M&A Legal Due Diligence Certification

The M&A Legal Due Diligence Certification is a free advanced-level, 25-minute skill test from Science of Apps. It tests M&A legal due diligence — scoping and running a diligence process and virtual data room, corporate and capitalisation review, material contracts and change-of-control clauses, intellectual property and technology, employment and benefits, litigation, regulatory, anti-corruption and sanctions risk, data privacy and cybersecurity, antitrust and foreign investment approvals including HSR and CFIUS, and translating findings into purchase agreement protections such as representations, indemnities and closing conditions — written to SEC, FTC, Treasury, USPTO and Delaware sources for 2026 and 2027. Score 70% or more on its 25 questions to earn a verifiable M&A Legal Due Diligence certificate (SOA-MLDD). Every question is based on published standards and research — including How to read a 10-K (US SEC), Delaware General Corporation Law (Title 8, Chapter 1) (State of Delaware), Premerger Notification Program (Hart-Scott-Rodino) (US Federal Trade Commission) — and each answer is explained with its source.

Science of Apps offers a free M&A Legal Due Diligence Certification, written for 2026 and 2027. It tests diligence process and corporate review, contracts, IP and technology, employment, litigation and regulatory, privacy, antitrust and foreign investment and from findings to the deal with 25 original scenario questions in all, each naming its published source; you get an instant score and a verifiable certificate with a credential ID you can add to LinkedIn.

Read the five skill areas on this page, then take the 25-minute test online — no fee, course or sign-up. You see every answer explained when you finish. Score 70% or more and you get a M&A Legal Due Diligence certificate straight away, on screen, as a PDF and by email, with a credential ID anyone can verify.

Yes. The questions are original scenarios written by Science of Apps, and each one is based on a public source you can read: How to read a 10-K (US SEC); Delaware General Corporation Law (Title 8, Chapter 1) (State of Delaware); Premerger Notification Program (Hart-Scott-Rodino) (US Federal Trade Commission); Patent assignments and recording (US Patent and Trademark Office); Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) (U.S. Department of Labor); Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit (US Department of Justice). The source is shown under each question and linked in the answer review. Science of Apps doesn't copy questions from other tests.

Five skill areas with five questions each, drawn from a bank of 10 per area so a retake brings new questions: Diligence Process and Corporate Review (Scoping and process, Data rooms and reports and Corporate and capitalisation); Contracts, IP and Technology (Material contracts, Intellectual property and Technology and open source); Employment, Litigation and Regulatory (Employees and benefits, Litigation and disputes and Compliance and investigations); Privacy, Antitrust and Foreign Investment (Data protection and cyber, HSR and merger control and CFIUS and FDI); From Findings to the Deal (Representations and warranties, Indemnities and escrows and Disclosure schedules and closing). Every question is an original scenario written to the 2026–2027 standard, with the published source named under it.

Corporate or M&A associate, In-house counsel or corporate development professional, Paralegal or legal project manager, Private equity or investment banking analyst and Law student focused on transactions. It suits students at leading universities, career switchers and experienced professionals who want quick, verifiable proof of M&A Legal Due Diligence knowledge in 2026 and 2027.

Law, IR and public-policy students at Yale, Georgetown, Sciences Po, LSE and SAIS want practice-ready skills without government or bar exams. Passing earns a founder-signed Science of Apps certificate with a credential ID and QR code that recruiters can verify.

Legal due diligence identifies risks and liabilities in the target, such as defective title to shares, problematic contracts, IP gaps, litigation or regulatory exposure, so the buyer can decide whether to proceed, adjust the price or negotiate protections in the purchase agreement.

A contract provision giving the counterparty rights, such as consent, termination or renegotiation, if ownership or control of the contracting party changes. Diligence must find these clauses because they can put key customer, supplier or licence relationships at risk after closing.

Yes. The test is online, in English and free everywhere — people take it from India, the US, the UK, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Your certificate is dated with your own local date and can be verified from anywhere at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/.

25 questions — 5 from each of 5 skill areas — with a 25-minute limit. You need 70% (18 of 25) to pass and 90% for distinction.

We rate it Advanced: assumes years in the role or deep specialist knowledge. It has 25 scenario questions — 5 from each of 5 skill areas — and a 25-minute limit. You need 70% (18 of 25) to pass and 90% for distinction.

Nothing. There is no fee to take a test, to receive the certificate, to have it emailed or to verify it, and no sign-up.

On our server, not in your browser. The answers never reach the page until you submit, so a certificate can only be earned by passing. Each certificate gets a unique credential ID stored by Science of Apps.

You see your score for each area and every question with the correct answer and why, with the published source behind it. You can retake after 30 minutes, and the retake draws questions you haven't seen yet.

No. Every certificate is dated, so it always shows when you passed. Retake a test any time for a newer date or a higher score.

Yes. After you pass, Add to LinkedIn opens the Licenses & certifications form with the certificate name, Science of Apps as the issuer, the issue date, your credential ID and the verification link filled in. You can also download it as a PDF or PNG, and it's emailed to you as a PDF.

Every certificate has a credential ID and a QR code. Scanning it, or entering the ID at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/, shows the holder's name, the certification, the score and the issue date from our records.

No. They are Science of Apps' own assessments of applied skill. They aren't issued by a university or standards body, and they work best alongside a portfolio that shows the skills in real work.