I failed my certification exam. When can I retake it?
It depends entirely on who runs the exam, and the range is wider than most candidates expect. CompTIA imposes no waiting period at all between a first and second attempt. Cisco requires 5 calendar days. AWS requires 14 calendar days. ISC2 requires 30 test-free days and caps you at 4 attempts per 12-month period. Every vendor makes you pay the full fee again. The table below is read from each vendor's own published policy, and every row is dated - policies change, so check the source link before you rely on a date. Checked 31 August 2026.
In This Reference
Every vendor's retake rule, in one table
| Vendor | After 1st fail | After 2nd | After 3rd+ | Cap on attempts | Pay again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+ |
No wait | 14 calendar days | 14 calendar days | None published | Yes, full price. No free retests or discounts |
| Cisco CCNA, CCNP, Specialist, CCDE written |
5 calendar days | 5 calendar days | 5 calendar days | None published | Yes |
| Cisco Expert-level lab / practical (CCIE) |
30 calendar days | 30 calendar days | 30 calendar days | None published | Yes |
| ISC2 CISSP, CCSP, CC |
30 test-free days | 60 test-free days | 90 test-free days | 4 attempts per 12 months, per certification | Yes |
| AWS All AWS certifications |
14 calendar days | 14 calendar days | 14 calendar days | No limit on attempts | Yes, full registration fee each attempt |
After a single failed exam, a CompTIA candidate can rebook the same day and an ISC2 candidate must wait a month. That is the difference between losing an afternoon and losing a month of momentum, and it is decided entirely by which body owns the certification - not by how hard the exam was or how close you came.
If you are choosing between certifications and you are on a deadline, the retake policy is a real scheduling input and almost nobody factors it in.
CompTIA retake policy (A+, Network+, Security+)
CompTIA Most permissive
No waiting period between your first and second attempt. The 14-day rule only starts from the third attempt onward, which is the detail most candidates get wrong.
"CompTIA does not require any waiting period between the first (1st) and second (2nd) attempt."
"Before your third (3rd) attempt or any subsequent attempt ... you shall be required to wait for a period of at least fourteen (14) calendar days."
"Candidates must pay the exam price each time they attempt the exam. CompTIA does not offer any free re-tests or discounts on retakes."
Two further restrictions that catch people out:
"If a Candidate has passed an exam (or multiple exams) and achieved a certification, he/she cannot take the exam again, using the same exam code, without prior consent from CompTIA."
"CompTIA beta examinations may only be taken one (1) time by each candidate."
Source: CompTIA Certification Retake Policy, comptia.org. Read 31 August 2026.
Applies to CompTIA A+ (220-1201 and 220-1202), Network+ N10-009 and Security+ SY0-701 alike. Because A+ requires passing two separate exams, each core carries its own attempt count - failing Core 2 does not affect your standing on Core 1.
Cisco retake policy (CCNA, CCNP, CCIE)
Cisco 5 days written / 30 days lab
Candidates who fail an Entry, Associate, Professional, Specialist or CCDE written exam must wait five calendar days, beginning the day after the failed attempt, before they may schedule the same exam. Expert-level lab and practical exams require a 30 calendar day wait on the same basis.
The "beginning the day after" wording matters if you are counting to a deadline: a Monday fail means the earliest rebook is the following Sunday, not Saturday.
Source: Cisco Exam, Testing, and Certification Policies, cisco.com. Read 31 August 2026.
So a failed CCNA 200-301 or CCNP ENCOR 350-401 costs you five days plus another exam fee. That is the mildest time penalty of any vendor here apart from CompTIA's first retake, which is worth knowing if you are weighing whether to book while you are still borderline.
One scheduling note specific to CCNA: 200-301 v1.1's last day is 2 February 2027 and v2.0 goes live 3 February 2027, with no overlap window because the exam number does not change. A fail late in January leaves you retaking a different blueprint. See what changes in CCNA v2.0.
ISC2 retake policy (CISSP, CCSP, CC)
ISC2 Strictest
ISC2 uses an escalating wait, and it is the only vendor here that also caps how many times you may sit an exam in a year.
"You may retest after 30 test-free days." (after a first failed attempt)
"You may retest after 60 test-free days from your most recent exam attempt." (after a second)
"You may retest after 90 test-free days from your most recent exam attempt." (after a third and all subsequent)
"You may attempt an ISC2 exam up to 4 times within a 12-month period for each certification program."
The cap is the rule that ends people's year. Three fails puts you 180 days deep in waiting periods before the fourth attempt, and the fourth is your last for twelve months.
Source: ISC2, What To Do After Your Exam, isc2.org. Read 31 August 2026. The page does not state whether the full fee applies to each retake; assume it does and confirm at booking.
Note the phrase "test-free days" rather than calendar days - the clock runs from your most recent attempt at that certification, so sitting a different ISC2 exam in between does not help you.
Combined with the $749 CISSP exam fee, a CISSP failure is the most expensive failure in mainstream IT certification on both axes at once. It is also the exam where candidates are least able to judge their own performance in advance, because the adaptive format deliberately withholds any sense of how you are doing - see why finishing at 100 questions tells you nothing.
AWS Certification retake policy
AWS 14 days, no cap
"If you fail an exam, you must wait 14 calendar days before you are eligible to retake the exam."
"There is no limit on exam attempts."
"However, you must pay the full registration fee for each exam attempt."
And the rule that surprises people who passed:
"Once you have passed an exam, you will not be able to retake the same exam for two years."
Source: AWS Certification, After Testing policies, aws.amazon.com. Read 31 August 2026.
Applies to AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) and AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) alike. The two-year lock after passing exists to stop people re-sitting to improve a score, and it is worth knowing before you sit an exam you might want to retake for a better result. You cannot.
The four rules people miss
Read these before you book anything
- CompTIA's 14-day wait does not apply to your second attempt. It starts from the third. Candidates routinely wait two weeks after a first Security+ fail for no reason at all - you could have rebooked the same afternoon.
- ISC2 counts "test-free days", not calendar days from booking. The clock runs from your most recent attempt at that certification, and the 4-per-12-months cap is separate from and additional to the waiting period.
- Cisco's clock starts the day after the failed attempt. Five calendar days from a Monday fail means Sunday, not Saturday. Worth an extra day of care if you are counting to a blueprint retirement date.
- Passing can lock you out too. AWS bars you from retaking a passed exam for two years, and CompTIA bars retaking a passed exam under the same exam code without prior written consent. If you were hoping to re-sit for a higher score, at both vendors you cannot.
What a failed attempt actually costs
Every vendor here charges the full fee again. There is no partial credit and no "second attempt" discount offered after the fact - the retake vouchers some vendors sell are bought before you sit, not after you fail.
| Exam | Fee per attempt | Time lost after 1st fail | Cost of one fail |
|---|---|---|---|
| CISSP (ISC2) | $749 | 30 days | $749 + 30 days |
| CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 | $439 | None | $439 + 0 days |
| Cisco CCNA 200-301 | $300 | 5 days | $300 + 5 days |
| AWS Solutions Architect Associate | $150 | 14 days | $150 + 14 days |
Fees as published by each vendor and checked August 2026. The Security+ voucher moved to $439 on 1 June 2026 - do not trust the older $392 or $404 figures still circulating. Fees vary by region and by whether you buy through a reseller; confirm at booking.
The practical point is not that exams are expensive. It is that the cheapest way to find out you are not ready is a practice paper, and the most expensive way is the real exam. That is truest where the two penalties compound - a CISSP fail costs $749 and a month, which is roughly nineteen times the price of a full practice pack and thirty days you do not get back.
Find out before the vendor tells you
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Sources, and when to re-check them
Every figure on this page was read from the vendor's own published policy on 31 August 2026. These are the pages to check, and they are the only authority - a forum answer about a retake policy is worth nothing against them.
- CompTIA - Certification Retake Policy: comptia.org/en-us/resources/test-policies/comptia-certification-retake-policy/
- Cisco - Exam, Testing, and Certification Policies: cisco.com/site/us/en/learn/training-certifications/exams/policies.html
- ISC2 - What To Do After Your Exam: isc2.org/exams/after-your-exam
- AWS - Certification policies, After Testing: aws.amazon.com/certification/policies/after-testing/
Re-check before you rely on this page if more than a few months have passed. Retake policies are not versioned or announced the way exam blueprints are - a vendor can change a waiting period without any notice, and there is no changelog. This page carries the date it was read precisely so you can judge how stale it might be. If you find a discrepancy, the vendor page wins and we would like to know: [email protected].
https://figigexams.com/learn/research/exam-retake-rules/
CompTIA: no wait before 2nd attempt, 14 calendar days from 3rd. Cisco: 5 calendar days written, 30 for Expert lab. ISC2: 30 / 60 / 90 test-free days, max 4 attempts per 12 months. AWS: 14 calendar days, no cap. All vendors charge the full fee per attempt. Policies read 31 August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
I failed CompTIA Security+. When can I retake it?
Immediately. CompTIA requires no waiting period between the first and second attempt at any of its exams, so you can rebook SY0-701 as soon as you like. The 14 calendar day wait only applies before your third attempt and every attempt after that. You pay the full price each time - CompTIA states it offers no free retests and no discounts on retakes. The SY0-701 voucher is $439 as of 1 June 2026.
I failed the CISSP. When can I retake it?
After 30 test-free days. ISC2 requires 30 test-free days after a first fail, 60 after a second, and 90 after a third and all subsequent attempts - and caps you at 4 attempts within any 12-month period per certification. With a $749 fee on top, a CISSP fail is the most expensive failure in mainstream IT certification in both money and time.
I failed the CCNA. When can I retake it?
After 5 calendar days, beginning the day after the failed attempt. That applies to all Cisco Entry, Associate, Professional, Specialist and CCDE written exams, so CCNA 200-301 and CCNP ENCOR 350-401 are both on the 5-day rule. Expert-level lab and practical exams require 30 calendar days. Watch the calendar if you are near the 2 February 2027 v1.1 cutoff - a late fail means retaking a different blueprint.
Which vendor has the strictest retake policy?
ISC2, by a wide margin - 30 test-free days after a first fail rising to 90 after a third, plus a hard cap of 4 attempts per 12 months per certification. CompTIA is the most permissive, with no wait at all before a second attempt. After one failed exam the gap between them is 30 days against zero.
Do I have to pay full price to retake?
Yes, at every major vendor. CompTIA states candidates must pay the exam price each time and that it offers no free retests or discounts on retakes. AWS states you must pay the full registration fee for each attempt. Retake vouchers some vendors bundle are bought before you sit, not offered after you fail.
Can I retake an exam I already passed to get a better score?
Generally no. AWS bars you from retaking a passed exam for two years. CompTIA states that a candidate who has passed an exam and achieved a certification cannot take that exam again under the same exam code without prior consent from CompTIA. If a higher score matters to you, it has to happen on the attempt you sit.
How many times can I fail before I run out of attempts?
Only ISC2 publishes a hard cap: 4 attempts per 12-month period per certification. CompTIA, Cisco and AWS publish no attempt limit - AWS states explicitly that there is no limit on exam attempts. In practice the escalating ISC2 waits mean three fails put you roughly 180 days into waiting periods before a fourth attempt that is then your last for a year.