The AIGP exam: format, multi-select and the 300

The Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional exam is 100 multiple-choice questions in 2.75 hours, taken on a computer at a Pearson VUE test center or from home through OnVUE. Eighty-five of the questions count, fifteen do not, some have more than one correct answer, and the result arrives on a scale from 100 to 500 where 300 passes. That much the IAPP publishes. What it does not publish matters just as much when you plan your preparation, so this guide sets out the format as the IAPP's candidate handbook, its certification FAQs, its exam information page, its store and its study guide describe it, and says plainly where the published record stops.

The short answer

• 100 questions, all multiple choice. The exam information page lists 85 scored questions and 15 unscored ones; the unscored ones are not marked as such on screen.
• 2.75 hours, in two halves. The store page gives "an allotted time of 2.75 hours with a 15-minute break". The handbook says the break comes halfway and "divides the exam into two distinct halves, each containing half the total exam questions and half the total time limit", and that the first half is submitted whether or not you take the break and cannot be reopened.
• Some questions want more than one answer. The FAQs describe multi-select questions, labeled on the exam, that ask for a set number of options, "for example, 'Select 3 of the 5 options below'", with no partial credit.
• A scaled score, 300 to pass. Results are reported on a scale from 100 to 500; 300 or above passes, and the FAQs add that 300 "does not represent 60%".
• Results on screen at once. The handbook says results are immediate, as Pass or Fail with the score, followed by an email about the section breakdown.
• Not published: the pass rate, the share of scenario or multi-select questions, and the number of questions you need right.

100 questions, 85 of them scored

The store describes the exam in one sentence: "It consists of 100 questions and has an allotted time of 2.75 hours with a 15-minute break and must be completed within one year of purchase." The exam information page gives the split that the store does not: a "Number of Scored Questions" of 85 and a "Number of Unscored Questions" of 15.

The handbook explains the unscored questions only indirectly. Its section on exam development says that after each annual update "New exam questions are written to reflect these topics to undergo analysis by the psychometrician", and its scoring section sends candidates to the designation's page on the IAPP website for the count of scored and unscored questions. Put together: the 15 unscored questions are being tried out, they look like every other question, and nothing on screen tells you which ones they are. Answer all 100 as if they count.

The study guide calls the AIGP "a three-hour exam composed of 100 items". That is the only place a figure other than 2.75 hours appears, and the difference is the break: 2.75 hours of answering time plus the 15-minute break is three hours in the room.

2.75 hours, in two halves

The halves are the part of the format that surprises candidates who have taken other certification exams. The handbook's description is worth reading in full:

So the exam is really two timed papers of 50 questions, back to back, with an optional pause between them. Three consequences follow.

1. Pace each half on its own. Time left over from the first half does not carry into the second: each half has "half the total time limit". Budget about 80 minutes for 50 questions and keep a few minutes at the end of each half for the questions you flagged.
2. Review before you submit the first half. Once it is submitted there is no going back, break or no break. The handbook also notes that during the exam "Forward and backward arrows can be selected to move back and forth between exam questions", so within a half you can revisit anything; across the halves you cannot.
3. Decide about the break in advance. The break is optional. If you take it, OnVUE's rules apply: the FAQs warn that leaving the webcam's view "while not on your scheduled 15-minute break" revokes the exam, so the scheduled break is the only time to step away.

Our AIGP mock exam runs the same way: two halves of 50 questions on half the time each, with the break between them and the first half locked once submitted, so the rhythm is familiar before exam day.

Three shapes of question

The handbook sets out the question types in two sentences: "All IAPP exams are comprised of multiple choice questions with one or more correct answers. It will be indicated on the question if there are multiple correct answers." Then: "Test takers may be asked to read a scenario and then answer questions relating to it." The FAQs say the same from the other side: "All exam questions are multiple choice and some are scenario-based."

Single-answer questions are the bulk of the exam: a stem, four options, one correct answer. The IAPP's study guide prints two examples. One asks what it means for an AI system to be explainable; the other asks for the primary purpose of an AI impact assessment. Both are short, both end in a question mark after an incomplete clause, and every option is a short phrase ending in a period. The guide is free from the IAPP's site and is linked in the sources below; the questions themselves are the IAPP's, so they are described here, not reprinted.

Multi-select questions are the ones to practice deliberately. The FAQs explain them precisely: "Multi-select questions ask test takers to select a specific number of correct responses from the options provided (for example, 'Select 3 of the 5 options below'). These questions are clearly labeled on the exam. Test takers must select the exact number of correct responses indicated in order to receive credit. No partial credit is awarded." The study guide's third example question is one of these: five options, three to pick, under the label "MULTI-SELECT: Please select 3 of the 5 options below. No partial credit will be given." Two right out of three earns nothing, so a multi-select question is really a judgment on every option: each one is either in the set or out of it.

Scenario questions describe a situation, an organization deploying a hiring tool, say, or a vendor's contract, and ask what applies or what to do first. The study guide puts it this way: "All questions are multiple choice and include case studies that present real-world challenges for AI model development and use. There are no essay questions. Each correct answer is worth one point." The IAPP publishes no share for them; the Body of Knowledge says only that "Exam questions assess an AI governance professional's proficiency on the performance indicators." The handbook's advice on preparation fits them exactly: "Candidates may be asked to apply their knowledge to different situations not outlined in the preparation materials."

How the exam is scored

The handbook's scoring section is short and worth knowing by heart. "All core IAPP exams are scored on a scale from 100–500 with a passing score as 300 or above." The passing score "is determined by a rigorous process of beta testing, psychometric analysis and review by a exam development board of experts. This passing score is then set to 300 on our scale. Answering every scored question correctly results in a score of 500. A score of 100 represents a range of low scores below the scope of the scale."

The FAQs add the point most candidates get wrong: "Exam scores are solely based on the total number of correctly answered scored questions. There is no scaling, nor are questions weighted differently, nor are there performance requirements for individual sections of the exam." Every scored question is worth the same, a hard question no more than an easy one, and there is no minimum in any domain. The scale is a separate step, and the FAQs explain why it exists: "Because there can be slight differences in the difficulty of exam forms, all raw scores (i.e., the number of questions answered correctly) are converted to a common scale ranging from 100 to 500." So 300 means the same standard on every form of the exam.

Two things follow from that. First, "The passing score for all IAPP exams is 300 (which does not represent 60%)." The handbook prints a fictional scale as an illustration and warns: "Candidates should not attempt to calculate their passing score by averaging the percentages they receive in their score report." Second, the raw number you need is not published. The FAQs say: "The IAPP does not provide test takers with the number of questions they answered correctly." Any site that tells you the AIGP cut score is a certain number of questions, or a certain percentage, is guessing.

What you do get is a section breakdown. After the exam, the FAQs say, you receive "a section breakdown after the completion of your exam, which indicates the percentage of your correct answers per each blueprint domain", and they add that an overall score cannot be derived from those percentages, because the domains hold different numbers of questions. For a candidate who fails, the breakdown is the study plan for the retake.

Where the questions come from

Every question traces to the AIGP Body of Knowledge, version 2.1, in force for anyone testing on or after February 2, 2026. The handbook's rule is absolute: "No question will be on the exam that is not covered by a topic or subtopic on that exam's body of knowledge." The Body of Knowledge gives each of its four domains a range of the 85 scored questions rather than a percentage:

Within each domain, every one of the 13 competencies has its own range, from 3 to 5 questions for industry standards and tools up to 9 to 11 for deployment and use. The AIGP exam guide prints all 13 with the performance indicators under each, and The AIGP Body of Knowledge v2.1, explained walks through them.

The Body of Knowledge also says how deep the questions go. It explains that "The verbs that begin the skill and task statements (identify, evaluate, implement, define) signal the level of complexity of the exam questions", and that "IAPP exam questions mostly focus on the remember/understand and apply/analyze levels" of Bloom's taxonomy. An indicator that begins "Understand" is tested as a definition or a distinction; one that begins "Apply" or "Perform" is tested as a situation.

Exam day

The exam is bought from the IAPP store and scheduled through Pearson VUE from your MyIAPP profile. The handbook sets the window: "All IAPP exams must be scheduled and taken within one year of purchase", and "Expired exams will be closed and fees forfeited." Appointments "must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance". In person, you may reschedule or cancel "up to 48 hours prior to the appointment time"; for an OnVUE appointment, "up to 15 minutes past the scheduled exam time". AIGP exam dates: registering and scheduling walks through booking, rescheduling and retakes step by step.

At a test center, the handbook asks you to arrive 15 minutes early with "two qualifying forms of ID"; arriving late can make you a no-show. Its rules in the room are what you would expect: no electronic devices and no reading material, no conversation between candidates, and a proctor who "may only discuss test center procedures, not exam content". You may leave the room, but "the timer will not stop, and you will not be given additional time."

For OnVUE, the handbook asks for a personal computer rather than a work-issued one, no VPN, and a system check of microphone, webcam and internet speed. Check-in opens 30 minutes before the appointment and starts with a photo of you and of a government-issued ID; the name on the ID has to match the name you registered with, and "Candidates who are turned away for not having proper identification will forfeit all exam fees." Once the exam starts, the webcam has to keep seeing your face, and the only time you may leave your workspace is the scheduled break.

If you fail

The handbook's rule for a retake is a new purchase: "Candidates who do not successfully pass their exam may purchase a new exam after their exam results reflect in their MyIAPP profile. Retake candidates will not be able to schedule an appointment for a date sooner than seven days after their prior attempt." The FAQs add that "Previously failed exams also receive a discounted retake price on subsequent attempts of the same certification", a price the store shows only once you answer whether you have attempted the exam before.

A missed appointment is a different matter. The handbook counts a no-show as a consumed attempt that "cannot be rescheduled", with an exception only for "unavoidable, extenuating circumstances" such as a medical emergency, requested through Pearson VUE.

What the IAPP does not publish

A format guide is only as useful as its honesty about the gaps, and the AIGP's are these:

• The pass rate. Not published anywhere in the pinned documents. Figures you see elsewhere are not the IAPP's.
• The share of scenario questions. The handbook and the FAQs say some questions are scenario-based and no more.
• The share of multi-select questions. The FAQs describe the format without a count.
• The raw cut score. The scaled 300 is the standard; the number of correct answers behind it is not released, and the FAQs say the IAPP will not tell you how many you got right.
• The retake price, which appears on the store page only after you choose the retake option.

Preparing for the format, not just the content

The IAPP's own advice is to study the Body of Knowledge first and to "Plan for a minimum of 30 hours of study time." Format practice is the cheap part of that time and the most neglected. Our AIGP practice questions are written in the exam's shape, each with its rationale; the question bank includes multi-select questions under the same "Select 3 of the 5 options" label the IAPP uses, and the mock runs in two halves on the exam's clock. A free account opens the first competency in full, so you can see both before paying anything.