CBCLA

It is the Audit Examination, the prerequisite exam for the CBCLA credential. DRI frames the certification around audit team leadership, so expect to be tested on audit knowledge together with business continuity, emergency management and enterprise risk management understanding. The four subject areas that must anchor your application essays - BIA, strategies, plan development, and exercise and maintenance - are the most productive revision targets.

DRI's public pages do not state a question count or a time limit for the Audit Examination, so treat any figure you see quoted elsewhere with suspicion and confirm with DRI directly before you plan your pacing. What is published is the pass mark: a minimum score of 75%. Plan your preparation around the pass mark rather than an assumed item count.

The source material describes the application path after a passing score and says that applicants who are not approved and wish to re-apply should contact the Customer Care Center for information on how to re-apply. It does not publish a retake policy, waiting period, or retake fee for the examination itself, so confirm those details with DRI before sitting the exam.

DRI states plainly that the entire process can take several weeks and that incomplete applications cause delays. The sequence is: pass the Audit Examination, then complete the Online Application for Professional Certification through your DRI account, then have your references validate your experience and subject area pages, then wait for DRI's review. Warn your references in advance so validation does not stall.

You must provide at least two individuals who can document your experience in each subject area. The total can be as few as two if both can attest to all your required subject areas, or many more if you use different references per area. Your references must be able to verify a minimum of two years of your business continuity experience.

You submit seven subject matter area essays, and at least four of them must draw from Subject Area 3: Business Impact Analysis, Subject Area 4: Business Continuity Strategies, Subject Area 6: Plan Development and Implementation, and Subject Area 8: Business Continuity Plan Exercise/Test, Assessment, and Maintenance. The remaining three can come from other areas, so choose ones where you hold documented, verifiable experience.

Partially. DRI states that for those holding current certifications with DRI International, ISACA and ISC2 (CISA, CISSP), a portion of the experience section of the application will be waived. Separately, reference requirements are waived for MBCP, CISA, CISSP, CISM or CGEIT holders in good standing. The examination, the fee and the five years of experience still apply.

Start with Business Impact Analysis, then Business Continuity Strategies, then Plan Development and Implementation, then Exercise/Test, Assessment and Maintenance. These four carry your mandatory essays and represent the operational core of an audit. Only after those are solid should you spend time on emergency management and enterprise risk management, which the credential also expects you to understand.

Unprepared references. DRI explicitly warns applicants to inform references and ask for prompt assistance when validation requests arrive, because incomplete applications cause delays and may trigger extra information requests. A second common failure is submitting essays that do not meet the rule that at least four of the seven draw from the four specified subject areas.

The application fee is $400 and the annual renewal fee is $225. Recertification is required at all certification levels and requires an ongoing commitment to continuing education and industry activities; 80 CEAPs are required for CBCLA. Certified professionals must also comply with the DRI International Code of Ethics to remain in good standing.