Which AML certification
do you need?
Find your level first.

Which AML certification you need depends first on your level. The AML check from AML Certification Centre places you at one of three levels and recommends a certification for it. The table shows, for each level, the certifications other providers describe at that level and what the check recommends.

The check recommends an AML Certification Centre programme. The other names are there so you can place your level against any certification you are considering. Within a cell the order is alphabetical; it is not a ranking.

Choose an AML certification in five steps. The first is the one most guides leave out: find your level before you compare names.

Three questions in the style of the AML check, one at each level, with the answer explained. They were written for this page; the check asks different ones.

1. Foundation level: due diligence

A new business customer says it is owned by a holding company registered abroad. What does customer due diligence require next?

1. Record the holding company as the beneficial owner
2. Trace the ownership to the natural persons who own or control the customer
3. Ask the customer to simplify its ownership structure
4. Open the account and review the structure at the first periodic review

2. Practitioner level: monitoring and typologies

A long-standing retail customer receives three transfers from abroad in one week, far above her usual activity. Nothing else about the account has changed. What is the sound first step?

1. File a suspicious activity report on the three transfers
2. Review the account history and ask the customer about the transfers
3. Close the alert because the customer has a long history
4. Restrict the account until the customer visits a branch

3. Advanced level: risk

Your firm’s risk assessment rates a product as low risk, but alerts on it have doubled in six months. What should the MLRO do with that?

1. Keep the rating until the next scheduled review
2. Treat the rise as a trigger to reassess the product’s risk and its controls
3. Raise the alert thresholds to bring volumes back to their usual level
4. Report the increase to the financial intelligence unit

The check works the same way: short cases from real compliance work, and no trick questions.

The AML check has 10 practical questions. You choose your sector first; eight questions are the same for everyone and two follow your sector. Your result is shown across five areas.

What you get

Your level (foundation, practitioner or advanced), the areas to work on and a recommended certification. You enter your email at the end to receive your result.

More than 3,500 AML checks have been completed. Recent results show that experience and knowledge do not always move together.

The figures come from people who took the AML check, not from an industry survey.

If you manage a compliance team, take the AML check yourself, then share one link with the team. The team report opens once three people finish, and it shows the team’s levels and the areas to work on.

From there, a learning plan can follow the roles: AML Foundations (12 CPD hours) for new joiners, CASS (45 CPD hours) for specialists, CAPS (60 CPD hours) for the people who lead the function at a crypto firm.

The AML level test, and how it helps you choose a certification.