CISSP exam length and passing score
The CISSP exam is 100 to 150 questions in up to 3 hours, and 700 of 1000 passes.
Adaptive exam
100 to 150 questions
It stops at 100 to 150 questions within 3 hours, and 700 of 1000 passes.
Your result
100 to 150 questions. It stops at 100 to 150 questions within 3 hours, and 700 of 1000 passes.
Start on the eight domains
How the exam decides when to stop
- Every candidate answers at least 100 questions. From then on, the exam stops as soon as it is 95% sure whether you are above or below 700.
- If it is never that sure, it stops at 150 questions and compares your ability then with 700.
- If time runs out after 100 questions, your ability at that point is compared with 700. Before 100, it is an automatic fail.
- 25 of the questions are unscored, and you cannot tell which.
What an early finish does and does not mean
- Stopping at 100 means the exam was sure of your result after the minimum. That result can be a pass or a fail.
- Going to 150 means the exam needed more questions to be sure. It does not mean you were failing.
- A pass report gives no number. A fail report gives a proficiency level for each domain.
- At 150 questions in 3 hours you have about 72 seconds a question.
No pass rate is published for this exam.
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Questions people ask
How many questions are on the CISSP exam?
100 to 150, in up to 3 hours. 25 of them are unscored pretest questions.
Does finishing at 100 questions mean you passed?
No. The exam stops at 100 when it is 95% sure of the result, and that can be a pass or a fail.
Does going to 150 questions mean you failed?
No. It means the exam was not yet 95% sure, so your ability after 150 questions was compared with the passing standard.
What happens if time runs out?
If you have answered at least 100 questions, your ability at that point is compared with the standard. Fewer than 75 scored and 25 pretest questions is an automatic fail.
What score do you need to pass?
700 out of 1000. A passing candidate gets no numerical score.
How we work this out
What it does
The exam stops anywhere from 100 to 150 questions, within 3 hours, and 700 of 1000 passes. Enter where yours ended to see what that does and does not mean.
The English and other-language CISSP exams, all adaptive.
Method
- The stopping rules and the passing standard are ISC2's own.