What are the most popular data governance certifications? #
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A variety of certifications exist for professionals looking to validate their expertise in governance, stewardship, and compliance.
The most recognized programs come from global industry bodies, such as:
- DAMA International
- ICCP
- ISACA
- ARMA
There are also newer, more practical offerings from Dataversity and Atlan University.
Each certification has unique eligibility requirements, focus areas, and benefits.
In the next section, we’ll explore the most popular options in detail so you can understand their value and decide which aligns best with your career or organizational goals.
DAMA Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) #
Training provider: Data Management Association International (DAMA)
Focus areas:
- Data Management Process
- Big Data
- Data Architecture
- Document and Content Management
- Data Ethics
- Data Governance
- Data Integration and Interoperability
- Master and Reference Data Management
- Data Modelling and Design
- Data Quality
- Data Security
- Data Storage and Operations
- Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence
- Metadata Management
Eligibility: At least six months of industry experience for the CDMP Associate level. The CDMP Master level requires at least ten years of industry experience and participants must submit a CV for consideration.
Duration: 90-minute exam with 100 questions
Fees:
- All exam costs start at $ 300. Online proctored exams have an additional USD$11 proctor fee.
- Associate level: Pass 1 exam at $311
- Practitioner level: Pass 3 exams with 70% at $311 each
- Master Level: Pass 3 exams with 80% at $311 each and have a master experience assessment at $50
Additional notes:
- The program has three levels (Associate, Practitioner, Master). Individuals may remain at any level without pressure to advance.
- All CDMP Exams test your knowledge of the DAMA Data Management Body of Knowledge version 2 (DMBoK2).
Know more about DAMA CDMP data governance certification here →
Certified Data Governance & Stewardship Professional #
Training provider: Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP)
Focus areas: Stringent industry best practices, encompassing:
- Data governance concepts, business drivers and roles
- Data governance and stewardship roles
- Data governance inputs and deliverables
- Data governance function
- Fundamental knowledge areas for data stewardship activities
Eligibility: 900 hours of direct data governance and / data stewardship experience. Or 1400 hours of direct data governance and data stewardship experience to be completed after passing the course examination.
Duration: 90-minute exam
Fees: $374-$475 exam purchase
Additional notes: The Principal, Mastery, Associate/Practitioner, and Foundation level certifications require only a 90-minute exam, no workshop.
Know more about DGSP data governance certification here →
Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer® (CDPSE®) #
Training provider: ISACA
Focus areas: Covers 4 job practice domains (testing your knowledge and ability on real-life job practices):
- Privacy governance and operations
- Privacy risk management and compliance
- Data lifecycle management
- Privacy engineering (tech stack, security and privacy controls)
Eligibility: Three (3) or more years of experience in data privacy governance, privacy architecture, and/or data lifecycle work.
Duration: 3.5 hours (210 minutes), 120 multiple choice questions
Fees: $575 for members and $760 for non-members
Additional notes: Know more about ISACA data privacy solutions engineer certification here →
Applied Data Governance Practitioner Certification Program (ADGP) #
Training provider: Dataversity
Focus areas:
- Business imperatives for data governance: Ethics, data security and compliance, stakeholder engagement, ROI and business value, etc.
- Data governance foundations: Data quality, metadata management, principles and policies, standards, toolkit, etc.
- Data governance in practice: Frameworks, data stewardship, program management, implementing data governance programs,
Eligibility: No requirements
Duration: Self-paced
Fees: $2250
Additional notes:
- Dataversity offers a range of courses in data governance. A Certificate of Completion is provided at the end of courses and learning plans.
- If you’re a DGI (Data Governance Institute) member, you can claim a 10% discount for courses offered by the Dataversity Training Center using the discount code ‘DGI.’
Know more about Dataversity data governance certification here →
Information Governance Professional (IGP) #
Training provider: ARMA
Focus areas: Testing covers:
- Information governance leadership and management
- Organizational culture, risk tolerance, best practices
- Project management
- Policies, procedures, rules and guidelines for information governance
- Essential capabilities (for access, protection, privacy, search)
- Information lifecycle
- Information and technology architecture (taxonomy, metadata, formats, etc.)
- Data infrastructure (storage platforms, APIs, information transport, etc.)
Eligibility: 4-year degree (bachelor’s degree or global equivalent) and at least 3 years of management or leadership experience in risk management, law, compliance, audit, IT, privacy or security.
Duration: 3 hours, with 140 multiple-choice questions
Fees: $599 application and exam fee
Additional notes: Know more about ARMA information governance certification here →
Data Governance (ISO/IEC 38505) Foundation certification exam #
Training provider: ITCERTS
Focus areas:
- Scope of ISO/IEC 38505
- Data governance terms and definitions
- Benefits of good governance of data
- Responsibilities of the governing body
- Data accountability, and principles
- Model and data-specific aspects for good governance of data
Eligibility: No prerequisites, but 6 months of work experience in data governance is recommended
Duration: 60 minutes, with 40 multiple-choice questions
Fees: $150; you can purchase an exam voucher here →
Additional notes: Know more about ITCERTS data governance certification here →
Atlan University certifications #
Training provider: Atlan
Focus areas: Various certifications, with deep dives in areas like:
- Data compliance management
- Policy setting and enforcement
- Root cause and impact analysis
- Cost optimization
- Data discovery and exploration
Eligibility: No prerequisites, just register to Atlan Community for instant access
Duration: Depends on the certification chosen
Fees: Free for data practitioners
Additional notes: Know more about Atlan University certification here →
Data governance certification matrix #
Certification Name | Issuing Body | Prerequisites | Cost | Exam Duration | Certification Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DAMA | At least 6 months of job experience in data management | Starts at $300 | 90 minutes | 3 years | |
ICCP | At least 900 hours of data stewardship experience | $374-$475 | 90 minutes | Lifetime | |
ISACA | 3+ years of experience in data privacy governance | $575-$760 | 210 minutes | 3 years | |
Dataversity | None | $2250 | 2 hours | 3 years, Recertification Fee $250 | |
ARMA | 4-year degree (bachelor’s degree or global equivalent) and 3+ years of relevant work experience | $599 | 3 hours | 3 years | |
ITCERTS | None (6 months exp. recommended) | $150 | 60 minutes | Lifetime | |
Atlan | None | Free for data practitioners | Depends on the chosen certification | Lifetime |
What are the benefits of a data governance certification? #
Certified data governance professionals help improve decision-making, promote data transparency, and create greater organizational awareness of governance principles.
The biggest benefits of getting certified are as follows:
- Career advancement: New opportunities, better job authority, greater earning potential, and higher chances of promotions.
- Industry recognition: Credentials from respected institutions demonstrate commitment to governance excellence.
- Improved business outcomes: Stronger governance practices lead to better data quality, security, stewardship and compliance.
- Enhanced data management: Certifications equip you with skills to implement and manage effective governance frameworks.
- Governance adoption evangelism: Certified team members help spread awareness of data governance. This creates a positive feedback loop, inspiring others to pursue certifications and launch governance programs, leading to broader industry adoption.
- AI readiness: Certification programs that emphasize metadata and governance best practices prepare professionals to support safe and effective AI use.
How to choose the right data governance certification for your team in 6 steps #
Here’s a framework you can use to help narrow down your options and choose a certification that’s right for you and your team:
- Career objective: Identify your primary career objectives and determine which programs align with them.
- Industry needs: Assess the relevance of each data governance certification to your current or target industry.
- Curriculum focus: Review the curriculum and focus areas to ensure they cover topics essential to your professional goals.
- Costs: Consider the cost of each program and whether it fits your budget. Fortunately, some programs (like Atlan University certifications ) are free of cost.
- Time investment: Evaluate the time commitment required to complete the program and confirm that it aligns with your schedule.
- Organizational relevance: If you are choosing for a team, ensure the program supports organizational needs and collective skill development.
Once you complete this assessment, you’ll have clarity into which program (if any) is best to help you achieve your professional and organizational goals.
What tools do certified data governance professionals need? #
Earning a certification equips professionals with frameworks and methodologies, but applying them in practice requires the right tools.
Certified data governance professionals rely on a combination of platform capabilities that help enforce policies, monitor quality, ensure compliance, and promote adoption across the organization.
A metadata control plane like Atlan integrates multiple governance functions (catalog, lineage, quality, compliance) into one unified system, enabling continuous enforcement and AI-ready governance.
Some of these functions include:
- Data cataloging: To centralize metadata, classify assets, and provide visibility into where data lives and how it’s used.
- Data lineage: To track data flow from source to consumption, supporting regulatory requirements and impact analysis.
- Data quality: To profile, monitor, and remediate data quality issues in real time.
- Master data management (MDM): To establish a single source of truth across domains like customers, products, and financials.
- Access governance and security: To enforce role-based access controls, track data permissions, and secure sensitive assets.
- Compliance automation: To automate evidence collection, audits, and regulatory reporting, reducing the burden on governance teams.
- Collaboration across workflows: To align data stewards, compliance officers, and business teams on governance processes and responsibilities.
With these capabilities in place, certified professionals can translate the principles they’ve learned into operational programs that scale across modern, cloud-first organizations.
Real stories from real customers: Transforming policy into practice #
Modernized data stack and launched new products faster while safeguarding sensitive data
“Austin Capital Bank has embraced Atlan as their Active Metadata Management solution to modernize their data stack and enhance data governance. Ian Bass, Head of Data & Analytics, highlighted, ‘We needed a tool for data governance… an interface built on top of Snowflake to easily see who has access to what.’ With Atlan, they launched new products with unprecedented speed while ensuring sensitive data is protected through advanced masking policies.”
Ian Bass, Head of Data & Analytics
Austin Capital Bank
🎧 Listen to podcast: Austin Capital Bank From Data Chaos to Data Confidence
Join Data Leaders Scaling with Automated Policy Controls
Book a Personalized Demo →
53 % less engineering workload and 20 % higher data-user satisfaction
“Kiwi.com has transformed its data governance by consolidating thousands of data assets into 58 discoverable data products using Atlan. ‘Atlan reduced our central engineering workload by 53 % and improved data user satisfaction by 20 %,’ Kiwi.com shared. Atlan’s intuitive interface streamlines access to essential information like ownership, contracts, and data quality issues, driving efficient governance across teams.”
Data Team
Kiwi.com
🎧 Listen to podcast: How Kiwi.com Unified Its Stack with Atlan
One trusted home for every KPI and dashboard
“Contentsquare relies on Atlan to power its data governance and support Business Intelligence efforts. Otavio Leite Bastos, Global Data Governance Lead, explained, ‘Atlan is the home for every KPI and dashboard, making data simple and trustworthy.’ With Atlan’s integration with Monte Carlo, Contentsquare has improved data quality communication across stakeholders, ensuring effective governance across their entire data estate.”
Otavio Leite Bastos, Global Data Governance Lead
Contentsquare
🎧 Listen to podcast: Contentsquare’s Data Renaissance with Atlan
Ready to elevate your data governance capabilities? #
Whether you’re just starting or guiding an enterprise-wide program, data governance certifications provide the knowledge, credibility, and structure you need to succeed.
They validate your expertise, strengthen your ability to drive compliance, and help you build influence across technical and business teams.
More importantly, they connect you to a growing community of professionals advancing governance practices worldwide.
By choosing the right program and pairing it with the right tools, you’ll progress your career and accelerate data governance adoption in your organization.
Join Data Leaders Scaling with Automated Policy Controls
Book a Personalized Demo →FAQs about data governance certification #
What are data governance certifications? #
Data governance certifications are formal programs that validate an individual’s expertise in managing data assets effectively within an organization. These certifications cover key areas such as data quality, security, compliance, and stewardship, ensuring that professionals can implement robust governance frameworks.
Which data governance certifications are most recognized? #
Highly recognized certifications include:
- DAMA Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP)
- Certified Data Governance and Stewardship Professional (DGSP) by ICCP
- Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer® (CDPSE®) by ISACA
- Applied Data Governance Practitioner Certification Program (ADGP) by Dataversity
- Information Governance Professional (IGP) by ARMA
- Data Governance (ISO/IEC 38505) Foundation certification exam by ITCERTS (Canada)
- Atlan University Certifications
These programs are valued across industries for their comprehensive curricula.
How do I get certified in data governance? #
To get certified, select a certification program, complete the required training modules, and pass the associated exams. Many programs offer online and in-person training, followed by a proctored certification exam.
What are the benefits of obtaining a data governance certification? #
Obtaining a data governance certification demonstrates your expertise in data governance best practices, enhances your credibility, and can lead to career advancement opportunities. It also helps organizations meet compliance and regulatory requirements more effectively.
Are there online data governance certification programs? #
Yes, many institutions offer online data governance certification programs, providing flexible learning options. These include self-paced courses, live virtual sessions, and interactive online exams.
How do data governance certifications help with compliance? #
Certifications equip professionals with the knowledge to ensure that organizational data practices comply with legal and regulatory standards, such as GDPR or HIPAA. They provide the frameworks and tools necessary to establish compliant data governance policies.