The Canadian Construction Association’s (CCA) Gold Seal Certification program establishes, administers and continuously improves national professional certification standards for construction management; certifies construction management professionals working in the industrial, commercial, institutional and civil infrastructure sectors against these national standards; AND promotes accredited education and training for construction management professionals. Gold Seal Certified (GSC) construction management professionals have attained the highest standard of excellence in the industry, have proven industry experience and are held in the highest regard. Companies that employ GSC professionals are seen as leaders for their commitment to quality and excellence through education, training, and continual skill development.
When you meet the Gold Seal expectations of excellence, you receive a Gold Seal Certificate attesting to your success. But the certification means so much more than that:
You demonstrate excellence through certified experience and nationally-recognized validation of your skills, competence and knowledge.
You keep pace with the industry through professional development, skills development, leadership development and other ongoing education and growth.
You build trust by gaining valuable ethics knowledge.
You are empowered by building confidence through real-world experience, constant improvement and peer recognition.
The Gold Seal Certification exam is offered 5 times each year: in January, April, June, September and November. See below for upcoming dates and important information.
General Exam Information
To write the exam, you must first enroll into the Gold Seal Certification program and be approved as a Gold Seal Intern (GSI). As a GSI, you have up to 5 years to meet the requirements, submit your GSC application and be approved to challenge the Gold Seal exam. Only those whose GSC application was approved will be invited to select their exam date.
Note that the approved and conditionally approved applicants must challenge the Gold Seal exam within a year from the application approval date.
Exam prep webinars are offered 2 weeks before the exam. Registration links are listed below.
One week before the exam, you will receive an email confirming the date, time and process for the exam, as well as the login information for the exam platform. If you need to reschedule your exam, you can do so by filling out this form. If you fail to take the exam on the selected date, you must book a re-write for $125 (plus applicable taxes).
The exam will only be available a few minutes before noon. If you begin your exam before the scheduled start time (noon EST), your exam will be reset, and you will be required to begin again.
The exams will be written at the applicants’ homes or offices.
The Estimator, Foreman, and Safety practitioner exams are each 3 hours in length, with 150 questions.
The Owner’s construction manager, Project manager, and Superintendent exams are each 3.5 hours in length, with 180 questions.
Passing mark is anything above 70% (effective April 22, 2022). The results are final.
If you passed, your certificate will be shipped within 4 weeks.
If you fail the exam, you can book a re-write date using this form for $125. There is no limit to the number of times you can re-write the exam.
Mandatory Training for Gold Seal Certification
All Designations: Construction Industry Ethics Course All Applicants must have a minimum of 2 credits in one of the following areas as part of their education requirement:
Estimators: Measuring construction work, drawings and specifications, construction contracts, pricing/bidding, construction documents, regulatory codes, scheduling, or communication.
Superintendents: Management of human resources in the construction industry, construction jobsite controls and planning and scheduling.
Project Managers/Owner’s Construction Managers: Law and contracts in the construction industry, construction planning and scheduling, project management and project costing control/accounting.
Foremen: Construction 101 and Leadership in Safety Excellence.