FISD Academy is our new Learning Management System. All existing users have been migrated to the FISD Academy. If you already have an account, refer to How-To Guide for Migrated Users for instructions on accessing your account. If you are a new user, please refer to How-To Guide for New Users.
Data Licensing Specialist (DLS)
Master the complexities of data licensing with the industry’s leading certification
- Different types of licenses
- Data redistribution policies
- Best practices
- How to determine how many licenses are needed for a given scenario
- So much more – download the syllabus for details
- 100 multiple-choice questions
- Take your exam from any computer at any time
- No recertification required
- Download the detailed syllabus to see the full curriculum
- Free retakes for FISD members
- Exam: $500 per candidate
- Retakes: First retake is free, each additional retake is $150 (no free retakes for non-members)
Data Licensing Specialist (DLS)
What if you could make your next audit a lot less painful? Whether you like it or not, data contracts riddled with tricky phrasing, inconsistent terminology, and deliberate obfuscation are a fact of life in our industry. Continued collaboration and conversation is needed to effect meaningful changes that will improve the licensing process for vendors and users alike.
The FISD Data Licensing Specialist certification can help you be certain you know what you’re talking about. The specialized knowledge you’ll gain as you prepare for the FISD DLS can help you:
- Advance your career
- Change departments within your company
- Communicate with your colleagues and clients more confidently about industry issues
- Become a better, more well-rounded asset to your team
By becoming an expert in this space, you can help your team or your clients right-size their data contracts to make compliance easier and limit the time and money spent on audits.
Think you know the difference between netting and MISU? Can you always distinguish between display data and non-display data? Can you tell a non-pro from a pro? Can you name all of the units of count? Do you know the limits of what you can do with derived data?
Questions? Check out our FAQs on the next tab! Still have questions? Contact Adam Stanton, Manager, Professional Development at FISDcertification@siia.net .
General Questions
The FISD Data Licensing Specialist is for professionals who work at companies that sell data, use data, or provide services to data users or vendors. In short, the Data Licensing Specialist is useful for almost anybody. The most critical audience is people who work directly with data licensing either on the vendor or consumer side of the aisle.
The exam follows the FISD DLS Syllabus , which is broken down into three sections: Firms and Roles in the Licensed Data Life Cycle, Licensing & Governance, and Compliance & Audit.
There are 100 questions on the exam – a mix of multiple-choice and multiple-selection style questions.
You may take up to 2 hours 40 minutes (160 minutes) to complete the exam.
Yes. As soon as you’re comfortable, you can submit your exam to receive your results.
You must score at least 75% on the exam to pass. Scores are not rounded.
Login to your FISD Academy Account. From your Home Page, go to My Learning, and you will see your course and associated exam. Your exam will begin immediately once you click Start Now and there is no break, so be sure you’re able to devote up to 2 hours 40 minutes to your exam before clicking the button.
Exam retakes are unlimited. There is no waiting period between attempts. Results never expire and scores are not published, so you don’t need to complete a retake unless you scored below 75%.
There is no required waiting period. As soon as you feel ready to try the exam again you’re welcome to do so.
The fee for a single exam is $500. If you purchase your exam alongside recognized training, FISD will grant a $75 discount, making the price for your exam $425.
Your result will appear immediately on your computer screen once you submit your exam answers. You will also be able to view and download your certificate of completion.
Plaque shipments are batched and handled by a third-party company, so FISD cannot provide an accurate estimate.
Send your correct name, exam date, and mailing address to FISD upon completion of your exam.
Yes. Confirm your preferred name with FISD and if you would like it to appear that way in the plaque, directory, or both.
Yes, it is available anytime you access your FISD Academy Account.
Yes. Email FISD with your full name and exam date to request a PDF certificate.
Yes. Email FISD with your original name and your new name to have the FISD FIA directory updated.
All accounts found to be duplicates for the same person were compiled under one account using the personal email address provided (i.e. Gmail, Yahoo, etc.). If no personal email address was provided for any of the accounts, the most recent email address provided was used to create the login. If you are unsure what that email is, you can email certification@siia.net with the request.
Due to the data migration process, any certification completed more than 2 years ago is in the system but in an “achieved” state only visible to FISD Admin staff. If you need information regarding the completion of the certification (i.e. date taken, score, etc.) please email your request to certification@siia.net and allow 1 business day for a response.
Investigators should contact FISD to verify certification status.
Registering for the Exam
- Click the Register button on any of the FISD DLS pages or navigate to The FISD Academy. Create an account via the “Register Now” option.
- Login to your account. Click the Store Icon at the top of the screen. Which will direct you to the FISD Academy storefront where you will be able to view all available courses/certifications via the “Shop All” option.
- Click on the course you would like to enrol in and “add to basket” and then “checkout” which will allow you to pay. Please note that there are some exam names that are similar, so be sure to choose the correct one for you.
- Payment can be made through the system using ACH Payment or Stripe. For invoicing needs, these requests can be made by contacting Adam Stanton at astanton@siia.net.
- A receipt will be sent to the email address provided for the account.
- Access to the course and all written training materials will be available after purchase. Please note that video training is conducted outside the system and access information will be provided within 1 business day from purchase.
That’s up to you! At-home FISD DLS exams can be taken whenever you want, with no advance registration required.
FISD does not offer that service.
FISD members, please contact FISD to be registered for your retake exam free of charge.
Support
Contact FISD to have your session reset or to receive a complimentary retake. In many cases, your exam can be reopened at the last question you answered so you won’t have to restart from the beginning.
Contact FISD and we’ll be happy to help you, we work within the UK time zone and our dedicated staff will answer within 1 business day.
Recognized third-party trainers can customize a course for your needs. Well-versed in data licensing issues? Your chosen trainer can help you brush up on the finer details. Need to learn the topic from scratch? Share that with your trainer so they can program a comprehensive course for you. All trainers are independent of FISD.
TCAM also offers customizable classroom-based courses. The fee depends on trainer’s travel requirements and the number of students. To learn more about this option, please reach out to John Lathouwers.
Get your free Data Licensing Specialist certification syllabus by filling out this form.
