The new credential certifies expertise in international e-disclosure.
DALLAS, August 6, 2026 — The Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), part of leading legal education provider BARBRI Inc., and the world’s leading organization for training and certification in e-discovery, information governance, and related disciplines, today opened enrollment for its new International CEDS Beta Exam, a new certification credential built for legal and compliance professionals practicing outside the United States and Canada.
Beta enrollment is open now. All beta participants must register and sit for the examination on or before September 30, 2026. The beta exam will not be available after that date. Because the deadline applies to sitting the examination rather than to enrolling, ACEDS encourages candidates to enroll as early as possible to allow adequate time to study, attend the instructional class, and to schedule a testing appointment.
“Legal professionals outside North America have been asking us for a certification that reflects how they practice, and the timing could not be more important,” said Mike Quartararo, President of ACEDS. “Teams across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America are adopting traditional e-discovery processes in their day-to-day work, and we’ve found that they focus less on litigation and more on compliance, regulatory inquiries, and investigations, which are of greater importance to our international members. Yet, the resources involved, the tools used, and the e-discovery processes themselves remain consistent. Sound process is what holds up under that scrutiny. The International CEDS certifies exactly that knowledge, in the legal frameworks these practitioners work in every day.”
The International CEDS Beta Exam responds to a shift the profession has been seeing for several years. The work of managing electronic evidence now reaches well beyond litigation and beyond documents alone, as practitioners are asked to locate, interpret, and account for data spread across cloud platforms, collaboration tools, and messaging applications. Across the industry, understanding this broader discipline is increasingly necessary, and it is reflected in the daily reality of ACEDS members: responding to regulators, fulfilling data subject requests, conducting internal and digital investigations, and managing the disclosure of electronic evidence.
Existing credentials in the CEDS family are built around specific legal systems. The U.S. CEDS is grounded in the U.S. legal system and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. CEDS Canada is grounded in Canadian law and PIPEDA. The International CEDS is built for international practice, including frameworks such as the GDPR, Brazil’s LGPD, and e-disclosure schemes around the globe. Each certification stands on its own, and professionals select the one that matches the legal system in which they practice.
A Decade of Global Expansion
The International CEDS is the latest step in a deliberate, multi-year expansion of ACEDS credentials beyond their U.S. origins, driven by the growth of its membership and chapter network worldwide.
In 2021, ACEDS launched CEDS Canada, the first regional adaptation of its flagship certification, following a beta program in which more than 60 legal professionals participated. In 2023, the association introduced the International eDiscovery Executive Certificate (International eDEx), a jurisdictionally neutral training program created in direct response to global demand from legal professionals outside the United States. The International CEDS completes that progression, moving from regional adaptation and jurisdictionally neutral training to a full certification built for international practice from the ground up.
Over the same period, ACEDS has grown to 31 chapters worldwide, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, with further chapter development underway.
Built by an International Committee
The International CEDS was developed from the ground up rather than adapted from an existing exam. Legal and e-discovery practitioners from the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America defined the learning objectives, contributed to a new study guide, and built and reviewed the examination over a period of months, testing each question against how e-discovery is practiced across regions.
In recognition that English is not the first language of many international candidates, the International CEDS examination allows a six-hour testing window, compared with four hours for the U.S. and Canadian examinations.
The examination places particular weight on process knowledge, testing whether a candidate can govern and defend their e-discovery processes.
“Being part of the development of the International CEDS Exam has been a rewarding experience,” said Rhyno Heydenrych, Evidence Team Leader at the Commerce Commission.
“I’m proud to have contributed to an exam that showcases the value, skill, and professionalism of eDiscovery practitioners worldwide.”
“Committee members including myself, colleagues from NZ, UK, Asia, Europe and across the globe have come together to ensure the questions and the study guide would be universally applicable to eDiscovery professionals everywhere,” said Emma Young, Regional Manager, APAC, Electronic Data Management at DLA Piper Australia. “No more excuses. Go out and get certified.”
What beta participants receive
Beta enrollment is available at $749, a 50 percent reduction from the standard price of $1,495. Enrollment includes:
- One attempt at the beta version of the International CEDS examination with a free retake when the public release is available for those who do not pass the beta
- The International CEDS study guide and other study materials
- A live instructional class
- A six-hour examination window
- A digital badge issued through Credly upon certification
ACEDS Membership
Beta examinations include additional questions and a longer testing window than the standard examination. Results are returned several weeks after the testing period closes, once sufficient cohort data supports psychometric review.
Examinations are delivered through the ACEDS-Kryterion network of more than 1,100 testing centers worldwide, or you may take the proctored exam online.
What Comes Next
Following the close of the beta testing period on September 30, 2026, the examination will undergo psychometric review to validate question difficulty, assess bias, and confirm reliability and fairness. ACEDS expects to make the International CEDS generally available in late 2026.
Organizations seeking to certify teams may contact ACEDS regarding group enrollment.
Enrollment closes September 30, 2026. Candidates are encouraged to enroll now to allow time to prepare. To learn more and enroll, visit: https://aceds.org/international-ediscovery-certification/
About ACEDS
The Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), part of leading legal education provider BARBRI Inc., is the world’s leading organization for training and certification in e-discovery, information governance, and related disciplines. ACEDS provides training to corporate legal departments, law firms, the government, service providers, and institutions of higher learning. Our flagship CEDS certification is recognized worldwide and used to verify skills and competence in electronic discovery for organizations and individuals through training, certification, and continuing education. The CEDS credential is held by practitioners at the largest Fortune 500 companies, Am Law 200 firms, and government agencies. ACEDS has 30 chapters in most major US cities, Canada, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Australia. Our goal is to help professionals and organizations reduce the costs and risks associated with e-discovery while helping to improve and verify their skills and advance their careers and overall technology competence in e-discovery and related fields.
