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All four domains

Lesson 10: Review and the practice exam

A domain-by-domain recap, exam-day logistics, and a 20-question mixed practice set · 20 practice questions

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Reading

This closing lesson has two jobs: pull the nine lessons before it back together by domain, since the exam itself is organized around NGMA's four named domains rather than around this course's lesson order (the groupings below are this course's own study aid, not an NGMA lesson map), and give exam-day logistics one final, consolidated pass so nothing gets missed on the day itself.

Grant Guidance: what belongs here

Grant Guidance covers the foundational, cross-cutting material: what CGMS is and how the exam itself works (lesson 1), the pre-award stage, NOFOs, applicant risk review, and the first exposure to cost allowability (lesson 2), and the ethical and conflict-of-interest framework that applies across the whole lifecycle (lesson 9).

Grant Award: what belongs here

Grant Award covers what goes into the award document itself and how indirect costs are recovered, NICRAs versus the de minimis rate (lesson 3), and closeout, the formal end of the award and its specific 120- and 90-day deadlines (lesson 8).

Fiscal Management: what belongs here

Fiscal Management covers procurement standards, the five methods, current dollar thresholds, and standards of conduct (lesson 5), and recordkeeping and audit readiness, the three-year retention rule and the Single Audit threshold and deadlines (lesson 7).

Program Management: what belongs here

Program Management covers the operational core of running an active award, payment methods and performance reporting cycles (lesson 4), and subrecipient monitoring, the subrecipient-versus-contractor determination and risk-based oversight (lesson 6). Some topics straddle domains: NGMA's blueprint lists drawdowns, financial reports, and allowable costs under Fiscal Management, and it lists subrecipient risk assessment and monitoring protocols under Grant Award as well as complying with subrecipient monitoring under Program Management.

Domain weights, from NGMA's blueprint

NGMA names the four domains on its exam page and publishes an Exam Blueprint (revised July 2025, for the exam launched in 2025) that gives each domain's share of the 130 scored items: Grant Guidance 23 percent (30 items), Grant Award 29 percent (38 items), Fiscal Management 25 percent (34 items), and Program Management 22 percent (28 items). Grant Award is the largest slice, but the four are close enough that none can be skipped. Weights are for scored items only; the 20 unscored pilot items are not counted, and NGMA can revise the blueprint, so check its current version before you sit.

Exam-day logistics, all in one place

150 total questions, 130 scored and 20 unscored pilot items mixed in without being labeled. Three hours, with one scheduled ten-minute break. Scored on a scale of 200 to 1,000; passing score 650. NGMA maintains two unique versions (forms) of the exam. Eligibility is either a bachelor's degree plus 3 years of full-time (32+ hours/week) grants management experience within the last 10 years, or no degree plus 5 years of the same, and NGMA runs eligibility audits on a random share of applications, so keep documentation. If a retake is needed, there is a 90-day wait, up to 3 attempts within 365 days, at $175 (members) or $250 (non-members) per retake. As of NGMA's January 1, 2026 figures, there were 398 total CGMS holders, and in 2025 there were 155 candidates with a 62 percent pass rate. Membership is not required to sit the exam; members simply pay lower fees.

Keeping the credential once earned

The certification cycle begins the day you pass the exam and expires at the end of your exam pass month three years later. Renewal costs $299 (members) or $473 (non-members, which includes an optional one year of membership), and requires 60 CPE credits earned during the cycle, from organizations on the NASBA List of CPE Sponsors and related to grants, financial management, audit controls, or the grant-making process (general or ethics-related credits not specific to grants are not accepted). A 30-day grace period, with a possible further 60-day extension, applies to a lapsed credential; past that, only a full retake of the exam restores it, at $500 (members) or $674 (non-members).

The federal regulation this course leans on most

Across lessons 2 through 9, the same underlying regulation, 2 CFR 200, the Uniform Guidance, kept reappearing: 200.206 (applicant risk review), 200.403 (cost allowability), 200.414 (indirect costs and the de minimis rate), 200.305 (payment methods), 200.329 (performance reporting), 200.317-200.327 (procurement, including 200.318's conflict of interest standards and 200.320's methods), 200.331-200.332 (subrecipient determination and monitoring), 200.334 (record retention), 200.501 and following (Single Audit, including 200.512's submission deadline), 200.344 (closeout), and 200.112-200.113 (award-level conflict of interest and mandatory disclosures). A CGMS candidate who is comfortable navigating 2 CFR 200 by section number, not just by general topic, will have an easier time on exam day than one who only knows the concepts in the abstract.

How this course groups its lessons under the four CGMS domains A four-quadrant map of this course's own grouping, not an NGMA lesson map: Grant Guidance holds lessons 1, 2, and 9; Grant Award holds lessons 3 and 8; Fiscal Management holds lessons 5 and 7; Program Management holds lessons 4 and 6. Grant Guidance Lesson 1: what CGMS is, exam logistics Lesson 2: pre-award, NOFO, risk review Lesson 9: ethics and conflict of interest Grant Award Lesson 3: award terms, indirect costs Lesson 8: closeout deadlines Fiscal Management Lesson 5: procurement standards Lesson 7: recordkeeping, Single Audit Program Management Lesson 4: payment, reporting cycles Lesson 6: subrecipient monitoring
This is the course's own grouping as a study aid. All four domains connect back to 2 CFR 200; none of them is a self-contained silo.

Practice questions

1. NGMA's exam page names four content domains for the CGMS exam. What are they?

  1. Grant Guidance, Grant Award, Fiscal Management, and Program Management
  2. Pre-award, Award, Post-award, and Closeout, matching the four stages of the grant lifecycle
  3. Grant Writing, Grant Award, Fiscal Management, and Program Evaluation, as NGMA's blueprint lists them
  4. NGMA names three domains only: Pre-Award, Post-Award, and Compliance

2. Total questions on the CGMS exam, and how many are scored?

  1. 100 total, 100 scored, with no pilot items in the exam at all
  2. 150 total, 130 scored, 20 unscored pilot items
  3. 40 total, all scored, delivered in a single one-hour session
  4. 200 total, 150 scored, 50 unscored pilot items mixed in

3. Passing score, and the scale it is measured on?

  1. 70 percent, out of 100 percent correct, with no scaling between exam forms
  2. 500, out of 1,000, adjusted separately for each of the two exam forms
  3. 650, on a scaled range of 200 to 1,000
  4. There is no fixed passing score; NGMA sets the cut score each year after scoring

4. Which section of 2 CFR 200 requires an awarding agency to review applicant risk before making an award?

  1. 200.318
  2. 200.206
  3. 200.334
  4. 200.501

5. Which section of 2 CFR 200 lists the factors affecting the allowability of costs?

  1. 200.318
  2. 200.344
  3. 200.112
  4. 200.403

6. Current government-wide de minimis indirect cost rate, and since when?

  1. Up to 15% of MTDC, effective for awards issued on or after October 1, 2024
  2. 10% of MTDC, unchanged since 2014 and still in effect for every award issued today
  3. 25% of total direct costs, effective for awards issued after 2020 under the earlier guidance
  4. There is no de minimis rate available to organizations that lack a negotiated rate

7. Under 200.305, how quickly must a proper reimbursement request be paid?

  1. Immediately, on the same business day the request is received by the agency
  2. Within 90 calendar days after receipt, unless the agency finds the request improper
  3. Within 30 calendar days after receipt of the request
  4. There is no deadline; payment is made whenever the agency's schedule allows

8. Under 200.329, what must a performance report connect?

  1. Nothing; a spending total alone is sufficient
  2. Financial data and program accomplishments, related to the award's performance goals
  3. Only staff hours worked by employee
  4. The indirect cost rate and the MTDC base

9. Current micro-purchase threshold and simplified acquisition threshold (as of October 1, 2025)?

  1. $10,000 and $250,000
  2. $5,000 and $100,000
  3. $50,000 and $500,000
  4. $15,000 and $350,000

10. Which section requires written procurement standards of conduct covering conflicts of interest?

  1. 200.318
  2. 200.112
  3. 200.332
  4. 200.344

11. What distinguishes a subrecipient from a contractor?

  1. Only the dollar amount of the subaward
  2. Contractors always work for nonprofits, subrecipients for governments
  3. A subrecipient carries out program work under its own direction and is measured against program objectives; a contractor provides goods or services for a fee, measured against deliverables
  4. There is no meaningful distinction

12. Baseline record retention period under 200.334, and from when?

  1. One year from the award start, or until the first audit is completed, whichever is later
  2. Three years from submission of the final financial report
  3. Five years from the award end date, regardless of when the reports were filed
  4. Indefinitely, because federal award records may never be destroyed once created

13. Current Single Audit threshold, and effective for which fiscal years?

  1. $750,000, unchanged since 2014 and still in effect for every fiscal year
  2. $500,000, effective for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2020
  3. $2,000,000, effective for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2026
  4. $1,000,000 or more, for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024

14. Single Audit reporting package submission deadline under 200.512?

  1. The earlier of 30 days after the auditor's report or 9 months after fiscal year end
  2. Always exactly 12 months after fiscal year end, regardless of the auditor's report date
  3. Always exactly 30 days after fiscal year end, regardless of the auditor's report date
  4. There is no deadline; the auditee submits when the Federal Audit Clearinghouse asks for it

15. Closeout deadlines under 200.344 for a direct recipient versus a subrecipient?

  1. Both 120 days, identical, since subawards follow the prime award's closeout date
  2. Both 90 days, identical, since closeout is the same for every organization
  3. 120 days for a recipient; 90 days for a subrecipient
  4. 365 days for both, matching the agency's one-year closeout target

16. NGMA's Code of Ethics is built around which four core values?

  1. Speed, Accuracy, Discretion, Loyalty
  2. Responsibility, Respect, Fairness, Honesty
  3. Integrity, Compliance, Transparency, Diligence
  4. NGMA's Code has no named core values

17. Difference in scope between 2 CFR 200.318 and 2 CFR 200.112?

  1. 200.318 is narrow and procurement-specific; 200.112 is broader, covering any award-level conflict with proactive written disclosure to the funder
  2. They are identical
  3. 200.112 applies only to construction awards
  4. 200.318 has been repealed and replaced entirely by 200.112

18. CGMS renewal cycle length, CPE requirement, and renewal fees?

  1. 1 year, 20 CPE credits, $50 (members) / $75 (non-members)
  2. 5 years, 100 CPE credits, $500 (members) / $674 (non-members)
  3. 2 years, 30 CPE credits, $175 (members) / $250 (non-members)
  4. 3 years, 60 CPE credits, $299 (members) / $473 (non-members)

19. What happens if a CGMS credential lapses past the grace period and any extension, without renewal?

  1. Nothing; it remains valid indefinitely as long as the holder keeps the original certificate
  2. The full exam must be retaken to restore it, at $500 (members) or $674 (non-members)
  3. It converts automatically to a lifetime credential once the holder pays a reinstatement fee
  4. NGMA issues a replacement credential for free if the holder asks within one year

20. According to NGMA's 2025 Exam Blueprint, which domain carries the largest share of the 130 scored items?

  1. Grant Award, with 38 items (29 percent)
  2. Fiscal Management, with 48 items (37 percent), because it covers costs, payments, and audits
  3. Grant Guidance, with 45 items (35 percent), because it covers pre-award and ethics
  4. Program Management, with 42 items (32 percent), because it covers running the active award

Glossary

GMBoK
Grants Management Body of Knowledge; NGMA offers GMBoK training, which is not an exam prep course and is not required to take the CGMS exam.
Domain
One of NGMA's four named content areas for the CGMS exam: Grant Guidance, Grant Award, Fiscal Management, Program Management.
2 CFR 200
The Uniform Guidance; the federal regulation underlying most of the CGMS exam's Fiscal Management and Grant Award content, cited by section throughout this course.
De minimis rate
The indirect cost rate an organization without a negotiated rate agreement may claim, up to 15% of MTDC for awards issued on or after October 1, 2024.
Single Audit
The audit required under 2 CFR 200.501 and following when an organization expends federal awards at or above the threshold ($1,000,000 for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024) in a fiscal year.
Subrecipient
An entity that carries out program work under its own direction and is measured against program objectives, distinct from a contractor paid for deliverables.
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