COBIT® 5 - IT Governance Framework Certification

Digital badges allow you to easily showcase your achievements online.

When you pass an exam - you'll instantly have the option to claim a digital badge representing your new certificate.

Your badge can be embedded on an email signature, website, social media or digital CV.

With just one click employers, customers and clients can easily view and verify your credentials and skills.

Please download our digital sharing presentation for more information.

Once you’ve been notified that you’ve passed your exam - you will have the option to create a digital badge in APMG's Candidate Portal.

Visit APMG's Candidate Portal, view your exam results and select 'Create Badge'.

This takes you to the Credly website where the digital badges are hosted. You will be guided through the Credly account creation process.

Once you have created an account with Credly - login into the account and accept your pending badge.

COBIT 5 is the latest edition of ISACA's globally accepted framework. It provides an end-to-end business view of the governance of enterprise IT, reflecting the central role of information and technology in creating value for enterprises of all sizes. The principles, practices, analytical tools and models found in COBIT 5 embody thought leadership and guidance from business, IT and governance experts around the world.

COBIT 5 provides guidance to executives and those charged with making decisions concerning the use of technology in support of organizational objectives. COBIT 5 helps business leaders address the needs of all stakeholders across the enterprise and ultimately maximize the value from information and technology.

Training is available from the network of COBIT 5 Accredited Training Organizations (ATOs) and accredited COBIT 5 individual trainers who are assessed and certified by APMG International. The full list of COBIT 5 ATOs can be found here.

No, however attendance at an accredited training course is recommended.

In addition to receiving accredited training, individuals also have the option of self-study to prepare for the examinations by purchasing the core text from APMG Business Books. For those who self-study, the exam can be taken anywhere in the world, from the comfort of your home or workplace, with online proctoring.  A proctor will access your exam as you take it to monitor the exam environment through your computer's desktop, webcam and microphone.Our online proctoring system allows you to take your exam anytime as sessions are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more information, please click here.

Accredited Training Organization (ATO) or accredited individual trainer, as part of an accredited training course.

For those who self-study, the exam can be taken anywhere in the world, from the comfort of your home or workplace, with online proctoring.  A proctor will access your exam as you take it to monitor the exam environment through your computer's desktop, webcam and microphone.

Once you have booked an exam, you will be given a registration email to schedule an appointment with your live proctor via our Candidate Portal. Our online proctoring system allows you to take your exam anytime as sessions are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more information, please click here.

APMG also administers a limited number of public exam sessions at some of our regional offices. Click here for further information and to book an exam.

The costs of the exams are generally included in the course fee, if sitting the exam through an accredited training organization. APMG-International use a global pricing structure, so for those sitting exams at a public exam centre, the cost is dependent on where the exams are being sat. To find out the cost in your region, please contact the APMG-International Service Desk on +44 (0)1494 452450 or at: servicedesk@apmg-international.com 

There are no pre-requisites for the foundation examination. The pre-requisites for the COBIT 5 Implementation,  Assessor and Assessor for Security is that the candidate must have passed the COBIT 5 Foundation exam.

The COBIT 5 Foundation exam is based on the ISACA publication: COBIT 5 a Business Framework for the Governance and Management of Enterprise IT. This can be purchased directly from ISACA or from APMG Business Books.

There is also a supplementary guide which will be provided to you as part of your training course, or when you book your public exam.

The COBIT 5 Implementation exam is based on two ISACA publications:

COBIT 5 Implementation
COBIT 5 Enabling Processes Guide
These can be purchased directly from ISACA or from APMG Business Books.

The COBIT 5 Assessor and Assessor for Security examinations are based on two ISACA publications:

COBIT 5 Assessor Guide: Using COBIT 5
COBIT Process Assessment Model (PAM): Using COBIT 5
These can be purchased directly from ISACA or from APMG Business Books.

The COBIT 5 Foundation exam is currently available in English, French, German, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese and Polish. The COBIT 5 Implementation, Assessor and Assessor for Security examinations are available in English only.

Training courses are generally delivered over 3 days. It is worth investigating with individual providers, as many will offer tailored and blended learning solutions. If you are self-studying for the exam, the amount of time required to learn the material will depend on the individual.

The COBIT 5 qualifications are not valid for a defined period and do not expire.

Your result will be sent to your ATO approximately 7-10 days after your exam date. Your ATO should notify you of your results so please contact them for further details.

For candidates sitting the Foundation exam through a public centre, results will be issued within one week of APMG receiving your completed exam pack from the exam venue.

Candidates will be able to claim their digital badge and electronic certificate from their APMG Candidate Portal within two business days of their exam result being issued.

Candidates must achieve a score of 25/50 (50%) to pass the COBIT 5 Foundation.

Candidates will need to score 40 marks out of 80 (50%) to pass the COBIT 5 Implementation, Assessor and Assessor for Security examinations.

To be eligible to apply to become a COBIT 5 trainer individuals must achieve:

A score of 66% (33/50) in the Foundation exam
A score of 66% (53/80) in the Implementation, Assessor and Assessor for Security exams

To find out if you scored enough to be eligible as a trainer, please email servicedesk@apmg-international.com noting your interest. A representative of the Service Desk will be able to advise.

To become a COBIT 5 trainer you will either need to be ‘sponsored’ by an APMG accredited COBIT 5 training organization (ATO) or you can apply to be accredited as an individual trainer.

Please contact the ATO directly to express your interest in becoming an accredited trainer. The ATO will then be responsible for liaising directly with APMG to process your application and undergo accreditation to become a trainer. 

If you would like to be accredited as an individual trainer, please contact your local APMG office for further details on the application process.

An organization wishing to become a COBIT 5 ATO must first submit an application form to either the APMG-International Service Desk or the relevant APMG-International office. Where appropriate, an invoice will be raised and the organization will then be subject to APMG-International's ATO assessment process.

ISACA does not review and approve specific courses for CPE credit other than those that they offer. However each certification accepts a broad array of topics that will be accepted by ISACA for credit. These topics are covered by the knowledge statements of each certification and include technical and managerial training that is directly applicable to the:

CISA: assessment of information systems or the improvement of audit, control, security or managerial skills (CISA job practice). CPE hours related to management skills must be relevant to management of audits and/or audit resources.
CISM: management, design or assessment of an enterprise’s information security or the improvement of those skills (CISM job practice).
CGEIT: management and governance of enterprise IT governance (CGEIT job practice).
CRISC: risk identification, assessment, evaluation, response and monitoring and the design, implementation, monitoring, and maintenance of IS controls (CRISC job practice).

You can always access all your electronic certificates and badges via the APMG Candidate Portal. Once you have logged on to the Candidate Portal, click on the ‘Badges and Certificates’ option from the menu bar at the top of screen. From here you should click on the ‘Create Badge/Certificate’ button. This will take you to the Credly platform to create and account and download your badge and certificate.

Step-by-step guidance is available to download from the ‘Badges and Certificates’ area in your Candidate Portal.

Electronic certificates are environmentally friendly, but you can print the certificate yourself at home or work, if required.

If you have any problems with accessing your digital certificate, please contact our Customer Interaction Team - servicedesk@apmg-international.com