ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling

How ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Testing Actually Gets Scheduled

Unlike certifications that publish a single national testing calendar, Aggregate Testing Technician-Level 1 (ACI-AGGREGATE-L1, officially abbreviated ATT1 in program materials from the American Concrete Institute) doesn't run on a centralized exam-date system. Instead, approved sponsoring groups - local ACI chapters, contractor associations, community colleges, or DOT-affiliated testing organizations - host their own sessions throughout the year. Each sponsor sets its own registration deadline, location, and session date, then coordinates with ACI examiners or proctors to administer the written and performance components.

This decentralized model means "2026 exam dates" is really a question of "which sponsor near me is running a session, and when." If you're just getting oriented to the credential itself, start with What Is ACI-AGGREGATE-L1? or the broader ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Certification overview before you start hunting for a session.

Who Administers the Exam - And Where Prometric Fits In

For the original written examination and the performance examination, testing happens through approved sponsoring groups with ACI examiners or proctors on-site, and grading is handled by ACI. This is important for scheduling because it means your first attempt is tied to a specific local session - you can't just log into a generic testing platform on demand.

Where flexibility does exist: eligible written retests can also be taken through Prometric. If you pass the performance component but need another shot at the written exam, Prometric's broader network of test centers may give you more scheduling options than waiting for the next sponsor-run session. This distinction matters when you're mapping out a realistic 2026 timeline - your first attempt depends on sponsor calendars, but a retest may not.

The Written Exam Window: Two Hours, ~100 Questions

Once you're seated for the written exam, the format itself is fixed regardless of which sponsor is running the session. It's open-book, using ACI-approved references, with a two-hour time limit and approximately 100 multiple-choice questions. That works out to a little over one minute per question on average, which is workable if you know the standards but tight if you're flipping through references for every item.

Calculators are allowed, but only approved simple-function, nonprogrammable models - mobile devices cannot be used as calculators, even in calculator mode. If you show up planning to use your phone for arithmetic, you'll be turned away from that portion of the test, so confirm your calculator ahead of the session date rather than the morning of.

Passing the written exam requires at least 60% on each required standard and 70% overall - meaning you can't coast on strong performance in a few domains while neglecting others. For a full breakdown of how those scoring thresholds interact, see ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Passing Score 2026.

The Performance Exam Window: Procedures, Not a Clock

The performance examination is closed-book and requires successful completion of every required procedure, with verbal descriptions permitted only where the standard allows. This is a critical scheduling detail: there is no single overall time limit for the performance exam. Instead, performance calculation worksheets have a maximum of 30 minutes each - a rule that's frequently misread as "30 minutes total" for the whole exam. It isn't. Each worksheet gets its own 30-minute cap, and the full performance session runs across however many procedures your sponsor is testing that day.

Because the performance exam is hands-on, sponsors typically need lab space, sample materials, and enough examiner time to observe each candidate through every required procedure. That logistical overhead is part of why performance sessions are scheduled less frequently than you might expect, and why confirming a date early matters.

The One-Year Clock Between Written and Performance

Both the written and performance components must be passed within one year of each other. If you pass the written exam in early 2026, you have roughly twelve months to schedule and pass the performance exam - or vice versa. Miss that window, and the component you passed no longer counts; you'd need to retake it.

Retests are component-specific: if you fail one part, a retest covers that entire failed component, not just the specific standards you missed. This makes scheduling strategy genuinely important. If you know your local sponsor only runs performance sessions once or twice a year, don't wait until month eleven of your one-year window to try scheduling the second component.

If you want a deeper sense of how difficult each component tends to feel in practice, How Hard Is the ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Exam? walks through the written and performance formats side by side, and ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Pass Rate 2026 covers what's actually known about outcomes.

Fees, Dated Sessions, and What "2026 Dates" Really Means

Because sessions are sponsor-run, fees vary by sponsor rather than being set on a single national fee schedule. As one dated example: Central Texas ACI's September 12, 2026 session in Pflugerville lists $675 for full certification, $475 for a written retest, and $525 for a performance retest - with the CP-44 workbook priced separately. These are that specific sponsor's session prices, not a universal fee, so treat them as a reference point rather than a guarantee of what you'll pay locally.

The program workbook itself, CP-44 (eighth edition), is sold directly by ACI and includes the AASHTO standards rather than the ASTM texts. As of a September 10, 2026 check, ACI lists it at $138 for non-members and $72 for members - a cost worth budgeting separately from whatever your sponsor charges for the session itself. For a full cost breakdown across workbook, session fees, and retest scenarios, see ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Certification Cost 2026.

Scheduling Your Prep Around the Eight Domains

Once you have a session date locked in, work backward from it using the eight paired AASHTO/ASTM standard domains as your study map rather than a generic weekly template. Each domain corresponds to a distinct test method, and the written exam's per-standard 60% threshold means you genuinely need competence across all eight - not just the ones you find intuitive.

For the full detail on every domain's scope, sample question style, and lab expectations, use ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 8 Content Areas alongside this scheduling article.

For a structured walkthrough of building this kind of plan, ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt goes further into technique, and our practice test platform lets you rehearse the multiple-choice format under realistic time pressure before your scheduled session.

Renewal Timing: Planning Five Years Out

ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 certification lasts five years, and renewal requires passing both the written and performance examinations again - it isn't a paperwork-only renewal. If you're scheduling your initial exam now, it's worth marking your calendar roughly four and a half years out as a reminder to start locating a sponsor session for renewal, rather than discovering your certification has lapsed.

Governance around the program itself is also worth knowing if you're researching scheduling policy: the current administrative policy, CPP 620.3-25, was revised May 16, 2025, and the underlying job-task analysis was approved September 21, 2020, with editorial corrections made October 19, 2021. These dates don't affect your personal exam scheduling, but they explain why session materials and workbook editions sometimes get updated between years.

If you're weighing whether the five-year renewal cycle and scheduling effort are worth it relative to career payoff, Is the ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Certification Worth It? and ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Salary Guide 2026 cover that angle, and ACI-AGGREGATE-L1 Jobs looks at who's actually hiring for the credential.

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