Security+ SY0-801 (V8): What Changes, and Whether to Sit SY0-701 First
A new Security+ is coming, and a lot of what you will read about it online is presented with more confidence than the evidence supports. So this page separates the two: what CompTIA has actually published, and what is reported but not yet official. The short version - CompTIA has confirmed Security+ V8 is in development and has released draft objectives; a launch of 17 November 2026 is stated on CompTIA's own instructor network but has not been published as an announcement; and on CompTIA's own precedent, SY0-701 would retire around the middle of 2027.
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In This Guide
Confirmed vs reported
Every claim below is sorted by how much weight it can carry. This distinction matters because you may be booking a $439 exam around it.
Published by CompTIA
- Security+ V8 exists and is in development. It is listed by name on CompTIA's exam objectives under development page.
- Draft objectives have been released. CompTIA publishes drafts after the job task analysis process, and says multiple draft versions may appear before launch.
- The draft is being revised. The listed draft version number has moved during 2026, which is normal and is also why any content detail is provisional.
- SY0-701 remains the live exam and its objectives are unchanged.
Reported, not announced
- Launch on 17 November 2026, with preview access to training partners from around 20 October 2026. Stated on the CompTIA Instructors Network, which is CompTIA-run - well sourced, but not a published announcement.
- The exam code "SY0-801." CompTIA's own materials refer to it as "Security+ V8"; the SY0-801 code follows the naming pattern and is used everywhere, but it is an inference until CompTIA publishes it.
- Specific domain weights. Numbers are circulating from draft copies. See the caution below.
- Any SY0-701 retirement date. Nobody has one, because CompTIA has not set it publicly.
When SY0-701 is likely to retire
This is the number that actually affects your planning, and it can be estimated well even though it has not been published, because CompTIA is consistent about it. The outgoing version stays purchasable for a substantial overlap after the new one launches. The last cycle:
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| SY0-701 launched | 7 November 2023 |
| SY0-601 retired | 31 July 2024 |
| Overlap | About 8 months |
Apply that to a November 2026 launch and SY0-701 would retire somewhere around mid-2027. Two practical consequences:
- You are not in a rush. The panic framing on a lot of sites - "test now before it is too late" - is selling urgency. If the pattern holds you have most of a year, not weeks.
- You are also not free of the deadline. A voucher bought for one version cannot be used for the other, and CompTIA has issued separate vouchers per version in past cycles. If you buy a voucher in early 2027, check which exam it is for.
What is changing in the content
The consistent, credible thread across the draft objectives is AI, and it enters from two directions rather than one. That distinction is the useful part:
- AI as something you have to secure. Large language models appear as their own subject area - the risks of staff pasting sensitive data into public tools, prompt injection, and data leakage through model use. This is the governance-flavoured half.
- AI as something attackers use. Deepfakes, AI-assisted social engineering and phishing, AI-assisted malware, and automated vulnerability discovery, sitting with the rest of the threats material.
Beyond AI, expect the ordinary refresh rhythm rather than a reinvention: terminology brought current, some objectives merged or resequenced, and the balance nudged toward operations. Reporting consistently suggests roughly 70 to 80 percent of what SY0-701 tests carries straight across - cryptography, identity and access management, network security architecture, incident response and governance are all in both.
The draft domain weights, and why to be careful with them
SY0-701's weights are published and settled. These are the ones to study to today:
| SY0-701 domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1.0 General Security Concepts | 12% |
| 2.0 Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations | 22% |
| 3.0 Security Architecture | 18% |
| 4.0 Security Operations | 28% |
| 5.0 Security Program Management and Oversight | 20% |
What can be said with confidence about the shape: V8 keeps five domains, and the structure is a refresh of SY0-701's rather than a redesign. If you want the current objectives in full, with what each domain actually asks of you, we keep a maintained reference at Security+ exam objectives, all five domains weighted.
Sit SY0-701 or wait for V8?
The certificate says "CompTIA Security+". It does not say which version you sat, and no employer has ever asked. So this is only a question of which exam you are better prepared to pass.
| Where you are | What to do |
|---|---|
| Studying now, ready within months | Sit SY0-701. Three years of mature courses, question banks and instructor material exist for it. A new version has none of that in its first months, and the early-days content is written from drafts. |
| Starting from zero today | Still SY0-701, if you can be ready before it retires. Roughly three quarters of the content carries across, so you are not learning a dead syllabus - you are learning Security+ with better material. |
| Your employer is paying and wants "the latest" | Push back gently with the fact that the certification is identical. If the policy will not move, study the current objectives anyway and add the AI material later. |
| Timeline runs past mid-2027 | Study SY0-701 objectives now and plan to sit V8. Add AI security once the final objectives publish. Do not wait to start - waiting for a syllabus is the most common way people lose a year. |
| Already Security+ certified | Nothing to do. Your certification is valid three years from the date you earned it, renewed by CEUs or a higher CompTIA exam. New versions do not touch existing certifications. |
Why the dumps sold online expire with the version
There is a predictable pattern before every version change, and it is starting now: sites selling "latest SY0-701 questions" push hardest in the months before a new exam lands, because that is the last window in which their stock is even arguably current. What they sell is a fixed set of remembered items harvested from one objective set. Nobody rewrites it when the objectives change - there are no authors in that business model, only re-uploaders.
So a bundle bought in late 2026 has a hard expiry, and it is worse than a simple expiry:
- It cannot cover the part that is genuinely new. The AI and large language model material has no equivalent in the SY0-701 pool, so there is nothing to have remembered.
- It cannot handle performance-based questions. PBQs are the format Security+ candidates fear most and the one dumps are structurally worst at, because you cannot memorise an answer letter for a task you have to perform. Our PBQ practice guide covers how they are actually marked.
- The answer keys were never trustworthy. Items are transcribed from memory by people who were, by definition, unsure enough to be consulting a dump. Wrong keys propagate through these sets for years.
- Using them breaks the CompTIA Candidate Agreement. The sanction is revocation of your certifications and a ban, not a refund.
The alternative is not "study harder", it is to practise on questions that are written against the objectives and maintained when they move - so a version change updates your material instead of destroying it. The full argument, including how to recognise a repackaged dump, is on Security+ exam dumps: read this first.
Questions that get updated, not resold
Our Security+ questions are written against the published objectives, with an explanation on every item that walks through why the other options fail. The first full-length exam is free, and the pack is a one-time $39 purchase with lifetime access - so when the objectives move to V8, your material moves with them.
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Five questions to confirm you have the situation straight, each with a full explanation.
Where to go next
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Frequently asked questions
When does Security+ SY0-801 come out?
CompTIA has confirmed Security+ V8 is under development and has published draft objectives, but has not published a launch date. A launch of 17 November 2026, with preview access from around 20 October 2026, has been stated on CompTIA's own Instructors Network. That is well sourced but provisional - development dates move, and until CompTIA publishes an announcement it is not a commitment.
When does SY0-701 retire?
CompTIA has not published a date. The precedent is strong, though: SY0-701 launched 7 November 2023 and SY0-601 retired 31 July 2024, about eight months of overlap. On the same pattern with a November 2026 launch, SY0-701 would retire around mid-2027. Plan for that, and confirm on CompTIA's retirement dates page before you buy a voucher.
Should I take SY0-701 now or wait for V8?
Take SY0-701 if you can be ready before it retires. The certificate is identical - it says CompTIA Security+, not which version - and SY0-701 has years of mature courses, banks and instructor material behind it, where a new version's early content is written from drafts. Wait only if your timeline genuinely runs past the retirement window, and even then study the current objectives now rather than waiting for a syllabus.
Does my Security+ expire when the new version launches?
No. Security+ is valid for three years from the date you earned it, whatever version you sat, and is renewed through continuing education units or by passing a higher-level CompTIA exam. A new exam version has no effect on a certification already held, and nothing on your certificate or in the CompTIA verification record identifies a version.
How much of SY0-701 carries over to V8?
Reporting consistently puts it at roughly 70 to 80 percent. Cryptography, identity and access management, network security architecture, incident response and governance all appear in both. The genuinely new material is AI: large language model risks on one side, and AI-assisted attacks such as deepfakes and automated vulnerability discovery on the other. It is a refresh, not a redesign.
Are SY0-701 dumps usable for SY0-801?
No. Dumps are copies of remembered items tied to one objective set, and nobody rewrites them when the objectives change, so a bundle bought in late 2026 is worthless once the version flips. They cannot cover the new AI material at all, they are structurally useless for performance-based questions, their answer keys were unreliable to begin with, and using them breaks the CompTIA Candidate Agreement - where the penalty is losing your certifications.
Will the exam still have performance-based questions?
Every indication is yes. PBQs are a defining feature of Security+ and CompTIA has given no signal of dropping them. They remain the highest-value thing to practise, because they are worth more than a single multiple-choice item and they are where unprepared candidates lose time as well as marks. See how PBQs are marked and how to attack them.