Cisco Certified Network Professional Security

What is it?

What exactly is the Cisco Certified Network Professional Security?

Professional security engineering

CCNP Security certifies professional skills in securing Cisco networks, including firewall, VPN, intrusion and identity. It requires the SCOR core exam plus a concentration.

Before you book

Who is eligible to sit the Cisco Certified Network Professional Security?

Who it is for: Security engineers

The test itself

What is the format of the Cisco Certified Network Professional Security?

The Cisco Certified Network Professional Security is administered by Pearson VUE and runs 120 minutes (core), contains 90–110 (core) questions and requires ~825 of 1000 to pass.

Money & time

How much does the Cisco Certified Network Professional Security cost?

For the Cisco Certified Network Professional Security, the exam fee is $400 per exam; the all-in cost is typically $700+; most candidates spend 4–8 months preparing.

The fine print

What are the retake and renewal rules for the Cisco Certified Network Professional Security?

Proctoring & delivery

Delivered by Pearson VUE: at authorized test centers or online via OnVUE remote proctoring (CCST uses the Certiport/Pearson VUE platform). A government-issued photo ID is required; online tests include a room/environment scan.

Retake policy

If you fail, Cisco requires a waiting period of 5 calendar days before you may retake the same exam. Each attempt requires full payment of the exam fee. Cisco does not cap total attempts, but some exams limit attempts within a 12-month window.

Score reporting

Results are reported as pass/fail and made available online (Cisco Certification Tracking System) typically within 48 hours. A section-level performance breakdown is provided to help target further study; scaled scores use a 300-1000 range (CCNA/CCNP-style exams).

Recertification

All Cisco certifications are valid for 3 years from the date earned. Recertify before expiry by (a) passing a higher-or-equal level qualifying exam, (b) earning Continuing Education (CE) credits through eligible training/activities, or (c) a combination of exam + CE. For associate-level certs 30 CE credits are required; for professional-level 40 CE credits. Certificates can also be extended via the Cisco Continuing Education program.

Refunds & rescheduling

Exam fees are generally non-refundable once scheduled, but Pearson VUE allows rescheduling or cancellation up to 24-48 hours before the appointment without penalty; no-shows forfeit the fee. CCST/Certiport policies may differ by region.

What it pays

How much does this credential pay?

$130,390 median for computer network architects (BLS, May 2024)

There is no Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation called "CCNP Security" — the Cisco Certified Network Professional Security credential validates professional-level security engineering skill, and the wage question belongs to the role you perform with it. The closest official BLS occupation is Computer Network Architects, SOC 15-1241, which had a May 2024 median wage of $130,390 ($62.69 per hour), with the lowest 10 percent earning less than $79,520 and the highest 10 percent more than $198,030. The fit is deliberate: CCNP Security holders work as network security engineers, security architects and security operations leads — the professional tier that designs and runs the secure networks, firewalls, VPNs and identity systems that the network architect occupation describes — so the realistic benchmark for the credential sits in the upper half of the distribution. BLS counted 179,200 computer network architect jobs in 2024 and projects 12 percent employment growth from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations, with about 11,200 openings a year, driven by firms building new networks and upgrading existing ones as they invest in cloud, AI and security infrastructure. The limitation to state plainly: the BLS median covers the whole occupation at all levels, and senior security engineers with a CCNP Security and several years of incident-response and architecture experience typically earn well above it in employer surveys, which are not BLS data; read the government figure as the market level for the occupation the credential serves, not as a measure of the certificate’s premium. The credential itself does not appear in wage data because BLS classifies by job duty rather than by certificate, and security specialists who move into management roles are counted under different SOC codes entirely.

Job growth.BLS projects 12 percent growth for computer network architects from 2024 to 2034, about 11,200 openings per year.

Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook - Computer Network Architects

Your schedule

How long should I study for it?

150-250 hours over 12-16 weeks (core), plus 40-80 hours for the concentration exam of focused study

The CCNP Security is a two-exam certification: the 350-701 SCOR core exam (120 minutes, about 90-110 questions, US$400) plus one concentration exam such as 300-710 SNCF on firewalls or 300-715 SISE on Identity Services Engine, each 90 minutes and US$300. SCOR covers six domains of professional-level security engineering: security concepts and threats, network security (firewalls, IPS, segmentation, VPN), securing the cloud, content security (email and web), endpoint protection and detection, and secure network access, visibility and enforcement. A defensible plan runs 150 to 250 hours over 12 to 16 weeks for the core, with 40 to 80 hours on top for the concentration. Weeks 1-3 build the security concepts foundation — cryptography, PKI, vulnerabilities, threat intelligence, and incident-response frameworks — because candidates who skip the abstract domains under-perform on scenario items. Weeks 4-7 cover network security in depth: next-generation firewalls, IPS, VPN architectures, segmentation, and Cisco Secure Firewall policy configuration, with heavy lab work, because the exam rewards configuration knowledge. Weeks 8-9 cover cloud and content security — cloud access security, workload protection, Cisco Umbrella, email and web security appliances. Weeks 10-11 cover endpoint protection and secure access — Cisco Secure Endpoint, 802.1X, identity services, and the visibility and telemetry stack. Weeks 12-14 add question-bank drilling and two full timed practice exams. Weeks 15-16 pivot to the chosen concentration exam, since the full certification is not earned until both exams pass. The plan is lab-heavy because SCOR items present real configurations and ask for the correct command, fix or analysis, and candidates who only read guides find the simulation-style items impossible to answer confidently.

1. Weeks 1-345

   Security concepts foundation

   • Cryptography, PKI and VPN technologies
   • Vulnerabilities, threat intelligence and incident response
   • Phishing and social-engineering controls
2. Weeks 4-760

   Network security core

   • Next-generation firewalls, IPS and segmentation
   • Cisco Secure Firewall policy configuration in the lab
   • VPN architectures and zero-trust frameworks
3. Weeks 8-930

   Cloud and content security

   • Cloud access security and workload protection
   • Cisco Umbrella, email and web security appliances
   • DLP and traffic redirection
4. Weeks 10-1130

   Endpoint and secure access

   • Cisco Secure Endpoint, EDR and posture assessment
   • 802.1X, identity services and CoA
   • Visibility, telemetry and enforcement
5. Weeks 12-1440

   Drill and timed practice

   • Question-bank drilling in volume
   • Two full 120-minute practice exams
   • Re-lab every miss by domain
6. Weeks 15-1640

   Concentration exam

   • Pick the concentration aligned to your job
   • Study the 90-minute concentration blueprint
   • One full practice exam for the concentration

What to buy

Which study resources are worth paying for?

CCNP Security prep centres on lab access plus a course, and the buying logic starts with the fact that the two required exams anchor the budget: the SCOR core exam is US$400 and each concentration exam is US$300, so the two-exam certification costs $700 in exam fees alone, before any training, books or labs, and a realistic total budget including training and materials is $900 to $2,500. Cisco’s official learning resources include the exam topics documents (free), Cisco U. courses and the Cisco Learning Network, and the official Cisco Press SCOR Official Cert Guide is the standard reference for the core exam, running roughly $50-$80. Third-party training companies offer full SCOR courses and labs from roughly $100 to $1,000 depending on format, with self-paced video courses at the low end and instructor-led programs at the high end. Lab access is non-negotiable — either a paid lab subscription (roughly $50-$200) or a local virtual lab environment — because the exam rewards configuration practice on firewalls, VPNs and endpoint platforms, and candidates who try to save money by skipping the lab typically pay the $400 retake fee instead. The exam fee is payable with Cisco Learning Credits, which employers often provide, and vouchers occasionally appear in promotions, so checking both the Cisco store and your employer’s training budget before paying list price is a genuine cost lever. Candidates should also confirm the current status of concentration exams before buying material, because Cisco publishes retirement dates for some older concentration exams and has announced updates coming to the CCNP and CCIE Security certifications; studying a concentration that is about to be retired wastes both money and study time. Prices below are list prices as of mid-2026 and change frequently; we rank nothing by commission.

List prices as of mid-2026, subject to change; SCOR is $400 and concentration exams $300, and some concentrations have published retirement dates — confirm before buying. No commission or affiliate ranking is implied.

What you'll face

What question types will I see?

The 350-701 SCOR exam has about 90 to 110 questions in 120 minutes, mixing single-answer multiple choice, multiple-response, drag-and-drop and scenario-based items, and the exam is delivered at Pearson VUE centres or through online proctoring in English and Japanese. The content spans six security domains — security concepts, network security, cloud security, content security, endpoint protection and detection, and secure network access, visibility and enforcement — and many items present an actual configuration, topology or security event and ask for the correct command, fix or analysis, the style that rewards hands-on practice over memorisation. The concentration exams follow the same question mix in a shorter 90-minute format and drill one domain in depth: 300-710 SNCF on firewall security, 300-715 SISE on identity services, or the VPN, email, web and cloud concentrations, so the candidate who has configured the relevant product in a lab has a decisive advantage on the scenario items that make up a meaningful share of the paper. Cisco reports results as pass/fail on a scaled score with no published numeric threshold, so there is no official percentage to target and the exam cannot be gamed against a cut line; the score report shows relative performance by topic area, which is the most useful feedback a candidate gets. Because the item count and mix can vary slightly between exam forms, pacing matters more than any single-item expectation: at roughly one minute per item, the scenario and configuration items consume most of the clock, so candidates should flag uncertain items early, avoid dwelling on a single drag-and-drop, and budget the reading-heavy questions deliberately rather than answering in presented order. The samples below are editor-written illustrations of the published exam topics and the configuration-flavoured style of the real items, not live exam items.

Samples are editor-written illustrations of the published blueprint, not live exam items.

Reference

What are the key facts about the Cisco Certified Network Professional Security?

Cisco Certified Network Professional Security is a certification credential; awarded by Cisco; the exam fee is $400 per exam; typical preparation is 4–8 months; holders typically earn $90,000 – $130,000.

In short

Is the Cisco Certified Network Professional Security worth it?

• CCNP Security = SCOR core + 1 concentration.
• It targets Cisco security technologies.
• It renews every three years.

Worth comparing

How does the Cisco Certified Network Professional Security compare with similar credentials?

• Cisco Certified Network Associate Cisco Systems
• CompTIA Security+ CompTIA

Trust

Where does this information come from?

Everything above is taken from the awarding body's own published material. Fees, question counts and domain weights are revised regularly — check the official page before you pay.

• Cisco Awarding body
• Official Cisco Certified Network Professional Security exam page Exam page
• Cisco certification programme Programme rules

Research confidence: high · Last reviewed 2026-08