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Free exam guides, written from the source.

Most writing about certification exams is written from other writing about certification exams. These guides are written from the exam board's own handbook, the Official Journal text of the regulation, or the standards body's own publication, and every one lists what it was written from and when we read it.

152 guides so far

Pick the exam or the law you are working on.

Each group links to the books it leads to. Every guide is free, with no signup and no email wall.

Gold closed book labelled The book, connected to eight document cards: Exam format, Domains, Pass mark, Open book, Scenarios, Study plan, Requirements, and Retakes.
ISO 42001

What is on the PECB ISO 42001 Lead Implementer exam?

You are booked on a PECB ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer course and want to know what the exam on day five actually asks.

Read this guide
ISO 22301

What is on the PECB ISO 22301 Lead Implementer exam?

You are booked on a PECB ISO 22301 Lead Implementer course and want to know what the business continuity exam on day five actually asks.

Read this guide
ISO 42001

How should you split your study time for the ISO 42001 Lead Implementer exam?

You are booked on a PECB ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer course and want to know where your study hours should go before the exam on day five.

Read this guide
ISO 22301

How should you split your study time for the ISO 22301 Lead Implementer exam?

You are booked on a PECB ISO 22301 Lead Implementer course and want to know where your study hours should go before the exam on day five.

Read this guide
ISO 42001

Who needs an ISO 42001 Lead Implementer, and when does it start to matter?

You are deciding whether you, or someone on your team, should become a PECB ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer, and you want the answer from the standard and the exam board rather than from a course brochure.

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ISO 22301

Who ends up implementing ISO 22301, and what sets the clock running?

You have been asked to build or run a business continuity management system, or DORA or NIS2 has reached your organization, and you want to know what the ISO 22301 Lead Implementer work involves before you book the course.

Read this guide
PECB exams

How do PECB scenario-based questions work?

You are preparing for a PECB multiple-choice Lead exam and want to know how the scenario sets work before you meet the first one on the day.

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PECB exams

What can you take into a PECB open-book exam?

You are booked on a PECB Lead Implementer course and want to know exactly what may be on your desk when the exam starts, and how to find things in it fast.

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PECB exams

What happens after a PECB exam: results, re-evaluation and retakes?

You have sat, or are about to sit, a PECB multiple-choice Lead exam and want every deadline that follows it in one place.

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ISO 42001

What experience do you need to become a PECB ISO 42001 Lead Implementer?

You want a PECB ISO/IEC 42001 implementer credential and need to know what experience each level asks for before you book the course.

Read this guide
ISO 42001

What should candidates read before an ISO 42001 Lead Implementer course?

You run or sit a PECB ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer course and want a short, sourced reading list for before Day 1.

Read this guide
ISO 22301

What should candidates read before an ISO 22301 Lead Implementer course?

You run or sit a PECB ISO 22301 Lead Implementer course and want a short, sourced reading list for before Day 1.

Read this guide

AIGP

Preparing for the IAPP AIGP?

The booksAIGP Exam Guide AIGP Practice Questions

AIGP

What is on the AIGP exam: the 2026 blueprint, domain by domain

Someone searching for what the AIGP exam actually covers, before deciding whether to sit it.

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AIGP

An AIGP study plan built from the item weights, not from habit

Someone with limited evenings who wants to know where to spend them.

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AIGP

Who the AIGP is for: lawyers, engineers, product people and the governance job between them

You have been handed AI governance on top of your day job, or you want it as your next role, and you are deciding whether the IAPP's AIGP is the right preparation.

Read this guide
AIGP

AIGP or ISO 42001 Lead Implementer: which suits an AI governance team?

You are choosing an AI governance credential for yourself or your team, and the AIGP and the ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer are on the shortlist.

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AIGP

Is the AIGP certification worth it? An honest answer from a publisher that sells AIGP books

Someone deciding whether to spend the money and the study time, who wants the case against as well as the case for, and who has noticed that most answers come from people selling training.

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AIGP

AIGP dumps: what the exam's own structure does to them

Someone who has found AIGP dump sites and wants to know whether they work, from a publisher willing to say what the exam board's handbook does and does not state.

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AIGP

What the AIGP certification costs, every fee, from the IAPP's own handbook

Someone budgeting for the AIGP who wants the real total, including the retake and the two-year maintenance cost, not just the sticker price.

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AIGP

The AIGP certification, described from the exam board's own handbook

Someone deciding whether to sit the AIGP, who wants the format, the scoring and the fees from the source rather than from a course provider's sales page.

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CIPP/US

What is on the IAPP CIPP/US exam, and where should your study hours go?

You are preparing for the IAPP CIPP/US and want the format, the blueprint and a study split from the IAPP's own documents.

Read this guide
CIPP/E

What is on the IAPP CIPP/E exam?

You are preparing for the IAPP CIPP/E and want the format, the blueprint and the rules from the IAPP's own documents.

Read this guide
CIPP/E

How should you split your study time for the CIPP/E?

You are preparing for the IAPP CIPP/E and want to know where your study hours should go.

Read this guide
CIPP/US

Who needs the CIPP/US? US privacy work, role by role

You work on privacy in the United States, as counsel, a privacy or compliance lead, or the person in security, marketing, HR or product who keeps getting the privacy questions, and you are deciding whether the CIPP/US is the right credential.

Read this guide
CIPP/E

The CIPP/E and the people who use it: DPOs, counsel and the jobs GDPR created

You work with personal data in or for Europe, as a DPO, lawyer, compliance lead or the person who ends up answering the GDPR questions, and you are deciding whether the CIPP/E is the right credential.

Read this guide
CIPP/E

Which IAPP certification should you take: CIPP/E, CIPP/US, CIPM, CIPT or AIGP?

You work in privacy, data protection or AI governance and are choosing an IAPP certification for yourself or your team.

Read this guide
CIPP/E

When do you need a data protection officer under the GDPR, and what must the DPO do?

You are deciding whether your organization needs a DPO, hiring or appointing one, or preparing to take on the role.

Read this guide

GARP FRM

Sitting FRM Part I?

The booksFRM Part I Exam Guide FRM Part I Practice Questions

ISC2

Sitting the ISC2 CISSP or CCSP?

The booksCISSP Exam Guide CISSP Practice Questions CCSP Exam Guide

EU AI Act

Working out what the EU AI Act asks of you?

The booksAI Governance Framework AI Governance Worked Scenarios

EU AI Act

What does the EU AI Act require of public authorities using AI?

You work in a public authority or a body providing public services in the EU that uses or buys AI systems.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

What must a provider of a high-risk AI system do under the EU AI Act?

You build, or put your name on, an AI system that may be high-risk under the EU AI Act.

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EU AI Act

What does the EU AI Act require of general-purpose AI model providers?

You build, fine-tune or integrate general-purpose AI models and need to know what Chapter V of the EU AI Act requires and from when.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

What did the Digital Omnibus change in the EU AI Act?

You work on EU AI Act compliance and need to know exactly what the July 2026 amendment changed, from the Official Journal text.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

What must a deployer of AI do under the EU AI Act?

Your organization uses AI systems built by others and needs to know what the EU AI Act asks of a deployer.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

When is AI in critical infrastructure high-risk under the EU AI Act, and how does it fit with NIS2?

You work in an energy, water, transport or digital infrastructure operator in the EU that uses AI in operations.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

What does the EU AI Act require of banks and insurers using AI?

You work in risk, compliance or model governance at a bank, lender or insurer that uses AI on customers in the EU.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

What does EU AI Act Article 50 require for chatbots, AI-generated content and deepfakes?

You build or use chatbots, generative AI or synthetic media in the EU and need to know what Article 50 requires and from when.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

What does EU AI Act Article 4 require for AI literacy training?

You run learning and development or HR for an organization that uses AI systems in the EU, and need to know what Article 4 asks of you.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

Is AI in recruitment and HR high-risk under the EU AI Act, and what must employers do?

You work in HR or people operations at an organization that uses, or plans to use, AI in hiring, promotion, task allocation or performance monitoring in the EU.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

What does the EU AI Act mean for AI in education and training?

You work in a school, university, college or training provider in the EU that uses or plans to use AI with learners.

Read this guide
Liability

Software is now a product: what the revised EU Product Liability Directive means for AI

Someone shipping an AI system into the EU who has only been thinking about the AI Act.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

Is your AI system high risk? Article 6 and Annex III, in the Act's own words

Someone who needs to know whether the EU AI Act's heavy compliance regime lands on their system.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

An EU AI Act compliance checklist, built from the Articles rather than from opinion

Someone who needs a checklist they can actually defend, not a vendor's marketing list.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

Does the EU AI Act apply to your company? The scope test in Article 2

A non-EU company that does not know whether the Regulation reaches it.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

What actually goes in AI technical documentation, and where model cards fit

Someone who has heard of model cards and needs to know what the law asks for instead.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

EU AI Act incident reporting: the two, ten and 15 day deadlines, and which one applies

Someone building an incident process who needs the actual statutory clock, not a summary of it.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

Provider or deployer? How the EU AI Act assigns roles, and why it decides your obligations

Someone who does not know which role their organization occupies, which changes everything downstream.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

The prohibited AI practices under Article 5: eight in force, two more from December 2026

Someone checking whether a system they are building or buying is outright banned in the EU.

Read this guide
EU AI Act

EU AI Act: every application date and every fine tier, from the Regulation itself

Someone who needs the compliance deadlines and the penalty exposure, correctly, in one place.

Read this guide

AI governance frameworks

Building an AI governance program?

The booksAI Governance Framework ISO 42001 Lead Implementer Exam Guide

For teams

Budgeting or buying for a team?

Buying for a team

More

Everything else

FRM Part II

After Part I: who sits FRM Part II, and how the six areas map to real risk jobs

You have passed FRM Part I, or you are about to, and you want to know what Part II covers, which jobs it serves, how long you have, and what stands between you and the FRM certification.

Read this guide
FRM Part I

Starting the FRM: who sits Part I and what it opens

You are thinking about starting the FRM, as a student, an analyst or someone moving into financial risk, and you want to know what Part I covers, who it suits and what it starts.

Read this guide
SHRM-CP

HR generalists, business partners and the SHRM-CP

You work in HR, or want to, and you are deciding between the SHRM-CP, the SHRM-SCP and the PHR, or whether to certify at all.

Read this guide
PMP

Who the PMP is for under the July 2026 outline

You lead projects, or are about to, and you are deciding whether the PMP is worth the application, the 35 hours of training and the exam under PMI's July 2026 outline.

Read this guide
PHR

The PHR and US HR practice: who it is for

You work in HR in the United States, or for a US employer, and you are deciding whether the PHR is the right credential, or whether the SHRM-CP fits you better.

Read this guide
ISO 9001

Building a quality management system for real: who leads an ISO 9001 implementation

You have been asked to lead an ISO 9001 implementation or a move to ISO 9001:2026, or you are weighing the PECB Lead Implementer credential, and you want to know what the work involves.

Read this guide
ISO 9001

The ISO 9001 Lead Auditor: who audits quality systems

You audit quality management systems, or will, inside your organization, at suppliers or for a certification body, and you are deciding whether the PECB ISO 9001 Lead Auditor is the right credential.

Read this guide
ISO 45001

Who audits health and safety systems to ISO 45001, and which exam will you sit?

You have been asked to audit occupational health and safety management systems, internally, at suppliers or for a certification body, and you want to know what the ISO 45001 Lead Auditor work and exam involve before you book the course.

Read this guide
ISO 27701

Who builds an ISO 27701 privacy system, and how does it sit beside ISO 27001 and the GDPR?

You have been asked to build a privacy information management system, or to extend your security program to privacy, and you want to know what the ISO/IEC 27701 Lead Implementer work involves before you book the course.

Read this guide
ISO 27001

Who gets made the ISO 27001 Lead Implementer, and what are they expected to build?

You have been asked to lead, or join, an ISO/IEC 27001 project, or you are weighing the PECB Lead Implementer credential, and you want to know what the job really involves before you book the course.

Read this guide
ISO 27001

Inside the ISO 27001 Lead Auditor role

You audit information security management systems, or will, and you are deciding whether the PECB ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor is the right credential, or whether the Lead Implementer fits you better.

Read this guide
ISO 14001

Environmental auditing: who the ISO 14001 Lead Auditor is for

You audit, or will audit, environmental management systems, internally, at suppliers or for a certification body, and you are deciding whether the PECB ISO 14001 Lead Auditor is the right credential.

Read this guide
CRISC

IT risk owners and control owners: who the CRISC is for

You identify, assess or manage IT risk, or own the controls that answer it, and you are deciding whether ISACA's CRISC is the right credential.

Read this guide
CIPT

Privacy engineering as a job: who the CIPT is for

You build, design or secure systems that handle personal data, and you are deciding whether the CIPT is the right credential to show you can build privacy into them.

Read this guide
CIPM

Running a privacy program: who the CIPM is for

You run, or are about to run, a privacy program, or you have been asked to turn privacy compliance into something an organization does every day, and you are deciding whether the CIPM is the right credential.

Read this guide
CDPSE

Privacy by design in engineering terms: who the CDPSE is for

You build or secure systems that handle personal data and you are choosing between ISACA's CDPSE and the IAPP's CIPT, or deciding whether a privacy engineering credential is worth it at all.

Read this guide
AI governance

Who has to build an AI governance framework under the EU AI Act, and what does it have to do?

You have been asked to make your organization ready for the EU AI Act, or to own its AI governance, and you want to know which duties fall on you, by when, and what to build first.

Read this guide
CRISC

What is on the ISACA CRISC exam?

You are preparing for the ISACA CRISC and want the format, the current outline and the rules from ISACA's own documents.

Read this guide
CIPT

What is on the IAPP CIPT exam, and where should your study hours go?

You are preparing for the IAPP CIPT and want the format, the current blueprint and a study split from the IAPP's own documents.

Read this guide
CIPM

What is on the IAPP CIPM exam, and where should your study hours go?

You are preparing for the IAPP CIPM and want the format, the blueprint and a study split from the IAPP's own documents.

Read this guide
Exam facts

What it takes to pass: the published pass mark for 22 certification exams

A candidate who has been told to aim for 70% and wants the real pass mark for their exam.

Read this guide

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