A search for an AIGP study guide or an AIGP book returns four kinds of thing: the IAPP's own free study guide, which is a nine-page PDF; the Body of Knowledge, which is the syllabus; one official textbook, which is sold; and a long tail of third-party guides, flashcard decks and PDF free download pages that are not the IAPP's. This guide sets out what each of the IAPP's documents is, what it holds, and what it costs, from the documents themselves and the IAPP's store pages, so you can tell the free and official from the rest before you spend a day on either.
The short answer
- The AIGP study guide is free and nine pages long: the exam's format, the IAPP's four preparation steps and its 30-hour recommendation, an outline of the Body of Knowledge, three example questions with answers, and the certification's general rules.
- The Body of Knowledge is the syllabus: nine pages, free, the only document the exam is written from, and "the candidate's core resource" in the handbook's words.
- The official textbook is "AI Governance: From Strategy to Execution", published in 2026, 388 printed pages, US$65 or US$75 digital and US$85 or US$95 print, members and non-members.
- Two more free documents matter: the candidate handbook, 20 pages of exam rules, and the IAPP's "Key terms for AI governance", a glossary of 99 terms on its site.
- No book is required. The FAQs: "No one paid resource is required to pass the exam, nor do any serve as a catch-all study guide to passing the exam."
What is the AIGP study guide?
The IAPP's certification page describes it in a line: "Prepare with this downloadable guide that covers the exam format and offers sample questions." It is a PDF, free from the IAPP's site, with the edition "effective February 2026" to match version 2.1 of the Body of Knowledge, and it runs to nine pages. Its own welcome page says what it contains: "Key areas of knowledge", "Recommended steps to help you prepare for your exam", "An outline of the body of knowledge", "General exam information" and "An explanation of the IAPP certification structure".
Page by page, this is what the nine pages hold:
- Page 3, the key areas. "The 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." The four subject matter areas follow, one line each.
- Page 4, preparation. The IAPP's recommendation to "plan for a minimum of 30 hours of study time in advance of your exam date", and its four steps in order: review the Body of Knowledge, get certification training, take the AIGP practice exam, purchase and schedule the exam. The page also says what the Body of Knowledge is for: "Questions may be asked from any of the topics listed under each area and can be used to guide your preparation."
- Page 5, the outline. The four domains and 13 competencies, as headings, without the performance indicators under them.
- Page 6, the format and three example questions. "The AIGP is a three-hour exam composed of 100 items. 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." Then two single-answer questions and one multi-select, under the label "MULTI-SELECT: Please select 3 of the 5 options below. No partial credit will be given."
- Page 7, general information. Testing "at more than 6,000 testing locations worldwide" or from home with online proctoring, and the requirements for certification: the US$250 maintenance fee for two years or the US$295 annual membership, and 20 credits of continuing education a year.
- Page 8, the answers to the three example questions.
Read it in twenty minutes, before anything else. It is the only place the IAPP prints questions in its own words before the exam, and AIGP exam questions: what they look like describes those three. What the study guide does not do is teach: it has no content on any domain, and it does not claim to. The study happens in the Body of Knowledge and whatever you learn each indicator from.
The Body of Knowledge is the syllabus
The AIGP Body of Knowledge and Exam Blueprint v2.1 is the document the study guide's first step points to, and the handbook makes it the center of any plan: "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 should serve as the candidate's core resource." It is nine pages, free, approved on September 9, 2025 and effective February 2, 2026, and it holds the four domains, 13 competencies and 58 performance indicators with the range of scored questions each carries.
It is a list, not a book. The FAQs' free resources are four: the handbook, the Body of Knowledge, the blueprint and the glossary, and of the Body of Knowledge they say it "serves as the main guide as to what topics will be covered on the exam. The exam is created based on this exact document, so nothing will appear on the test that isn't on the body of knowledge." The AIGP Body of Knowledge v2.1, explained walks through it, including how its verbs tell you how deep each question goes.
The official AIGP textbook
The IAPP sells one textbook for the exam, and its store page is explicit about its status: "Official textbook for the AIGP® program." The title is "AI Governance: From Strategy to Execution", and the page describes it: "It provides a practical framework for governing artificial intelligence across organizations, covering key concepts, governance structures, risk management, regulatory considerations, and implementation practices. Designed for both current and aspiring AI governance professionals, it equips readers to translate strategy into effective governance programs."
The page lists ten topics covered, which track the Body of Knowledge's four domains: "Governance strategy and program development", "Organizational oversight and stakeholder roles", "Global regulation, legislation, and compliance", "Industry standards, frameworks, and guidance", "Design and development best practices", "Model training and lifecycle management", "Risk management and assessments", "Deployment, monitoring, and maintenance", "Cybersecurity threats and resilience" and "Agents and emerging technologies". Its publish date is 2026 and its printed page count 388. Kevin Fumai is its lead author and executive editor, Colin Caleb its executive editor, and the page lists several dozen contributing authors. The digital edition is an ePub, and each edition carries five CPE credits.
The prices, on the IAPP store on October 21, 2026:
| Edition | Member | Non-member |
|---|---|---|
| Digital | US$65 | US$75 |
| US$85 | US$95 |
The handbook says what an official textbook is and is not: "The IAPP offers official preparation materials such as trainings, textbooks and practice exams on our website. All official preparation materials reflect their bodies of knowledge." And: "Certification exams are not a reflection of the candidate's ability to recall by memory the preparation materials. Preparation materials can be useful tools for building a working understanding of the topics on a body of knowledge." The FAQs leave the choice to you: "If you feel like the textbook or training will help enhance your studies based on your preferred learning style, you can find them in our online store."
One caution on currency. The Body of Knowledge changes every year, and the handbook says "Approximately 10% to 15% of the exam content is changed during annual updates." A textbook is fixed at its publish date; the law it describes is not. The EU amended its AI Act in July 2026, after the Body of Knowledge in force was approved in September 2025, so any book on the exam, this textbook included, should be read against the law's current text for the dates and duties that moved.
Key terms for AI governance, and the handbook
Two free documents round out the IAPP's own list.
The glossary. The FAQs say: "For AI governance terms, review our resource Key Terms for AI Governance." It is a web page, "Key terms for AI governance", with 99 terms, and the page says of itself that "This glossary was originally published in October 2023 and has been updated several times since to reflect the developing state of the art for AI governance." The Body of Knowledge's first indicator is to "Know the generally accepted definitions and types of AI", and this is the IAPP's own list of definitions. AIGP key terms: the glossary and flashcards sorts them by domain.
The candidate handbook. Twenty pages of rules: how the exam is structured and scored, how to schedule and reschedule it, what happens at a test center and under OnVUE, the retake and no-show rules, the integrity policy and the confidentiality agreement you sign before the exam. The FAQs say it "is available only in English", and the certification page says "We strongly encourage all potential test takers to read our certification candidate handbook before testing for details on our testing policies and procedures." The AIGP exam: format, multi-select and the 300 draws on it throughout.
AIGP study guide PDF, book PDF free download: what you find
The searches for an AIGP study guide PDF and for an AIGP book as a free PDF download are common, and they find different things.
The IAPP's free PDFs are three: the Body of Knowledge, the study guide and the candidate handbook, all on its site. Those are the legitimate free downloads, and there are no others from the IAPP. The textbook is sold, as an ePub or in print, and a page offering it as a free PDF is offering a copy the IAPP did not provide.
Study guides and books from other publishers are a separate matter: some are honest preparation written to the Body of Knowledge, and the handbook sets the limit for all of them, this site included. Materials "produced or distributed by any enterprise or individual other than the IAPP and its official training partners (OTPs) are not endorsed by the IAPP, and we cannot guarantee that these materials adequately prepare candidates for certification." What any third-party guide can honestly offer is teaching written to the Body of Knowledge's indicators; what it cannot offer is the IAPP's endorsement or the IAPP's questions.
How to use them in 30 hours
The study guide's order is the plan: the Body of Knowledge first, as a checklist of 58 indicators; then whatever teaches each indicator, the textbook if you learn from books, training if you learn from a course, or lessons written to the indicators; then the practice exam, for the IAPP's wording; then the exam. How to study for the AIGP weights the 30 hours by the blueprint's ranges, and AIGP practice exam: the IAPP's, and a mock explains what the practice exam can and cannot rehearse.
Our course is the third kind: 57 lessons written to the 58 indicators, with practice questions in the exam's format, flashcards and a mock in two halves. The first competency, AI and the need for governance, is free in full with a free account: five lessons, 100 questions and 118 flashcards, read in the app.
By QualExam editorial. Written against the certifying body’s published documents, pinned by hash so a revised edition shows up as a change.