The RGE QCM: pass mark, how it works and how to prepare for it

Thirty questions, twenty-four correct answers required: the RGE QCM (questionnaire à choix multiples, the multiple-choice knowledge test) is the mandatory gateway for every technical referent in France’s energy-renovation scheme. It is what turns a course attended into skills validated — the nuance on which a company’s RGE qualification rests. Here is how the assessment works, what it tests and how to pass it first time.

What is the RGE QCM for?

The knowledge test was introduced by the French order of 1 December 2015 on RGE qualification criteria, since amended — notably by the orders of 3 June 2020 and 17 March 2025. Its function: to check that the company’s technical referent genuinely masters the fundamentals of energy renovation, beyond mere attendance.

This is no procedural detail. Public subsidies (MaPrimeRénov’, CEE certificates, the zero-interest eco-loan) rest on the actual quality of the works; the QCM is one of the few instruments in the scheme that measures an individual skill rather than a company process. A referent who fails must retake the assessment before their training counts — which can delay an entire qualification application.

Pass mark, format, procedure

The practical benchmarks:

• the usual threshold: 24 correct answers out of 30, i.e. 80% — well above the pass marks of most continuing-education assessments;
• the timing: since 1 October 2025, in the FEEBAT RENOPERF pathway, the RGE QCM concludes the one-day cross-cutting module “The keys to quality energy renovation” (under the former RENOVE module it fell at the end of day three);
• the topics: the main principles of high-performance renovation — the building’s thermal behaviour, interfaces between trades, regulation and subsidy schemes, quality of execution;
• if you fail: a new attempt is required; the practical arrangements (timing, resit) are set by the training provider within the scheme’s framework.

A note for companies in a hurry: some providers offer the QCM alone, without the course, for experienced profiles. The route exists, but its acceptance conditions depend on the qualification targeted and the qualification body — check before counting on it. For most referents, the full approved course remains the safest path.

Why 80% — and why that is rather good news

An 80% threshold may seem harsh for an assessment of about thirty questions. Yet it has a documented pedagogical virtue: it forces active engagement with the material. Learning research is clear on this — testing yourself improves retention far more than re-reading. The reference study by Henry Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke, published in 2006 in Psychological Science (“Test-enhanced learning: taking memory tests improves long-term retention”), shows that for equal study time, learners who are regularly tested retain markedly more after a week than those who simply re-read — even though the latter felt more confident.

Translated to the RGE QCM: a well-designed course does not “revise” for the QCM at the end of the day; it has trainees practise questions throughout. That is both the best preparation for the assessment and the best guarantee that the knowledge will survive the return to site.

Passing first time: the method

For trainees:

1. Arrive with the basic vocabulary (thermal resistance, thermal bridges, airtightness, ventilation): the cross-cutting day is dense and consolidates better than it introduces.
2. During the course, play along with the intermediate quizzes: every question missed during the day is a question won on the final QCM.
3. Beware of “obvious” questions: the QCM tests orders of magnitude and system logic (what happens if you insulate without ventilating?), not rote learning.

For training providers:

1. Structure the day around short sequences followed by questions — the testing effect works in your favour.
2. Track your pass rates session by session: an abnormal failure rate signals a problem with delivery or trainee intake, and it will show. Good practice in assessing learning outcomes fully applies here.
3. Do not “teach to the test”: besides the fact that questionnaires evolve, your responsibility in the scheme is to train competent referents, not calibrated candidates.

The QCM within the wider scheme

The QCM is only one link: it validates the referent, whose presence conditions the company’s qualification, itself granted for four years with an annual review by a qualification body such as Qualibat. And for the training provider, running the QCM presupposes being within the approved framework — programmes compliant with the official syllabus, control of training organisations, and Qualiopi certification to unlock funding. The whole picture is described on our page on RGE-approved training.

Take action

Whether you are a referent preparing for the test or a provider building sessions: the QCM is won upstream, through active training and a clean approval framework. Our RGE-approved training page details the full pathway — modules, assessment, funding — with a free ebook so you miss nothing.