What is the format of the CCIS exam?
The CrowdStrike Certified Identity Specialist (CCIS) 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 CCIS certification, the identity credential in the role-based Falcon Certification Program directed at people working in identity and access management (IAM) and analysts focusing on identity.
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 CCIS 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 CCIS exam cover?
The exam measures Falcon Identity Protection the way a working identity specialist uses it. The guide's successful-candidate profile covers understanding identity protection and Zero Trust tenets, enforcing policies and policy rules against identity-based risks, investigating identity-based detections and incidents, configuring and maintaining the connectors between Falcon Identity Protection and MFA/IDaaS providers, assessing and managing user risk, and performing proactive threat hunting on identity-based detections.
CrowdStrike recommends at least six months of Falcon experience in a production environment before sitting, because the questions measure console work you have actually done - tuning detection settings and risk configurations for your domain - not theory you have read.
The guide's recommended-reading list doubles as a map of where the questions live. Work through it honestly: any title you have never opened in a real environment is a likely weak spot.
| # | Reading topic | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identity Protection Overview | The capability surface of Falcon Identity Protection |
| 2 | Identity-based Incidents, Detections and Risks | How identity threats surface and get worked |
| 3 | Identity Protection Reports | Reading and using the built-in reporting |
| 4 | Identity Protection System Notifications | What the platform tells you and when |
| 5 | Identity Protection Insights | The analytics layer over identity risk |
| 6 | Identity Protection Threat Hunters | Proactive hunting on identity detections |
| 7 | Identity Protection Administration | Running and configuring the product |
| 8 | Identity Protection Policy | Policies and policy rules against identity-based risks |
| 9 | Identity Protection in Falcon Fusion Workflows | Identity signals inside automated workflows |
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
How much does the CCIS 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 CCIS 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 (PVTC)' - 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, secondary displays, VPNs, and corporate or public networks 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 CCIS 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 CCIS 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 CCIS 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 CCIS service page has the details.
Either way, you now know the real shape of the exam: 60 questions, 90 minutes, $250, the Falcon Identity Protection 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.