What is the GARP SCR exam?
The Sustainability and Climate Risk certificate is GARP's credential for professionals whose work touches climate and nature risk. It covers the physical science of climate change, sustainability frameworks, green and sustainable finance instruments, the measurement and management of climate risk, scenario analysis, net zero, nature risk assessment, and transition planning and carbon reporting.
It is a certificate rather than a designation, which is a distinction GARP is careful about: the FRM is its only designation, and people who pass this exam are SCR Certificate Holders rather than being 'SCR-certified'. Practically, that means one exam, no work-experience requirement and a much shorter commitment than the FRM.
The exam is deliberately not highly quantitative. It rewards breadth of understanding across policy, science and finance rather than modelling skill, which makes it accessible to people coming from sustainability, policy or reporting backgrounds as well as from risk.
Who sits it
- Risk professionals adding climate and sustainability to their remit
- Sustainability, ESG and corporate reporting teams who need the financial risk vocabulary
- FRM holders broadening into climate risk, who also get a reduced exam fee
- Regulators, consultants and analysts working on transition planning and disclosure
Exam format at a glance
- Type
- A certificate, not a designation. GARP's only designation is the FRM
- Questions
- 80 equally weighted multiple-choice questions, including one multi-part case study
- Duration
- Up to 4 hours
- Delivery
- Pearson VUE, either at a test centre or online proctored
- Exam windows
- Twice a year, in April and October
- Fees (USD)
- Around $550–650 early and $650–750 standard depending on membership; FRM and SCR holders pay the lowest tier. Retakes are $350
- Prerequisites
- None. No work experience is required
- Passing standard
- Reported as pass or fail with quartile feedback; GARP does not publish a numeric passing score
- Pass rate
- GARP reports recent pass rates on its own exam page
- Recommended study
- GARP estimates 100–150 hours
- Holders
- About 7,000, from roughly 14,000 candidates since 2022
Exam-body facts last checked September 2026. Fees, dates and formats change; confirm the current details with Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) before registering.
Syllabus and topic weights
GARP publishes the number of questions drawn from each chapter inside its downloadable study guide rather than percentage weights on its public pages, so no percentages are shown here.
- 1.Foundations of Climate Change
- 2.Sustainability
- 3.Climate Change Risk
- 4.Sustainability and Climate Policy, Culture, and Governance
- 5.Green and Sustainable Finance: Markets and Instruments
- 6.Climate Risk Measurement and Management
- 7.Climate Models and Scenario Analysis
- 8.Net Zero
- 9.Climate and Nature Risk Assessment
- 10.Transition Planning and Carbon Reporting
How to prepare for GARP SCR
- 1
Treat it as a reading exam rather than a modelling one. There is very little to calculate, and the marks go to understanding frameworks, policy and terminology precisely.
- 2
Work from GARP's own curriculum, which is included in the registration fee along with two practice exams and its climate scenario tool.
- 3
Pay attention to the disclosure and reporting chapters. Transition planning and carbon reporting is the most operationally detailed material and the part most likely to be unfamiliar if you come from a pure risk background.
- 4
Budget 100 to 150 hours across the months before a window. There are only two sittings a year, so a missed window is a six-month delay.
- 5
If you already hold the FRM, check the fee tier before registering; holders pay the lowest rate.
We don't cover GARP SCR yet
We have no SCR study material and none planned. If you are coming to climate risk from a general risk background, our FRM Part 1 and Part 2 material covers the risk governance, scenario analysis and stress-testing concepts the SCR curriculum assumes, and GARP gives FRM holders a reduced SCR exam fee.
GARP SCR FAQ
Is the SCR a designation like the FRM?
No. GARP is explicit that the FRM is its only designation. Passing the SCR exam makes you an SCR Certificate Holder, and there is no work-experience requirement.
How hard is it compared with the FRM?
Considerably less demanding. It is one exam of 80 questions rather than two of 100 and 80, it is not heavily quantitative, and GARP suggests 100 to 150 hours against roughly 240 per FRM part.
Does GARP publish a passing score?
No. Results are reported as pass or fail, with feedback on which quartile you fell into relative to other candidates.
Does StudyOptima have SCR questions?
No, and none are planned at present. Our FRM material covers the risk-management foundations the SCR builds on, including governance and scenario analysis.