I took my CIPP/US and passed in January 2023. I didn’t spend a ton of money on prep courses, and I did it all while in my JD/MBA program, planning a wedding, and my s/o’s re-election campaign. While I realize everyone is different, I hope this helps you if you are thinking of getting this certification.

Total Expenditures: $ 1,029 USD

First, let me start by saying that this would have been way more expensive if I wasn’t enrolled in school. The IAPP gives a discounted membership of around $50 for students. You either have to pay the certification maintenance fee or join and pay your annual dues to receive the certification, which is not included in the $550 exam fee. So, if I wasn’t in school, I would have had to pay around $250 to join. Lucky me.

Second, I was determined to not have to fork over any cash I didn’t have to, in order to pass this exam. I am on a budget, but I really want to take advantage of all of the free and reduced cost opportunities that are available as a student. Not only this, but I wanted to be more competitive as I apply for legal internships in the fintech, Saas, and B2B job market. This led me to reddit among other sites that honestly were not that helpful because a lot of people taking this exam already have jobs, which often are willing to pay for the prep and exam costs. Good for them. That’s just not me. There’s only a few schools I am aware of that have privacy training built into their curriculum for law, and I do not attend one of them. So, I found Privacy Bootcamp and forked-over the almost $400, compelled by their promise that if you complete their course and do not pass, you get $200 back. Additionally, they discount your prep for the CIPM and CIPP/E courses as well. I took a risk and I do not regret it. Link: https://www.privacybootcamp.com

As far as books go, I recommend Mike “CertMike” Chapple’s book on the CIPP/US. It was pretty in-depth, and his “exam tips” section was really helpful in flagging the specific areas that I needed to focus on within the content. Privacy Bootcamp is great because if you drag your feet on taking the exam (like I did), it updates as the exam updates. This is especially great for the state law section, because California basically restructured their entire privacy regulatory structure in the time that I first bought my prep material and the time when I actually started cramming for the exam, so unlike a book that stays static, this course updated as things changed. The statutory cheat sheets and charts in Privacy Bootcamp were super helpful, but I didn’t find the practice exams or the flash cards as helpful as I did the ones that came with CertMike’s book. Each book comes with a way to get access (even the ebook) to CertMike’s online resources and they are nice. Additionally, if you subscribe to LinkedIn Learning (I think it was $30 a month), he has an exclusive video series that covers everything in the book in a condensed format. I found this helpful to watch as a review right before the exam.

Lastly, here’s my quick tips:

1. Make lots of flash cards

2. The exam references bills by number, not just name, so know all the names of each FIP/bill/SP.

3. Keep track of the penalties for violations in different circumstances.

4. Make sure you buy prep right before the exam (a month out is good). Everything changes so rapidly in this world, that if your prep doesn’t update, you might have to re-purchase if you drag your feet.

5. Find flash card sets on quizlet.

6. Don’t let the reddit people scare you.

7. If you can take it during school—do it.