The Certified Business Intelligence Developer (CBID) is a beginner, vendor-neutral certification for the people who turn raw data into reports and dashboards. It validates that you understand BI foundations and where it fits, can model data and design a warehouse, can prepare and transform data with ETL, can build reports and dashboards, can write measures and calculations, and can govern, share and secure what you build. The exam is computer adaptive and performance-based, and the credential is kept current through continuing education.
| Level | Beginner. An entry credential: it establishes solid BI fundamentals and assumes some data or reporting exposure but no formal background. |
|---|---|
| Delivery model | Computer adaptive, three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so no two candidates sit the same paper. |
| Format | 60 questions. A performance-based exam that includes performance-based questions and multiple-choice questions. Concepts transfer across every BI tool. |
| Time | 90 minutes for the whole exam, timed. Autosaves every answer. |
| Scoring | You need a score of 700 out of 900 to pass. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly. Harder questions carry more weight, so a score means the same thing on any route. Multiple-response items and PBQs are all or nothing. |
| Retakes | No waiting period after a failed first attempt. Every attempt is paid for at the exam price. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy. |
| Voucher validity | 12 months from purchase, for one sitting. |
| Certification validity | 3 years. Renew with 35 CEUs per cycle and the $25 annual CE fee, or pass the current exam. Renewal details. |
| Language | English. |
| Credential | PDF certificate with QR code, public verification page, LinkedIn-ready credential ID. Issuer: CertLabz Certification Board. |
| Free resources | The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. |
| Workforce mapping | NICE Framework work roles: Data Analysis (IO-WRL-001), Database Administration (IO-WRL-002). O*NET occupations: Business Intelligence Analysts (15-2051.01). Self-declared by CertLabz, not reviewed by NIST or CISA. See the full mapping. |
A signed, verifiable:
The CBID is a performance-based exam: it includes performance-based questions alongside multiple-choice questions. Instead of only picking A, B, C or D, you match features to their use, order the steps of a data pipeline, fix a model or calculation problem, and choose the right approach. It is computer adaptive, is proctored and timed, needs no mandatory course, and tests building BI rather than reciting one product's menus.
What BI is, the lifecycle, star and snowflake schemas, fact and dimension tables.
ETL and ELT, cleaning, transformations, data quality and scheduled loads.
Report design, dashboards, chart selection, measures, KPIs and time intelligence.
Row-level security, sharing, data refresh, version control and compliance.
Every organization runs on dashboards, and skilled BI developers are increasingly in demand across every function. Every route is shown here at once, so nothing is hidden behind a control you have to find.
United States pay reported by Glassdoor, checked September 2026. Pay varies by location, employer and experience. No certification guarantees a salary or a job.
| CertLabz CBID | Microsoft PL-300 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Certification exam | Certification exam |
| Computer adaptive | Yes | No |
| Hands-on PBQs | Yes | No |
| Scope | BI, vendor neutral | Power BI, one platform |
| Vendor neutral | Yes | Platform based |
| Proctored | Yes | Yes |
| Questions | 60 | 40 to 60 |
| Time | 90 min | 100 min |
| Pass mark | 700 of 900 | 700 of 1000 |
| Course required | No | No |
| Exam voucher | $99 | $165 |
Compiled September 2026 from the Microsoft PL-300 pages. PL-300 is oriented to one platform (Power BI), while the CBID teaches BI vendor-neutrally so the concepts transfer to any tool. Product names and trademarks belong to their owners; CertLabz is not affiliated with any of them. Confirm current details with each provider.
Six reasons this credential is worth your time, and worth an employer's attention.
One price for the exam, set by its level. Bundles add the study guide and hands-on practice at a saving.
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Every form is drawn from a bank of more than 90 items to these exact weights, whichever adaptive route you take. Filter by the area you want to study.
The exam runs in three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so a strong candidate is stretched and a struggling one is measured fairly rather than swamped. No two candidates sit the same paper. Harder questions carry more weight, so a scaled score means the same thing whichever route you took.
Each exam can have up to 5 to 12 performance-based questions, drawn fresh on every attempt, alongside the multiple-choice questions. A PBQ is a task rather than a list: you match features to their use, order the steps of a data pipeline, fix a model or calculation problem, or choose the right approach. They are scored all or nothing, so partial guesses do not pass.
The CBID is vendor neutral and describes BI tools generically, naming products only as examples. It tests the BI judgement that transfers across tools.
Yes. Where a capability such as a measure, a transformation or row-level security is involved, it is described by what it does, not tied to one product.
700 out of 900. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly.
There is no waiting period between a failed first attempt and a second attempt. Buy another voucher and sit the exam again when you are ready, and it will draw a fresh adaptive form from the bank. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy.
Yes, after three years. Keep it current by logging 35 CEUs during the cycle and paying the $25 annual CE fee before expiry, or by passing the current exam again.
The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. The CBID Official Study Guide is a $50 ebook, included in two of the bundles. Hands-on practice comes with the All Access plan, included in the Complete bundle.
A laptop or desktop with a webcam and microphone, Chrome, Edge or Firefox, a stable connection, and a quiet private room for 90 minutes. Phones and tablets are not supported.
CBID is a continuing-education certification, like the CE credentials from CompTIA and ISC2. It is valid for three years from the day you pass. To keep it, log 35 continuing-education units during the cycle and pay the $25 annual CE fee before your expiry date. Or pass the current version of the exam again. Earning a higher-level CertLabz certification renews it too, the way CompTIA certifications stack.
CEUs are logged from your CertLabz dashboard with supporting evidence. A certification that lapses can be reinstated only by passing the current exam.
Buy a voucher, study the objectives, sit the exam when you are ready. Your credential is issued the moment you pass.