ICDL Image Editing (ICDL)
ICDL Image Editing
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Cheat sheet
Keep the key ideas within reach.
ExploreKey terms
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ExploreStudy plan
Give each week a clear focus.
ExploreCommon mistakes
Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
ExploreCase studies
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ExploreExam-day guide
Prepare for the day ahead.
ExploreAbout this exam
ICDL Image Editing is a practical certification that tests whether you can work confidently with digital images in a standard image editing application - opening and saving files in appropriate formats, adjusting tone and colour, making selections, working with layers, retouching and correcting common defects, combining images, and preparing finished output for screen or print. It suits office and administrative staff, marketing and social media assistants, teachers, students and anyone who produces visual material as part of their work and wants a recognised, vendor-neutral benchmark rather than a certificate tied to one software brand. The assessment is designed to be hands-on: alongside knowledge-based questions you are typically asked to perform real tasks in an image editing application and save the results, so the strongest preparation is guided practice on your own files rather than reading alone. Work through the syllabus areas in order, learn the tools your application provides for each, and build speed on routine operations such as cropping, resizing, straightening, adjusting brightness and contrast, removing blemishes and exporting to a sensible format. Always save intermediate versions so you can recover from a wrong step. The certifying body publishes current administrative details, including any test logistics, on its official website; confirm them there before booking.
What you'll study
About ICDL Image Editing preparation
What format is the test in?
ICDL Image Editing is delivered as an automatically scored computer-based test. You answer multiple-choice knowledge items and complete practical tasks inside a real image editing application, then save or submit your files for marking. Because marking is automatic, follow the task instructions exactly - file names, formats and save locations all matter.
How long is the exam and how many questions are there?
The number of tasks and the time allowance are set by the awarding body and can change between syllabus versions and countries. We don't quote figures here because an out-of-date number is worse than none. Check the current published details on the official ICDL website before you book.
What score do I need to pass?
The pass mark is set by the awarding body and may differ between test versions or delivery partners. Rather than rely on a remembered figure, confirm the current pass standard on the official ICDL site or with your test centre when you register. Aim well above the minimum regardless.
How difficult is it?
Most candidates with a few weeks of regular practice find it manageable. The difficulty lies less in obscure features and more in doing familiar operations quickly and precisely: accurate selections, sensible layer use, correct resizing with aspect ratio preserved, and exporting in appropriate formats. Speed and care matter more than deep technical knowledge.
Can I retake it if I fail?
Retake rules, waiting periods and any additional fees are set by the awarding body and your test centre, and they vary by country. The official ICDL website and your local centre are the authoritative sources. Ask about retake conditions before you pay, so you know where you stand.
Which software should I practise in?
The certification is vendor-neutral, so the concepts transfer across applications, but the practical tasks are performed in an image editing program. Practise in the application you will actually use for the test and learn where its selection, layer, adjustment and export commands live. If your centre specifies software, train in that one.
What order should I study the syllabus in?
Follow the natural workflow: imaging concepts and file formats first, then capture and acquisition, then editing tools (selections, layers, tone and colour, retouching), then combining and organising images, and finally preparing and outputting files. Concepts early make the editing tasks easier to understand rather than just imitate.
What are the most common ways candidates lose marks?
Saving in the wrong format, flattening or discarding layers that the task asked you to keep, forgetting to preserve aspect ratio when resizing, making sloppy selections that leave fringes, and ignoring the required file name or folder. Read each task to the end before starting work, and check your saved file before moving on.
How should I prepare in the final week?
Do timed practice on complete images rather than isolated tool drills: crop, straighten, adjust tone, retouch a blemish, combine two images on separate layers and export a correctly sized file. Review your own errors, and redo any task you finished slowly. Confirm exam-day logistics with your centre in advance.