Exam format
CSSLPWhat the CSSLP exam looks like
CSSLP has 125 questions in 180 minutes, multiple choice and advanced item types, delivered at a Pearson VUE Testing Center. Every figure on this page is read from the official exam page and linked to it.
How many questions, and how long
ISC2 states 125 questions for CSSLP, with a time limit of 180 minutes. That is about 1.4 minutes a question, including the time it takes to read the stem and the options.
The count is fixed, but the score is scaled rather than counted, so no fixed number of questions you can miss follows from it.
What the questions look like
Multiple choice and ISC2's advanced item types. There is no lab and no simulation, so the practice that matters is reading a scenario and choosing well.
What passes
The passing score for CSSLP is 700 on the vendor's scaled range.
If you do not pass
A retake costs another $599.
How long it stays valid
CSSLP is valid for 3 years from the day you pass. ISC2 runs a three-year certification cycle. CSSLP holders must earn a required three-year total of 90 CPE credits (60 of them Group A), which ISC2 lists as 30 suggested annually, and pay the U.S. $135 annual maintenance fee on each anniversary of the certification date. ISC2 runs a three-year cycle. Renewal is CPE credits plus the annual maintenance fee, and the fee covers every ISC2 certification you hold.
What this means for practice
Our CSSLP practice exams are assembled to the published domain weightings and sat against a 180-minute clock, in exam conditions or in study mode. Every answer shows the official page it was checked against.
Keep reading
- CSSLP exam overview
The format, the domain weights and the renewal terms, sourced line by line.
- CSSLP passing score
The exact cut score, what kind of number it is, and the retake terms.
- How hard is CSSLP?
An honest difficulty read from the format, the clock and the weights.