- What "Exam Dates" Actually Means for This Credential
- Two Papers, Two Timers: Planning Around Both Exams
- What the Issuer Sources Do Not Confirm
- Registration and Fee Mechanics
- Sequencing the Two Exams on Your Calendar
- Mapping the 20 Content Areas to a Calendar
- A Domain-Driven Preparation Timeline
- Pre-Booking Checklist
- FAQ
- The Assistant (Foundational) route requires two separate examinations: Information Systems Core and Data Management, each with a published 60-minute limit.
- The current listed product is the CDP Basic Foundational Exam Purchase at USD498, covering both foundational exams.
- Specific 2026 testing windows, deadlines, and retake rules were not confirmed in the reviewed issuer sources, so verify directly with ICCP.
- The published passing requirement is 50% or higher, and adherence to the ICCP Code of Ethics is required.
What "Exam Dates" Actually Means for This Credential
Candidates searching for Certified Data Professional - Assistant (Foundational) exam dates often expect a fixed calendar of sitting windows, the way some credentials publish quarterly testing periods. Before you plan around that assumption, it helps to be precise about what has actually been established for this credential and what has not.
The current preparation target is the ICCP Certified Data Professional Assistant (Foundational Level) route. The reviewed issuer pages (the certified data professional program page, the examinations and outlines page, and the CDP Basic Foundational Exam Purchase product page, all checked on September 29, 2026) describe the exams, their time limits, the passing requirement, and the purchase product. They do not publish a dated calendar of 2026 testing windows or registration deadlines that we could verify. That means any article claiming a precise "next exam date" for this credential would be inventing it.
If you are still orienting yourself on the credential itself, our explainers on what CDP certification is and what CDP stands for cover the naming, which matters here because several unrelated credentials share the same acronym. Everything below applies only to the ICCP Assistant (Foundational) route.
Two Papers, Two Timers: Planning Around Both Exams
The most important scheduling fact is structural: the Assistant route requires two separate examinations, not one.
| Exam | Published time limit | Content areas |
|---|---|---|
| Information Systems Core Exam (Foundational) | 60 minutes | 6 published headings |
| Data Management Exam (Foundational) | 60 minutes | 14 published headings |
Two things follow from this for your calendar. First, you are planning two exam events, not one, and you need to decide whether to sit them back to back or separate them. Second, each paper has its own 60-minute limit, so there is no single combined timer to plan around. Question counts for the live foundational papers are not confirmed in the reviewed sources, which is why we do not publish a per-question pacing figure here.
For a candid look at how the two papers compare in difficulty, see how hard the CDP exam is.
What the Issuer Sources Do Not Confirm
Good scheduling depends on knowing what you do not know. The following items were not established in the reviewed sources, so verify each with ICCP before you finalize a date:
- Specific 2026 testing windows or registration deadlines
- The named testing provider and whether delivery is remote, in a center, or both
- Live question counts, scored versus unscored splits, and item formats
- Whether books or calculators are permitted
- Whether delivery is adaptive
- Accommodation procedures and retake rules, including any waiting periods
- Level-specific renewal duration, continuing education units, and fees
Retake rules deserve special attention when you pick a date. If you do not know the retake policy, you cannot know how much slack to build between your first attempt and any employer or project deadline that depends on the credential. Ask before you book, not after.
Our CDP pass rate article explains why no pass-rate figure is quoted anywhere on this site: none has been verified for this credential.
Registration and Fee Mechanics
The one concrete commercial fact available is the current official product: the CDP Basic Foundational Exam Purchase at USD498, which includes the two foundational examinations, IS Core and Data Management Foundations.
Key Takeaway
USD498 is the combined listed product price. It is not a per-paper fee, and it is not a verified total that includes every proctoring, retake, renewal, or membership charge. Bundle and sale prices are separate offers and may change, so confirm the figure at checkout.
Because the price covers both exams in one purchase, your scheduling decision is mostly about sequencing rather than paying twice. Whether the purchase gives you a time-limited access window is not documented in the sources we reviewed, which is another reason to read the product page and any purchase confirmation carefully for expiry or redemption terms. A full breakdown of what is and is not known about spending lives in our CDP certification cost guide.
On eligibility, the Assistant-specific program section states no numerical experience minimum. Adherence to the ICCP Code of Ethics is required. Do not import the experience requirements of higher levels into your plan; they are not the Assistant requirements. Details are in CDP requirements.
Sequencing the Two Exams on Your Calendar
With two 60-minute papers and no confirmed rule forcing an order, you have a real choice. Here is how to think about it.
Option A: Sit them close together
This works if your preparation is balanced and you want the credential completed in one push. The risk is fatigue and the possibility that a weak result on one paper drains confidence for the other. Confirm whether back-to-back sittings are even allowed under the delivery rules.
Option B: Separate them by several weeks
This suits candidates whose background is lopsided. Someone from a software or infrastructure role may be comfortable with IT Infrastructure and Systems Analysis & Design but thin on data governance, metadata, and data quality. Someone from a business analyst or records background may be the reverse. Sitting the stronger paper first banks a result and builds momentum while you keep studying the weaker one.
Because the passing requirement is published as 50% or higher, a comfortable margin on each paper is still your goal, not the minimum. Read what the CDP passing score means for how to interpret that threshold without over- or under-preparing.
Mapping the 20 Content Areas to a Calendar
The issuer does not publish percentage weights for these headings, so we treat all twenty as unweighted preparation categories. The published headings are grouped by the exam they belong to. The full walkthrough is in our CDP exam domains guide.
Information Systems Core Exam (6 headings)
- IS Core: Information Systems
- IS Core: Data and Information Management
- IS Core: Enterprise Architecture
- IS Core: IT Infrastructure
- IS Core: IS Project Management
- IS Core: Systems Analysis & Design
Data Management Exam (14 headings)
- Data Management: Data Management Process
- Data Management: Data Governance Function
- Data Management: Data Architecture Management Function
- Data Management: Data Development Function
- Data Management: Data Operations Management Function
- Data Management: Data Security Management Function
- Data Management: Reference and Master Data Management Function
- Data Management: Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Management Function
- Data Management: Document and Content Management Function
- Data Management: Metadata Management Function
- Data Management: Data Quality Management Function
- Data Management: Big Data
- Data Management: Data Integration
- Data Management: Data Ethics
One caution: the Data Management paper is built from these fourteen headings. Do not substitute a different thirteen-topic Data Foundations outline when building your study plan, as that is a separate examination outline. Also note that a separately detailed foundational-only scored blueprint, and exhaustive foundational alignment of every shared heading, remain unverified, so treat the headings as a coverage map rather than a precise scoring guide.
A Domain-Driven Preparation Timeline
This is the one place we offer a generic-style schedule, and it is tied entirely to the published headings. The logic: the Data Management paper has more than twice as many headings as IS Core, so it deserves more calendar time, and certain headings build on others. Adjust the length to your own background.
IS Core foundations
- Information Systems and Data and Information Management as vocabulary-setting topics
- Enterprise Architecture and IT Infrastructure, focusing on how layers relate
- IS Project Management and Systems Analysis & Design, focusing on lifecycle and requirements concepts
Data Management core
- Data Management Process and Data Governance Function first, since later functions reference them
- Data Architecture Management, Data Development, and Data Operations Management
- Data Security Management alongside Data Ethics, since they share policy and risk concepts
Data Management specialist functions
- Reference and Master Data Management with Metadata Management
- Data Quality Management and Data Integration
- Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence, Document and Content Management, and Big Data
Consolidation
- Timed practice for each 60-minute paper separately
- Revisit your weakest three headings from practice results
If you split the two exams, place your first sitting right after the block that covers it (after Week 2 for IS Core, for example) rather than waiting for the end. For a fuller structure with resource suggestions, see the CDP study guide, and keep the CDP cheat sheet handy for last-week review. You can also test your readiness anytime on our CDP practice test platform.
Pre-Booking Checklist
Because the scheduling details are not fully documented in public sources, run through this list with ICCP before you pay or commit to a date:
- Confirm the current windows. Ask whether there are fixed testing periods or on-demand scheduling for the Assistant exams.
- Confirm the product. Verify that the CDP Basic Foundational Exam Purchase covers both papers and note any access expiry.
- Confirm retake and accommodation rules. These are not established in the reviewed sources.
- Confirm the delivery format. Ask about the testing provider, whether delivery is remote or in person, and what materials are permitted.
- Confirm renewal expectations. Level-specific renewal duration, CEUs, and fees are unverified, so ask before you plan long-term.
- Review the Code of Ethics. Adherence is a stated requirement.
Key Takeaway
Your most reliable scheduling tool is a direct confirmation from ICCP, not an unofficial date list. Use the confirmed facts (two papers, 60 minutes each, 50% or higher, USD498 listed purchase) as your anchor and fill the gaps with written answers from the issuer.
Looking ahead, ICCP states that foundational credential holders must retake extended 90-minute examinations to qualify for higher levels. If you plan to progress, factor that future cost and time into your longer-range calendar. Whether the credential is worth that investment is addressed in our ROI analysis, and the role landscape is covered in CDP jobs. Note that general data-role salaries and earnings for higher CDP levels do not establish what Assistant holders earn, which is why our salary guide avoids quoting Assistant-specific figures.
FAQ
None were established in the issuer pages reviewed on September 29, 2026. Confirm current scheduling directly with ICCP before purchasing or planning around a date.
Two: the Information Systems Core Exam (Foundational) and the Data Management Exam (Foundational). Each has a published 60-minute limit. There is no single combined timer.
The current official CDP Basic Foundational Exam Purchase is listed at USD498 and includes both foundational exams. That is the combined product price, not a verified total of every possible proctoring, retake, renewal, or membership charge, and sale or bundle prices are separate offers.
The current published passing requirement is 50% or higher. Adherence to the ICCP Code of Ethics is also required. Live question counts and scoring splits are not confirmed in the reviewed sources.
The sources do not mandate an order. Choose based on your background: sit your stronger paper first to bank a result, or separate the two by several weeks if your preparation is lopsided. Confirm any scheduling restrictions with ICCP first.