- CAS stands for Certified COBRA Administration Specialist, issued through ECFC's Flexible Compensation Institute.
- The exam has 75 multiple-choice questions, a 3-hour limit, and a 60% passing threshold.
- Candidates must hold a prerequisite COBRA credential and complete a four-session study course before sitting the exam.
- The credential covers four domains: M&A, alternative coverage/retiree issues, COBRA and other laws, and case studies.
What Is CAS? The Basics
CAS stands for Certified COBRA Administration Specialist, a credential focused specifically on the administration of COBRA continuation coverage inside employer benefits departments. This is the only meaning of CAS covered on this site - if you've seen "CAS" attached to a wildly different field, that's a different credential with a different governing body, exam, and fee schedule. Everything below describes the COBRA-focused version only.
The designation is intended for benefits professionals, HR administrators, and third-party administrators who manage COBRA notices, elections, premium billing, and the compliance deadlines tied to qualifying events. If you're still deciding whether this is the right credential path for your role, our broader overview at What Is CAS Certification? and the plain-language breakdown in CAS Meaning can help confirm fit before you invest in the prerequisite course.
Who Issues the CAS Credential
CAS is issued by the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC), administered through its Flexible Compensation Institute (FCI). The issuer styles the designation "COBRA Administration Specialist," while O*NET's occupational listings use the "Certified" variant - both refer to the same credential. There is no evidence of an external testing vendor; testing is conducted online directly through ECFC/FCI systems.
Because ECFC controls both the study course and the exam, the credential functions less like a standalone licensing exam and more like a capstone assessment on top of issuer-delivered instruction. That distinction matters when you're budgeting time and money - see CAS Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown for how the course-and-exam bundling affects what you actually pay.
Exam Format and Question Style
According to ECFC's current certification FAQ, the CAS exam consists of:
- 75 total questions, all multiple choice
- 3-hour time limit
- At least 60% required to pass
- Exam access available within 120 days of purchasing the course package
ECFC does not publicly disclose a scored-versus-unscored question split, and open-book status, calculator allowances, and proctoring rules are not verified in current documentation. Treat all 75 questions as potentially scored unless ECFC states otherwise in your candidate materials. Older third-party guidance claiming a 30-day access window or a 100-question exam reflects outdated badge criteria - the current designation and FAQ pages consistently support the 120-day window and 75-question count described here.
Key Takeaway
Don't rely on secondhand summaries of exam length or access windows. Cross-check against ECFC's current CAS designation page and FAQ before you schedule, since older guidance in circulation is no longer accurate.
For a deeper look at what "passing" actually requires and how the scoring threshold is applied, read CAS Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. If you want a realistic gut-check on difficulty before committing to the course fee, How Hard Is the CAS Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 walks through the format implications in more detail.
The Four CAS Exam Domains
CAS content is organized around four domains that reflect real-world COBRA administration scenarios rather than introductory compliance basics. These domain names come directly from the certification structure:
Domain 1: COBRA: Mergers and Acquisitions
Covers how COBRA obligations transfer, split, or persist when employers merge, get acquired, or divest business units. Candidates need to understand which entity becomes responsible for continuation coverage after a corporate transaction.
- Identifying the "successor employer" in stock vs. asset sales
- Qualifying event timing around deal closing dates
- Coverage continuity obligations across entity changes
Domain 2: COBRA: Alternative Coverage and Retiree Issues
Focuses on how COBRA interacts with other coverage sources - Medicare, retiree health plans, and alternative group coverage - and how eligibility or termination of COBRA is affected when a qualified beneficiary gains other coverage.
- Medicare entitlement's effect on COBRA duration
- Retiree-specific continuation scenarios
- Coordination rules when alternative coverage becomes available
Domain 3: COBRA and Other Laws
Tests how COBRA intersects with adjacent federal statutes and benefits rules rather than COBRA in isolation. Expect scenario questions that require distinguishing COBRA's specific obligations from overlapping or competing legal requirements.
- Interaction with other federal benefits continuation rules
- Distinguishing COBRA-only obligations from overlapping statutes
- Applying the correct rule when multiple laws could govern a situation
Domain 4: COBRA Case Studies
Applies the other three domains to composite, scenario-based situations. This domain is less about memorizing a single rule and more about sequencing multiple COBRA rules correctly within one fact pattern.
- Multi-step qualifying event scenarios
- Applying M&A and alternative-coverage rules together
- Identifying the compliance-correct administrative action
No official weighted blueprint has been verified for how heavily each domain is tested, so avoid trusting any source that cites exact domain percentages - those numbers aren't published by ECFC. For a full session-by-session breakdown of how these domains map to the issuer's own study course, see CAS Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.
Eligibility, Fees, and Registration
CAS is not an entry-level credential. To sit for the exam, candidates must:
- Hold a prerequisite COBRA credential (cost not included in the CAS package price)
- Pay for and complete ECFC's four-session CAS study course
- Pass the 75-question examination within the access window
The indexed 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. A retake costs $90. Prerequisite credential costs are separate and add to the total. Because ECFC blocked direct retrieval of its live checkout flow at the time of research, treat these figures as the last verified published numbers rather than a guaranteed current price - confirm directly with ECFC before paying.
The completed course also yields 6 continuing education units, which is a separate figure from the renewal CE requirement discussed later - don't confuse the two when tracking your CE log.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Course + exam package (member) | $574 |
| Course + exam package (non-member) | $1,024 |
| Retake fee | $90 |
| Exam access window after purchase | 120 days |
| Initial course CE units earned | 6 |
For the full eligibility checklist, including what documentation ECFC expects for the prerequisite credential, see CAS Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify. A complete cost comparison - including how the retake fee and prerequisite costs stack up over a full certification attempt - is broken down in CAS Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Who Hires CAS-Credentialed Professionals
CAS is aimed squarely at people already working in COBRA administration who need to demonstrate mastery of more complex scenarios than entry-level notice processing. Typical employers and roles include:
- Third-party COBRA administrators handling multi-client qualifying-event processing
- Corporate benefits departments managing COBRA during mergers, acquisitions, or divestitures
- HR compliance teams responsible for coordinating COBRA with retiree medical and Medicare-eligible populations
- Benefits consulting firms advising employers on COBRA risk across multiple federal statutes
Because the credential sits on top of a prerequisite COBRA certification, it signals to employers that a candidate can handle edge cases - not just the standard notice-and-election workflow. If you're weighing whether the time and course cost translate into better job prospects, CAS Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and Is the CAS Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 both dig into that question directly. Open positions that explicitly reference the credential are also worth scanning in CAS Jobs.
Building a CAS-Specific Study Plan
Because CAS preparation follows ECFC's own four published study-course sessions, the most logical study structure mirrors those sessions rather than a generic exam-prep template. These sessions are issuer-course preparation topics, not an official weighted blueprint - but they're still the closest thing to an authoritative outline available.
Mergers and Acquisitions Fundamentals
- Review successor-employer rules in stock vs. asset deals
- Map qualifying-event timing to deal closing dates
Alternative Coverage and Retiree Scenarios
- Work through Medicare-entitlement timing rules
- Practice retiree continuation edge cases
COBRA and Other Laws
- Build a comparison chart of COBRA vs. overlapping statutes
- Drill scenario questions that require picking the governing rule
Case Study Integration
- Run full composite scenarios combining all three prior domains
- Time yourself against the 3-hour, 75-question format
Spacing review sessions across these four weeks - rather than cramming all domains at once - works well here specifically because the exam's case-study domain explicitly tests your ability to combine the other three. A structured walkthrough of this exact approach, with practice-question pacing, is available in CAS Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. You can also run full-length timed practice sets on our main practice test platform to get comfortable with the 3-hour pacing before exam day.
Renewal and Keeping CAS Active
CAS certification is valid for 3 years. Here's where candidates need to be careful: ECFC's own pages disagree on renewal continuing education requirements. The current CAS designation page states six renewal CE units per three years, while the current ECFC certification FAQ states twelve. No dated supersession between these two figures has been verified, so the safest move is to confirm the correct number directly with ECFC before your renewal cycle, rather than assuming either page is automatically authoritative.
Renewal fees are more consistent: the current CAS designation page lists $150 for members and $300 for non-members. Keep in mind this renewal fee is separate from the initial $574/$1,024 course-and-exam package and from the $90 retake fee.
For a one-page summary of fees, question counts, domain names, and renewal terms you can reference while studying, bookmark CAS Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts. And if you're trying to map out when to register relative to course completion and the 120-day access window, CAS Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling walks through the scheduling mechanics in more depth.
Frequently Asked Questions
CAS stands for Certified COBRA Administration Specialist, issued by the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation through the Flexible Compensation Institute. For a focused definition, see What Does CAS Stand For?
No. CAS requires a prerequisite COBRA credential before you can enroll in the four-session CAS study course and sit for the exam. Full prerequisite details are covered in CAS Requirements 2026.
The current ECFC certification FAQ specifies 75 multiple-choice questions with a 3-hour time limit, and at least 60% correct is required to pass.
No. The published pricing ($574 member/$1,024 non-member) is a bundled course-and-exam package, not an exam-only fee. A separate $90 fee applies to retakes.
CAS is valid for 3 years. Renewal requires a fee of $150 (member) or $300 (non-member), though ECFC's pages disagree on whether 6 or 12 CE units are required for renewal - verify directly with ECFC.