Credential · American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB), US-based professional body

Certified Bookkeeper (CB)

The Certified Bookkeeper (CB) designation from the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) is a four-part exam-based professional designation gated by roughly two years of bookkeeping experience or an equivalent education substitution, plus a signed code of ethics.

Last reviewed 2026-07-30

The Certified Bookkeeper (CB) is the older of the two bookkeeping-competency designations on this site, run by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB), which describes itself as the bookkeeping profession’s national association since 1987 and its national certifying authority.

Who can sit for it

AIPB requires at least 2 years of full-time bookkeeping experience, or 3,000 hours of part-time or freelance bookkeeping experience. That experience does not have to come before the exam: you have up to 3 years from the date you pass the exam to submit evidence of it, so a career-changer can pass the exam first and finish the experience clock later.

Exam format

The CB exam has four parts, all multiple-choice. Parts 1 and 2 are proctored at Prometric test centers (2 hours each, $100 per part, 75% passing score) and cover accruals, deferrals, the adjusted trial balance, correction of accounting errors, bank reconciliation, payroll, and depreciation. Parts 3 and 4 are open-book, no-time-limit, no-fee back-of-workbook exams (70% passing score) covering inventory and internal controls/fraud prevention. Retaking a Prometric part costs $60 after a 30-day wait; the back-of-workbook parts can be retaken free.

Cost

AIPB’s own “Cost of Certification” table (in its Self-Study Handbook) totals the self-study path at $479 for members and $574 for nonmembers: $25/$60 enrollment, $254/$314 for the six self-study workbooks, plus $200 flat in Prometric test fees (the same for members and nonmembers). AIPB also separately advertises a bundled 99-Hour Prep Course at $1,495 (registration, six workbooks, and prepaid Prometric fees, marketed as a $300 savings over buying the pieces separately), a pricier, guided alternative to the self-study path, not a second required cost. If you already have the bookkeeping knowledge and just want confirmation of the exact per-part Prometric retake price or a walk-through of the handbook’s cost table, call AIPB at 1-800-622-0121 or request the official Certified Bookkeeper Program booklet.

Membership is optional

AIPB states plainly that you do not have to join AIPB to become a Certified Bookkeeper. Membership runs $60/year at AIPB’s regular list price for a 1-year term (a promotional $39/year rate is also currently advertised on the same page, so check the live price before you buy). Joining actually lowers the total certification cost below the nonmember path ($479 versus $574), which is how AIPB frames membership as paying for itself, though it is not a requirement of the designation itself.

What it is not

The CB is a general bookkeeping-competency designation, not a software certification and not a college degree. It does not require ongoing AIPB membership to hold. Retaining it does require 60 Continuing Professional Education Credits (CPECs) every 3 years, starting from the certification date, at a $3-per-credit registration fee if paid (a $180 maximum across 3 years; free CPEC sources also exist per AIPB). See the comparison matrix for the current status of every cell.

Compare this credential against the others in the comparison matrix, or use the recommender.