How to Register for CME-2A Global Financial Compliance

Last verified: 31 October 2026. Fees and exam policies can change at any time, so confirm everything on the Financial Academy (FA) CME-2A page and FA's exam policies for CISI exams before you pay. This is an independent guide and is not affiliated with FA, the Capital Market Authority (CMA), CISI or any other government body.

CME-2A is FA's code for CISI's Global Financial Compliance exam. This guide explains who needs it, what it costs and the booking rules FA applies to exams it runs with CISI.

Who has to take CME-2A

FA describes CME-2A as a mandatory CMA exam delivered in cooperation with CISI. Passing it is required of everyone who is to be registered to work in compliance and/or anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing roles.

There are no entry conditions: FA lists no prior certificate, no required training programme and no registration requirements.

CME-2 means CME-2A plus CME-2B

The professional certificate has two parts, and FA states that you must pass both to receive it:

• CME-2A, CISI's Global Financial Compliance exam: 100 questions, 120 minutes, pass mark 70, in Arabic or English. It covers five chapters: the international regulatory environment (20%), the compliance function (24%), managing the risk of financial crime (20%), ethics, integrity and fairness (19%), and governance, risk management and compliance (17%).
• CME-2B, Saudi Capital Market Regulations (compliance and AML/CFT), offered by FA: 30 minutes, pass mark 17, in Arabic or English. It covers seven chapters, the largest being the Capital Market Institutions Regulations and the Anti-Money Laundering Law at 20% each.

CME-2A is an international exam that is not built around Saudi regulations; its standards are international, such as the FATF Recommendations. The Saudi rules are tested in CME-2B. You book the two exams separately, and the certificate is issued only once you have passed both.

Fees

The fee is paid in full when you book and cannot be refunded once payment is confirmed, unless FA itself cancels the exam, according to its general policy.

Rescheduling your exam

CISI exams cannot be cancelled, but you can change your date. The fee depends on how many times you change it and how many days are left before the exam. These rules apply to CME-2A as an exam delivered with CISI; for CME-2B, check the policy on its own page.

The full exam fee is also charged if you reschedule less than 14 days before the exam and the new date falls after a new edition of the workbook is released; you then receive the new workbook. Each workbook states its validity period at the front.

How to register, step by step

1. Create an account, or sign in, on the FA website.
2. Open the CME-2A exam and choose your exam language: Arabic or English. Choose carefully, because CISI exams do not allow a change of language.
3. Book your exam date.
4. Pay the full fee of 2,100 SAR. Payment is non-refundable after confirmation.
5. Before exam day, complete CISI's QRF form online. Until it is completed, no official result is issued.
6. On exam day, bring a valid ID whose name matches your booking exactly.

Your booking is personal: a CISI exam place cannot be swapped with another candidate.

ID rules

Your ID must be unexpired and must show exactly the same name as your booking, otherwise you will not be admitted. FA's general exam policy lists these accepted documents:

• National ID card for Saudi or GCC citizens.
• Residence permit (iqama) for non-Saudi residents.
• Temporary ID issued by the Saudi passports department.
• For women without an ID card: the family register together with a passport.

The same general policy, which is written mainly for exams FA runs itself, asks candidates to arrive 30 minutes early and warns that late arrivals may be refused entry, so check the arrival instructions for your booking.

Retake limits

• You can sit the same exam at most 3 times in any 12-month period. After the third attempt there is a compulsory 6-week break, counted from the date of that attempt, and then up to 3 more attempts within 12 months of your first exam.
• After a fail, you cannot resit the same exam within three full days. For example, if you sit on a Thursday, the earliest retake is the following Monday.
• In exceptional cases, FA can ask CISI on your behalf for a waiver to allow a fourth attempt (FA's exams address is exams@fa.org.sa).
• CISI may refuse a booking from someone who has already passed the same exam.

Getting the fee back through HADAF

FA's CME-2A page says the exam fee can be recovered through the HADAF (Human Resources Development Fund) platform after you pass, but with a clear condition: support is granted only after you pass both CME-2A and CME-2B and submit the qualification certificate, which is sent to you by email. Passing just one of the two exams does not qualify. Check HADAF's current eligibility rules before you count on the refund.

Free study materials

FA's CME-2A page links the CISI workbook as free PDFs in Arabic and English, and estimates about 100 hours of study. The Arabic file is the 4th edition and covers exams from 1 February 2025 to 31 January 2027; the English file is a 2026 edition and its cover does not state a coverage period. If your exam is after 31 January 2027, check which workbook applies to your date before you start studying.

Exam conduct

CISI's candidate behaviour policy treats disclosing exam content after the exam as misconduct; penalties can include voiding results, a ban from future exams and notifying employers and regulators. FA's general policy also prohibits saving or publishing exam content online.