Certification guide
ITIL 4 Specialist: Collaborate, Assure and Improve is a Practice Manager module that examines five ITIL practices in one 60-question paper, and the strongest reason to sit it in 2026 has nothing to do with ITIL 4 at all: it is currently the official route into the ITIL Version 5 Practice Manager designation. PeopleCert’s Version 5 Practice modules have not shipped, and until they do, the Practice requirement in the Version 5 pathway is satisfied by one of the existing ITIL 4 Practice Manager modules. A pass here therefore counts in the scheme being retired and in the scheme replacing it, which makes it about the most durable credential ITIL 4 still has to offer.
The five practices are the ones that sit at the organisation’s edges rather than inside its delivery pipeline: relationship management, supplier management, service level management, continual improvement and information security management. Their common thread is assurance through other people, customers, suppliers, and the parts of your own organisation you do not control. Each is examined through the same practice model: key concepts, processes and activities, roles and competences, how information and technology enable the practice, the role of partners and suppliers, how the ITIL capability model develops it, and the recommendations for its success.
Structurally the paper is flat by design. Five sections, one per practice, 12 marks and exactly 20% each. That symmetry is a genuine study advantage, because it removes the guesswork: no section can be safely skipped, none dominates, and study time divides evenly without you having to reverse-engineer a blueprint. It also removes a familiar escape route. On a weighted paper a bad domain can be absorbed by a good one; with 39 of 60 needed to pass, one practice you skipped puts you twelve marks down before you start.
Scheme status. PeopleCert released ITIL Version 5 in February 2026, and the current plan is to sunset all ITIL 4 modules on 31 December 2027. Collaborate, Assure and Improve is live and examinable today, and a certificate earned now remains valid, renews on the normal three-year cycle, and still counts as a prerequisite for higher Version 5 modules. Most importantly, this module is currently the official route into the ITIL Version 5 Practice Manager designation. PeopleCert plans re-versioned Version 5 Practice modules and has said they will become the route once available, but they are not yet released. Those Version 5 papers are currently indicated as open book, where this ITIL 4 paper is closed book, so the exam technique will change even where the subject matter carries over.
Level · Practice Manager 60 questions 90 minutes 113 minutes if English is not your first language Pass · 39 of 60 · 65% Multiple choice, closed book, no negative marking Prerequisites · ITIL Foundation (any version) or an ITIL 4 Managing Professional certificate Accredited training is mandatory Renew every 3 years · 60 CPD points From $650 USD exam bundle (list $867)
Sixty multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, one mark each, no negative marking, a blank scores exactly what a wrong answer scores, so answer everything. Thirty-nine correct answers pass, which is 65%; the ITIL 4 Managing Professional modules are stricter, asking 70% of a 40-question paper, so this exam gives you more room to be wrong but far more questions in which to do it. Ninety minutes across 60 questions is 90 seconds each, and the constraint that bites is indecision rather than reading speed. Candidates sitting in a language that is not their first receive an additional 25% of time, giving 113 minutes. The paper is closed book, the official practice guides are not with you in the exam.
Accredited training is mandatory for this module. It cannot be sat on self-study alone: PeopleCert requires training through an Accredited Training Organization or its official eLearning, and results are withheld without proof of completion. That is a real cost on top of the exam bundle and a real constraint on when you can sit, so plan the course first and the exam date second.
Relationship Management
Section 1 · 20%Twelve marks on the practice that keeps stakeholders aligned when interests diverge. Identifying and segmenting stakeholders, establishing and maintaining relationships at the right level, handling competing demands, and collecting and acting on feedback. The examinable point is that relationship management works on the whole relationship rather than on individual transactions, questions typically describe a recurring friction and ask what the practice does about the pattern, not about the incident.
Supplier Management
Section 2 · 20%Sourcing strategy and supplier segmentation, evaluation and selection, contracts and the negotiation of them, ongoing performance management, and the exit that every arrangement eventually needs. Expect the exam to press on where accountability sits: outsourcing an activity never outsources responsibility for the service, and several questions in this section turn on candidates who assume otherwise. The interface with service level management is examined too, since supplier targets have to support the commitments made to customers rather than merely coexist with them.
Service Level Management
Section 3 · 20%Setting targets that describe the service as the customer experiences it, negotiating and agreeing them, and monitoring, reporting and reviewing performance against them. The framework’s own emphasis is on why watermelon reporting happens, green metrics over a red experience, and on service level agreements written in outcome terms rather than component terms. Practical items here often hand you a set of metrics and ask which one actually tells you whether the customer is being served.
Continual Improvement
Section 4 · 20%The continual improvement model and its seven questions, the improvement register, prioritising and measuring improvements, and embedding improvement as a habit rather than a project. This section is deceptively easy to under-prepare because the model looks like common sense on the page; the exam tests the order and purpose of the steps, particularly the two most frequently skipped in practice, establishing where you are now with baselines, and checking afterwards whether the change achieved anything.
Information Security Management
Section 5 · 20%Confidentiality, integrity and availability as the outcomes the practice protects, security policy and controls, risk assessment and treatment, incident handling, and the balance between protection and the friction it introduces. ITIL’s angle is managerial rather than technical: the examinable material is how security is governed and integrated with other practices, not how a control is configured. Questions frequently ask which practice owns a described security activity, so keep the boundary with incident management and with supplier management clear.
A free 15-question Collaborate, Assure and Improve sample is live now, three questions from each of the five practices, mirroring the paper’s flat 20% weights, scored instantly with a per-practice breakdown and no account needed. Full-length practice sets are in development and will mirror the exam’s arithmetic exactly: 60 questions per set, 12 drawn from each practice, marked at the 39-of-60 threshold the live exam uses, because a softer practice pass mark just moves the disappointment to exam day. Questions are original throughout, written to test whether you can apply a practice to a situation rather than repeat its definition.
Frequently asked questions about ITIL 4 Collaborate, Assure and Improve
What is ITIL 4 Specialist: Collaborate, Assure and Improve?
It is a Practice Manager module in PeopleCert’s ITIL 4 scheme that bundles five ITIL practices into a single exam: relationship management, supplier management, service level management, continual improvement and information security management. It counts toward the ITIL 4 Practice Manager designation, and it is currently the route into the ITIL Version 5 Practice Manager designation.
How many questions are on the exam and how long is it?
Sixty multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, each worth one mark, with no negative marking. Candidates sitting the exam in a language that is not their first receive an additional 25% of time, giving 113 minutes.
What is the passing score?
Thirty-nine of 60, which is 65%. That is lower than the 70% required by the ITIL 4 Managing Professional modules, which are 40-question papers. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so never leave a question blank.
What are the prerequisites?
ITIL Foundation (any version) or an ITIL 4 Managing Professional certificate. Accredited training is also mandatory for this module.
Do I really have to take accredited training?
Yes. This is not a self-study exam. Training must be taken through an Accredited Training Organization or PeopleCert’s official eLearning, and PeopleCert withholds results without proof of completion. Treat it as part of the cost and part of the schedule, not an optional add-on.
What are the syllabus sections and their weights?
Five sections, one per practice, each carrying 12 marks and exactly 20% of the paper: relationship management, supplier management, service level management, continual improvement, and information security management. Because the weights are identical, no section can be skipped and none dominates.
How does it differ from Plan, Implement and Control?
Same tier, same format and the same 60-question, 90-minute, 65% paper, different practices. Plan, Implement and Control covers the change and control practices: IT asset management, change enablement, deployment management, release management and service configuration management. This module covers the relationship and assurance practices. Either one satisfies the Practice requirement on its own, so choose the five practices closest to your work.
Does this exam count toward the Practice Manager designation?
Yes, in both schemes, but the requirements differ. ITIL 4 Practice Manager requires ITIL 4 Foundation, ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support, and five practices, which this single module supplies. ITIL Practice Manager (Version 5) requires ITIL Foundation (Version 5), one Practice module, and ITIL Transformation, and it does not require Create, Deliver and Support. Work out which designation you are aiming at before committing to the Create, Deliver and Support course.
Is this module being replaced under ITIL Version 5?
PeopleCert plans re-versioned Version 5 Practice modules and has said they will become the route to the designation once available, but they have not been released. Until then this ITIL 4 module is the route. The Version 5 papers are currently indicated as open book, where this one is closed book, so expect a different exam technique even where the content overlaps.
Should I sit it now, given the 31 December 2027 sunset?
The sunset governs the availability of ITIL 4 modules, not certificates already earned. A pass now stays valid, renews on the normal three-year cycle with 60 CPD points, and still counts as a prerequisite for higher Version 5 modules, and today it is the only available way to meet the Version 5 Practice Manager requirement. That is the strongest argument for sitting it sooner rather than waiting for a module with no announced release date.
Trademark notice & independence. Certifym.net is operated by Certifym Exam Services, LLC and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by PeopleCert. ITIL® is a registered trade mark of PeopleCert group companies, used here only to identify the certification these study materials are intended for. The ITIL 4 Specialist: Collaborate, Assure and Improve syllabus and its section weights are the property of PeopleCert; candidates should always confirm the current syllabus, exam format, pricing and scheme dates directly with PeopleCert before booking, as scheme details and the announced ITIL 4 sunset arrangements may change.
All questions, answers, and explanations on Certifym are original content written for practice purposes. They are not actual PeopleCert examination questions and are not represented as such. Practicing with these materials does not guarantee a passing result on any live certification exam.