CCAT Test: The Complete Guide
Last updated: October 2026
The CCAT (Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test) is a 50-question, 15-minute multiple-choice pre-employment test covering verbal, numerical, and spatial reasoning. That is about 18 seconds per question, and there is no penalty for wrong answers. Almost nobody finishes it, so your score is decided by pacing, not knowledge.
TL;DR
- 50 questions, 15 minutes. Hard clock, no backtracking between sections.
- No wrong-answer penalty. A blank is strictly worse than a guess. Always answer everything.
- You are not supposed to finish. Roughly 24 to 35 correct out of 50 is a strong result for most employers.
- The percentile matters, not the raw score. Each employer sets its own cutoff.
- It is a speed test. The content is school-level; the difficulty is the clock.
Format at a glance
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Vendor | Criteria Corp |
| Questions | 50 multiple choice |
| Time limit | 15 minutes |
| Time per question | ~18 seconds |
| Question types | Verbal, numerical, spatial (figural) |
| Difficulty order | Increases through the test |
| Wrong-answer penalty | None |
| Scoring | Raw correct count, reported as a percentile vs. working adults |
| Retakes | Usually one, at the employer's discretion |
| Employers using it | ~7,000, concentrated in PE-backed software |
How scoring works
The CCAT reports two numbers: a raw score (how many of the 50 you got right) and a percentile rank against Criteria's norm group of working adults. There is no official pass mark. Each employer picks a cutoff, so the percentile is the number that actually decides anything.
Reported cutoffs cluster into tiers. Vista Equity portfolio companies commonly set a 70th-percentile floor, 80th for product and strategy roles, and 85th for executive. Other private-equity-backed employers sit at 60th to 70th. Direct mid-market employers are usually 50th to 60th. Crossover runs around the 80th across roles.
In raw terms, the 70th percentile lands roughly in the low 30s out of 50, which is why chasing "finish all 50" is a trap. Full breakdown: CCAT score guide.
Start with these
CCAT Practice Test
Free full-format 50-question, 15-minute simulation with strict mode and per-question explanations.
ScoringCCAT Score Guide
What your raw score and percentile actually mean, and what each employer tier wants.
EmployersCompanies That Use the CCAT
The full 2026 employer list, the Vista portfolio, and reported cutoffs by company type.
MethodologyHow We Build Our Questions
Our question standards, difficulty calibration, and why everything is original content.
Guides by employer
If you have an invite, start with the employer's own page. Each one covers their reported cutoff, what the process looks like, and how to confirm the test format.
Crossover
Screens nearly every applicant; commonly cited floor is an 80th-percentile report.
E-commerceShopify
Uses Criteria assessments for some roles. First-hand invite breakdown.
InsuranceVertafore
Vista portfolio. Insurance software.
FintechFinastra
Vista portfolio. Financial software.
EdtechPowerSchool
Vista portfolio. Education software.
DataTIBCO
Vista portfolio. Data integration.
EventsCvent
Vista portfolio. Event management software.
FinOpsApptio
Vista portfolio. Technology business management.
ITJAMF
Vista portfolio. Apple device management.
ITDatto
Vista portfolio, now Kaseya. Backup and MSP tooling.
CloudLogicMonitor
Vista portfolio. Cloud monitoring.
EdtechEAB
Vista portfolio. Education consulting.
AutoSolera
Vista portfolio. Automotive and insurance data.
SecurityPing Identity
Vista portfolio. Identity security.
HealthGreenway Health
Vista portfolio. Healthcare software.
SaaSWrike
Vista portfolio. Project management.
SaaSGainsight
Vista portfolio. Customer success.
EdtechPluralsight
Vista portfolio. Technology learning.
Low-codeQuick Base
Vista portfolio. Low-code platform.
AdtechMediaocean
Vista portfolio. Advertising operations.
GovtechGranicus
Vista portfolio. Government software.
MarTechDrift
Vista portfolio. Conversational marketing.
MarTechMarketo
Now Adobe. Some teams still screen with it.
ServicesComputer Aid (CAI)
Direct adopter. IT services.
Who uses the CCAT, and why
Roughly 7,000 employers administer the CCAT through Criteria Corp. The single largest block is Vista Equity Partners' software portfolio — Vista standardized cognitive screening across 50+ companies, and many kept it after being sold or taken public, because hiring playbooks have inertia.
It is nearly absent in FAANG-tier big tech. Amazon and Google run their own interview loops and do not use commercial cognitive screens like the CCAT. Outside the Vista portfolio, the test shows up in Thoma Bravo, KKR, and Insight portfolios, plus a long tail of mid-market insurance, banking, healthcare, and IT-services employers.
The other Criteria test: the UCAT
Criteria also publishes the UCAT — 40 questions in 20 minutes, about 30 seconds each. Same question families and the same no-penalty scoring, but a noticeably gentler clock. If your invite says 40 questions or 20 minutes, you have the UCAT, not the CCAT.
Criteria UCAT Test
What it is, how it differs from the CCAT, and 40-in-20 practice sets.
EmployersPrivate Equity and the CCAT
Thoma Bravo, KKR, and Insight portfolio companies that screen with it.
How to prepare
- Practice under a real 15-minute clock. Untimed question lists do not train the thing being tested. The pacing is the whole ballgame.
- Adopt a skip rule. If a question has not clicked in about 30 seconds, guess and move on. Two minutes on one question costs you five others.
- Guess everything at the end. With no wrong-answer penalty, the final two minutes are free points.
- Drill the spatial series. Figural questions eat the most time. Rotation direction, element count, number of sides, and overlay rules cover most of them.
- Do two or three full-length runs. That is usually enough to move from the 50th to the 70th percentile band.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the CCAT?
50 multiple-choice questions in 15 minutes, about 18 seconds per question. It covers verbal, numerical, and spatial reasoning, and the questions get harder as you go.
Do you lose points for wrong answers?
No. The CCAT scores by raw count of correct answers with no wrong-answer penalty, so an unanswered question is strictly worse than a guess. Never leave a blank.
What is a good CCAT score?
There is no universal pass mark. Each employer sets its own percentile cutoff, commonly 70th for PE-backed software companies and 50th to 60th for mid-market employers. Roughly 24 to 35 correct out of 50 is already a strong band, and the 70th percentile lands around the low 30s.
Can you finish the CCAT?
Almost nobody does, and the test is calibrated that way. Treat it as triage: answer what you can quickly, cap any single question at about 30 seconds, then guess the remainder in the final minutes.
Is the CCAT an IQ test?
It is a cognitive aptitude test in the same family as a timed IQ screen, but it is designed for hiring, not diagnosis. It correlates with rapid job-task learning reasonably well, and it also screens out plenty of capable people who think before they answer. That is a property of the format, not a verdict on you.
How many times can you take the CCAT?
Usually once, with a possible proctored retake at the employer's discretion. Some employers allow a retake after a set period, typically six months. Ask the recruiter before assuming.
Who uses the CCAT?
About 7,000 employers, through Criteria Corp. It is dominant in private-equity-backed enterprise software, especially Vista Equity Partners companies, and common in mid-market fintech, healthtech, and edtech. Amazon and Google do not use it.
Feel the clock before test day
Free full-format CCAT simulation. 50 questions, 15 minutes, strict mode, no account needed.
Start the free testRelated: CCAT practice test, CCAT score guide, companies that use the CCAT, Criteria UCAT, our question methodology.