The Certified Data Visualization Professional (CDVP) is an intermediate, vendor-neutral certification for the people who turn data into visuals people can act on. It validates that you understand how perception shapes a chart, can choose the right chart and avoid misleading ones, can prepare data for visualization, can design clear interactive dashboards, can tell a story with data for an audience, and can deliver and govern reports that stay fast and trustworthy. The exam is computer adaptive and performance-based, and the credential is kept current through continuing education.
| Level | Intermediate. A practitioner credential: it assumes some analytics or reporting experience and works across any BI or charting tool. |
|---|---|
| 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 | 80 questions. A performance-based exam that includes performance-based questions and multiple-choice questions. Concepts transfer across every BI and charting tool. |
| Time | 120 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 50 CEUs per cycle and the $35 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). 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 CDVP 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 data to the right chart, fix a misleading visual, order the steps to prepare data, and choose the design that communicates. It is computer adaptive, is proctored and timed, needs no mandatory course, and tests visualizing data rather than clicking through one tool.
Visual encoding, preattentive attributes, matching data to the right chart, avoiding misleading charts.
Cleaning, shaping, aggregation, joins and handling nulls and outliers before charting.
Layout, KPIs, filters, drill-down and designing for the audience.
Narrative, accessible color, publishing, refresh, performance and governance.
Every organization runs on dashboards and reports, and people who can make data clear and honest are in demand across analytics and business intelligence. 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 CDVP | Microsoft PL-300 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Certification exam | Certification exam |
| Computer adaptive | Yes | No |
| Hands-on PBQs | Yes | No |
| Scope | Data visualization, vendor neutral | Power BI data analysis |
| Vendor neutral | Yes | Platform-based |
| Proctored | Yes | Yes |
| Questions | 80 | 45 to 60 |
| Time | 120 min | 100 min |
| Pass mark | 700 of 900 | 700 of 1000 |
| Course required | No | No |
| Exam voucher | $149 | $165 |
Compiled September 2026 from the Microsoft PL-300 exam page. That exam is oriented to one platform; the CDVP teaches visualization vendor-neutrally so the skills 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 data to the right chart, fix a misleading visual, order the steps to prepare data, or choose the design that communicates. They are scored all or nothing, so partial guesses do not pass.
No. The CDVP is vendor neutral. It tests the visualization skills that transfer to any BI or charting tool, not the menus of one product.
Yes. Tools are described generically, such as a BI tool or a dashboard tool. What you prove transfers across whatever your team uses.
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 50 CEUs during the cycle and paying the $35 annual CE fee before expiry, or by passing the current exam again.
The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. The CDVP 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 two hours. Phones and tablets are not supported.
CDVP 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 50 continuing-education units during the cycle and pay the $35 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.