If you work in business continuity, or want to, you will eventually ask which business continuity certification to get. My short answer: get one as soon as you are eligible, pick the certifying body your market recognizes, and don’t expect the letters after your name to do your job for you.
I hold the MBCP, MBCI, and CISSP. Before founding Bryghtpath, I led a business continuity program at Target, and I didn’t get certified until five years in. As I said on Managing Uncertainty, Episode 146: “I can’t think of anyone who’s ever regretted getting a business continuity certification. Most wish they had done it sooner. And you can count me as one of those.”
Here is how the main certifications compare, what they require and cost today, and how to choose.
| Old View | New View |
| Certification proves you are an expert | Certification gets you in the door; results earn you the room |
| Get certified once you’ve “earned it” | Get certified as soon as you’re eligible |
| The highest credential is the goal | The credential your market recognizes is the goal |
| Lead with your credentials in front of executives | Lead with the business problem; your credentials stay in your bio |
Do you need a business continuity certification?
For your career, yes. You can grow into a business continuity role from inside your organization, but most business continuity jobs require certification or expect you to earn it within a set time. Automated screening in many hiring processes will decline you outright without one. And if you have the experience the standard certifications require but haven’t earned one, it can stand out as a red flag.
If you grew into the role internally, a certification also helps you win support and resources for your program. The training, the body of knowledge, and the professional network that come with it are worth the effort on their own.
Just don’t confuse a certification with influence. Your executives don’t care about your credentials. They care whether you understand their business. As I put it on an early episode of the podcast: “Waving that at your CEO is not going to work.” Certification is table stakes. It is not an argument.
The two main certifying bodies: DRI International and BCI
Two organizations dominate business continuity certification.
DRI International (Disaster Recovery Institute International, often called DRII or DRI) is a US-based nonprofit founded in 1988. In our experience, its credentials, especially the CBCP, are the most commonly recognized in the United States.
The Business Continuity Institute (BCI) was established in the United Kingdom in 1994. Its credentials are more widely recognized in the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and its presence in North America has grown over the past decade.
Both are legitimate. The right one depends on where you work and who is hiring.
DRI International certifications: ABCP, CBCP, and MBCP
DRI’s certifications all start with an exam. You pass the Qualifying Exam with a score of at least 75 percent, then apply for the level that matches your experience. DRI lists its examinations at $750 each, and the exam is included in the price of its full training courses. You can also challenge the Qualifying Exam without taking a course. DRI publishes its body of knowledge, the Professional Practices for Business Continuity Management, as a free download through a DRI account.
Associate Business Continuity Professional (ABCP)
The ABCP is the entry level, for people with less than two years of experience or who come from a related field. It requires the Qualifying Exam and nothing else: no experience, essays, or references. The application fee is $200, the annual fee is $200, and there is no continuing education requirement.
Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP)
The CBCP certification is the best-known business continuity credential in the US, and it’s the one most hiring managers here look for. It requires:
- At least two years of significant, practical experience in five subject areas of DRI’s Professional Practices
- A passing score on the Qualifying Exam
- Five subject matter essays mapping your experience to the Professional Practices (at least two must come from business impact analysis, business continuity strategies, plan development and implementation, or exercise, assessment, and maintenance)
- At least two references who can confirm your experience in each subject area, with that experience inside the last ten years
The application fee is $400 and the annual fee is $225. To keep the CBCP, you need 80 Continuing Education Activity Points (CEAPs) every two years, earned through training, conferences, volunteering, and industry involvement.
Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP)
The MBCP is DRI’s highest level. It requires at least five years of experience in seven subject areas, seven essays, references for each area, the Qualifying Exam, and a four-hour Master’s Case Study Exam, both passed at 75 percent or higher. The application fee is $500, the annual fee is $300, and it carries the same 80 CEAPs every two years.
Most business continuity professionals don’t need the MBCP to reach their goals. If you want to lead a large program in a large, complex organization, it is worth pursuing over time.
BCI certifications: CBCI, AMBCI, MBCI, and FBCI
The BCI’s grades are memberships as well as credentials. Everything starts with the CBCI, and the higher grades are based on demonstrated competency against the BCI Competency Framework rather than years in a job. All certified grades require 20 hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) each year.
BCI membership fees follow a Fair Fee Policy and vary by country. The figures below are the BCI’s current annual rates for the United States, the UK, and other countries in its top fee band.
Certificate of the BCI (CBCI)
The CBCI is the BCI’s entry credential, built on its Good Practice Guidelines. You take the CBCI Certification Course, either a six-week online course or a three-to-five-day course through one of the BCI’s Licensed Training Partners, and then pass the online CBCI exam. The BCI says you must complete the full course to register for the online exam. Course pricing is set by the training provider. Annual CBCI membership in the US is $201.
Associate Member (AMBCI) and Member (MBCI)
The AMBCI requires the CBCI (or the BCI’s Business Continuity Management Diploma) and evidence of foundational competency in five areas of the Competency Framework.
The MBCI is the BCI’s most widely recognized credential and the closest match to DRI’s CBCP. It requires the CBCI, the Diploma, or the AMBCI, plus evidence of comprehensive competency in seven areas. If you haven’t taken the CBCI exam, the BCI also describes an experiential route: evidence of comprehensive competency in all eleven areas.
Applications for AMBCI, MBCI, and FBCI carry a one-time assessing fee of $185. Annual membership in the US is $203 for AMBCI and $222 for MBCI.
I earned my MBCI by cross-certifying from my DRI credential. If you already hold a CBCP or MBCP, ask the BCI how your experience applies before you start from scratch.
Fellow of the BCI (FBCI)
The FBCI is the BCI’s top grade. It requires a significant contribution to the institute or the profession, plus either a prior MBCI and advanced competency in six areas, or comprehensive competency in five areas and advanced competency in the other six. Annual membership in the US is $279. Like the MBCP, it is for the few who want it; the MBCI serves most careers well.
Comparing business continuity certifications
Entry level
| DRI International: ABCP | BCI: CBCI | |
| Experience required | None | None |
| Exam | Qualifying Exam (75% to pass), $750, or included with a DRI course | CBCI exam, online and proctored, after completing the CBCI course |
| Course | Optional | Required (6-week online or 3 to 5 days with a training partner) |
| Application fee | $200 | None listed |
| Annual fee (US) | $200 | $201 |
| Continuing education | None | 20 hours of CPD per year |
Professional level
| DRI International: CBCP | BCI: MBCI | |
| Experience required | 2+ years in 5 subject areas | Comprehensive competency in 7 areas (or all 11 on the experiential route) |
| Exam | Qualifying Exam (75% to pass) | CBCI exam (or the Diploma or AMBCI); none on the experiential route |
| Other requirements | 5 essays; 2 references per subject area | Evidence of competency, assessed by the BCI |
| Application fee | $400 | $185 assessing fee |
| Annual fee (US) | $225 | $222 |
| Continuing education | 80 CEAPs every two years | 20 hours of CPD per year |
Fees and requirements change. Check DRI’s and the BCI’s own pages before you apply.
Which business continuity certification should you get?
- Working in the US, with two or more years of experience: the CBCP. It is what US job postings ask for.
- Working in the UK, Europe, or a global role based outside North America: the CBCI, then the MBCI.
- New to the field: the ABCP or the CBCI. Both prove you know the body of knowledge, and both lead to the next level.
- Working for a global company, or consulting across regions: consider both. A DRI credential plus the MBCI covers almost every market.
- Leading a large, complex program: the MBCP or FBCI, eventually. Not first.
Whichever you choose, the study is worth as much as the credential. Our Ultimate Guide to Business Continuity is a good companion to either body of knowledge.
Lead auditor and specialty certifications
Once you have a core credential, specialty certifications can add depth.
If your team wants to master ISO 22301 audits or run its own internal audits, an ISO 22301 Lead Auditor certification is a strong next step. DRI offers the Certified Business Continuity Lead Auditor (CBCLA), which requires a prerequisite auditing course and five years of experience. Lead Auditor courses are also offered through the Professional Evaluation and Certification Board (PECB), the International Consortium for Organizational Resilience (ICOR), and the British Standards Institution (BSI).
DRI also offers credentials for specific sectors and disciplines, including cyber resilience (CCRP), the public sector (CPSCP), healthcare providers (CHPCP), and risk management (CRMP). They make the most sense when your role lives in one of those worlds.
What a certification won’t do for you
A certification will get your resume past the screen and give you a shared vocabulary with your peers. It won’t make your executives listen.
What earns their attention is understanding the business: its strategy, its revenue, and what keeps your executives up at night. The best resilience leaders I know got there by becoming strategic influencers rather than plan writers. Their credentials are in their bio. Their results are in the room.
Get certified. Then go earn the room.
Keep Going
A few ways to go deeper if this was useful.
- Read more. Resilience, crisis management, and continuity writing at Bryghtpath Insights, or the structured Ultimate Guide to Business Continuity.
- Start with the basics. Our free Business Continuity 101 course is a plain-English introduction to the field before you study for an exam.
- Get a maturity score. Our Resiliency Diagnosis® is a standards-based review that produces a maturity score and a prioritized roadmap.
- Talk to us. Set up a call to think through your business continuity program with us.
