The most commonly asked questions about certification. This includes ECBA™, CCBA®, CBAP®, IIBA®-CBDA, IIBA®-AAC, IIBA®-CCA, and IIBA®-CPOA. Select the question that interests you to reveal the answer. Please note, for questions or support in French Canadian or other languages, please contact IIBA's Customer Support team by email at info@iiba.org
As individuals move along their career progression, their competencies will grow and develop. At each key milestone, the individual will have developed or gained a different level of competency that can be recognized, thus providing a clear differentiation between certification levels. The certification level encourages a BA professional to seek growth through specific learning and development to support them in achieving the desired level. IIBA certification programs will assess and measure an individual's competencies at any given level thus ensuring the BA professional and employer knows what is expected at each level.
Professional certification is a designation earned by an individual identifying that they have demonstrated a standard level of skills, experience, and expertise within their field. CCBA®, CBAP®, IIBA®-AAC and IIBA®-CBDA are considered professional certifications because they each have a unique work experience requirement to be eligible and the exam tests their application of the competencies required at each level. In addition, recipients are required to maintain their certification through ongoing continual development activities for recertification. ECBA™ and IIBA®-CCA not require work experience or ongoing continuing development activities, or recertification to be eligible.
No, you do not need to be an IIBA member to apply for certification or recertification.
There are many benefits to IIBA membership. These include, but are not limited to, discounted certification exam fees, discounted recertification fees, a free PDF copy of the BABOK® Guide, and much more.
Please refer to the relevant Recertification Handbook for details.
The Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA) is for individuals new to business analysis, those starting a new career and functional managers with little or no work experience as a business analysis professional. To be eligible:
The Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA) is for business analysis practitioners with 2-3 years experience. To be eligible, you must have:
The 3,750 hours of business analysis work experience must align with the BABOK® Guide and include a minimum of 900 hours each, in each of 2 Knowledge Areas (KA)s OR a minimum of 500 hours each, in each of 4 Knowledge Areas. The 3,750 hours must align with the 6 Knowledge Areas in the BABOK® Guide.
To qualify, you must have at least 21 hours of education completed within the last 4 years that is directly aligned with the BABOK® Guide . It must be completed before applying for certification. The format cannot be a presentation, and must follow education and training standards that include:
Yes! IIBA endorses education and training delivered by EEPs and Academic Members to support the ongoing development of business analysis professionals. Explore the Endorsed Education and Training and the Upcoming Certification Exam Preparation Courses pages for details.
References can either be a CBAP® recipient, a career manager or a client (internal or external) who have known you for at least 6 months. Work references would be your Manager or anyone in the organization who can confirm the work completed and submitted on an application.
The first step is to ensure you meet the eligibility requirements as noted above and then go to IIBA.org and start by logging in with your IIBA credentials or creating a new account.
From your profile page, open the Certifications menu, click on My Certifications, and get started with CCBA by following the steps. See the CCBA Certification Handbook for details and follow the Application Process steps to pay for your application, and enter your required information.
The Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) is for business analysis professionals with 5+ years experience. To be eligible, you must have:
The 7,500 hours of business analysis work experience must align with the BABOK® Guide and include a minimum of 900 hours each, in each of 4 of 6 Knowledge Areas (KAs), for a total of at least 3,600 of the required 7,500 total. The 7,500 hours must align with the 6 Knowledge Areas in the BABOK® Guide.
To qualify, you must have at least 35 hours of education completed within the last 4 years that is directly aligned with the BABOK® Guide . It must be completed before applying for certification. The format cannot be a presentation, and must follow education and training standards that include:
Yes! IIBA endorses education and training delivered by EEPs and Academic Members to support the ongoing development of business analysis professionals. Explore the Endorsed Education and Training and the Upcoming Certification Exam Preparation Courses pages for details.
References can either be a CBAP® recipient, a career manager or a client (internal or external) who have known you for at least 6 months. Work references would be your Manager or anyone in the organization who can confirm the work completed and submitted on an application.
The first step is to ensure you meet the eligibility requirements as noted above and then go to IIBA.org and start by logging in with your IIBA credentials or creating a new account.
From your profile page, open the Certifications menu, click on My Certifications, and get started with CCBA by following the steps. See the CCBA Certification Handbook for details and follow the Application Process steps to pay for your application, and enter your required information.
Enter the course provider company name and the name, phone number and email of your own contact who can validate that you took the course.
Applications are assessed immediately upon submission. You will not be able to submit your application unless you have met all the eligibility requirements. Once your online application shows that all requirements have been met, you will be able to submit your application. You will immediately receive an email stating that you are either approved OR approved pending audit. If you are approved, the e-mail will contain instructions on paying the exam fee so you can schedule it.
Random application audits are performed for all levels of the core business analysis certification program. Audits include validating the work experience, professional development and references submitted in your application.
If your application notice is "approved pending audit", this means your application will be audited within one month.
Applicants may receive a request to validate any information on their application form. It is the applicant’s responsibility to obtain and provide verification of any statements made within their application. Timing of the audit is dependant on responses from references.
If your audit is not passed, the reason will be communicated to you via email and your application will not be approved. All fees paid will be forfeited. You may reapply only after you have remedied the reasons for the audit not passing. You may also appeal the Certification Body’s decision to fail the audit of the application by e-mailing certification@iiba.org.
Application extensions can only be requested for extenuating circumstances. An extenuating circumstance is an event or hardship that would lead you to request an application extension. To request an extension or review the requirements, please visit our Extenuating Circumstance Policy.
Unfortunately, your paid exam or exam rewrite fee cannot be transferred to your next application. Therefore, you have 12 months from the day IIBA received your exam payment to request a refund. After such time, you will forfeit your exam or exam rewrite fee payment. To request a refund of your exam or exam rewrite fee, please e-mail certification@iiba.org. Please include a reason for your refund request.
Indicate in the description field for the project that it involves sensitive company information and then provide only as much information as possible without breaching the privacy.
You will be able to reuse the work experience and professional development from your past certification application provided they meet the eligibility requirements for the next level.
Refer to the certification pages for the AAC, CBDA, CCA and CPOA requirements.
Login or create an IIBA profile and go to My Certifications and the Certification Summary page. Review the specific handbook for details and purchase your exam.
Although there are no prerequisites for the specialized certifications, we highly recommend business analysis experience and some experience working in the specialized area. Refer to the certification pages on the IIBA website for details.
The application fee must be paid first and hours submitted to be approved. The exam fee is paid after the application in approved.
You have 12 months from the day IIBA received your exam payment to request a refund. After such time, your exam or exam rewrite fee payment will become non-refundable and you will forfeit the payment. To request a refund of your exam or exam rewrite fee, please e-mail certification@iiba.org.
Any fees required to cancel your exam still apply. In some situations, the Exam Cancellation/Reschedule/Missed or Late policy may supersede this policy.
To request a refund of your exam or exam rewrite fee payment, you must first cancel your scheduled exam with PSI, and then e-mail your refund request to the Certification team at certification@iiba.org. Please include a reason for your refund request.
Please note: The application fee for our core BA certifications is non-refundable.
All exams are offered via remote online proctoring through PSI using your own computer. The CCBA® and CBAP® exams are also available at PSI test centres. You can select your option when you schedule your exam. Please review our Exam Information page.
It really depends on the individual. Your level of experience and knowledge will impact the amount of studying time required. Refer to the exam preparation suggestions on each certification page.
IIBA is a not a training provider although we do provide the certification exams. We have Endorsed Education and Training Providers which are training providers whose courses have been assessed and validated by IIBA to ensure they meet the professional development criteria for certification. Visit the Endorsed Education and Training Provider page to find an endorsed provider and/or course that meets your needs. IIBA does not provide course recommendations.
For the Certificate in Cybersecurity Analysis (IIBA®-CCA), IIBA® and IEEE Computer Society have partnered to offer an e-learning course. Visit the Cybersecurity Analysis Learning and Certification page to learn more.
Please review our policy within our Exam Information page.
Please review our exam cancellation and rescheduling policy within our Exam Information page.
You must wait for IIBA to receive your exam result from the testing provider and upload it to your IIBA profile before you can pay and schedule your rewrite exam. This may take up to 24 hours from your exam day. As soon as your score is uploaded into your IIBA profile account, you will receive an e-mail from IIBA instructing you on your next steps to pay the exam rewrite fee and to schedule your rewrite of the exam. To schedule your rewrite, you are required to pay the rewrite fee to IIBA first.
Once you have scheduled your exam at a test center, you will receive a confirmation notice via email with the exam logistics almost immediately. In addition, you will receive an appointment reminder via email two days prior to the exam date.
If you experience an error while trying to schedule your exam, please contact certification@iiba.org.
No, it will not affect your admission into the exam.
Yes, it will affect your admission into the exam. Please e-mail certification@iiba.org right away. If you are not admitted to the exam due to inadequate identification, you will be required to pay a fee to IIBA in order to reschedule your exam.
To find out what type of identification is required on the day of your exam, please review our Exam Information page.
There can be issues with compatibility due to corporate firewalls that may restrict access. Always check compatibility using the same computer in the same environment as where you will take your exam. See details on the Exam Information page.
If you miss the exam date without cancelling or rescheduling in advance and paying the necessary fee, you will be considered a no-show and will have to forfeit the exam fee or rewrite fee you already paid, unless there is an Extenuating Circumstance.
For exam centers, you must arrive at the testing center at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled exam time. For remote proctored exams, if you are more than 15 minutes late for the exam, you will not be permitted to write the exam and will have to forfeit the exam fee or rewrite fee you already paid.
In addition to being offered in the Online Remote Proctored format, the CBAP® and CCBA® exams are also offered at PSI Test Centers. These are the ONLY two IIBA exams offered at Test Centers.
1. Consult the PSI Exam FAQs for specific requirements that relate to the testing experience, arrival time, things that you can/cannot bring into the Test Center and the questions the Test Center Administrator (TCA) will ask you.
2. Watch the PSI Test Center Experience video
3. Review the following Security Wanding Protocol:
Effective April 1, 2024, the check-in at Test Centers will include a required metal detection wanding inspection by trained Test Center Administrators. This new protocol is designed to ensure that no unauthorized devices or items enter the testing area. Those who refuse the wanding protocol (and have not been granted an exemption) will be required to reschedule their exam.
If the wand indicates an alert:
If a prohibited device is found in a test taker’s possession:
IIBA does not provide scores or scoring percentages for any of our certification exams. This is quite common practice for professional certifications provided by professional member associations like IIBA. Performance indicators are provided to help candidates target either their preparation for an exam retake or, their plans to improve performance on the job. They are intended for the candidates’ support not for comparison with other candidates.
You will see your exam results immediately after you submit your exam. Confirmation of your exam result will also be emailed to you by IIBA within 2 business days.
From your exam date, it can take up to 2 business day for IIBA to process your result from the testing provider. Once this is done, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from IIBA.
No, IIBA does not accommodate for translators. For any given language that an IIBA exam is delivered, the expectation is that the candidate is fluent in that language. The CBAP exam is also available in Japanese.
Please refer to the Recertification Handbook for details about your certification:
When you submit your recertification application, you are not required to provide documents that verify your CDUs. In the event that your recertification application is selected for audit, you are required to provide proof at that time. As a result, we recommend you keep a copy of the supporting documentation for all CDUs claimed for 12 months. A list of the required supporting documentation and acceptable formats can be viewed in the Recertification Handbooks under Audits and Audit Documentation.
Recertification extensions can only be requested for extenuating circumstances. An extenuating circumstance is an event or hardship that would prevent you from completing your recertification. To request an extension, please visit the Extenuating Circumstance Policy page.