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Certification guide

220-1202

CompTIA A+ Core 2: the honest guide

Core 2 is the software half of A+. Operating systems, security, software troubleshooting, and the operational procedures that fill most of a support technician's week. Core 1 covers the hardware and the wire. 220-1202 covers everything that happens after the machine boots, which is where the actual help desk tickets live.

The exam is a maximum of 90 questions in 90 minutes, mixing multiple choice with performance-based items, and the pass mark is 700 on a 100-900 scale. That is higher than Core 1's 675. Operating Systems and Security are 28 percent each, so more than half the exam is Windows behaviour and everyday security practice.

Who A+ Core 2 is for

A good fit if

  • You want a first help desk or desktop support job and have no professional experience to point at.
  • You have passed Core 1 and need the other half to actually hold A+.
  • You are self-taught and need a credential an applicant tracking system recognises by name.
  • Your employer requires A+ for a support role, which plenty still do.
  • You are changing careers into IT and want the part of A+ that maps most directly to the daily job.

Probably not, if

  • You already work a support desk. Core 2 certifies what you do every day, and $506 for both cores buys more if it goes toward Network+.
  • You are heading straight for cloud or security work. AZ-900 or Security+ maps to that more directly, though both assume the fundamentals A+ teaches.
  • You are a developer. Desktop operating system support and workstation hardening are not the ground you need.

Is A+ Core 2 worth it?

For a first IT job or a career change, yes. A+ is the certification named most often in support postings, and Core 2 is the half that matches the work: resetting accounts, removing malware, fixing a profile that will not load, following a change process. It gets your application read. It does not get you hired on its own.

For anyone already doing support work, no. You will pass it and learn almost nothing new, and the money is better spent on Network+ or Security+, both of which teach you something you do not already do daily.

The two-exam structure is the part people price wrong. A+ means Core 1 and Core 2 at $253 each, so the credential costs $506 in exam fees before any study material. Compare it against single-exam certifications on that basis rather than on the sticker price of one core.

One thing Core 2 gives you that Core 1 does not is vocabulary you will use in interviews. Describing how you would handle a suspected malware infection, in order, with the right terms, is a question support managers actually ask.

What the exam actually asks you to do

Multiple choice, multiple response, and performance-based questions. The performance-based items drop you into a simulated console, network diagram, or configuration screen and score what you actually do.

Item formats

  • Multiple choice
  • Multiple response
  • Performance-based

The highlighted formats are the ones you cannot answer from memory alone. CompTIA, A+ exam details ↗

Domain breakdown and official weightings

From the official CompTIA exam objectives. Operating Systems is the heaviest domain at 28 percent, followed by Security at 28 percent.

  • Operating Systems28%
  • Security28%
  • Software Troubleshooting23%
  • Operational Procedures21%

CompTIA: CompTIA exam objectives ↗

Study plans by experience level

Already passed Core 1

5 to 7 weeksat 8 hours

  1. 1Week 1: read the 220-1202 objectives end to end and mark every line you could not explain to a colleague. Core 2 shares almost no content with Core 1, so expect the marked list to be long.
  2. 2Weeks 2 to 3: Operating Systems, the 28 percent domain. Work in a Windows virtual machine with the objectives open beside you and open every tool the list names.
  3. 3Week 4: Security, the other 28 percent domain. Malware types and removal steps, social engineering, wireless authentication, workstation hardening.
  4. 4Week 5: Software Troubleshooting at 23 percent. Practise symptom to cause, not definitions.
  5. 5Weeks 6 to 7: Operational Procedures plus timed full mocks and performance-based practice. Book the exam when your mocks sit above 80 percent consistently.

No IT background, taking Core 2 first

10 to 14 weeksat 8 to 10 hours

  1. 1Weeks 1 to 2: install a Windows virtual machine and use it as your study desk for everything that follows. Learning Core 2 without a machine to poke at is the slow route.
  2. 2Weeks 3 to 5: Operating Systems. Windows editions, installation and upgrade paths, settings, networking configuration on a client, and the command-line tools the objectives name.
  3. 3Weeks 6 to 8: Security. Start with malware and social engineering, which are concrete, then move to the hardening and authentication material, which is more abstract.
  4. 4Weeks 9 to 10: Software Troubleshooting. Break your own virtual machine on purpose and fix it. Symptoms you have produced yourself stick.
  5. 5Weeks 11 to 12: Operational Procedures. Documentation, change management, incident response, safety, and communication. It is 21 percent of the exam and the easiest marks on it.
  6. 6Weeks 13 to 14: timed mocks and performance-based practice until the format is boring. Then book.

Windows power user or current help desk worker

2 to 4 weeksat 5 to 6 hours

  1. 1Read the objectives and mark only what you cannot already do. For most working technicians the marked list is dominated by Operational Procedures and the formal names for tools they use by muscle memory.
  2. 2Take a full timed mock at the end of week one. It will name the gap faster than reading will, and it is usually the procedures domain.
  3. 3Study the marked items and nothing else. Re-reading material you use daily feels productive and moves your score by nothing.
  4. 4Spend the last week on performance-based practice and the exact CompTIA wording for things you do informally. The exam tests their vocabulary, not yours.

Common mistakes

Treating Core 2 as the easy half
The pass mark is 700 against Core 1's 675, and two domains carry 28 percent each. People who cruised through Core 1 on hands-on hardware experience often find Core 2 harder, because reading about Windows is not the same as having used every tool in it.
Skipping the command-line objectives
The objectives name specific Microsoft command-line tools, and the exam asks which one fits a scenario. Reading a list of commands teaches you the names. Running them in a virtual machine teaches you what they output, which is what the question is actually about.
Writing off operational procedures as filler
Documentation, change management, incident response, safety and professional communication are 21 percent of the exam. They are the cheapest marks available and the ones candidates skip because they are not technical. A fifth of the exam is a fifth of the exam.
Learning Windows settings from screenshots
Core 2 asks which tool solves a described problem, not what an icon looks like. Someone who has opened Event Viewer, Task Scheduler and the local security policy once answers those questions from memory of doing it, which is faster and more reliable under a clock.
Meeting the performance-based questions in the exam
They come first, they take longer than a multiple choice item, and they are a different skill. Candidates who leave them until the last week meet the interaction pattern for the first time with the clock running.
Studying both cores at the same time
The two blueprints share almost nothing, and splitting attention across them is the most common reason people stall halfway. Finish one core, sit it, then start the other while the study habit is still intact.

What comes after passing

If Core 1 is already behind you, passing 220-1202 is the moment you hold A+ rather than half of it. The three-year clock starts at that award date, not at your first exam.

Renewal takes 20 continuing education units plus CompTIA's continuing education fee, the lowest requirement in the CompTIA line. The free route is passing a higher CompTIA certification: Network+ or Security+ renews A+ from the date you pass, so a candidate who keeps moving never pays an A+ renewal.

Network+ is the standard next exam, and Security+ after it. If you already know you want cloud rather than infrastructure, AZ-900 or AWS Cloud Practitioner are cheaper and faster, though neither covers the desktop fundamentals A+ does.

Before you move on, write down what you actually built while studying: the virtual machines, the malware removal you practised, the settings you configured. A+ gets the application read, and a specific ten minutes of talking about work you did is what converts the interview.

Where people go next

CompTIA Network+

Costs across the full renewal cycle are on the A+ Core 2 cost page.

Frequently asked questions

What does A+ Core 2 (220-1202) cover?

Four domains: Operating Systems at 28 percent, Security at 28 percent, Software Troubleshooting at 23 percent, and Operational Procedures at 21 percent. It is the software half of A+, covering Windows, macOS, Linux and mobile operating systems, security practice, and the documentation and change processes support teams follow.

Is Core 2 harder than Core 1?

The pass mark is higher: 700 on a 100-900 scale against 675 for Core 1. Which one feels harder depends on your background. People who have built and repaired machines find Core 1 easier, and people who live in Windows settings find Core 2 easier. Neither is deep, and both are broad.

What score do I need to pass 220-1202?

700 on a scale of 100 to 900, with a maximum of 90 questions in 90 minutes. Performance-based questions carry more weight than multiple choice items, so the raw number of questions you get right and the scaled score do not map cleanly onto each other.

How much does A+ Core 2 cost?

The Core 2 voucher is $253, and a retake is another $253 at full price. Because A+ requires both exams, the certification costs $506 in exam fees. Study material can be free: CompTIA publishes the objectives and there is a full free video course for both cores.

Do I have to take Core 1 before Core 2?

No. You can sit them in either order, and each pass is banked separately, so failing one does not affect the other. Most people take Core 1 first because it starts with physical hardware, which is more concrete, but nothing requires it.

How long does A+ Core 2 take to study for?

Five to seven weeks at around 8 hours a week if you have already passed Core 1. Ten to fourteen weeks if Core 2 is your first exposure to IT. Two to four weeks if you already work a support desk and mainly need CompTIA's vocabulary for work you already do.

Does A+ Core 2 expire?

The A+ certification is valid for three years from the date it is awarded, which is the date you pass the second core. Renewal takes 20 continuing education units plus CompTIA's continuing education fee, or you can renew at no extra cost by passing a higher CompTIA certification such as Network+ or Security+.

Is A+ Core 2 worth it in 2026?

For a first support job or a career change, yes. A+ remains the credential named most often in help desk and desktop support postings, and Core 2 is the half whose content matches the daily work. For someone already in a support role, the money does more when it goes toward Network+ or Security+.

Keep reading

Cheat sheets

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Every guide and cost breakdown, by vendor

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