Xactimate certification is Verisk's own credential for its estimating software: three user levels — Fundamentals, Proficiency and Mastery — each earned by passing a hands-on exam in the software itself.
Every level's exam was listed at USD 120.00 in Verisk's store as of October 2026, and a certification stays valid for two years.
This page explains what each level verifies, how the exam runs, and how to match a level to the desk you work.
What is Xactimate certification?
Xactimate certification is a user credential issued by Verisk, the software vendor behind the Xactimate estimating platform.
It certifies skill inside the software — not permission to perform any regulated work.
Verisk currently offers three levels of user certification, Level 1 through Level 3, and describes the program as a way to independently verify a user's product knowledge and proficiency.
Each level increases in difficulty, and Verisk treats each level as a prerequisite for the next.
That makes certification a ladder you climb in order rather than a menu you pick from.
The level names are Verisk's own: Level 1 is Xactimate Fundamentals, Level 2 is Xactimate Proficiency, and Level 3 is Xactimate Mastery.
Because it is a vendor credential, certification answers a different question than licensing does.
A state license, a contractor registration or an industry certification speaks to the work you are allowed to perform; an Xactimate certification speaks to how well you use one estimating tool.
Verisk also says that people who earn a user or trainer certification have their name listed in the matching certification directory, which the company positions as a way to market your credentials and expand your business.
If you are mapping the whole role — duties, estimating lanes, pay and the other credentials — the restoration estimator hub is the starting point.
Certification terms are Verisk's to change
What do Levels 1, 2, 3 verify?
Verisk defines each level by what the user can do in the software, and the descriptions climb the same ladder the prerequisites do.
| Level | Verisk's name | What it verifies |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Xactimate Fundamentals | The foundational skills to create an estimate from start to finish in Xactimate |
| Level 2 | Xactimate Proficiency | Power-user command of the fundamentals, plus intermediate techniques for productivity, efficiency and accuracy |
| Level 3 | Xactimate Mastery | Full mastery of the estimating system — an Xactimate subject matter expert, in Verisk's wording |
Level 1, Xactimate Fundamentals, verifies that a user has the foundational skills required to create an estimate from start to finish.
It is the base of the ladder: taking a loss from a blank file to a complete estimate inside the tool.
Level 2, Xactimate Proficiency, confirms the user has mastered those foundational concepts and works as a power user — applying intermediate practices to raise productivity, efficiency and accuracy.
Level 3, Xactimate Mastery, validates full mastery of the Xactimate estimating system, and Verisk's own wording says a holder can be considered an Xactimate subject matter expert.
The levels are cumulative by design.
Because each level is a prerequisite for the next, the skills tested at Level 2 assume the Level 1 material, and Level 3 assumes both.
One boundary worth keeping straight: these are user certifications, and Verisk notes that a Level 3 user certification does not by itself qualify someone as an Xactimate trainer.
Training other users is its own track with its own requirements.
How do you take the exam?
The exam itself runs through Verisk: you buy the exam for your level from Verisk's store, take it on your own copy of the software, and complete it inside a fixed window.
Each level's exam is listed at USD 120.00 on Verisk's store as of October 2026, and the store lists Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 at that same price.
The clock starts at purchase.
An exam must be completed within 12 months of purchase, and Verisk's certification guide says an exam may be taken once within that year — one purchase, one attempt.
You need the software too.
Candidates sit the exam in their own locally installed or online copy of the most recent Xactimate version, so access to an Xactimate license is part of the arrangement.
Verisk's guide does not say whether a trial license qualifies, so confirm that with Verisk before you book if you are not on a full subscription.
Every level's exam has the same three-part shape: an untimed Sketch and Scope Lab, a timed 30-question Practical Exam, and a timed 30-question Knowledge Exam.
Each section requires 70% to pass.
The Sketch and Scope Lab is the hands-on part — you build an estimate in your own Xactimate install, and you can exit and return to it before the scored sections begin.
Verisk's guide puts the Level 1 and Level 2 labs in the 60–120 minute range and the Level 3 lab in the 120–240 minute range.
The Practical Exam is timed: 30 questions about the estimate you just built, drawn from its scope, quantities, dimensions and pricing.
The Knowledge Exam is timed as well: 30 multiple-choice, true/false and matching questions, which Verisk's guide puts in the 30–90 minute range.
Verisk publishes no retake waiting period, and its materials do not state a separate retake price — if a section does not go your way, check the current retake terms with Verisk before you plan around one.
On prep, Verisk lists its own options: the Xactimate Fundamentals and Proficiency eLearning course, instructor-led classes in self-paced, virtual or classroom formats, training workbooks, and a two-hour one-on-one online preparation course with a Verisk certified trainer.
Separately, Verisk says an annual Xactimate subscription includes more than 100 hours of self-paced online training.
Class providers, formats and prices belong to the learning side of the decision — the Xactimate training guide covers them.
The certification side is whether the exam terms above still hold when you buy.
How long is it valid?
Two clocks matter, and they are easy to confuse.
The first is the exam window: an Xactimate certification exam must be completed within 12 months of purchase, with a single attempt inside that year.
The second is the credential: once you pass, the certification is valid for two years.
Renewal is the part the materials we read do not settle: Verisk's certification guide states the two-year validity but does not lay out renewal steps for the user credential.
Confirm the current renewal process with Verisk well before your two years run out.
If you are timing a certification around a job search or a review cycle, work backward from both clocks: 12 months to test after you buy, then two years of validity on the credential itself.
Which level do estimators, PMs and coordinators need?
Verisk defines the levels by skill, and its published descriptions talk about what the user can do in the software rather than naming restoration job titles.
Matching a level to a role is a judgment about how much of the estimating work you personally do.
For a restoration estimator, the mapping is the most direct, because estimating is the job.
Level 1's start-to-finish verification describes the baseline of writing a complete estimate; Level 2's productivity, efficiency and accuracy techniques describe a desk producing estimates continuously; Level 3 marks the depth end of the trade.
For a restoration project manager, the credential matters wherever the PM touches estimates directly — reviewing an estimator's scope, walking a job file with an adjuster, or writing estimates where the role includes that.
The same ladder applies, measured by how much estimating the PM actually performs.
The restoration project manager career guide covers that side of the desk.
For coordinators and other office roles that move estimate documents rather than build them, the levels work mostly as a shared vocabulary — knowing what Fundamentals, Proficiency and Mastery certify when the credential shows up on a resume or in a job file.
Keep two practical notes in mind.
First, employer expectations belong to employers: when a posting or a manager names a specific level, treat it as that company's own hiring bar and confirm with them how they weight it.
Second, cost: employers handle certification expenses their own way, so ask whether your employer covers exams or prep before you pay out of pocket.
And one boundary to close on: Level 3 does not make you an Xactimate trainer.
Verisk is explicit that a Level 3 user certification alone does not qualify someone as a trainer — training is its own credential track.
Career information, not licensing, legal, insurance, health, safety or tax advice. Certification levels, fees, exam terms and renewals are set by Verisk — confirm them with Verisk before you buy an exam or list the credential.