The forum's expert "certification" (recently also extended to /r/Bitcoin) predates "Certified Bitcoin Professional" by at least a year, I think.
Here's where I officially announced it, though it existed for quite some time before that. People with a Bitcoin expert badge (or an equivalent core dev badge) are intimately familiar with the theory and inner workings of the Bitcoin network, and they are able to intelligently discuss any proposed change to the network. If they time-traveled to 2007, they would be able to reconstruct something feature-equal and at least a little
better than Bitcoin from scratch.
Receiving this badge requires a recommendation from someone who already has the badge and approval by an admin. There is no fee or exam.