Take the AICP Certification Exam

Your Chapter Professional Development Officer is a critical information source, whether you are seeking advice on how to prepare for the AICP Certification Exam or want to meet other individuals who are studying for the exam. They are your best local resource and may even know of study groups in your area.

Review the exam content outline to understand the scope of the exam.

The percentages indicated for the major exam topic areas approximate the number of questions addressing that topic in the exam question pool. Balance your exam preparation accordingly.

Given the breadth of information covered by the exam, studying for multiple months is recommended.

Formulate a study plan — where, when, and how often to study, and what resources you need to properly prepare. Revisit your study plan as you progress and revise as necessary.

The AICP Certification Exam has been developed to be taken by a national audience and focuses on a wide array of planning topics. When developing your plan, concentrate on planning knowledge, principles, and practices that are applied nationally, rather than those unique to a region, state, or locality.

The videos linked below were recorded in 2022. The recordings cover nine major topic areas, each encompassing several categories. The percentage of exam questions about major topic areas is indicated.

• Introduction
• Research and Assessment Methods (11% of exam content)
• Fundamental Planning Knowledge (15% of exam content)
• Communication and Interaction (13% of exam content)
• Plan and Policy Development (15% of exam content)
• Plan Implementation (12% of exam content)
• Administration and Management (6% of exam content)
• Leadership (6% of exam content)
• Areas of Practice (12% of exam content)
• AICP Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct* (10% of exam content)
  *All ethics questions are based on the Code of Ethics adopted in 2022.

In the fall of 2024, new recordings will be posted along with 14 PowerPoint slide decks. Below are 11 PowerPoints that are complete. The remaining three will be posted as soon as they are available.

• Introduction
• Section I: Research and Assessment Methods
• Section II.A. Fundamental Planning Knowledge - Part 1 (History of planning, patterns of human settlement, planning theory, core values of planning)
• Section II.B. Fundamental Planning Knowledge - Part 2 (Related professions; natural, social, and economic systems; technology to advance planning; information technology)
• Section II.C. Fundamental Planning Knowledge - Part 3 (Foundational legal principles)
• Section III. Communication and Interaction
• Section IV. Plan and Policy Development
• Section V. Plan Implementation
• Section VI. Administration and Management
• Section VII. Leadership
• Section VIII.A. Areas of Practice - Part 1 (Comprehensive plans, subarea plans, current planning, rural and small town planning, regional and multi-jurisdictional planning, transportation planning)
• Section VIII.B. Areas of Practice - Part 2 (Equity and advocacy planning, economic development, housing planning, food planning, health planning, urban design, historic and cultural resource planning)
• Section VIII.C. Area of Practice - Part 3 (Sustainability and resilience planning, infrastructure and services, hazard mitigation and resiliency, natural resources planning, facility and services planning; parks, recreation, and open space)
• Section IX. AICP Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

Some PDOs offer additional study materials for their chapter members, and most are free of charge! The depth of these offerings varies, with some chapters offering multi-session prep courses.

Chapters

Florida

• https://florida.planning.org/professional-growth/aicp-exam-preparation/
• https://www.gotostage.com/channel/ef7b74d285104a6b84060974f64b5996

Georgia

• https://georgiaplanning.org/aicp-exam-reviews/

Maryland

• https://apamaryland.org/professional-development

Michigan

• www.planningmi.org/aicp

Interest Groups

Asian and Islander Pacific Interest Group (Please note that you must be a member of this interest group to join their study group.)

• https://www.apiplanning.org/events-projects/aicp-study-group

Other Groups

Texas A&M University (Courtesy of Ivis García, Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning, College of Architecture)

• Podcast: The course podcast is available on Spotify, where you can listen to all of the episodes.
• Various Planning Topics
• Quizlet: Practice with these flash cards.
• PowerPoint

Some resources are available online. Online research can be particularly useful for exam content that is a weakness in your background.

The following resources are useful starting points:

• Selected Resources: AICP Certification Exam
• Chapter Presidents Council Exam Prep History Timeline
• AICP Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct*
  *All ethics questions are based on the Code of Ethics adopted in 2022.
• Planning and Law Division Foundational Land Use Law Cases
• APA Policy Guides
• PAS Reports
• Planning magazine
• American Planning History Since 1900
  This free resource was developed for individuals interested in the planning field. Although it is an engaging and useful resource, be aware that it is not a comprehensive list of historical milestones in planning.

In addition, check out APA chapter websites (contact your PDO).

In addition to studying concepts and facts, it is important to feel comfortable with the testing experience itself. Practice exams will familiarize you with the structure and flow of exam questions and help identify areas of knowledge that need additional study. Do NOT use example questions as the sole source of facts and knowledge you need to pass the exam and keep in mind that non-APA source questions may not closely approximate the structure of actual exam questions.

• Prometric offers a tutorial demonstrating computer-based testing.
• Read about the AICP Certification Exam Development Process.