The ILPA Due Diligence Questionnaire (DDQ)

The Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) created the template because lengthy, customized questionnaires had produced, in its words, “an extraordinary administrative burden” for limited partners, general partners and placement agents. The current edition is ILPA DDQ 2.0, updated in November 2021, which replaced version 1.2 of 2018. ILPA’s DDQ page states that “the last updates to the ILPA DDQ were made in 2021,” and as of October 2026 that page lists no later edition. Use of the template is voluntary: ILPA states that it “is not intended to be a required document that all GPs must adopt.”

Structure

The questionnaire is a series of connected short-form (Yes/No) and long-form questions that ILPA describes as a roadmap for further engagement with the general partner. It covers twenty topics: firm general information; fund general information; succession planning and key persons; investment strategy; co-investments; GP-led secondaries and continuation funds; credit facilities; investment process; team; alignment of interests; market environment; fund terms; firm governance, risk and compliance; track record; accounting and valuation; reporting; legal matters; data security, technology and third parties; environmental, social and governance practices drawn from the PRI’s Limited Partners’ Private Equity Responsible Investment DDQ; and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Eight appendices follow the questions. Appendix A lists requested documents, among them the limited partnership agreement, the private placement memorandum, the firm’s most recent regulatory registration or disclosure form (for example, Form ADV Parts 1 and 2), the firm’s audited financial statements for the last three years, and internal control reports such as SSAE 18 or ISAE 3402. Appendices B through H supply templates for team members, references, third parties and technology, the fund, portfolio investments, GP-led secondaries and credit facilities.

Form ADV is public on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. A registered adviser files a Part 2 brochure covering business practices, fees, conflicts of interest and disciplinary information. An exempt reporting adviser under section 203(l) or 203(m) of the Advisers Act that is not also registering with a state files no brochure, only Items 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 and 11 of Part 1A, which still cover control persons, disciplinary information and private fund reporting (Form ADV General Instructions). Appendix A requests the firm’s most recent regulatory registration or disclosure form, so the filing gives an allocator a second source against which to check the answers.

Worked Example

Appendix F asks the manager to report, for each portfolio investment, total investment capital to date (a), total proceeds to date (c) and current reported value (d). It defines Total Value to Paid-In (TVPI) as (c+d)/a, Distribution Value to Paid-In (DVPI) as c/a and Reported Value to Paid-In (RVPI) as d/a.

Consider one investment held by a hypothetical $100 million fund, with $10 million invested, $4 million returned to the fund and a current reported value of $11 million. The arithmetic follows the template’s definitions: TVPI = (4 + 11) / 10 = 1.5x; DVPI = 4 / 10 = 0.4x; RVPI = 11 / 10 = 1.1x. The realized and unrealized components sum to the total (0.4x + 1.1x = 1.5x). The same table also asks for the valuation methodology, such as market multiples or discounted cash flow, so a limited partner can see how the reported value was reached.

What It Means for a Limited Partner

A common template lets an allocator compare managers on identical questions. ILPA’s User Guide limits that benefit in several respects. The Yes/No answers give a top-level view and highlight issues that require clarification, and they should not be the sole criterion for an investment decision. Detailed answers should be self-contained, because a response of “Please see PPM or LPA” is not viewed as a full response. An allocator that needs more than the template asks should list additional questions in a separate document rather than add them to it.

The template also assumes judgment on both sides. A general partner is not required to divulge sensitive information that would breach a non-disclosure agreement, and may offer certain answers in person, in redacted form or at a later stage, with an explanation. ILPA’s disclaimer adds that no limited partner should use the DDQ as a substitute for its own determination of the information it needs.

In Life Sciences and Healthcare

ILPA’s User Guide states that the DDQ was developed with private equity managers and strategies as its reference point and was not designed for venture capital and other asset classes. Its Appendix F portfolio template requests fields such as net debt, last-twelve-month EBITDA and last-twelve-month revenue, which cannot be populated for a company that has no revenue or earnings yet.

For skipped detailed questions, the User Guide directs the general partner to provide a brief statement explaining its rationale. The questionnaire asks a specialist manager to describe its industry and sector focus (Question 4.1) and its concentration limits across industries and sectors (Question 4.7), and its glossary notes that Senior Investment Professionals may include dedicated portfolio company Operating Partners. As of October 2026, ILPA’s DDQ page still states that ILPA is developing modules for real estate, private credit, infrastructure, and small and emerging managers.

Governing Authority and Sources

• ILPA, Due Diligence Questionnaire 2.0, updated November 2021: overview, twenty topics, Appendices A through H, Question 4.1, Question 4.7 and glossary.
• ILPA, DDQ 2.0 User Guide, version 1.0, released November 9, 2021: voluntary use, answering guidance and asset-class limits.
• ILPA, Due Diligence Questionnaire and Diversity Metrics Template: edition history, 2021 update and modules in development.
• ILPA, Operational Due Diligence for the Limited Partner: course objectives.
• Investor.gov, Form ADV: structure of Parts 1 and 2 and public availability.
• SEC, Form ADV Part 2 instructions: plain-English brochure instructions and the minimum required disclosure.
• SEC, Form ADV General Instructions: Parts of the form and the Items of Part 1A that exempt reporting advisers complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ILPA due diligence questionnaire used for?

It standardizes the questions that limited partners ask general partners during fund diligence. ILPA’s stated goal is to reduce the administrative burden of customized questionnaires by standardizing the most frequent and important questions, so that the questionnaire stage of diligence becomes more efficient for both sides. Limited partners then add any further questions in a separate document.

What is operational due diligence on a private equity manager?

It is the part of an allocator’s review that scopes operational risk and tests it through requested documentation, key risk areas and an onsite visit, according to ILPA’s course on the subject. The DDQ supplies many of the underlying questions through its sections on governance, risk and compliance, accounting and valuation, reporting, legal matters, and data security.

Is a due diligence questionnaire required in private equity?

No. ILPA states that its DDQ is not intended to be a required document that all general partners must adopt, and that some variation remains for valid reasons. A general partner that receives several redundant questionnaires may find the template reduces effort, and a limited partner that uses it should receive more consistent responses.

Related Reference

This entry belongs to the growth equity reference set. Related entries: The Operating Partner, Key Person Provision and Emerging Manager.