- Which CIP This Cheat Sheet Covers
- The One-Page Fact Sheet
- Six Required-Course Areas at a Glance
- Assessment Mechanics You Must Not Mix Up
- Access, Delivery and the Eight-Person Rule
- What Is Not Verified (Don't Memorize Guesses)
- Sequencing the Six Areas
- Where the Credential Fits in the Job Market
- Quick Answers
- CIP here means Competitive Intelligence Professional Level 1, issued through the Academy of Competitive Intelligence (ACI), not any other CIP credential.
- Certification means completing the required courses and passing each course's online assessment: 12 multiple-choice questions, passing grade of 75.
- Required study spans CI BluePrint plus CI 101/202, 301, 302, 303 and 304, which are curriculum areas, not weighted exam domains.
- You get one free alternate-form retake before your assigned deadline, with immediate results and save-and-resume access.
Which CIP This Cheat Sheet Covers
The acronym CIP is shared by several unrelated credentials, and mixing them up is the fastest way to study the wrong material. This sheet covers one thing only: the Competitive Intelligence Professional Level 1 Certification, specifically the CIP-I Core track from the Academy of Competitive Intelligence (ACI), formerly branded FGH Academy of Competitive Intelligence. It is not E-CIP, CIP-II, CIP-III, or the unrelated CIP offered by AIIM. If you need the naming background first, see What Is CIP Certification? and What Does CIP Stand For?.
One structural point shapes everything below: this is a course-based certification. There is no single comprehensive exam sitting. You complete required courses and pass an issuer-administered assessment attached to each one. That changes how you prepare, because you are mastering six bodies of course content in sequence rather than cramming for one blueprint-weighted test.
The One-Page Fact Sheet
Print this section. Everything in the table is drawn from the issuer's published curriculum and certification FAQ material, checked in October 2026.
| Item | What to Know |
|---|---|
| Credential | Competitive Intelligence Professional Level 1 (CIP-I Core) |
| Issuer | Academy of Competitive Intelligence (ACI), formerly FGH Academy of Competitive Intelligence |
| How you certify | Complete required courses and pass the course assessments |
| Required study | CI BluePrint, CI 101/202, CI 301, CI 302, CI 303, CI 304 |
| Assessment format | Online, 12 multiple-choice questions per course |
| Passing grade | 75 |
| Retakes | One free alternate-form retake before your deadline |
| Results | Immediate |
| Access | Individual login credentials; save and resume before the assigned deadline |
| 2026 delivery | Virtual; in-house teams of at least eight participants |
For the detailed passing-score picture, see CIP Passing Score 2026.
Six Required-Course Areas at a Glance
The six headings below are the required-course preparation curriculum. They are unweighted: the issuer does not publish a percentage blueprint, so treat no area as "worth more" than another on the strength of any weighting claim. Each course has its own assessment, so each one needs to be passed on its own terms. For a longer treatment of each area, read CIP Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 6 Content Areas.
Area 1: CI BluePrint®
The foundational framework course. It is required under the certification requirements and the main FAQ, even though one displayed course list shows only five numbered courses.
- Know that it is part of the required set and don't skip it because a list omits it
- Use it as the framing lens for how the later courses connect
Area 2: CI 101/202 Competitive Intelligence Planning & Collection
The planning and collection course, covering how intelligence work is scoped and how information is gathered.
- Be able to connect a business question to a collection approach
- Understand the planning-to-collection handoff
- Expect scenario-style multiple-choice items that test choosing the right approach
Area 3: CI 301 Competitive Blindspots
Focuses on what organizations fail to see about competitors and markets.
- Recognize how blindspots arise and what they cost decision-makers
- Practice identifying which assumption in a scenario is the hidden gap
Area 4: CI 302 Cross-Competitor Analysis
Comparative analysis across multiple competitors rather than one at a time.
- Know how to structure comparisons so patterns across rivals become visible
- Distinguish single-competitor profiling from cross-competitor analysis
Area 5: CI 303 Structured Intelligence Analysis Techniques
The analytic-method course: applying structured techniques to turn raw collection into reasoned conclusions.
- Learn the techniques by name and by purpose
- Be ready to pick which technique fits a described problem
Area 6: CI 304 Reporting & Communication of Intelligence
The final stage: getting findings into the hands of decision-makers in a form they can act on.
- Understand audience-appropriate reporting
- Know that analysis only creates value once it is communicated clearly
Key Takeaway
The six areas follow the intelligence cycle's logic: frame (BluePrint), plan and collect (101/202), find gaps (301), compare (302), analyze (303), communicate (304). Learn them as one connected workflow and the individual assessments become far easier to reason through.
Assessment Mechanics You Must Not Mix Up
What is confirmed
- Format: online assessments, multiple choice
- Length: 12 questions per course
- Passing grade: 75
- Results: immediate
- Retake: one free alternate-form retake, which must be used before your deadline
- Navigation: individual login credentials, with the ability to save and resume before the assigned deadline
What "alternate form" means for you
If you fail an assessment, the retake is a different version rather than the same questions again. That makes memorizing a specific item pointless and rewards understanding the underlying concept. Treat your first attempt as the real attempt: the free retake is a safety net, and the deadline attached to it is real.
Wondering how demanding this is in practice? The short version is that 12 multiple-choice questions per course against a passing grade of 75 rewards solid course comprehension more than last-minute memorization; the fuller discussion is in How Hard Is the CIP Exam? and the data caveats are in CIP Pass Rate 2026.
Access, Delivery and the Eight-Person Rule
This is the section that most often surprises people. The 2026 traditional CIP-I offering is virtual and is available only to in-house teams of at least eight participants. In other words, it is structured around organizations enrolling a team, not individuals signing up alone.
| Question | Answer from the sources |
|---|---|
| Is delivery in person or online? | Virtual for the 2026 traditional offering |
| Can an individual enroll solo? | The traditional offering is limited to in-house teams of at least eight |
| Do candidates get their own access? | Yes, individual login credentials |
| Can progress be paused? | Yes, save and resume before the deadline |
If you are an individual hoping to certify, your practical first step is to ask whether your employer can assemble a team, or to confirm current enrollment options directly with ACI. Eligibility and prerequisite details are covered in CIP Requirements 2026.
What Is Not Verified (Don't Memorize Guesses)
A good cheat sheet is as clear about unknowns as about facts. As of the October 2026 source check, the following were not verified in the issuer materials, so do not rely on any figure you see elsewhere without confirming it:
- A fixed assessment timer. No confirmed per-assessment time limit.
- The current public CIP-I price. Since the offering is team-based, pricing is something to confirm with ACI. See CIP Certification Cost 2026 for how to think about the cost question without invented numbers.
- A certification-renewal rule. Course CEUs are educational credits; they are not evidence that a renewal requirement exists.
Sequencing the Six Areas
Generic study advice is not the point here; sequence is. Because the courses build on one another, a simple order tied to the content works well. The plan below is a suggested pacing, not an issuer requirement, and you should compress or stretch it to fit your deadline.
CI BluePrint + CI 101/202
- Absorb the framework first, since everything else hangs on it
- Work through planning and collection while the framework is fresh
CI 301 Competitive Blindspots + CI 302 Cross-Competitor Analysis
- Blindspots build directly on collection thinking
- Cross-competitor analysis is easiest right after blindspots, while you are in a gap-finding mindset
CI 303 Structured Intelligence Analysis Techniques
- Give the techniques course its own focused block because it is method-heavy
- Practice matching a technique to a described problem
CI 304 Reporting & Communication + Review
- Finish with reporting, which ties the whole cycle together
- Use the remaining time to revisit the areas you found hardest, leaving buffer before your deadline
For a fuller walkthrough of preparation approach, see the CIP Study Guide 2026, and to check your readiness, try the questions on the main practice test site.
Where the Credential Fits in the Job Market
Competitive intelligence is a function found in strategy, market research, product marketing, sales enablement, and corporate planning teams. A Level 1 certification signals that a practitioner has been trained across the full intelligence workflow: planning, collection, analysis and communication. Because the traditional offering is delivered to in-house teams, a notable share of holders are likely to be employees whose organizations invested in training a whole group. That is a reasonable inference from the delivery model, not a published statistic.
Salary and job-market specifics vary widely by employer and region, and the issuer materials do not publish earnings data, so this article does not quote any. For a qualitative look, see CIP Salary Guide 2026, CIP Jobs, and the value discussion in Is the CIP Certification Worth It?. If you want the credential to carry weight with an employer, pair the certificate with a portfolio of real analysis work that shows the techniques from CI 303 and the reporting skills from CI 304 in action.
Key Takeaway
Use the credential as proof of a repeatable method. In an interview, walk through a past project using the sequence from the curriculum: question, collection plan, blindspot check, cross-competitor comparison, structured analysis, and a decision-ready report.
Quick Answers
No. Certification is based on completing the required courses and passing each course's online assessment, which has 12 multiple-choice questions and a passing grade of 75. The sources do not describe a single comprehensive exam.
No. The six headings are the unweighted required-course curriculum, not a weighted exam blueprint. Don't assume any course counts more than another; each has its own assessment to pass.
You have one free alternate-form retake, which must be taken before your assigned deadline. Because it is a different form, understanding the concepts matters more than remembering specific questions.
The 2026 traditional CIP-I offering is virtual and available only to in-house teams of at least eight participants. Individuals should confirm current enrollment options directly with ACI.
A renewal rule was not verified in the sources. Course CEUs are educational credits and should not be treated as proof of a renewal requirement. Confirm current policy with ACI.
Keep this sheet beside you as you move through the six required courses, confirm anything unverified directly with ACI, and use the practice questions to test whether each area has genuinely sunk in before your deadline arrives.