- CHTI stands for Certified Human Trafficking Investigator, issued by the McAfee Institute.
- The exam is online-proctored, closed-book, three hours, with a published 70% passing threshold.
- Exam-only costs US$450 for one attempt; the course bundle with 31 CPE hours costs US$1,497.
- Eligibility needs a degree plus one or two relevant years, or high-school equivalency plus four.
What the CHTI Credential Is
CHTI stands for Certified Human Trafficking Investigator. It is a professional credential built around the investigative side of anti-trafficking work: recognizing trafficking, developing leads, preserving evidence, supporting victims, working across agencies, and documenting findings in a form that holds up professionally. If you have seen the same four letters attached to other credentials in unrelated fields, set those aside. This article covers only the investigator certification offered through the McAfee Institute.
The credential is not a degree and not a law-enforcement academy. It is a competency-based certification: you demonstrate applied knowledge by passing a final assessment, and you maintain the credential over time through renewal. For a quick definitional primer, see our short explainers on what CHTI is and what CHTI stands for; this guide goes deeper into how the certification actually works.
Who Issues It and Why That Matters
The certification is issued by the McAfee Institute, a training and certification provider focused on investigative, intelligence, and related professional disciplines. The issuer matters for three practical reasons:
- Exam delivery rules come from the issuer: online proctoring, identity checks, and webcam requirements are set by its policies.
- Eligibility rules are written by the issuer, including a narrower definition of who may sit the exam without taking the course.
- Renewal policy is the issuer's, so fees and continuing-education expectations should always be confirmed with them directly.
Eligibility Routes
The CHTI uses an education-plus-experience model. There are three published routes:
| Education Level | Relevant Experience Required |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | One relevant year |
| Associate degree | Two relevant years |
| High school diploma or equivalent | Four relevant years |
The exam-only restriction
This is the detail candidates most often miss. The exam-only product is intended for people with official investigative or intelligence responsibilities. It excludes a number of private, nonprofit, volunteer, and advocacy roles. Broader marketing language around the training course does not override that restriction. If your role is ambiguous, for example a private-sector or nonprofit position with investigative duties, the issuer's guidance is that you should obtain written approval before relying on the exam-only route.
A background and conduct policy also applies. Qualified applicants may self-study rather than take the course. For a fuller breakdown of how to qualify and document your experience, read our guide to CHTI requirements, eligibility, and prerequisites.
The Exam: Format, Time, and Scoring
The final assessment is an online-proctored examination of program competencies and applied knowledge. What is firmly established for the CHTI:
- Time limit: three hours, taken in a single sitting.
- Closed-book: reference materials are not permitted.
- Passing threshold: 70%. This is the published final-exam threshold, not an observed pass rate.
- Attempts: the exam-only purchase includes one attempt.
- Proctoring and identity: online proctoring with identity and webcam checks.
What is not publicly confirmed
Candidates often ask for an exact question count, a scored/unscored split, or the proportion of multiple-choice to scenario items. The issuer's general license policy mentions roughly 200 questions and mixed formats such as multiple-choice, true/false, and scenarios, but those are general-license statements, not authenticated CHTI-specific specifications. The exact question count, item-format mix, proctoring vendor configuration, and complete weighted blueprint remain unverified in current public sources. Plan for scenario-style reasoning, but do not budget your preparation around a number you cannot confirm.
The Eleven Content Areas
The issuer has not published a complete, weighted exam blueprint, and the full list of the course's 13 module titles is not disclosed in public text. What the issuer's current curriculum narrative does name are the subject areas below. We group them into eleven unweighted preparation categories. These are an editorial organization of publicly named topics, not an official blueprint, and they should not be confused with the 13 advertised course modules. Our complete guide to all 11 content areas expands on each.
Domains 1-3: Definitions, Dynamics, and Indicators
The conceptual foundation. You need precise definitions, an understanding of how trafficking operates, and the ability to recognize its signs.
- Distinguishing trafficking from related offenses, such as smuggling
- Victim dynamics: trauma, coercion, dependency, and fear
- Identifying and corroborating fragmented indicators rather than waiting for a single obvious sign
Domains 4-6: Investigative Methods, Open-Source Research, and Deep-Web Awareness
The tradecraft layer. Expect applied questions about how leads become cases.
- Developing investigative leads and intelligence from partial information
- Open-source research methods and sound documentation of what you find
- Awareness of deep-web environments and why they matter to trafficking investigations
- Considerations around interviews, victim safety, and legal requirements
Domain 7: Victim Support
Investigators are expected to work in a trauma-aware way, not just collect facts.
- Trauma-aware interaction with victims
- Legal and resource coordination so victims are connected to appropriate services
- How victim safety intersects with investigative decisions
Domains 8-9: Federal Law and Interagency Coordination
The legal and organizational frame around every case.
- Applying federal law, including relevant visa provisions
- Coordinating federal, state, and local partners
- Cross-jurisdictional case development, where responsibility rarely sits with one agency
Domains 10-11: Evidence Development and Professional Reporting
Where an investigation either becomes defensible or falls apart.
- Preserving digital and physical evidence properly
- Documenting findings clearly
- Preparing defensible professional reports
Key Takeaway
Because official weights are unpublished, do not over-invest in any single area. Treat the eleven categories as a coverage checklist: you want a working command of all of them, with extra time spent where your own professional background is thinnest.
Course Bundle vs. Exam-Only
There are two purchase paths, and they differ in more than price.
| Feature | Exam-Only | Course Bundle |
|---|---|---|
| Price | US$450 | US$1,497 |
| Exam attempt | One included | Included with the one-year exam license |
| Proctoring | Included | Included |
| Exam license | One year | One year |
| Course or study guide access | Not included | Lifetime learning access |
| Training volume | None | 31 hours, 31 CPE |
| Course structure | None | 13 modules advertised |
| Intended audience | Official investigative or intelligence roles | Broader |
Two clarifications prevent common mistakes. First, the 31 hours and 31 CPE credits describe the training, not the exam length or number of questions. The exam is three hours. Second, a one-year exam license and lifetime course access do not establish how long the credential itself lasts; that is governed by renewal policy, covered next. For the full cost picture, including renewal, see our CHTI certification cost breakdown and our overview of CHTI training.
Renewal and the Licensing Clock
The certification renews on a two-year cycle. The general license fee is US$125, and the Department of Defense directory reports 25 CPE per cycle for this credential. Because those figures come from general and directory sources rather than a CHTI-specific renewal page, confirm the current issuer-specific CPE requirement and fee before you plan around them.
The practical point: your initial exam license (one year) and your credential cycle (two years) are separate clocks. Schedule your exam within the license window, and treat renewal as a standing professional obligation rather than a one-time event. Our exam dates and scheduling guide covers the booking mechanics.
Who Pursues This Credential
The exam-only eligibility language points to the core audience: people with official investigative or intelligence responsibilities. In practice, the people who benefit most are professionals whose casework can intersect with trafficking, such as law-enforcement investigators, analysts working on interagency task forces, and others whose duties involve building cases that cross jurisdictions.
The broader course path is marketed to a wider group, but remember that wider marketing does not change exam-only eligibility. If your goal is a role change, research the specific positions you want and see whether they list the credential. We cover that on our CHTI jobs page. We deliberately avoid quoting earnings figures here because no verified CHTI-specific compensation data supports a precise number; our salary guide and ROI analysis discuss how to evaluate value qualitatively.
Sequencing Your Preparation by Domain
You can generate a generic study schedule anywhere; a better approach is ordering your weeks around how the CHTI content builds on itself. One reasonable sequence for a six-week effort:
Foundations
- Definitions, dynamics, and indicators (Domains 1-3)
- Why first: every later topic assumes you can classify what you are looking at
Investigative tradecraft
- Investigative methods, open-source research, deep-web awareness (Domains 4-6)
Victim-centered practice
- Victim support (Domain 7), revisiting trauma and coercion dynamics from Week 1
Legal and organizational frame
- Federal law and interagency coordination (Domains 8-9)
Case-readiness
- Evidence development and professional reporting (Domains 10-11)
Integration
- Timed, closed-book scenario practice across all eleven areas
Because the exam is three hours and closed-book, the final week should simulate those conditions. Our CHTI study guide covers resources in more depth, and the cheat sheet works well for last-day review. To judge difficulty honestly before committing, read how hard the CHTI exam is, then test yourself with scenario questions on our CHTI practice test platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
CHTI stands for Certified Human Trafficking Investigator, a certification issued by the McAfee Institute. It covers the investigative, legal, victim-support, and reporting aspects of anti-trafficking work. See our pages on CHTI meaning and what a CHTI is for more.
The exam is three hours, closed-book, and taken in a single online-proctored sitting. The published passing threshold is 70%. The exact question count and item-format mix are not confirmed in current CHTI-specific public sources.
Qualified applicants may self-study and buy the exam-only product for US$450, which includes one attempt, proctoring, and a one-year exam license. However, the exam-only route is intended for people in official investigative or intelligence roles, and ambiguous private or nonprofit roles need written approval from the issuer.
The routes are a bachelor's degree or higher plus one relevant year, an associate degree plus two relevant years, or a high school diploma or equivalent plus four relevant years. A background and conduct policy also applies.
The certification renews on a two-year cycle. The general fee is US$125, and a DoD directory reports 25 CPE per cycle. Confirm the current issuer-specific CPE and fee policy, since the one-year exam license and lifetime course access do not define the credential's renewal period.