- What DGSP-F Actually Is
- The ADGP Naming Problem
- Who Issues It and How the Exam Is Delivered
- The Five Domains You Will Be Tested On
- What It Costs
- Passing Is Only Half the Award
- Beginner-Friendly Scenarios in the Exam's Spirit
- A Domain-Ordered Study Sequence
- Progression, Renewal and Career Context
- Frequently Asked Questions
- DGSP-F is ICCP's foundation-level Data Governance and Stewardship credential, currently labeled Assistant Data Governance Professional (ADGP).
- The foundational exam runs 60 minutes and requires a score of 50% or higher.
- Awarding also requires 900 hours of direct data-governance or data-stewardship experience, plus the Code of Ethics and the fee.
- The USD $374 Basic Exam Bundle includes the exam, proctor fee and certification fee.
What DGSP-F Actually Is
DGSP-F stands for Data Governance and Stewardship Professional - Foundation. It is the entry-level tier of a data governance and stewardship credential family offered by the Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP). The foundation exam is designed for people who are early in the discipline: analysts who have been handed data quality tickets, junior stewards supporting a governance council, or business staff who have become the unofficial owner of a critical dataset.
What sets it apart from many entry-level certifications is that it is not purely a knowledge test. ICCP couples the exam with a work-experience requirement, so the credential signals both that you understand governance vocabulary and that you have actually done governance or stewardship work. If you want the shorter definitional versions of this topic, see our pages on what DGSP-F stands for and the DGSP-F certification.
The ADGP Naming Problem
One of the most confusing things about this credential is its label. ICCP currently names its foundational pathway Entry Level - Assistant (ADGP), expanded as Assistant Data Governance Professional. The DGSP-F name describes the same foundation-level identity, while the ADGP label is what you will see on ICCP's current pathway listings.
To make matters trickier, the ADGP acronym is also used by an unrelated credential: DATAVERSITY's Applied Data Governance Practitioner. Despite the matching letters, these are different programs from different organizations with different requirements. When you search for study materials, pricing or job postings, confirm that the ADGP you are reading about is the ICCP one. A quick check is whether the page mentions ICCP, the Data Governance & Stewardship exam, or the experience-hour requirement.
| Label | What it refers to |
|---|---|
| DGSP-F | Data Governance and Stewardship Professional - Foundation, the identity this site covers |
| ADGP (ICCP) | Assistant Data Governance Professional, ICCP's current label for the foundational pathway |
| ADGP (DATAVERSITY) | Applied Data Governance Practitioner, a different credential from a different organization |
Who Issues It and How the Exam Is Delivered
ICCP administers the exam and the award. A few administrative facts matter before you commit to a study plan:
- Format and timing: the Data Governance & Stewardship Exam (Foundational) lasts 60 minutes.
- Pass mark: a score of 50% or higher is required. For a deeper look at what that means in practice, see DGSP-F passing score.
- Delivery: computer-based over the internet, with either ICCP-arranged remote proctoring or an ICCP-approved in-person proctor.
- Remote requirements: identification verification, a webcam and reliable internet access.
- Degree requirement: ICCP's FAQ does not require a college degree.
- Retakes: after an unsuccessful attempt, ICCP advises waiting 30 days, with custom workplace training identified as a possible exception.
The number of live questions on the foundation exam is not something we can verify from ICCP's public materials, so we will not quote one. You will sometimes see figures like 100 or 110 questions online; those belong to a separate sample examination listing and to the professional-level comparison, not to the foundation exam. Plan around the 60-minute limit rather than a question count, and read DGSP-F exam dates for scheduling logistics.
The Five Domains You Will Be Tested On
ICCP's public examination outline for Data Governance & Stewardship lists five domain headings. We reproduce them here without percentage weights, because the public outline does not give weights we can responsibly quote. Note also that the foundational and professional exams share subject headings but are not identical, and ICCP's separate Data Foundations Exam is a different syllabus entirely. For a fuller walkthrough, see DGSP-F exam domains explained.
Domain 1: Data Governance Concepts, Business Drivers and Roles
This is the conceptual foundation. You need to explain what data governance is, why organizations invest in it, and how it differs from related disciplines such as data management and data quality.
- The business reasons organizations launch governance programs
- How governance links to risk, compliance and decision-making
- Basic role vocabulary that returns in later domains
Domain 2: Data Governance and Stewardship Roles
Governance is a people discipline, and this domain tests whether you understand who does what. Expect questions that distinguish accountability from day-to-day responsibility.
- How governance bodies, owners and stewards divide responsibilities
- Where a steward sits relative to business and technical teams
- Escalation: who decides when a data dispute cannot be settled locally
Domain 3: Data Governance Inputs and Deliverables
Programs consume inputs and produce artifacts. This domain asks what a governance effort needs to start and what tangible outputs it should generate.
- Typical inputs such as business requirements, existing policies and data assets
- Typical deliverables such as policies, standards, definitions and decision records
- How deliverables are communicated and kept current
Domain 4: Data Governance Function
This domain covers how governance operates as an ongoing function rather than a one-time project, including how policies are set, applied and monitored.
- How governance activities are organized and repeated over time
- Policy and standard lifecycles, from drafting to enforcement
- Monitoring and measuring whether governance is working
Domain 5: Fundamental Knowledge Areas for Data Stewardship Activities
The most hands-on domain. It covers the knowledge a steward draws on in daily work, such as the practical building blocks of data quality, metadata and data handling.
- Concepts a steward applies when reviewing or correcting data
- Documenting definitions and context so others can use data correctly
- Recognizing when an issue is a stewardship matter versus a technical one
The examples listed under each domain illustrate the kinds of topics these headings cover. They are our teaching interpretation of the published headings, not an official or exhaustive subtopic list.
What It Costs
ICCP prices the foundation pathway in two ways, and the difference is worth understanding before you pay.
| Option | Price (USD) | What is included |
|---|---|---|
| DGSP Basic Exam Bundle (Foundational) | $374 | One foundational Data Governance & Stewardship exam, the proctor fee and the certification fee |
| Individual foundational exam | $249 | The exam including proctoring |
| Certification charge (bought separately) | $125 | The certification fee |
The arithmetic is straightforward: $249 plus $125 equals $374, so the bundle simply packages the two. The separately listed $125 certification charge is already folded into the bundle price, so do not add it on top. If you retake the exam, you would be buying the exam again rather than the whole bundle, which is a good reason to prepare thoroughly the first time. Our DGSP-F certification cost breakdown walks through these scenarios in more detail.
Passing Is Only Half the Award
Many candidates assume that passing the exam is the finish line. For this credential it is not. After you pass, ICCP's award requirements include:
- Adherence to the ICCP Code of Ethics
- 900 hours of direct data-governance or data-stewardship experience
- Payment of the certification fee
The 900-hour figure is the requirement that most distinguishes DGSP-F from knowledge-only entry certifications. "Direct" experience means the hours should involve actual governance or stewardship tasks, not just working near data. Someone who has spent time documenting data definitions, resolving data quality issues with business owners, or supporting a governance council has the right kind of experience; someone whose job never touched those activities may need to build hours before the award is complete. See DGSP-F requirements for a fuller eligibility discussion.
Key Takeaway
Count your experience hours before you pay for the exam. If you are far from 900 hours of direct governance or stewardship work, plan how you will accumulate them so the award does not stall after you pass.
Beginner-Friendly Scenarios in the Exam's Spirit
The scenarios below are original illustrations we wrote to show how the published topics can appear in applied form. They are not actual exam questions.
Scenario 1: Two definitions of "active customer"
Sales counts a customer as active after any purchase in a year, while finance counts only those with a current contract. Reports disagree, and each team insists its definition is correct. This touches Domain 2 and Domain 3: the right response is to route the disagreement to the role accountable for the term, and the lasting deliverable is an agreed, documented definition.
Scenario 2: A new regulation arrives
A new rule changes how personal data must be retained. The question is not how to configure a database but how governance responds: identifying the business driver, deciding which policy must change, and communicating the update. That is Domain 1 and Domain 4 territory.
Scenario 3: A steward finds inconsistent product codes
While reviewing a dataset, a steward notices the same product appears under three codes. The steward's task is to document the issue, find the owner of the product data, and propose a standard. This is the practical heart of Domain 5.
A Domain-Ordered Study Sequence
Rather than generic advice, sequence your preparation by how the domains build on each other. Roles and vocabulary introduced early are reused later, so front-load them. For a broader plan, see our DGSP-F study guide.
Concepts and business drivers (Domain 1)
- Define governance in your own words and list common business drivers
- Separate governance from data management and data quality
Roles (Domain 2)
- Map accountability versus responsibility across governance bodies, owners and stewards
- Practice working out who resolves a dispute at each level
Inputs, deliverables and the function (Domains 3 and 4)
- List what a program needs to start and what it produces
- Trace a policy from draft to monitoring
Stewardship knowledge areas and timed practice (Domain 5)
- Review stewardship fundamentals using your own work examples
- Run timed sets against the 60-minute limit with a DGSP-F practice test
If a topic keeps tripping you up, our DGSP-F cheat sheet offers a compact review, and how hard the DGSP-F exam is sets realistic expectations for difficulty.
Progression, Renewal and Career Context
Moving beyond the foundation
Advancing to the professional level requires taking the separate 90-minute professional examination. It is not an automatic score-based upgrade from Foundation, so a strong foundation result does not carry you upward on its own. Treat the foundation as a credible starting point and the professional exam as its own preparation project.
Renewal and membership status
ICCP distinguishes its lifelong awarded credential from current certified-member status. Its renewal policy runs on three-year cycles: Associate members submit 60 acceptable professional-development hours and pay USD $35 annually, while Professional members submit 120 hours and pay $75 annually. The public policy does not explicitly map the current Assistant/ADGP title to a membership tier, so apply whatever tier ICCP assigns you rather than assuming a particular renewal obligation.
Who tends to value it
Because the credential centers on governance and stewardship roles, it is most relevant to data steward, data governance analyst and data quality-adjacent positions, as well as business users who own data in regulated or data-heavy organizations. For job-market context, see DGSP-F jobs, and for the financial angle, whether the DGSP-F certification is worth it. We do not quote salary figures here because we cannot verify credential-specific numbers; our salary guide discusses the topic qualitatively.
Frequently Asked Questions
For ICCP, ADGP (Assistant Data Governance Professional) is the current label on the foundational pathway that corresponds to the DGSP-F identity. Be careful, though: DATAVERSITY's Applied Data Governance Practitioner also uses ADGP and is an entirely different credential.
The Data Governance & Stewardship Exam (Foundational) lasts 60 minutes, and you need 50% or higher to pass. The public sources we reviewed do not confirm a live question count for the foundation exam, so we do not state one.
The DGSP Basic Exam Bundle is USD $374 and includes one foundational exam, the proctor fee and the certification fee. Buying separately costs $249 for the exam with proctoring plus $125 for certification, which totals the same $374.
ICCP's FAQ does not require a college degree. However, the award requires 900 hours of direct data-governance or data-stewardship experience in addition to passing the exam, adhering to the Code of Ethics and paying the certification fee.
Yes. The exam is computer-based and can be taken with ICCP-arranged remote proctoring, which requires identification verification, a webcam and reliable internet, or with an ICCP-approved in-person proctor. If you fail, ICCP advises waiting 30 days before retrying.
DGSP-F is best understood as a two-part credential: a 60-minute exam on governance concepts, roles, deliverables, functions and stewardship knowledge, plus documented hands-on experience. For a deeper dive into the terminology, you can also read what DGSP-F certification is, and when you are ready to test yourself, start with the practice questions on the main DGSP-F practice test site.