaboration, and remove blockers to enable continuous improvement. Test your agile knowledge with a quick practice sprint!
Study Plan Available
Certified Scrum Master (CSM) – Study Plan
5-week structured plan · ~20 hours
Overview
The Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certification is designed for professionals who want to understand and apply Agile and Scrum practices in team environments. It focuses on facilitating collaboration, managing workflows, and improving team efficiency. The exam covers Scrum roles, events, and artifacts, along with Agile principles. Candidates are expected to understand how to support teams, remove blockers, and enable continuous improvement. CSM emphasizes practical application rather than theory. You will learn how to manage real-world team dynamics and deliver projects iteratively. This certification is particularly relevant for professionals working in Agile environments, including developers, project managers, and team leads. As Agile adoption continues across industries, Scrum knowledge remains a valuable skill for managing modern teams and projects.
FAQ
The Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certification is designed for project managers, developers, team leads, and anyone looking to facilitate a Scrum team or transition to an Agile environment. Unlike many IT certifications, the CSM has a mandatory prerequisite: you must attend an official, live 16-hour (2-day) training course delivered by a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST). You cannot simply pay a fee and take the exam; the learning is primarily centered around the interactive workshop provided by the Scrum Alliance.
The CSM exam is a web-based, unproctored assessment that you take at your own convenience after completing the mandatory course. It consists of 50 multiple-choice questions and you are given 60 minutes to complete it. The questions are designed to test your understanding of Scrum theory, roles, events, and artifacts as defined in the Scrum Guide. Because the exam is taken at home, you have a relatively relaxed environment, but the one-hour time limit requires a firm grasp of the concepts to finish on time.
The exam focuses entirely on the Scrum Framework. While the Scrum Alliance does not provide a "weighted percentage" breakdown as strictly as AWS or Microsoft, the questions are distributed across the following core areas:
Yes. The CSM exam is effectively "Open Book." You are allowed to refer to the official Scrum Guide, your course notes, or search for information online while taking the test. However, with only 60 minutes for 50 questions (just over one minute per question), you will not have enough time to look up every answer. You should use the documentation only for verification of tricky questions, not as a substitute for studying.
To pass the CSM exam, you must correctly answer at least 37 out of 50 questions (74%). Upon finishing the exam, your results are calculated immediately. If you pass, your CSM profile is updated, and you can download your certificate. To prepare for the nuances of how Scrum is applied in the real world, ExamOS offers scenario-based practice quizzes that build real exam confidence by simulating the common "Scrum Master dilemmas" found in the assessment.
The cost of the initial exam and your first two years of membership with the Scrum Alliance is included in the price of your mandatory training course. These courses typically range from $400 to $1,000 USD depending on the trainer, the region, and whether the course is in-person or virtual. Because the exam fee is bundled with the training, you do not need to purchase a separate "voucher" from a testing center.
The Scrum Alliance is very supportive of candidates who do not pass on their first try.
The CSM certification is valid for two years. To renew your certification, you must:
The CSM is the "entry-level gold standard" for Agile practitioners. It is often a minimum requirement for roles such as Scrum Master, Agile Project Manager, or Iteration Lead. While it proves you understand the framework, it is a foundational certification. In a competitive market, the CSM acts as an "HR filter"; to move into senior Agile Coaching roles, you will need to demonstrate a proven track record of helping teams improve their velocity and quality through the application of Scrum.
After mastering the basics of the Scrum Master role, you can pursue several advanced paths: