- There are no fixed annual "testing windows" - CGKE seats are booked directly through Meazure Learning year-round.
- You must pass Fundamentals of Interpreting before you're eligible to schedule the CASLI Generalist Performance Exam for CDI.
- Once purchased, an exam must be taken within one year or before your five-year testing cycle ends, whichever is sooner.
- Failing the knowledge exam triggers a mandatory three-month waiting period before you can retake it.
How CDI Testing Actually Works
Unlike college admissions tests or licensing boards that publish quarterly testing windows, the path to becoming a Certified Deaf Interpreter doesn't run on a published academic calendar. Certification itself is awarded by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), which owns the eligibility rules, while the Center for the Assessment of Sign Language Interpretation (CASLI) develops and administers the actual exam content. That split matters for scheduling: RID tells you whether you qualify, and CASLI (through its testing partners) tells you when and where you can sit for the exam.
The knowledge exam - the CASLI Generalist Knowledge Exam (CGKE) - is delivered by Meazure Learning (formerly known as Scantron) at contracted computer-based testing centers. The performance exam, by contrast, is not booked through a national testing vendor at all. It's scheduled directly with a Local Test Administrator (LTA), which means availability depends heavily on your region and how many LTAs are actively scheduling candidates near you.
Scheduling the CGKE Knowledge Exam
The CGKE replaced the legacy CDI-Knowledge Exam on January 1, 2021, and it's now a computer-based test with two distinct parts:
- Fundamentals of Interpreting - 120 multiple-choice questions. Exactly 60 appear in written English with English answer choices, and 60 appear in ASL with ASL answer choices. You cannot request a language preference; the split is fixed.
- Ethical Decision Making and Cultural Responsiveness Exam - 8 multi-step case studies that test applied judgment rather than recall.
Once you purchase the exam through your CASLI candidate account, you schedule your seat directly with Meazure Learning at a contracted site. Results typically arrive within 10 business days, which is fast enough that most candidates can plan a performance exam booking almost immediately after passing. For a full breakdown of what's actually tested inside each part, see the CDI Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.
Key Takeaway
You must pass Fundamentals of Interpreting before you become eligible for the performance exam. If you pass one part but fail the other, you only retake the part you failed - you don't have to redo both.
Booking the Performance Exam with an LTA
The CASLI Generalist Performance Exam for CDI, released November 16, 2020, is built from CASLI's 2018 Deaf Interpreter Job Task Analysis - a very different foundation from the retired knowledge exam, which is worth understanding before you book your date. Because this exam is scheduled through a Local Test Administrator rather than a centralized vendor, your timeline depends on:
- How many LTAs are actively administering the CDI performance exam in your state or region
- Whether you need to travel to reach an active testing site
- How far in advance the LTA requires bookings and payment
Because LTA calendars vary so much, candidates aiming for a 2026 completion should start the eligibility and payment process well before they hope to test, rather than assuming a seat will be available on short notice. Results for this exam take up to 90 days - noticeably longer than the knowledge exam - so factor that lag into any job offer, contract renewal, or credentialing deadline you're working against.
Testing Cycles, Purchase Windows & Deadlines
Two separate clocks govern how long you have to act once you're in the system:
- The one-year purchase window: Once you buy an exam attempt, you must take it within one year of purchase, or before your overall testing cycle expires - whichever comes first.
- The five-year testing cycle: Your full testing cycle runs five years from the date of your first PASS notification. Everything you need to complete - Fundamentals, Ethical Decision Making, and the performance exam - has to happen inside that window.
There's also a mandatory cooling-off period if things don't go your way: a failed knowledge exam requires a three-month waiting period before you're allowed to retake it. That waiting period should be built into any 2026 target date you set, especially if you're already tight on time within your five-year cycle. For a deeper look at what "passing" actually requires on each part, the CDI Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass guide walks through the scoring mechanics in detail.
| Deadline Type | Rule |
|---|---|
| Purchase-to-test window | Must test within 1 year of purchase, or before cycle ends |
| Full testing cycle | 5 years from first PASS notification |
| Failed knowledge exam retake | 3-month mandatory wait |
| Knowledge exam results | Within 10 business days |
| Performance exam results | Within 90 days |
Matching Domains to Your Testing Timeline
Scheduling isn't just about vendor availability - it's also about giving yourself enough runway to actually master the content before you book a seat. The performance exam is built around four domains, and each one calls for a different kind of preparation lead time:
Domain 1: Pre-Commitment Activities
Covers the decisions a CDI makes before accepting an assignment - evaluating fit, gathering context, and determining whether the request is appropriate to accept.
- Assignment vetting and role clarity before agreeing to work
Domain 2: Pre-Encounter Activities
Focuses on preparation once an assignment is accepted - briefing with the hearing interpreter team, reviewing available materials, and setting up logistics.
- Team coordination and pre-assignment logistics
Domain 3: The Encounter
The live interpreting work itself - managing the Deaf consumer's communication needs in real time, including cultural and linguistic mediation specific to the CDI role.
- Real-time judgment calls during active interpreting
Domain 4: Post-Encounter Activities
Debriefing, documentation, and professional follow-up after the assignment ends.
- Reflection, feedback, and closing out the assignment appropriately
If you're still building your prep plan around these four areas, the CDI Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas breaks each one down further, and the CDI Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt offers a structured approach for allocating study time across all four before you commit to a test date.
2026 Fee Schedule by Exam Part
Fees have been in effect since January 1, 2023, and they're the same figures you'll see going into 2026. Because there's no bundled "one price" for CDI certification, your scheduling decisions have direct cost implications - retaking only the part you failed is cheaper than retesting both.
| Exam Part | Regular Fee | RID Member Fee |
|---|---|---|
| CASLI Generalist Knowledge Exam (CGKE) | $280 | $225 |
| CASLI Generalist Performance Exam for CDI | $395 | $310 |
| Single Fundamentals or Case Studies retake (Gap Test) | $140 | $140 |
Note the Deaf-interpreter rate eligibility requirement tied to these fees: you must submit an audiogram showing hearing loss of 65db or more in one or both ears. The audiogram doesn't need to be recent, but it must clearly name you and the audiologist or office that produced it - missing documentation is a common, avoidable reason candidates delay their own scheduling timeline. For the complete cost picture across every stage, see CDI Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Bridge Plan Deadlines for Legacy Exam Holders
If you passed the retired CDI-Knowledge Exam before it was phased out on January 1, 2021, you don't get to skip straight to the current performance exam. Because that older exam was derived from RID's 2000 Role Delineation Study - a different job analysis than the one behind today's performance exam - you're required to complete a bridge plan: an unscored learning module plus the Case Studies gap test.
This matters for scheduling because the gap test still falls under the same one-year purchase window and five-year cycle rules as everything else. If you've been holding a legacy pass for a while, check where you stand in your cycle before assuming you have unlimited time to complete the bridge requirements.
A Sample Planning Timeline
Generic study techniques like spaced repetition or timed review blocks only matter here in how they map onto CDI's actual sequencing rules - you can't schedule the performance exam before passing Fundamentals, and you can't get performance results back quickly, so front-loading knowledge-exam prep protects your overall calendar. Here's a realistic way to structure the months leading into a 2026 test date:
Confirm Eligibility & Documentation
- Verify degree or Alternative Pathway completion
- Gather and submit audiogram documentation for Deaf-rate eligibility
Fundamentals of Interpreting Prep
- Drill both the English-language and ASL-presented question sets
- Purchase and schedule the CGKE with Meazure Learning
Ethical Decision Making Prep & Results Wait
- Work through multi-step case study scenarios
- Wait for the 10-business-day results turnaround
Performance Exam Booking & Domain Review
- Contact LTAs to find and secure a testing date
- Review Domains 1-4 with emphasis on real encounter judgment
Test Day & Results Wait
- Sit for the performance exam
- Allow up to 90 days for scoring
If your goal is simply to gauge how demanding this whole process feels compared to other interpreting credentials, How Hard Is the CDI Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and CDI Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows are useful companion reads before you lock in a date. You can also run through sample scenarios on CDI Exam Prep's practice test platform to see how your timing holds up under real exam conditions before you commit to a Meazure Learning appointment.
FAQ
No. The CGKE is scheduled on a rolling basis through Meazure Learning, and the performance exam is booked individually with a Local Test Administrator. There's no fixed seasonal calendar to work around.
As soon as you've passed Fundamentals of Interpreting and located an available Local Test Administrator, you can schedule. There's no mandatory waiting period after a pass - only after a fail.
Your purchase expires and you'd need to purchase again, subject to whatever time remains in your five-year testing cycle from your first PASS notification.
No. You only retake the section you failed, and a standalone retake of a single Fundamentals or Case Studies portion costs $140.
Yes. Because the old exam was based on a 2000 job analysis rather than the 2018 Deaf Interpreter Job Task Analysis behind today's exam, legacy passers must complete a bridge plan - an unscored module plus the Case Studies gap test - within their existing testing cycle.