What is the format of the CDSP exam?
Per the official CertNexus exam details, the CDSP exam is 90 items in multiple-choice and multiple-response formats, of which 75 count toward the final score. You answer in 120 minutes — and that time includes 5 minutes for the Candidate Agreement and 5 minutes for the Pearson VUE tutorial, leaving roughly 110 working minutes. The passing score is 72% or 69% depending on the exam form, with forms statistically equated. Delivery is in person at a Pearson VUE test center or online via Pearson OnVUE online proctoring, and the exam voucher costs $367.50 at the CertNexus store.
What does the CDSP exam cover?
CDSP — Certified Data Science Practitioner — is CertNexus's practitioner-level data-science credential, launched in its current DSP-210 form in September 2024. The published exam details frame it around collecting, preparing, analyzing, modeling, and interpreting data to extract insights and support data-driven decision-making.
CertNexus publishes this as a course outline rather than scored domain weightings, so weight your preparation across the whole workflow — sourcing and cleaning data, choosing analytical techniques, building predictive models, and communicating insights — instead of chasing percentages.
The unscored items are the format's real trap. Fifteen of the 90 items are pilots mixed indistinguishably into the exam, so treating any question as skippable burns scored items you cannot identify. Every item gets full effort.
How much does the CDSP exam cost?
The CDSP (DSP-210) exam voucher is $367.50 on the CertNexus store. Vouchers are non-refundable, non-transferable, and non-exchangeable, and expire 18 months from purchase — buy against a real testing window, not a vague intention.
Certification runs on a three-year term. To maintain it you either retake the most recent exam version before expiry or earn 90 continuing-education credits (CECs) within the three years — CDSP is currently eligible for the CEC route, and the continuing-education enrollment is a $150 one-time payment for the full period. There is no published free retake, so a failed first attempt means a second voucher at full price.
Can you take the CDSP exam at home?
Yes — the official exam details list two options: in person at a Pearson VUE test center, or online via Pearson OnVUE online proctoring. CertNexus appears on Pearson VUE's OnVUE program catalog, which is the program-level confirmation of at-home delivery.
OnVUE means your environment is part of the exam: a private room, a working webcam and microphone, government ID that passes automated verification, and a check-in sequence that photographs your workspace. Vouchers are redeemed against your Pearson VUE scheduling and expire 18 months from purchase.
For candidates on a promotion or contract deadline, the practical decision is which delivery mode has the sooner reliable appointment in your region — then rehearsing the check-in until it is routine. If the exam itself is the blocker rather than the studying, Exam Assist handles the CDSP sitting end to end, and the service fee is due only after the agreed result posts.
Who is the CDSP for — and who should wait?
CDSP fits data analysts, BI specialists, and analytics-team professionals who need a vendor-neutral practitioner credential that covers the full data-science workflow rather than one vendor's tooling. There are no formal prerequisites; the exam details target professionals applying analytical techniques and building predictive models.
Wait if your timeline has no room for environment preparation — the OnVUE checklist is unforgiving at zero hour, and a voucher burned on a failed check-in is gone. If the sitting itself is the blocker, the take-my-CDSP service handles it end to end with the fee due only after the pass posts.