Picture a mobile app that clears every case on the test bench and then freezes in a customer's hand, because a call arrived while the signal dropped from Wi-Fi to cellular. The ISTQB Certified Tester Mobile Application Testing (CT-MAT) certificate is built around that gap. Its paper has 40 multiple-choice questions, runs 60 minutes and needs 26 correct answers, and it expects you to hold the Foundation Level certificate first.

Why does an app that passes on the test bench still fail on a customer's phone?
Because the bench rarely contains the things a pocket does to software. A phone changes networks while a form is half sent, rotates in the middle of typing, loses battery, asks the user for permissions that may be refused, and receives notifications that the operating system may delay or drop to save power. CT-MAT teaches you to plan tests around those conditions instead of treating the app as a desktop program with a smaller screen.
ISTQB's CT-MAT certification page describes it as an insight into the methods, techniques and tools a professional may use to test mobile applications, covering the project activities, roles, methods and methodologies. It is aimed at people who already work with mobile technology, people about to start mobile projects, and people in companies that plan to. Checked in October 2026, the exam is still listed there with the 2019 syllabus attached.