- The Four CAS Content Areas at a Glance
- Domain 1: COBRA - Mergers and Acquisitions
- Domain 2: COBRA - Alternative Coverage and Retiree Issues
- Domain 3: COBRA and Other Laws
- Domain 4: COBRA Case Studies
- Comparing the Four Domains
- How the Domains Map to Exam Format
- Scheduling Your Study Around the Four Domains
- Who Actually Tests on This Material
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CAS exam content is organized into four areas: Mergers and Acquisitions, Alternative Coverage and Retiree Issues, COBRA and Other Laws, and Case Studies.
- The exam itself is 75 multiple-choice questions in a 3-hour window, with 60% required to pass.
- No official weighted blueprint has been verified - treat domain percentages as editorial, not issuer-published fact.
- Content follows ECFC's four-session CAS study course, which is a prerequisite step, not just optional prep.
The Four CAS Content Areas at a Glance
The Certified COBRA Administration Specialist (CAS) credential, issued through the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC) via the Flexible Compensation Institute, organizes its content into four named domains. These aren't an abstract exam blueprint pulled from a psychometric study - they correspond directly to the four published sessions of ECFC's CAS study course, which candidates must complete and pay for as part of qualifying for the exam.
That distinction matters. Unlike some certifications that publish a weighted percentage breakdown of exam content, ECFC has not released a verified weighted blueprint for CAS. What we know with confidence is the session structure of the required course, which doubles as the content map for the 75-question, 3-hour multiple-choice exam. If you're building a study plan, our CAS Study Guide 2026 walks through sequencing in more depth; this article focuses specifically on what lives inside each of the four domains.
Domain 1: COBRA - Mergers and Acquisitions
COBRA: Mergers and Acquisitions
This domain tests how COBRA continuation obligations survive - or shift - when a business changes hands. Candidates need to reason through which entity becomes the "employer" for COBRA purposes after a stock sale, asset sale, or merger, and how qualifying events interact with corporate restructuring.
- Identifying the successor employer responsible for COBRA coverage after a sale
- Distinguishing stock transactions from asset transactions and the differing COBRA consequences of each
- Handling continuation coverage for employees terminated as part of a merger-related reduction in force
- Coordinating COBRA administration during transition periods when plan sponsorship is ambiguous
This is one of the more scenario-heavy domains because the "right" answer often depends on the specific structure of the deal. Expect exam items that describe a transaction type and ask you to determine who holds the COBRA obligation - a style of question that rewards careful reading over memorized definitions.
Domain 2: COBRA - Alternative Coverage and Retiree Issues
COBRA: Alternative Coverage and Retiree Issues
This domain covers what happens when COBRA intersects with other coverage options available to a qualified beneficiary - and the special complications that arise with retirees, whose circumstances often don't fit the standard active-employee COBRA timeline.
- How availability of other group coverage or Medicare affects COBRA eligibility and termination
- Retiree health coverage reductions or eliminations as COBRA qualifying events
- Interaction between retiree medical plans and standard COBRA continuation periods
- Coordinating alternative coverage options with a beneficiary's COBRA election rights
Retiree scenarios tend to trip up candidates who only study active-employee COBRA mechanics, because the qualifying event triggers and notice timing can differ. This is a domain where working through realistic scenarios - not just reading rules - pays off.
Domain 3: COBRA and Other Laws
COBRA and Other Laws
COBRA rarely operates in isolation. This domain tests how COBRA continuation rules interact with other federal and state requirements that touch group health coverage, leave, and benefits administration.
- Coordination points between COBRA and other federal benefits statutes
- State continuation coverage laws (often called "mini-COBRA") and how they differ from federal COBRA
- Notice and timing conflicts that arise when multiple laws apply to the same qualifying event
- Recognizing which law controls when federal and state requirements overlap
This domain is dense because it asks you to hold two or more legal frameworks in your head at once and determine which governs a given fact pattern. It overlaps conceptually with material covered in the prerequisite COBRA credential, so candidates who are shaky on foundational COBRA law should shore that up before tackling this section's nuances.
Domain 4: COBRA Case Studies
COBRA Case Studies
This domain is explicitly applied - it presents composite scenarios that draw on knowledge from the other three domains and asks candidates to work through a full fact pattern rather than isolated rules.
- Multi-step scenarios combining qualifying events, notice deadlines, and election periods
- Applying mergers-and-acquisitions concepts and retiree-coverage rules within a single narrative
- Spotting which facts in a scenario are relevant to the COBRA determination and which are distractors
- Reaching a defensible administrative decision under time pressure
Because this domain synthesizes the other three, it's worth saving case-study-heavy review for after you've built confidence in Domains 1 through 3 individually. Our CAS difficulty guide goes deeper into why the case-study format tends to be where candidates feel the most time pressure during the 3-hour exam window.
Key Takeaway
Study Domains 1-3 as distinct knowledge areas first, then use case-study practice (Domain 4) as an integration exercise - not a separate topic to cram independently.
Comparing the Four Domains
| Domain | Core Focus | Question Style |
|---|---|---|
| COBRA: Mergers and Acquisitions | Successor employer liability, stock vs. asset deals | Transaction-structure scenarios |
| COBRA: Alternative Coverage and Retiree Issues | Other coverage, Medicare, retiree qualifying events | Eligibility and timing scenarios |
| COBRA and Other Laws | Federal/state law interaction, mini-COBRA | Conflict-of-law determinations |
| COBRA Case Studies | Integrated application of all domains | Multi-step composite scenarios |
No verified source assigns a specific percentage weight to each domain on the exam, so resist the urge to treat any published split - including ours - as official. Instead, use the table above to understand the type of reasoning each domain demands, and calibrate your study time to where you personally feel least confident.
How the Domains Map to Exam Format
The CAS exam consists of 75 questions, all multiple choice, administered in a 3-hour window through ECFC/FCI's online testing process. A score of at least 60% is required to pass. ECFC has not disclosed a public candidate pass rate, and the scored-versus-unscored question split (if any exists) has not been disclosed either - so don't assume every question counts equally or that any "experimental" items are flagged for you.
Because all four domains are tested within the same 75-question, 3-hour block, time management across domains matters as much as topic mastery. A candidate who spends too long deliberating on Mergers and Acquisitions scenarios may run short on time for the Case Studies section, which is typically the most reading-intensive. For a full breakdown of the scoring mechanics, see our CAS Passing Score guide.
Eligibility to sit for the exam isn't automatic. Candidates must hold a prerequisite COBRA credential, pay for and complete the four-session CAS study course (which also yields 6 CE units), and then sit the exam itself. The course-and-exam package is priced at $574 for ECFC members and $1,024 for non-members - this is a bundled course-plus-exam price, not an exam-only fee - and a retake costs $90 if needed. Prerequisite credential costs are separate and additional. For the full cost picture, including renewal fees of $150 (member) or $300 (non-member) against a 3-year validity period, see our CAS Certification Cost breakdown and CAS Requirements guide.
Scheduling Your Study Around the Four Domains
Because the four domains build in complexity - foundational law, applied scenarios, cross-law interaction, then full case studies - a sequential study schedule tends to work better than jumping around.
Domain 1 Foundations
- Review successor-employer rules for stock and asset transactions
- Work through merger/acquisition scenario questions
Domain 2 Foundations
- Study retiree qualifying-event triggers and alternative-coverage interactions
- Drill Medicare-and-COBRA eligibility scenarios
Domain 3 Deep Dive
- Compare federal COBRA against state mini-COBRA requirements
- Practice conflict-of-law question patterns
Domain 4 Integration
- Work full composite case studies under timed conditions
- Simulate the 3-hour, 75-question format end to end
This isn't a generic "four weeks to pass anything" template - it's sequenced specifically so that Case Studies, which draw on all three preceding domains, come last. If you want a condensed reference for last-minute review once you've worked through this sequence, our CAS Study Guide includes a tighter review framework, and running full-length practice sets on our practice test platform can help you confirm you're ready for the timed format before exam day.
Who Actually Tests on This Material
CAS content reflects the day-to-day responsibilities of professionals administering COBRA continuation coverage - typically within benefits administration, HR compliance, or third-party COBRA administration roles. The domain structure exists because real administrators regularly face exactly these four situations: a company gets acquired and someone has to determine who owns COBRA liability; a retiree's coverage changes and a qualifying-event determination has to be made; a state's continuation law doesn't line up neatly with federal COBRA; and a messy real-world scenario lands on someone's desk that doesn't match a textbook example.
If you're evaluating whether this credential fits your career path, our CAS Salary Guide and ROI analysis cover the broader value question, while CAS Pass Rate 2026 discusses what's actually known - and not known - about candidate outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Four: COBRA Mergers and Acquisitions, COBRA Alternative Coverage and Retiree Issues, COBRA and Other Laws, and COBRA Case Studies. These correspond to ECFC's four published CAS study-course sessions.
No official weighted blueprint has been verified for CAS. Treat any domain percentage split, including those used for practice questions, as editorial rather than issuer-published fact.
The exam totals 75 multiple-choice questions across all four domains, but the per-domain breakdown and the scored-versus-unscored split have not been publicly disclosed by ECFC.
Not necessarily. Since Domain 4 (Case Studies) integrates the other three, many candidates benefit from mastering Domains 1-3 first and using case-study practice to test integration rather than treating it as a fifth separate topic.
A candidate needs at least 60% correct overall on the 75-question, 3-hour exam. See our CAS Passing Score guide for more detail on how that threshold is applied.