What is an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE)?

An Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) is someone who has passed a product proficiency exam for one of the Adobe programs.

In which products can I certify?

• Adobe Acrobat Professional
• Adobe After Effects
• Adobe Flash
• Adobe Flex
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
• Adobe Premiere Pro

How do I become an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE)?

You will need to pass an electronically delivered multiple-choice test. You can take the test in hundreds of centers around the globe.

What does the test involve?

The number of questions delivered and the pass rate varies from product to product but is usually in the region of 66 questions, 90 minutes duration and a 75% pass rate.

Where can I sit the test and who oversees it?

The certification tests are administered by Pearson VUE. They have a list of all the available test centers. The recertification tests are delivered online by TesTrac.

How much does the test cost?

The certification test costs $150 USD, or €135 Euro; the recertification test costs $50 USD, or €40 Euro.

What happens if I fail?

If you fail, you may take the test again at a reduced rate.

How will it benefit me if I become an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE)?

Once you have passed the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) exam, you will be able to promote yourself as someone who has been accredited as a proficient and expert user of the product.

You can use the Adobe logo in your stationery and on your blog or website. You can also provide verification should anyone require it by sending a code that can be used to log into the Adobe site to confirm your certification.

You can ask your employer for a raise and charge higher fees for any work that you may do as a freelance using the program for which you have certified.

If you are seeking employment, you can use the certification and the Adobe logo to get your résumé noticed.

What's the best way to prepare for the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) exam?

You have several choices:

• You can enroll for a program (many trainers, independent companies, schools and colleges offer specific courses; however, they can be expensive – expect to pay anywhere up to $1500, or thereabouts)
• You can read the application's Help file, corresponding book from the Classroom in a Book series, or view training videos (if your time is not valuable to you – you may pass, depending on your aptitude for studying and ability to find suitable material)
• You can use one of our exam aids, which are based on the Prep Guides published by Adobe and include original, interactive, multiple-choice questions, extended answers, hyperlinks to appropriate pages of the application's Help (saving you the task of finding applicable pages), and tests that mimic the way the official exams are delivered

Go for it!