How To Become CGEIT Certified – Certification Requirements [updated 2021]

Introduction

Those working in enterprise IT governance, compliance and risk management may want to earn the Certified in Governance of Enterprise IT certification (CGEIT). This cert is a vendor neutral IT governance certification hosted by ISACA that may help springboard cert holders to more pay and better job roles. To earn the CGEIT cert, aspiring cert holders will need to satisfy certain prerequisites. 

This article will detail how to become CGEIT-certified by focusing on its certification requirements. The article will explore the degree requirements, experience requirements and everything else you will need to know to satisfy the CGEIT certification requirements in order to earn this solid enterprise IT governance certification.

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Experience requirement

ISACA sets relatively strict experience requirements for their certifications, with three years of relevant experience in the field being the minimum. For CGEIT, aspiring cert holders will need to have gained at least five (5) years of experience in an oversight or advisory role supporting enterprise IT governance. This experience benchmark shows that the certification is intended for professionals that are well beyond the entry-level point of their careers.

For those that cannot meet this prerequisite, ISACA offers experience waivers. The maximum amount of time that a CGEIT waiver can wipe off the five-year experience minimum is one year.

Degree requirement

There is no degree requirement to earn the CGEIT certification. However, it should be noted that those working in enterprise IT governance, compliance and risk management are the target career path demographics for this certification. Most who earn this cert probably already have at least a bachelor’s degree from a four-year university because organizations hiring for these roles normally require at least a bachelor’s degree.

For those planning out their future career path and wanting to work in enterprise IT governance, it would be wise to pursue a degree in any of the following:

• IT auditing
• Accountancy
• Auditing
• IT
• Information security
• Computer science

Certification exam

The elephant in the CGEIT certification requirement room is that you will have to pass the CGEIT certification exam. The exam is based on four domains of enterprise IT governance knowledge. Please note that if you are preparing with older CGEIT study materials and exams, there has been some changes to the exam since the 2013 job practice. 

The most significant change is that the fifth domain of knowledge, Strategic Management, did not make it to the 2020 job practice. Instead, the knowledge from this domain has been absorbed into the remaining domains so you still will ultimately be responsible for it. 

Domains of knowledge

Domain 1: Governance of Enterprise IT (40%)

• Governance Framework
• Technology Governance
• Information Governance

Domain 2: IT Resources (15%)

• IT Resource Planning
• IT Resource Optimization

Domain 3: Benefits Realization (26%)

• IT Performance and Oversight
• Management of IT-Enabled Investments

Domain 4: Risk Optimization (22%)

• Risk Strategy
• Risk Management

How to pass the certification exam

You have the roadmap of the domains of knowledge you will need to ace the exam, but this leaves one question: how do you increase your chances of passing the exam? If this question is hanging in your mind, don’t worry: Infosec offers a CGEIT training boot camp that will help prepare you for the certification exam. 

This training bootcamp is a four-day live experience that will walk you through the exam material and other useful information to help you be at your best on exam day. Best of all, it offers an exam pass guarantee. For more information about Infosec’s CGEIT training boot camp, see here.

CGEIT exam fee

CGEIT cert candidates are required to pay an exam fee to ISACA to sit for the exam. If you are a current ISACA member, you will have to pay $575; if you are not a member, your fee is $760. 

ISACA’s code of professional ethics

Another requirement for becoming CGEIT-certified is that those wishing to maintain good standing with ISACA will have to abide by ISACA’s code of professional ethics. For more information about the code of professional ethics, you can find it here. 

Final step in becoming credentialed

After you meet the work experience requirement and pass your certification exam, you will still need to apply for the certification with ISACA. Below are the steps you need to take to finalize your application for the CGEIT certification.

1. Pay the application fee: Certification candidates will need to pay a one-time, non-refundable application fee. After you log into your MyISACA account, you can pay your application fee here.
2. Download the CGEIT application: You can find the downloadable CGEIT application here. Please remember that candidates will have five years from the time they pass their certification exam to apply for the CGEIT certification. 
3. Application submission and processing: The very last step is to submit your CGEIT application and finalization of the application fee payment. Please be advised that it generally takes from three to four weeks for ISACA to process the application. You can submit your application here. 

Earn your CGEIT certification, guaranteed!

Enroll in a CGEIT Boot Camp and earn one of the most respected certifications — guaranteed.

Get Pricing

Conclusion

Professionals looking to work in enterprise IT governance, compliance and risk management may want to earn the CGEIT certification for the boost it will give to these career paths. 

To earn the certification, you will have to make it past a small handful of certification requirements. Do not let this slow you down: the requirements are straightforward and fairly easy to satisfy if you put in the time to study well for the certification exam.

Sources

CGEIT Exam Candidate Guide, ISACA

CGEIT Exam Content Outline, ISACA