AIGP study guide · 2026

The 4 AIGP domains, explained

4 domains and 58 official performance indicators. Understanding how to govern AI development carries the most weight at ~27%. Each guide explains what the domain covers, how its questions are framed and where candidates lose marks.

Start with Domain 3 See all domains
Questions
100 multiple choice (85 scored, 15 unscored)
Time
3 hours (including an optional 15-minute break)
Passing score
300 on a 100–500 scaled score
Outline
AIGP Body of Knowledge and Exam Blueprint v2.1 (effective 2 February 2026, current)

Exam blueprint

Bar widths follow the official weights. Weight ranges are drawn at their midpoint.

  1. 1 21%
  2. 2 25%
  3. 3 27%
  4. 4 27%
  1. 1 Understanding the foundations of AI governance
  2. 2 Understanding how laws, standards and frameworks apply to AI
  3. 3 Understanding how to govern AI development
  4. 4 Understanding how to govern AI deployment and use

All 4 domains

58 official performance indicators 58–76 hrs suggested study

  1. Domain 01 ~21%

    Understanding the foundations of AI governance

    Domain I sets up the governance program itself: what AI is and why it creates distinct risks, the principles of responsible AI, who owns which decisions, how teams work together, and the policies that run across the AI life cycle.

    Inside this domain

    • Know the generally accepted definitions and types of AI
    • Identify the types of risks and harms posed by AI to individuals, groups, organizations and society
    • Identify the unique characteristics of AI that require a comprehensive approach to governance
    • Identify and apply the common principles of responsible AI
    • and 8 more performance indicators

    Watch for Ban instead of govern

    Performance indicators
    12
    Questions est.
    ~18 of 85 (IAPP range 16–20) questions
    Study time est.
    12–16 hrs
  2. Domain 02 ~25%

    Understanding how laws, standards and frameworks apply to AI

    Domain II covers the legal and standards landscape for AI: how privacy law applies to training and inference, how IP, nondiscrimination, consumer protection and product liability law reach AI, the EU AI Act's risk-based rules, and the OECD, NIST and ISO frameworks.

    Inside this domain

    • Understand how transparency, choice, lawful basis and purpose limitation requirements apply to AI
    • Understand how data minimization and privacy by design requirements apply to AI
    • Understand how obligations on data controllers apply to AI
    • Understand the requirements that apply to sensitive or special categories of data (e.g., biometrics)
    • and 13 more performance indicators

    Watch for Chatbot equals high risk

    Performance indicators
    17
    Questions est.
    ~21 of 85 (IAPP range 19–23) questions
    Study time est.
    18–24 hrs
  3. Domain 03 ~27%

    Understanding how to govern AI development

    Domain III follows an AI system through development: defining the use case, assessing impact, applying policy to design, governing training and test data, documenting each step, then releasing, monitoring, auditing and disclosing the system responsibly.

    Inside this domain

    • Define the business context and use case of the AI system
    • Perform or review an impact assessment on the AI system
    • Apply the policies, procedures, best practices and ethical considerations to designing and building the AI system
    • Identify and manage the internal and external risks and contributing factors related to designing and building the AI model and system
    • and 12 more performance indicators

    Watch for Monitor it later

    Performance indicators
    16
    Questions est.
    ~23 of 85 (IAPP range 21–25) questions
    Study time est.
    14–18 hrs
  4. Domain 04 ~27%

    Understanding how to govern AI deployment and use

    Domain IV governs AI an organization decides to put into use: weighing context, model types and deployment options, assessing the selected system and its vendor terms, then monitoring, documenting, communicating and, when needed, switching it off.

    Inside this domain

    • Understand the context of the AI use case
    • Understand the differences in AI model types
    • Understand the differences in AI deployment options
    • Perform or review an impact assessment on the selected AI system
    • and 9 more performance indicators

    Watch for Vendor audit is enough

    Performance indicators
    13
    Questions est.
    ~23 of 85 (IAPP range 21–25) questions
    Study time est.
    14–18 hrs

Study the heaviest domains first

Marks follow weight. This order puts the most marks behind you first, across about 58–76 hrs of study.

  1. 3 Understanding how to govern AI development ~27% · 14–18 hrs
  2. 4 Understanding how to govern AI deployment and use ~27% · 14–18 hrs
  3. 2 Understanding how laws, standards and frameworks apply to AI ~25% · 18–24 hrs
  4. 1 Understanding the foundations of AI governance ~21% · 12–16 hrs

Try one

Practice questionDomain 3: Understanding how to govern AI development

A software company is training a model to rank job applicants for its clients. Midway through, a client says it never had consent to share candidate data for model training. What should the AI governance lead do FIRST?

One trap from every domain

The answer that looks right, and the clue that gives it away.

  • Domain 1

    Ban instead of govern

    Clue Staff are already using AI and the business wants the benefits.

  • Domain 2

    Chatbot equals high risk

    Clue The system only answers questions and does not make Annex III decisions.

  • Domain 3

    Monitor it later

    Clue The problem was found during testing, before launch.

  • Domain 4

    Vendor audit is enough

    Clue The deployer's population differs from the vendor's test set.

Other Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning certifications

Study guides for exams that overlap with AIGP.

Practise what you read

AIGP domains: common questions

How many domains are in the AIGP exam?

AIGP has 4 domains with 58 official performance indicators between them: Understanding the foundations of AI governance, Understanding how laws, standards and frameworks apply to AI, Understanding how to govern AI development and Understanding how to govern AI deployment and use.

Which AIGP domain carries the most weight?

Understanding how to govern AI development is the heaviest at ~27%, followed by Understanding how to govern AI deployment and use (~27%). The lightest is Understanding the foundations of AI governance (~21%). Weights come from IAPP's official outline.

What is the AIGP exam format?

Questions: 100 multiple choice (85 scored, 15 unscored). Time allowed: 3 hours (including an optional 15-minute break). Passing score: 300 on a 100–500 scaled score.

How long should I study for AIGP?

Our planning estimate is 58–76 hrs across all domains, split by weight. It is an editorial estimate, not an official figure, so adjust it to your experience and to how you score on practice questions.

Where should I start?

Start with Understanding how to govern AI development, because it carries the most marks, then work down by weight. Use the checklist on each domain page to confirm you can do what the domain asks before moving on.

Which outline is this guide based on?

This guide follows AIGP Body of Knowledge and Exam Blueprint v2.1 (effective 2 February 2026, current), published by IAPP. It was last reviewed in October 2026.

Domain names, weights and performance indicators come from IAPP's official outline (AIGP Body of Knowledge and Exam Blueprint v2.1 (effective 2 February 2026, current)). Question counts and study hours are editorial planning estimates, not official figures. Last reviewed October 2026.