10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
These 10 free CPP questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Certified Professional Parliamentarian blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
Domain 1: Parliamentary Theory
Question 1
A former client asks the appropriate professional ethics committee to investigate a parliamentarian for allegedly ignoring the client's written instructions. Confidential correspondence directly refutes the allegation. The client refuses permission to disclose it, and no law or court order restricts disclosure. Which confidentiality rule governs the response under the 2020 Joint Code of Professional Responsibility for Parliamentarians?
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Correct answer: D - Information reasonably necessary to answer the allegation may be disclosed to the committee.
Question 2
Severe weather makes the venue unavailable for a membership meeting governed by the American Institute of Parliamentarians Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, 2nd edition. The organizers change the meeting to a videoconference at the originally scheduled time. Every member confirms receipt of the change and connection details. The bylaws are silent on electronic meetings, no statute prohibits them, and the original notice was otherwise valid. Which advice correctly applies that authority?
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Correct answer: B - The electronic meeting may proceed; notifying all members preserves the validity of the original notice.
Question 3
A society's bylaws set annual dues at $60 and require previous notice and a two-thirds vote for a bylaw amendment. Proper notice proposes increasing dues to $100. While that amendment is pending, a member moves to replace the proposed $100 with $80. Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition, governs, with no special rule for amendments to a pending bylaw amendment. How should the $80 proposal be treated?
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Correct answer: B - It is in order and requires a majority vote; final bylaw adoption still requires two thirds.
Question 4
All nine directors of an educational foundation are present. The board uses the small-board procedures in Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition, without contrary rules. Its chair, a voting director, makes a motion and joins the discussion without obtaining a second. A newly elected director objects both to the missing second and to the chair's participation in debate. Which assessment is accurate?
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Correct answer: A - Neither objection is valid; the chair may make motions and debate, and a second is unnecessary.
Question 5
At a one-day membership session using Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition, a motion to limit speeches to three minutes for the rest of the session is defeated. More members voted for it than against it, but the affirmative fell short of two thirds. Later that same day, members seek reconsideration. Who is eligible to move Reconsider?
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Correct answer: C - A member who voted against, because that side prevailed when the motion failed.
Domain 2: Presiding Demonstration
Question 6
An alumni association is considering a motion to spend $6,000 on audio equipment under Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition. A primary amendment proposes $9,000; a secondary amendment changes that proposed replacement to $7,500. The secondary amendment is adopted, but the primary amendment as amended is then defeated. No other motions are pending. The chair should now resume consideration of:
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Correct answer: C - The main motion to spend $6,000, unchanged by the defeated primary amendment.
Question 7
After a single-office election, tellers sort 128 ballot papers: 55, 31, and 18 votes for three eligible candidates; 16 votes naming people ineligible for the office; and 8 blanks. Every paper was cast by a different eligible voter, and a quorum is present. The society follows Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition, and election requires a majority vote. Which announcement correctly interprets the count?
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Correct answer: A - No election; 120 votes were cast, so 61 are necessary for a majority.
Question 8
During a convention speech, a delegate sees a ceiling fixture pulling loose directly above occupied seats and interrupts to warn the chair. The convention uses Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition. Another delegate objects that the recognized speaker still has the floor. How should the chair handle the interruption?
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Correct answer: D - Recognize an urgent question of privilege and direct those beneath the fixture to move away.
Question 9
During consideration of a conference-site motion, the chair rules an amendment out of order as nongermane. The amendment's relevance is reasonably disputed. A member immediately appeals, and another seconds the appeal. The main motion and amendment are debatable, and no order closing debate is in force. The parliamentarian privately agrees with the chair's ruling. Under Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition, what is the chair's responsibility now?
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Correct answer: D - State the appeal for the assembly and allow debate on whether to sustain the ruling.
Question 10
An assembly following Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition, adopts the Previous Question expressly on a pending amendment only. The amendment is then adopted. A member who has not spoken seeks recognition to oppose the main motion as amended; no other debate-closing order or special debate limit applies. Select the chair's next statement.
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Correct answer: B - The amendment is adopted. The main motion as amended is open to debate.
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