What is the format of the CCCS exam?
The CrowdStrike Certified Cloud Specialist (CCCS) exam is a 90-minute, 60-question assessment - about 90 seconds per question. CrowdStrike's exam guide describes it as the step that earns the CCCS certification, the cloud credential in the role-based Falcon Certification Program directed at the cloud security engineer who manages the security of the organization's cloud infrastructure.
CrowdStrike does not publish a numeric passing score. The guide requires candidates to 'achieve a passing score' and leaves it there - any third party quoting an exact CCCS pass percentage is guessing.
Everything on this page comes from CrowdStrike's own exam guide and program guide, so you are reading the format the vendor actually publishes - not a forum's memory of it.
What topics does the CCCS exam cover?
The exam measures Falcon Cloud Security the way a working cloud security engineer uses it. The guide's successful-candidate profile covers setting up and configuring Falcon Cloud Security to monitor and respond to security issues, understanding its features and services, managing cloud account registration for an organization, configuring cloud security policies and rules, managing pre-runtime and runtime protection, performing detection analysis, and remediating and reporting issues.
The feature surface is broad by design: cloud security posture management (CSPM), cloud workload protection (CWP), application security posture management (ASPM), data security posture management (DSPM), and infrastructure as code (IaC) security - and the exam asks how they work together. CrowdStrike recommends at least six months of Falcon experience in a production environment before sitting.
The guide also publishes a recommended-reading list of eleven Falcon Support Documentation titles, from Cloud Security Overview through the CSPM configuration, remediation, and troubleshooting docs to the Kubernetes and Containers titles on Container Security and Kubernetes Protection. Any title you have never opened in a real environment is a likely weak spot.
| # | Scope area | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Falcon Cloud Security Features and Services | CSPM, CWP, ASPM, DSPM, and IaC security working together; one-click sensor deployment; the Kubernetes admission controller |
| 2 | Cloud Account Registration | Registration methods by use case, required roles, cloud groups, scan exclusions, troubleshooting registrations |
| 3 | Cloud Security Policies and Rules | CSPM policies, image assessment policies and exclusions, admission controller policy, runtime sensor policy |
| 4 | Pre-Runtime Protection | Registry connections, image assessment methods, reading image assessment reports (malware, high-severity CVEs, leaked secrets, Dockerfile misconfigurations) |
| 5 | Runtime Protection | Sensor selection for Kubernetes and container environments, deployment troubleshooting, IOAs, rogue containers, drift, network connections |
| 6 | Findings and Detection Analysis | Indicators of misconfiguration (IOMs), malicious activity and persistence, account audits, industry benchmarks, unmanaged public-facing assets |
| 7 | Remediating and Reporting Issues | Remediation steps for findings and detections, scheduled reports, Falcon Fusion SOAR notification workflows |
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
How much does the CCCS exam cost?
$250 USD per exam, per the CrowdStrike Falcon Certification Program guide. The voucher is purchased through your CrowdStrike sales representative or online at Pearson, and every registrant must accept the CrowdStrike Certification Exam Agreement and be at least 18 years old.
Budget for the retake policy, not just the first sitting. A failed attempt is another full $250, plus a mandatory 48-hour wait before attempt two and a seven-day wait before attempt three and beyond. A fourth performance failure triggers a 30-day wait, retaken recommended training, and a review with the CrowdStrike Certification Manager before a fifth attempt is approved.
Can you take the CCCS exam at home?
Yes. Pearson VUE's CrowdStrike program page states the certification programs are 'delivered by Pearson either online (OnVUE) or at a Pearson testing center' - your room or theirs.
At home, OnVUE's published requirements apply: Windows 10 or macOS 14 or higher, a working webcam, microphone, and speaker with no headphones, one display only, at least 6 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up, and the ability to close every application except OnVUE. Virtual machines, phones, tablets, smart devices with recording or AI features, and secondary displays are prohibited. Failing the requirements on exam day can mean immediate cancellation and forfeiture of the exam fee - run the system test on the exact device and network you will use.
How long does the CCCS certification last?
Three years. Every CrowdStrike certification is valid for three years from the date you pass, and recertification requires passing the most current version of the exam when it expires - CrowdStrike publishes no continuing-education shortcut.
You also cannot retake an exam you already passed except for an approved recertification, so the three-year clock is the only scheduled reason to see the exam again.
That three-year clock matters for planning. If your employer needs the credential for a contract or a role requirement, an expiring CCCS means facing the current version of the exam again - on the current format, not the one you originally passed. CrowdStrike's scope-change clause is explicit that exam content can change at any time without notice.
If the Sitting Itself Is the Problem
Format research solves the knowing. It does not solve the doing when your calendar, your test anxiety, or a failed attempt already on the books is the real blocker.
That is the gap Exam Assist fills: your CCCS sitting is handled end to end against the current 60-question, 90-minute format, and the service fee is due only after the agreed pass posts. If that is the outcome you actually need, the CCCS service page has the details.
Either way, you now know the real shape of the exam: 60 questions, 90 minutes, $250, the published scope, at home or at a center. The next move is yours - book the sitting yourself, or hand it to a team whose fee only exists if the pass posts.