- This CDP is the ICCP Certified Data Professional Assistant (Foundational Level), earned through two separate exams.
- Each of the two exams, Information Systems Core and Data Management, is published at 60 minutes.
- The published passing requirement is 50% or higher, plus adherence to the ICCP Code of Ethics.
- The official Basic Foundational Exam Purchase is listed at USD498 and includes both foundational exams.
What a CDP Actually Is Here
On this site, a CDP is the Certified Data Professional - Assistant (Foundational) credential. It is the entry-level route in the ICCP (Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals) Certified Data Professional program. It is aimed at people who are starting out in data and information systems work and want a recognized, vendor-neutral way to show they understand the fundamentals of how data is managed inside an organization.
The current preparation target is the ICCP Certified Data Professional Assistant (Foundational Level) route. That wording is deliberate. Some candidates search for an "Associate" version of this credential, but no current issuer source we reviewed establishes Associate as an official alias, and none documents an Associate-to-Assistant rename or an equivalence between the two. If you see the word "Associate" attached to this credential elsewhere, treat it as unverified and confirm with ICCP before relying on it.
If you want a shorter orientation to the terminology before going deeper, our companion pieces What Is CDP? and What Does CDP Stand For? cover the naming side, while this article focuses on what the credential contains and how it works.
Why the Acronym Causes Confusion
"CDP" is a crowded acronym. Several unrelated credentials and products share those three letters, and they come from different certifying bodies with different exams, prices and audiences. Search results frequently blend them together, which is how candidates end up quoting the wrong fee or the wrong exam format.
A useful habit: whenever you read a number about "the CDP exam," ask which certifying body published it and which level it applies to. ICCP's program has multiple levels, and higher-level requirements, exam lengths and earnings figures do not transfer down to the Assistant route.
The Two-Exam Structure
The defining feature of this credential is that it is not a single sitting. The current Assistant route requires two separate examinations:
| Exam | Published Time Limit | Subject Headings |
|---|---|---|
| Information Systems Core Exam (Foundational) | 60 minutes | Six published headings |
| Data Management Exam (Foundational) | 60 minutes | Fourteen published headings |
The current published passing requirement is 50% or higher. For a deeper look at how that threshold is described and what it does and does not tell you, see our guide to the CDP passing score.
Because the credential is split across two papers, any advice that treats it as one combined test is misleading. Each paper has its own subject matter and its own timer, so you should plan to be ready for both.
The Six IS Core Subjects
The Information Systems Core exam establishes the general computing and information systems background that sits underneath data work. ICCP publishes six headings for it. The issuer does not publish percentage weights, so the order below is simply the published heading order, not a ranking of importance. The full breakdown lives in our complete guide to all 20 CDP content areas.
IS Core: Information Systems
The broad frame: what information systems are, the roles they play in organizations, and how they support business activity.
- Know the vocabulary of systems, users and organizational context
- Be able to describe how information systems support decisions and operations
IS Core: Data and Information Management
The relationship between raw data, information and the practices used to keep both usable.
- Distinguish data from information in practical scenarios
- Understand why organizations treat data as a managed asset
IS Core: Enterprise Architecture
How an organization describes its business, data, application and technology structures in a coordinated way.
- Recognize the purpose of architecture as a planning and alignment tool
- Understand how data fits within the larger architectural picture
IS Core: IT Infrastructure
The hardware, networks and platforms that data and applications depend on.
- Understand what infrastructure supplies to data storage and processing
- Be comfortable with the general layers a data professional interacts with
IS Core: IS Project Management
Planning, scheduling and delivering information systems work.
- Know the lifecycle of a project and the typical roles on one
- Understand scope, risk and stakeholder concerns at a foundational level
IS Core: Systems Analysis & Design
How requirements are gathered and turned into a designed system.
- Understand the sequence from requirements to design
- Recognize how data needs are captured during analysis
The Fourteen Data Management Subjects
The Data Management exam is where the credential becomes unmistakably about data. The published fourteen headings below map to the functions commonly used to describe the discipline. Note that this is the fourteen-heading Data Management list; it is distinct from a separate thirteen-topic Data Foundations outline, and the two should not be swapped for one another.
Governance, architecture and development
Data Management: Data Management Process
The overall process view of managing data across its life, which provides the context for the more specific functions.
Data Management: Data Governance Function
Who is accountable for data, how decisions about it are made, and how policies are set and enforced.
- Understand ownership, stewardship and decision rights
- Know why governance underpins most of the other functions
Data Management: Data Architecture Management Function
Defining and maintaining the structure of an organization's data so it supports business needs.
Data Management: Data Development Function
Analyzing, designing and building data structures, including how data models are created and implemented.
Operations, security and shared data
Data Management: Data Operations Management Function
Running and supporting data day to day, including the practices that keep data stores available and dependable.
Data Management: Data Security Management Function
Protecting data through access control, privacy and appropriate handling.
- Understand confidentiality, integrity and availability concerns for data
- Connect security practices to governance policy
Data Management: Reference and Master Data Management Function
Managing the shared, high-value data that many systems rely on, such as the core entities a business describes consistently.
Data Management: Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Management Function
Consolidating data for reporting and analysis, and supporting the people who use it for decisions.
Content, meaning and trust
Data Management: Document and Content Management Function
Handling unstructured material such as documents and other content alongside structured data.
Data Management: Metadata Management Function
Managing the data about data, so assets can be found, understood and trusted.
Data Management: Data Quality Management Function
Defining, measuring and improving the fitness of data for its intended use.
- Know the common dimensions used to talk about quality
- Understand that quality is a continuing activity, not a one-time cleanup
Newer and cross-cutting areas
Data Management: Big Data
The concepts and challenges of handling very large or fast-moving data sets.
Data Management: Data Integration
Moving and combining data across systems so it can be used consistently.
Data Management: Data Ethics
The responsible and fair handling of data, which also dovetails with the ICCP Code of Ethics requirement that applies to candidates.
Together with the six IS Core headings, these make up the twenty preparation categories used throughout this site. Practice-question allocation across them is editorial, because the issuer does not publish weights. A separately detailed foundational-only scored blueprint, and an exhaustive foundational alignment of every shared heading, also remain unverified. If you want a structured approach to working through all twenty, our CDP study guide lays out a plan.
Fees, Eligibility and Ethics
The current official CDP Basic Foundational Exam Purchase is listed at USD498. That price covers the two foundational examinations, IS Core and Data Management Foundations, as a combined product. It is the listed product price. It is not a per-paper fee, and it is not a verified all-in total that includes every proctoring, retake, renewal or membership charge. Bundle and sale offers are separate and can change, so check the official purchase page before you budget. Our CDP certification cost breakdown goes through the pricing picture in more detail.
On eligibility, the Assistant-specific section of the current program states no numerical experience minimum. That is an important point, because the program's broader comparison text and the experience requirements for higher levels are different matters. Do not apply higher-level experience rules to the Assistant route. What the Assistant route does require is adherence to the ICCP Code of Ethics. Our CDP requirements guide covers the eligibility picture as currently published.
Key Takeaway
Budget from the official USD498 listing, but treat it as the base product price. Confirm directly with ICCP whether any proctoring, retake or other charges apply to your situation before assuming that figure is the full cost.
What Is Not Published
An honest overview of this credential has to include what the reviewed sources do not establish. As of our September 29, 2026 review of the ICCP certification, examinations and purchase pages, the following remain unverified for the Assistant route:
- Live question counts and the scored versus unscored split
- Item formats used on the foundational papers
- The named testing provider and delivery details, including whether delivery is adaptive
- Whether books or calculators are permitted
- Accommodation and retake rules
- Pass rate
- Level-specific renewal duration, continuing education credits and fees
Because live counts are unknown, you should not rely on any simulator that claims a fixed question count or a combined timer for this credential. The two papers are separately timed at 60 minutes each. Readers curious about outcomes data can see what we can and cannot say in our CDP pass rate article, and our difficulty guide discusses how to think about challenge without inventing figures.
Who Should Pursue It
The Assistant (Foundational) route fits people at the start of a data or information systems path: students, career changers, junior analysts, support staff who touch data, and professionals in adjacent roles who need a common vocabulary. The two-exam structure means you demonstrate both general information systems literacy and data management fundamentals, which is a sensible combination for someone who will work alongside both technical teams and business stakeholders.
Roles where this knowledge is relevant include data analyst and data steward positions, junior data governance and data quality roles, database and reporting support, and business or systems analyst work that touches data requirements. We make no claim about specific employers recognizing the credential, and we do not quote salary figures here. General data-role earnings, and earnings for higher CDP levels, do not establish what an Assistant-level holder earns. For a considered view of the value question, read whether the CDP is worth it, and for market context see CDP jobs. If you want to test your readiness against the topics above, the CDP practice tests are a natural next step.
A Domain-Ordered Preparation Sequence
Rather than a generic schedule, order your preparation by how the topics build on one another. Governance and the process view give you context for nearly everything else, so they come early; integration, big data and ethics tend to land best once the core functions are familiar.
IS Core foundations
- Information Systems, and Data and Information Management
- Enterprise Architecture and IT Infrastructure
Finish IS Core, begin Data Management
- IS Project Management and Systems Analysis & Design
- Data Management Process and Data Governance Function
Structure and protection
- Data Architecture, Data Development and Data Operations Management
- Data Security Management Function
Shared data and meaning
- Reference and Master Data, Metadata and Data Quality Management
- Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence, and Document and Content Management
Integration, scale, ethics and review
- Big Data, Data Integration and Data Ethics
- Timed 60-minute practice blocks for each paper separately
Spacing review of earlier weeks into later ones helps retention, and for a compact reference to revisit near the end, see the CDP cheat sheet. Keep the two papers separate in your practice, since each is timed on its own. Scheduling specifics are covered in our CDP exam dates article.
Frequently Asked Questions
It refers to the ICCP Certified Data Professional - Assistant (Foundational) credential. Other credentials share the abbreviation, but their details do not apply here.
Two: the Information Systems Core Exam (Foundational) and the Data Management Exam (Foundational). Each is published at 60 minutes, and the published passing requirement is 50% or higher.
The official CDP Basic Foundational Exam Purchase is listed at USD498 and includes both foundational exams. It is the combined listed price, not a verified total covering every proctoring, retake, renewal or membership charge.
The Assistant-specific program section states no numerical experience minimum. You must adhere to the ICCP Code of Ethics. Higher-level experience requirements do not apply to the Assistant route.
No. ICCP publishes six IS Core headings and fourteen Data Management headings without percentage weights, so any allocation of practice questions across them is editorial rather than official.