Detailed Mapping of the CIPP/US Body of Knowledge

Last Updated: October, 2023

Start Here: If you need a start-to-finish guide for the CIPP/US, check out Complete Guide to Get Your CIPP/US. The complete guide includes a high-level Mapping of the Official Textbook which introduces you to the topics covered by the CIPP/US, how many exam questions per topic to expect, and where to find the topics in the Official Textbook.

If you need a detailed mapping of the CIPP/US Body of Knowledge, keep reading.

What Is This?

Mapping the Official Textbook provides a digestible preview of the topics covered by the CIPP/US Certification Exam. However, people actively studying for the exam need a more detailed perspective.

This post provides a detailed mapping between the Body of Knowledge, Exam Blueprint, and Official Textbook. I created this mapping in three steps:

1. Replicating the Body of Knowledge
2. Mapping the Exam Blueprint to the Body of Knowledge
3. Mapping the Official Textbook chapters to the Body of Knowledge

Check out What Can I Expect? to see a sample or jump to Where Is It? to grab your copy.

What Can I Expect?

Combining the Body of Knowledge, Exam Blueprint, and the Official Textbook yields a valuable study resource for anyone pursuing the CIPP/US. First and foremost, this section provides a Sample Mapping—so you can decide whether it is worth your time. Before we get there, let's cover some quick notes and disclaimers:

1. If you find any inconsistencies, or if it was useful to you, let me know!
2. This is an unofficial study resource, so use your best judgment.
3. The number of questions you can expect from the Exam Blueprint is denoted in the format (min, max).
4. Some topics may span multiple chapters and sections^[1].
5. Not all content in the Body of Knowledge may be covered in the Official Textbook^[2].

Finally, please do not only review the items in this mapping. There is plenty of amazing content in the Official Textbook that helps ensure you understand these topics holistically. This should be an excellent study tool, but it should not be the only study tool you use.

Okay. On to the good stuff.

Sample Mapping

Introduction to the U.S. Privacy Environment (27, 35)

1. Structure of U.S. Law (4, 6) — Chapter 2, 3
   1. Branches of Government — Chapter 2.1
   2. Sources of Law
      1. Constitutions — Chapter 2.2.1
      2. Legislation — Chapter 2.2.2
      3. Case Law — Chapter 2.2.3
      4. Common Law — Chapter 2.2.3
      5. Contract Law — Chapter 2.2.4
      6. Regulations and Rules — Chapter 2.2.6
   3. Legal Definitions
      1. Person — Chapter 2.3
      2. Jurisdiction — Chapter 2.3
      3. Preemption — Chapter 2.3
      4. Private Right of Action — Chapter 2.3
   4. Regulatory Authorities
      1. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — Chapter 3.3
      2. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — Chapter 3.2, 11.1, 13.3.4
      3. Department of Commerce (DoC) — Chapter 2.4, 3.2
      4. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — Chapter 3.2, 8.1, 10.3, 13.1.2,
      5. Banking regulators
         1. Federal Reserve Board — Chapter 3.2, 9.1.2, 9.3.1
         2. Comptroller of the Currency — Chapter 3.2, 9.3.1
      6. State Attorneys General — Chapter 3.9, 5.2.5, 7.5, 7.6.4, 7.6.8, 7.8
      7. Self-Regulatory programs and trust marks — Chapter 3.10, 5.2.2.4
   5. Understanding Laws
      1. Scope and application — Chapter 2.6
      2. Analyzing a law — Chapter 2.6
      3. Determining jurisdiction — Chapter 2.3, 2.6
      4. Preemption — Chapter 2.6, 7.8

Where Is It?

The full mapping is not included directly in this post. Let me explain.

The best format for this resource is a PDF. This format ensures the content can be accessed online or offline and is broadly accessible to people across platforms in a readable format. Maintaining a heavily nested list in this post would not be as easily manageable, sharable, etc.

So where is it?

To manage the distribution of the PDF, I use Gumroad. This seems more refined than an open view-only link to Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. You can access the detailed mapping for free via the link below by providing your email address.

If you would like, you can specify a "fair price" e.g., $5, for the PDF to help support the work we do here at The Privacy Practitioner. If you would rather not provide your email to Gumroad, contact me and I will provide a copy of the PDF directly to you. Cheers.

[1] For instances where a topic spans multiple chapters, I have attempted to account for all chapters with substantial contributions. There may be smaller references that do not present new material which is not included.

[2] There may be content in the CIPP/US Body of Knowledge that is not discussed explicitly or in particular depth. I have done my best to show where this may be the case.