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Practice quiz · PCC preparation

PCC practice quiz

10 sets of original scenarios. Pick the best and the worst response, then score the set.

Independent practice for the standard PCC/MCC exam format, not actual exam items or an ICF-endorsed product. Research checked 9 October 2026. Exam references: 2019 competencies and 2020 ethics. The 2025 ICF Code of Ethics took effect on 1 April 2025; the 2020 references here are exam-study references, not the current professional code.

Each correct best or worst choice earns one study point. These scores do not predict an official result or convert to ICF’s scaled score. Nothing is stored or sent; reloading clears your answers.

Set 1: Ethical Judgment and Professional Boundaries

20 scenarios · ~43 min

One best and one worst per scenario; an option can’t be both.

0 of 20 scenarios complete · 0 of 40 selections

  1. Scenario 1
    Ethical Practice

    A coach discovers that a paid assessment they recommended sends clients' identifiable results to the vendor's marketing team. The client has not agreed to this use. What should the coach do next?

    • A. Continue sending results because the assessment supports development.
    • B. Pause use, clarify the privacy implications with the client, and address consent and protection.
    • C. Offer a different assessment without explaining what has happened.
    • D. Ask the vendor for its privacy policy while postponing further uploads.
  2. Scenario 2
    Ethical Practice

    A prospective client asks about a coach's experience supporting mergers. The coach has coached leaders but never worked on a merger. What is the most appropriate response?

    • A. Explain the general coaching approach without discussing experience.
    • B. Describe relevant leadership experience and the limits of merger experience honestly.
    • C. Suggest a conversation to assess fit before discussing examples.
    • D. Describe a colleague's merger case as personal experience.
  3. Scenario 3
    Ethical Practice

    A coach is offered a valuable retreat place for each client they refer to a facilitator. A client asks for recommendations. What should the coach do?

    • A. Provide several names and mention that one offers the coach a benefit.
    • B. Disclose the benefit and assess whether the recommendation serves the client without undue conflict.
    • C. Postpone the recommendation while deciding whether to accept the benefit.
    • D. Recommend the facilitator as an independent choice without disclosing the benefit.
  4. Scenario 4
    Ethical Practice

    A coach receives a request to supply client notes for legal proceedings. The request's legal authority is unclear. What should the coach do?

    • A. Seek qualified guidance on applicable duties and protect confidentiality while establishing the required response.
    • B. Notify the client that a request was received and defer deciding what it requires.
    • C. Send the full file immediately because any legal-looking request overrides confidentiality.
    • D. Tell the requester that records are confidential and ask for clarification.
  5. Scenario 5
    Ethical Practice

    A client asks a coach to provide a testimonial naming their employer and personal challenge. The coach wants to use it in advertising. What should happen before publication?

    • A. Clarify exactly what may be published and obtain informed permission for that use.
    • B. Publish additional session details to make the testimonial persuasive.
    • C. Ask the client whether they are generally happy with coaching.
    • D. Use only the client's first name while retaining recognizable details.
  6. Scenario 6
    Ethical Practice

    A coach also facilitates a client's leadership workshop. The sponsor now wants the coach to evaluate the client for promotion without telling them. What is appropriate?

    • A. Decline the concealed evaluation and clarify roles and agreements with relevant parties.
    • B. Ask the sponsor to postpone evaluation until coaching ends.
    • C. Tell the client that the sponsor has requested another service without clarifying its nature.
    • D. Accept and quietly collect evaluation evidence during coaching.
  7. Scenario 7
    Ethical Practice

    A coach notices that their online booking system exposes client names and appointment notes to all clients. What should they do first?

    • A. Leave the system unchanged until someone complains.
    • B. Disable new bookings while investigating the access issue.
    • C. Remove notes but retain publicly visible client names.
    • D. Restrict exposure promptly, assess what occurred, and follow relevant notification obligations.
  8. Scenario 8
    Ethical Practice

    A client is unhappy with coaching and wants to terminate. The agreement allows termination with stated financial provisions. What is appropriate?

    • A. Respect the decision and discuss an orderly ending under the agreement.
    • B. Offer a review conversation while affirming their choice to end.
    • C. Explain the remaining fees before acknowledging the decision.
    • D. Tell the client termination is not allowed until the coach approves their progress.
  9. Scenario 9
    Ethical Practice

    A coach's partner applies for a role in the client's company. The coach expects this could affect neutrality in sessions about hiring. What should the coach do?

    • A. Seek confidential professional consultation before deciding how to manage the situation.
    • B. Use session information to improve the partner's application.
    • C. Disclose and discuss the potential conflict and whether it can be managed.
    • D. Avoid discussing hiring topics without explaining the change to the client.
  10. Scenario 10
    Ethical Practice

    A client asks to share a session recording with their colleague. The recording includes the coach's contributions and sensitive organizational details. What is appropriate?

    • A. Ask the client what they hope the colleague will learn.
    • B. Forward it to the colleague and additional managers for convenience.
    • C. Offer to help the client summarize their own learning instead.
    • D. Review the agreement, intended audience, permissions, and privacy implications before agreeing.
  11. Scenario 11
    Ethical Practice

    A coach suspects a client needs a service outside the coach's competence. The issue is not urgent, and the coach is unsure how to proceed. What is appropriate?

    • A. Seek suitable consultation while protecting confidentiality and discuss scope and support needs with the client.
    • B. Explain the coach's uncertainty and explore what support the client needs.
    • C. Continue offering the unfamiliar service as if qualified.
    • D. Suggest another professional immediately without discussing the observed need.
  12. Scenario 12
    Ethical Practice

    A coach receives a request to teach from another author's paid manual. The organizer says nobody will notice if the name is removed. What is appropriate?

    • A. Ask the organizer to check permission before planning the session.
    • B. Choose an independently developed exercise instead.
    • C. Remove the author's name and present the material as original.
    • D. Check usage rights, obtain required permission, and attribute the author appropriately.
  13. Scenario 13
    Ethical Practice

    A long-term client offers a costly personal gift that could create a sense of obligation. No immediate prohibition is specified in the agreement. What should the coach do?

    • A. Ask a supervisor for confidential guidance before responding.
    • B. Explore its meaning and implications, maintaining clear professional boundaries.
    • C. Decline politely and explain the importance of the professional relationship.
    • D. Accept on the understanding that the client will receive special access.
  14. Scenario 14
    Ethical Practice

    A coaching assistant wants to upload identifiable client documents to a public collaboration folder. What should the coach do?

    • A. Create a restricted folder for the documents.
    • B. Remind the assistant that client information is confidential.
    • C. Approve because administrative work falls outside coaching confidentiality.
    • D. Stop the proposed upload and ensure secure handling and ethical training for support personnel.
  15. Scenario 15
    Ethical Practice

    A coach receives a request to diagnose a client's employee based on the client's account of workplace behavior. What is appropriate?

    • A. Ask more questions about the employee's behavior without explaining scope.
    • B. Assign a diagnostic label and include it in a report to HR.
    • C. Clarify that diagnosis is outside this coaching role and explore the client's needs and qualified support options.
    • D. Suggest the client consult a qualified professional without exploring the coaching need.
  16. Scenario 16
    Ethical Practice

    A coach has a personal emergency and cannot provide reliable sessions for several weeks. What is appropriate?

    • A. Continue accepting sessions while concealing likely cancellations.
    • B. Offer the client a temporary pause.
    • C. Communicate service limitations, seek support, and agree suitable arrangements or alternatives.
    • D. Refer the client to another coach without discussing preferences.
  17. Scenario 17
    Ethical Practice

    A sponsor asks a coach to guarantee that an employee will stay with the company after coaching. What is appropriate?

    • A. Offer to define observable development goals with the sponsor and client.
    • B. Guarantee retention if the sponsor purchases a longer engagement.
    • C. Describe previous retention successes without addressing the guarantee.
    • D. Explain what coaching can support without promising control over the employee's choice.
  18. Scenario 18
    Ethical Practice

    A coach realizes their note in a sponsor report contains an inaccurate statement about the client. The report has already been sent. What should the coach do?

    • A. Leave it because correcting it might damage the coach's credibility.
    • B. Check the original notes to confirm exactly what needs correction.
    • C. Correct the statement promptly with relevant parties while respecting reporting boundaries.
    • D. Tell the client about the mistake but leave the sponsor's report unchanged.
  19. Scenario 19
    Ethical Practice

    A coach facilitates a free community coaching program. An organizer says confidentiality can be relaxed because no one pays. What is appropriate?

    • A. Use anonymized aggregate themes only where genuinely nonidentifying and appropriately agreed.
    • B. Explain that professional confidentiality obligations still apply and agree appropriate practices.
    • C. Share session stories with names because the service is free.
    • D. Decline to provide any program information until reporting arrangements are clarified.
  20. Scenario 20
    Ethical Practice

    A coach notices a colleague marketing an unearned ICF credential. After respectful discussion, the colleague continues. What is appropriate?

    • A. Publish the colleague's private client information to discredit them.
    • B. Consult the relevant ethics process about the available next step.
    • C. Use an appropriate formal ethics channel rather than allowing the unresolved concern to persist.
    • D. Raise the concern again informally and document the discussion.
Sources and study guidance

This pack targets the standard PCC/MCC situational-judgment format on ICF’s main exam page. ICF also published a separate mixed-format pilot with a December 2025 – March 2026 participation window; this pack does not reproduce that pilot. Check the guidance in your exam authorization before your appointment.

Sets are thematic, not full 78-item mock exams, and do not reproduce official competency weights or calibrated difficulty. Suggested timing is proportional study guidance, not an official mini-exam rule.

For each item, explain the best choice, the worst choice, and why the remaining responses are less complete. Middle options can be reasonable in other contexts. Rankings reflect the authors’ instructional judgment, not ICF-authored answers.

Reference codes

C
2019 Core Competency
E
2020 ethical standard
R
referral guide

References are review pointers. The PCC performance criteria and markers concern demonstrated skill and are distinct from written-exam scoring.