Unless businesses start hiring psychics, certifications will continue to be a critical way for experts to prove that they know what they're talking about.
Whether you're looking to hire a privacy professional with the right skillset or a burgeoning privacy professional looking to develop and prove their competency, data privacy certifications are a key signifier. But just like the regulations they signify expertise in, data privacy certifications are a confusing mess of acronyms and jargon. If you don't know the difference between CIPP/E and a CISSP, you're in the right place.
What Are Data Privacy Certifications?
A data privacy certification shows the knowledge, expertise, and skills an individual has in handling personal data responsibly. These certifications are awarded by training organizations that are authorized and overseen by data privacy experts. They aim to ensure the person meets legal, ethical, and practical standards.
The process usually involves formal training, an exam to test what they’ve learned, and ongoing education to keep knowledge up to date as regulations change.
Although these are credentials for individual professionals, they can play an important role in a company’s broader privacy strategy.
Businesses that collect personal data must comply with various regulations. Some are regional—like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Others are industry-specific, such as HIPAA (healthcare) or FERPA (education).
Certain laws, like the GDPR, require companies to formally appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) to oversee compliance. Even if your organization is subject to a law that, unlike the GDPR, doesn’t require an explicit data privacy lead, it’s still a good idea to seek out one of these certified privacy professionals to manage compliance.."
Of course, there are different types of data privacy certifications. Some focus on legal and regulatory knowledge, while others are designed for technical teams, program managers, or executive leadership. The right certification depends on the privacy professional’s role and how your business approaches privacy.
Data Privacy Certifications and How to Become Certified
Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP)
Offered by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the CIPP certification is one of the most popular and widely used privacy certifications available. It focuses on privacy laws and regulations and how they apply to business operations. This certification is perfect for legal teams, DPOs and privacy program managers, HR, and anyone else who works in compliance.
It covers:
- Privacy fundamentals and core concepts
- Jurisdictional laws and enforcement
- Legal obligations for handling and transferring data
- Rights of individuals (like consent, access, deletion, etc.)
Since each region has its own regulations, CIPP offers location-specific certifications or concentrations:
- CIPP/A for Asia
- CIPP/E for Europe
- CIPP/US for the United States of America (private sector)
- CIPP/G (US Government, existing holders only)
- CIPP/C for Canada
To get certified, you first need to pick your regional track. The IAPP provides official training materials, including textbooks, free guides, and training courses. Depending on your learning style, you can opt for instructor-led classes or prepare on your own.
The exam consists of 90 multiple-choice questions and lasts 2.5 hours. Once certified, you’ll need to maintain your credential every two years by earning 20 continuing privacy education (CPE) credits and paying a renewal fee.
Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM)
This is another certification offered by the IAPP. While the CIPP focused on the whats of privacy regulations, the CIPM looks at the hows. In other words, the CIPP covers laws and legal frameworks, while the CIPM shows you how to put them into practice. It teaches you how to build, run, and improve your privacy program.
The CIPM privacy certification is designed for risk managers, compliance leads, privacy professionals, and operations managers. It covers:
- Building a privacy program framework
- Managing data privacy across the full lifecycle
- Leading teams and roles in privacy governance
- Managing vendor and third-party risk
- Measuring and auditing performance
- Communicating privacy strategy to stakeholders
Even though the CIPP and CIPM are both IAPP certifications and focus on different sides of privacy, you don’t need one to qualify for the other. That said, many professionals choose to get both to round out their skill set.
The training material, again, is provided by the IAPP, with an exam that’s 2.5 hours long, consisting of 90 questions. The process for keeping your certification current is the same as it is with the CIPP.
Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT)
Where the previous two certifications were for regulations and operations, CIPT is for the technical side of privacy. It’s designed for people who build and maintain the systems that handle personal data—think professionals in IT, cybersecurity, software development, and engineering.
Technologists need to understand how privacy principles apply in real-world systems and code. This certification shows that the professional understands how to:
- Embed privacy into software and system design (i.e., privacy by design)
- Apply data protection techniques and best practices
- Build secure development and deployment pipelines
- Manage identity and access controls
- Implement technical safeguards for data minimization and retention
- Collaborate with cross-functional privacy teams (e.g., legal, ops, security)
The CIPT certification also covers concepts like privacy engineering and privacy impact assessments (PIAs)—areas that are becoming increasingly important in modern technology development.
Since it’s also offered by the IAPP, the process for getting and maintaining this certification is exactly the same as CIPP and CIPM.
Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE)
Now that we’ve discussed the important privacy certifications from the IAPP, let’s take a look at the CDPSE. It’s offered by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), an organization quite well-known in the cybersecurity and IT governance space.
At first, the CDPSE sounds quite similar to the CIPT, but it’s a bit broader. Where the CIPT focuses on embedding privacy into systems, the CDPSE covers both implementation and how privacy fits into enterprise architecture, risk management, and data governance.
It’s one of the few certifications that’s entirely focused on privacy from a technical and architectural perspective, rather than just legal or operational compliance.
This certification is very useful for companies that develop in-house tools, handle large datasets, and embed privacy deep into their tech stack.
Unlike the IAPP certifications, the CDPSE requires at least three years of experience in at least two of the following areas: privacy governance, privacy architecture, or the data lifecycle.
The exam is longer and more in-depth than others. It’s 3.5 hours long and comprises 150 questions in a scenario-based format. For ongoing certification, you must earn CPEs annually and renew every three years.
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
While the CISSP isn’t a privacy-specific certification, it covers the topic as part of the broader focus on information security. If you’re a senior professional responsible for managing or overseeing an organization’s security strategy, this certification—offered by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2)—could be a great fit for you. It’s especially useful for professionals interested in making privacy a foundational element of your organization’s systems and networks.
The CISSP certification covers the following eight key domains of information security:
- Security and risk management
- Asset security
- Security architecture and engineering
- Communication and network security
- Identity and access management
- Security assessment and testing
- Security operations
- Software development security
To qualify for the CISSP exam, you need at least five years of work experience in two or more of the domains listed above. The exam itself is three hours long and includes 125–175 adaptive questions, designed to test both your technical expertise and your ability to make high-level strategic decisions about security.
Once certified, you’ll need to maintain your credentials through CPE credits and an annual maintenance fee.
Certified Data Protection Officer (CDPO)
As you might have guessed from the name, the CDPO is a certification for those who are, or are preparing to become, data protection officers (DPOs) under privacy laws like the GDPR.
It’s most commonly associated with the Professional Evaluation and Certification Board (PECB), though similar certifications are offered by other organizations as well.
Unlike more general privacy certifications, CDPO training focuses specifically on the responsibilities of a DPO as defined by regulation, covering:
- The GDPR and other global data protection laws
- The legal role and obligations of a DPO
- Implementing and maintaining a data protection compliance program
- Performing data protection impact assessments (DPIAs)
- Managing records of processing activities (RoPAs)
- Responding to data breaches and data subject requests
- Interacting with regulators and supervisory authorities
To get certified, most CDPO programs require familiarity with the GDPR and prior experience in a data protection role. For the PECB version, you’ll need more than five years of professional experience if you’re going for the CDPO Lead Implementer certification. At least two of these years should have been focused on data protection.
The exam consists of both theoretical and practical components. If you pass, you’ll sign the PECB Code of Ethics. You’ll also need to complete 300 hours of documented work in the field if you want to be certified after passing the exam. Like most certifications, you’ll have to maintain it through continuing education and professional activity.
Certified in Data Protection (CDP)
This is a generalist certification offered by the Identity Management Institute (IMI). It’s designed for professionals who want a broad understanding of data protection without focusing too heavily on legal, operational, or technical details. The CDP covers global privacy standards, risk management, and key privacy responsibilities throughout the data lifecycle.
There are no strict experience requirements, which makes it ideal for entry-level professionals or anyone working with personal data who wants to build foundational privacy knowledge.
Investing in or Making the Case for Data Privacy?
If you're trying to understand the different sorts of certifications out there in the privacy world, you're probably either trying to understand what those acronyms next to a candidate privacy professional's name mean, or you're seeking to develop your skillset as a privacy professional. In either case, you may be seeking to better understand and articulate the value of a privacy program.
