Thinking about tackling the IAPP’s AI Governance Professional (AIGP) exam? You’re in good company. As artificial intelligence continues to shape industries and transform daily life, the demand for skilled professionals in AI governance is booming. Whether you’re aiming to upskill or seeking formal recognition for your expertise, preparing for the AIGP exam is a solid step forward.
In this post, we’ll cover practical strategies and helpful tips to give you the best shot at success and make your study journey a bit less daunting.
The IAPP’s AI Governance Professional (AIGP) designation was developed to certify professionals in the field of AI governance.
The AIGP credential exhibits a fundamental understanding of AI governance and comprehension of best practices for responsible management of AI systems in the U.S., EU and other jurisdictions.
Subject matter areas include:
The AIGP exam is designed to validate your capability to oversee the responsible development and deployment of AI systems. It’s a structured, proctored assessment with a clear format, predictable costs, and flexible exam‑sitting options.
What the exam involves
The AIGP exam consists of 100 multiple‑choice questions covering the content outlined in the AIGP Body of Knowledge – downloadable here. More about what content is covered by the exam is in the next section. This is 10 more questions than in the other IAPP exams but you get a bit of extra time to do them.
Candidates have 2.75 hours (165 minutes) to complete the exam, plus a 15‑minute break. The exam is divided into two parts, with the opportunity to take a break in the middle.
The question style mirrors other IAPP certifications: scenario‑based items, applied governance questions, and knowledge checks across the AI lifecycle. It’s designed to test practical judgment as much as theoretical understanding.
The passing score is 300 out of 500, a scaled score used across IAPP exams.
Cost and registration
Exam pricing is USD $649 for IAPP members and USD $799 for non‑members.
Once purchased, you have one year to schedule and sit the exam.
Where you can take the exam
You can choose between two formats:
Both options require identity verification and strict exam conditions.
If you fail the exam
If you don’t pass, you can retake the exam, but you must purchase a new exam attempt. The IAPP does not impose a long waiting period, but standard retake rules apply (typically a short cooling‑off period before rescheduling).
The first thing you MUST do is download and review the AIGP Body of Knowledge – downloadable here. This is your bible for your exam preparation.
The AIGP Body of Knowledge is divided into the following four (4) domains:
| Domain | Focus & Responsibilities |
| Domain 1: Understanding the functions of AI Governance | Focuses on defining AI governance, including its common principles and pillars for building an AI governance program. This domain covers best practices, applicable across industries, sectors, and organisational sizes. |
| Domain 2: Understanding how laws, standards and frameworks apply to AI | Focuses on existing laws that apply to AI, as well as AI‑specific laws, standards, and frameworks. Requires knowledge of major elements of current AI laws (e.g., EU AI Act, South Korean AI Basic Law, federal and state AI laws relevant to private sector organisations). |
| Domain 3: Understanding how to govern AI development | Covers the responsibilities of AI governance professionals in designing, building, training, testing, and maintaining AI systems. |
| Domain 4: Understanding how to govern AI deployment and use | Focuses on the responsibilities of AI governance professionals regarding the selection of AI models, responsible deployment, ongoing monitoring, maintenance, and other key obligations. Applies in any deployment context, including companies deploying their own proprietary models or third‑party models. |
Preparing for AIGP usually involves 4–8 weeks of study depending on your background in AI governance, privacy, and risk.
A focused, realistic AIGP study plan works best when it blends structured content review with lots of practice doing exam questions – especially scenario‑based question practice.
We’ve put together a possible plan based on a 4–6 week preparation window, which is typical for professionals already familiar with privacy, risk, or governance – and where you’ve not done the 2-day training course as part of your prep. This plan is just a suggestion and can be squeezed into a couple of weeks if you really dedicate yourself to it. Though there is a lot to learn – in terms of laws, frameworks, risks and harms, terminology, processes and the AI lifecycle. The more time you can invest in solid prep, the better off you will be come exam day.
| Week 1 — Orientation and foundations | Read and familiarise yourself with the AIGP Body of Knowledge end‑to‑end. Highlight all the unfamiliar areas (e.g., ML lifecycle, model evaluation, bias mitigation) which you will need to focus on. Create a glossary of key terms: fairness, explainability, drift, governance controls, risk registers. |
| Week 2 — Deep dive into governance frameworks and laws | Study NIST AI RMF, OECD AI Principles, ISO/IEC 42001, and EU AI Act concepts. Compare how each framework approaches risk, accountability, transparency, and oversight. Understand the interaction of other laws with AI e.g. copyright, anti-discrimination etc. Review what’s happened in the USA at a Federal and State level and be familiar with the different US laws that may be relevant to the use of AI e.g. Fair Credit Reporting Act. Begin short daily practice questions. |
| Week 3 — AI lifecycle and organisational controls | Focus on data governance, model development, testing, deployment, monitoring, and incident response. Work through scenario examples: model drift, bias detection, human‑in‑the‑loop failures, vendor risk. Start timed practice questions if you haven’t already. Use the results to help direct your future study. |
| Week 4 — Ethics, risk, and applied judgment | Review case studies of AI failures and governance breakdowns. Do more questions. Practise interpreting ambiguous scenarios and eliminating distractor answers. Revisit weak areas identified in practice sessions. |
| Week 5–6 — Consolidation and exam readiness | Complete at least two full timed practice exams. Review all incorrect answers and map them back to the Body of Knowledge. Double check the Body of Knowledge and make sure you are completely comfortable with all the content. Prepare for the exam (test centre or remote proctoring). |
And finally, here are our 5 top tips to help you in your AIGP exam preparation:
1. Study Every Domain
There will be questions across all 4 domains:
Don’t over-focus on one domain and don’t leave a domain out – all the domains are tested.
2. Focus on Governance — Not Technical Detail
You’re not being tested as a data scientist. Instead, focus on the key elements of AI governance including:
3. Master Key Frameworks & Laws
You don’t need to memorise everything, but you must understand:
Many questions test your ability to apply these in scenarios, not define them.
4. Think in Lifecycle Terms
AIGP strongly emphasises the AI lifecycle: Design → Build → Test → Deploy → Monitor
Questions often test:
If stuck, ask: “Where in the lifecycle are we, and what’s missing?”
5. Practice Scenario-Based Thinking
Most questions use real-world scenarios, not definitions. Don’t be put off if you feel you don’t understand how a financial services organisations might work. Stick with the basics:
Perhaps the easiest way to prepare for the AIGP exam, especially if you are time poor or find it difficult to carve out the time needed to study, is to enrol in a training course…
Privacy 108, as an official IAPP training partner, offer the authorised IAPP AIGP Training. That training includes:
More information on our AIGP training courses is available here.
Good luck in preparing for the exam – remember, solid preparation and a level head will take you far.
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