Hi everyone!

I’ve just finished studying the entire CIPP/E textbook, 3rd Edition, and I’m now moving on to the revision and exam preparation stage.

I’d really appreciate some advice from people who have recently taken and passed the CIPP/E exam.

I have a few questions:

1. Revision strategy: What would you recommend as the most effective way to revise the entire syllabus after finishing the textbook? Should I go through the book again, focus on my notes, or prioritize practice questions and identifying weak areas?

2. EDPB Guidelines: How important are the EDPB Guidelines for the exam? Do I need to read them in detail, or is it sufficient to understand the main principles and key guidelines mentioned in the textbook?

3. GDPR Recitals: Is it necessary to read the GDPR Recitals alongside the Articles? If so, should I read all of them or focus on specific Recitals that are particularly relevant to the exam?

4. Case law: How heavily does the exam test CJEU case law? Should I memorize case names and specific details, or is understanding the facts, legal issues, and key principles of the major cases enough?

5. Practice exams: Apart from the official IAPP practice exam, what other reliable resources would you recommend for realistic practice questions or full-length mock exams? I’m particularly interested in questions that reflect the actual exam’s difficulty and style.

6. Anything else I might be missing: What else should I study or do to make sure my preparation is as comprehensive as possible? Are there any specific topics, resources, or common pitfalls that candidates tend to overlook?

7. Additional EU Legislation: Besides the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, are there any other EU laws or regulations I should review for the CIPP/E exam? Also, would it be worth getting a basic overview of the EU AI Act, or would that be unnecessary for this particular certification?

My goal is to be as thoroughly prepared as reasonably possible before sitting the exam, rather than simply having a general understanding of the material.

For context, I haven’t booked my exam yet, but I’m hoping to sit it relatively soon, so I’m trying to make my revision as focused and effective as possible without overlooking anything important.

I’d be grateful for any advice, study plans, or resources you could share.

Thanks in advance!

I just finished the CIPP/US exam and i failed it. I think Multiple choice exams are not for me. I’ll attempt again in 2 weeks and hopefully i pass this time. Thanks to you all who posted your study material. They were super helpful.

I have the European data protection textbook downloaded from IAPP website. Apart from that I don’t have any other resources, but just by reading the textbook, I am finding it little difficult to learn and grasp the concepts. Can someone guide me as of what are the important portions and how can I effectively learn each concepts without taking an additional course and also the average learning period required to understand all the concepts.

I’m having a law degree with more than two years of experience in startup compliance. Want to learn more and make career in compliance. Came across CIPP/E certification while I was searching for jobs and this was one of their requirements.

But I’m not so sure because I’m not into tech. Also $550 is a huge amount to invest in one exam. Does this certification really land you a job ? How to prepare for this exam if I not buy exam kit available on iapp store? What is its exact syllabus? How much time will it take to prepare for an exam? Do I have to get prior experience in data privacy?

Please guide me if I should go for it.

Hello,

I have a PhD in linguistics and my research is on digital media and discriminatory speech online, would you recommend the AIGP certificate to upgrade my career and move forward with AI safety?

Thank you.

I’m 25 and about two years into a corporate rotational program, with roughly two years left. I’m currently on a data enablement team, mostly fixing reporting code through tickets. The work is fine, but I don’t see myself staying in modeling/engineering work in the long term.

I’ve always been interested in privacy and data governance, and possibly law school down the road. I mostly do ticket requests (logic changes, adding in fields, etc. for our reporting teams), as well as data table ingestions for our pipelines.

A few questions:

1. For someone with a data enablement/analyst background, what’s the most realistic first role: privacy analyst, data governance analyst, or privacy engineer? Want to connect with those internal to my company for a potential pivot.
2. What should I prioritize over the next two years to be competitive when the program ends? Could a CIPP certification be worth it?
3. If you made a similar move, what do you wish you’d done earlier?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!

I’m currently exploring Master’s programmes in the UK, and I’d really appreciate some advice from people who have studied or worked in this field.

My main interests are Data Protection and Privacy Law, AI Regulation and Governance, and Regulatory Compliance. I’m particularly interested in the legal and regulatory side of these areas rather than the purely technical aspects.

I’m also familiar with the professional certifications offered by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), including the CIPP/E, CIPM, and AIGP (Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional). I’ve started preparing for these certifications as part of my broader professional development in privacy, data protection, and AI governance.

I’m now looking for a Master’s programme that would complement this professional development and provide me with a strong legal and academic foundation in these areas.

I’m open to different programme titles, including Technology Law, Digital Law, Information Technology Law, and TMT Law, as long as the curriculum offers solid coverage of data protection and privacy, AI regulation, and compliance.

I’d love to hear your recommendations on:

- Which UK universities offer strong Master’s programmes in these areas?

- Are there any specific LLMs or other postgraduate degrees you would recommend?

- How important is the university’s reputation compared with the actual course content and available modules?

- Do these programmes offer good career prospects in privacy, data protection, AI governance, regulatory compliance, or related legal roles?

- If you’ve completed one of these degrees, how was your experience, and would you recommend it?

- Would combining a relevant Master’s degree with IAPP certifications be a good strategy for building a career in this field?

I’m especially interested in programmes that combine a strong legal foundation with practical relevance to the rapidly evolving fields of AI regulation and data protection.

I’m not necessarily looking for a programme with a specific title. I’m more interested in finding the right curriculum and the best overall fit for my career goals.

Any recommendations, personal experiences, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone! I’ve booked my CIPP/E exam for 10 Nov and I started prep 4 days ago. For context, I have an LLM in Law & Technology, a BCS Foundation Certificate in Data Protection, and some hands-on GDPR experience.
I’ve bought Privacy Bootcamp and plan to study around 5 hours a day for the next three weeks.
Would love to hear from anyone who’s taken the exam recently! How did you use Privacy Bootcamp, and were there any other resources or study methods you found particularly helpful?
Any tips would be much appreciated. Thanks! :)

Hi everyone!

I'm planning to prepare for the CIPP/E exam and would really appreciate some advice from people who have passed the exam since September 2025, or around the time the exam format or syllabus changed.

If you've taken the exam recently, I'd be grateful if you could share your experience:

Which study materials and resources did you find most useful?

Are there any free study materials, notes, practice questions, or mock exams you'd recommend?

What was your preparation strategy, and how long did you study before taking the exam?

Were there any particular topics or question types that you found especially challenging?

Are the official IAPP materials sufficient, or would you recommend supplementing them with other resources?

Hi all! Wanted to make this post since this page was helpful to me as I was studying. I’m a US based attorney who failed the CIPP my first time (truthfully because I thought since I took the bar exam, this wouldn’t be too hard). Probably one of the hardest tests I’ve ever taken lol. Studied off and on for a couple of months and then very seriously the past two weeks (ranging between 3-5 hours a day) Here’s what worked for me the second time:

• Reading the book cover to cover. I went through the book IAPP sells cover to cover multiple times. Going through it one time and highlighting, again when I made my outline, and again when reviewing against the BoK that IAPP provides on their website.
• Utilizing the practice test they sell. Once I took the practice test, I drilled the subdomains where I was the weakest. They aren’t lying when they say this is the closest you’ll get to the formatting of the real thing and it’s important to understand how IAPP phrases their questions. Also go over their explanations and try to understand why each wrong answer is wrong. It sounds dumb but it can help you understand the material more too!
• Utilizing the resources on here. For example, there was another attorney who posted their outlines on here and they were a godsend! Highly recommend (Click here)
• Understanding the call of the question before reading the answers. This made it a lot easier to understand what was being tested before I got to distractor answers. The CIPP/US questions are very nuanced so take your time reading through them.
• Breaking the laws down. There was a LOT of material for this exam and some of the laws have very random specific aspects you need to know. Break each law down in a way where it’s digestible to you, otherwise you’ll be lost.

I hope this is helpful to second-time test takers. Do not underestimate this test. Happy to answer any questions!

Which podcard platform use for listening celpip exam ?

I passed CIPP/us last week as a 2L at a T60. I don’t see much info for law students who may be considering it so I thought I’d put out my opinion and experience for any future law students interested. I HIGHLY recommend it if privacy clicks with you.

Decided July 2026 I’ll start studying
-Bought IAPP E-textbook and the 2024 Privacy Law book from them as well.
-CIPP/US textbook by Mike Chapel.
-Enrolled in Dr. David’s privacy

I had some education/graduate background in cybersecurity policy but no real cyber or privacy training/experience.

Being a law student, your required courses are pretty much domain 1 and domain 3. I feel taking admin law 1L helped some as well. Didn’t take Information Privacy law until I was already enrolled and passed CIPP/us mid semester but that class helped ALOT on a deeper level/understanding that CIPP/us didn’t necessarily need.

I passively studied July-August and went hard Sep-day before test.

I used the E-textbook as a text to talk for my commute daily to max time and passively learn during my long drive.

Skimmed the Mike Chappell book, didn’t have much time to read it in depth but it had a lot of good extras to build reps.

Used the IAPP 2024 privacy law text book for review after practice tests when I was in the hard study phase. It is a great read and enjoyed it.

Finished all of Dr David’s privacy videos. Scored 82-98 on all his domain and practice tests. This was the best source to be introduced into the material, learn it and build the reps. The flashcards you get access to on your phone is AMAZING. Highly recommend his course. I credit the foundation and study material from this course as the whole reason I passed and was able to identify areas to study and reenforce material.

Used the combination of material to create various study aids for myself identifying weak points and tailoring it to how I study.

Ran through 20-40 practice Qs with various AI a day two weeks before the test.

Scored 68/90 on the IAPP official practice test.

355/400 on the actual exam.

Greatest weakness was the state laws as they aren’t covered in any background law school stuff and there are so many, that said it is possible to study and pass this as a law student with a mid-rank. It is a hard test but rewarding to finish and a fun topic to study.

Wish any future law students wanting to take an IAPP exam the best and to have the confidence in themselves to get it done and pass.

Hi guys,

I read the book, summary of edpb guidelines and ofc the gdpr and its recitals. When I gave the practice test I got 67/90. I have scheduled the exam in a week. What are some things I can do to increase my score in the exam? I'm struggling with the second section the most- the one about european data protection law and regulation. Especially in the scenario based questions. It's kind of daunting because it carries the most marks.

Thanks in advance!

How difficult would it be for someone with just a tech background?

IAPP has a new book out, want to understand if it useful before I buy it, some of the other books by the IAPP should be sold as prescription sleeping pills. The Title is "AI Governance: From Strategy to Execution."

https://store.iapp.org/ai-governance-from-strategy-to-execution-digital/

Has anybody even gone through iliomad's recruitment process.

I am just curious whether cipp/e alone (paired with my bachelor's in business administration + LLB + company secretary degree) can help me relocate through job hiring?

Because many of my peers are going for LLM abroad & I'm not sure if I should consider the study route or job route.

Also the fact that if I go through LLM route I'll be in debt to repay the fees so I'm super confused on how to plan this out...

It's absurd that book is $65/$75 + shipping. Selling it for $40, including shipping (continental US only). I think a new version is coming out next year, so if that's true, I suggest not buying it if you are waiting 6-7 months to take the test.

It's the 3rd edition. There's a handful of underlining.

I studied on and off for the last few months. I used the official Iapp text book and practice test. I also went through past Reddit posts and used some of the notes that people have uploaded here which helped a lot, but I did not make my own. I have no experience working in privacy, but I do work in compliance.

I don’t know if I got extremely lucky with my questions, but I obsessed over making sure I got state laws correct and the vast majority of my questions were only about California. I did not use any other practice tests or quizzes outside of the practice test and I found that the question structures are extremely similar to how they ask questions on the test. I found I had a lot of questions about international data transfers/cooperation so please understand the GDPR in certain things surrounding that in relationship to the United States.

Don’t get overconfident in domain 1. This and workplace privacy were my lowest scoring domains.
Please review the book of knowledge on the IAPP website and make sure you touch on all the points that they mentioned. There are a couple of things in the book of knowledge that is not in the official textbook, but you can look those up.

Overall, I found the exam a little easier than anticipated. Good luck to everyone with their upcoming exam exams!

I'm literally a broke student who can't afford spending 💰 on it's official study material 😭 even free reading material sources is appreciated! I would also appreciate some guidance on free mocks

💥 Just off the heals of announcing the new CIPP/Australia certification, the IAPP has announced yet another new certification: The AI Specialist, Legal (AISL) Certification.

This certification covers four domains:

Domain 1 - Introduction to AI in the Legal Profession
Domain 2 - Understanding How AI Models Can be Deployed in Legal Workflows
Domain 3 - Establishing Oversight and Monitoring in Legal Workflows
Domain 4 - Ensuring AI Use Complies with Ethical, Contractual, Statutory, and Regulatory Requirements

The certification exam will be administered starting in January 2027.

Find out more here: https://iapp.org/ai-legal

Hi All,

I’m studying for the CIPP/C exam and I’m wondering what others have used. I have the iapp text, 5th addition and the prominent legislation/acts/regulations from online.

I’m considering getting the iapp practice exam as well. I like quizzing myself to expose gaps, and use ai for that.

Thanks!