What is the Dell NIST CSF v2 exam?
D-CSF-SC-01 is Dell Technologies' NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 skill certification exam. Dell's own description: it focuses on the knowledge and skills required to understand, implement, and utilize the Dell NIST CSF 2.0, and candidates are assessed on understanding the framework, applying the CSF 2.0 Functions, implementing cybersecurity practices, managing cybersecurity risks, and integrating CSF 2.0 into organizational processes. Passing it demonstrates competency in using CSF 2.0 to improve an organization's cybersecurity posture and resilience.
Dell positions the certification for cybersecurity professionals, IT managers, risk managers, and anyone responsible for implementing or overseeing cybersecurity programs, and names DevOps engineers and technical consultants as the target audience. The exam is proctored, delivered through Pearson VUE testing centers and OnVUE, and offered in English and French.
What topics does the NIST CSF v2 exam cover?
Dell's published exam topics table splits the exam into ten weighted categories, and the distribution tells you this is a framework-application exam. The two heaviest categories are the Functions candidates least expect: GOVERN - the Function CSF 2.0 added - at 18%, and IDENTIFY at 18%. PROTECT follows at 12%, and the closing risk communication and integration category, which Dell's objectives say covers supply-chain risk and AI risk management, carries 10%.
The named tasks are governance and operations tasks, not trivia. GOVERN expects you to relate the Function to enterprise risk management, define organizational context and risk strategy, establish policies, assign roles, and manage supplier risk. IDENTIFY expects asset inventory and categorization, ownership, asset-management tooling, risk assessment, and the controls of the incident response life cycle, contingency, and business continuity planning. The six lighter categories cover the framework introduction and six Core Functions, DETECT, RESPOND, RECOVER, Organizational Profiles, and tier selection for risk governance.
| # | Exam topic category | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NIST CSF 2.0 Introduction (six Core Functions) | 8% |
| 2 | NIST Framework: GOVERN Function | 18% |
| 3 | NIST Framework: IDENTITY Function (Dell's spelling) | 18% |
| 4 | NIST Framework: PROTECT Function | 12% |
| 5 | NIST Framework: DETECT Function | 7% |
| 6 | NIST Framework: RESPOND Function | 8% |
| 7 | NIST Framework: RECOVER Function | 7% |
| 8 | Analyze NIST CSF Profiles | 7% |
| 9 | Applying NIST CSF Tiers | 5% |
| 10 | Assess Cybersecurity Risk Communication and Integration (incl. AI risk) | 10% |
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
How much does the NIST CSF v2 exam cost?
$230 USD per attempt in the United States. The Pearson VUE voucher store price list for Dell Technologies lists the Dell Certification 100% Prepaid Voucher at $230.00 - that voucher is what a skill certification exam like D-CSF-SC-01 consumes. The same price list shows the Dell Practice Test 100% Prepaid Voucher at $50.00 and the Dell Achievement 100% Prepaid Voucher at $100.00.
Voucher mechanics matter for planning: you select the Dell Technologies program in the voucher store, then the Americas region and United States, to reveal the USD price list; orders are processed within three business days and vouchers are created after payment approval. Retakes are full-price attempts - fail once and a second sitting is another $230 after a 7-day wait - so the realistic budget question is not the sticker price but how many attempts you plan to need.
Can you take the NIST CSF v2 exam at home?
Yes. Dell's exam page states that skill certification exams are proctored exams administered through Pearson VUE testing centers and OnVUE, and the Pearson VUE Dell program page repeats the sentence word for word. OnVUE is Pearson's online proctoring route: the same proctored exam taken from your own room under a live remote proctor, subject to published equipment, network, and room requirements.
The scoring flow is identical on both routes. The exam is computer scored immediately with a provisional report at the end, the final score posts to CertTracker after Dell's statistical analysis of the sitting, and Dell Learning emails results within 72 hours. Cancellation inside 24 hours of the appointment triggers a same-day forfeit fee, and no-shows forfeit the full fee, on whichever route you booked.
Is the NIST CSF v2 exam being retired?
Not as of 7 September 2026. The D-CSF-SC-01 exam page carries no retirement notice, which makes it the current CSF 2.0 skill certification in Dell's catalog. The contrast worth knowing about sits elsewhere in the same catalog: Dell's own banner on the Information Storage and Management Foundations page retires D-ISM-FN-01 on 24 September 2026 with a D-ISM-FN-02 replacement landing the next day - proof that Dell rotates this catalog with dated banners.
The practical reading: build against the live page, not a cached copy. This guide's facts were retrieved from Dell's exam page on 7 September 2026, and any engagement should recheck that page before scheduling, because the banner is the only retirement signal Dell gives.
How hard is D-CSF-SC-01, and what trips candidates up?
The exam is honest about being a framework-application test: Dell expects you to operate the CSF 2.0 structure - Functions, categories, Profiles, Tiers - inside organizational risk processes, not recite definitions. The candidates who struggle are the ones who prepared against CSF 1.1-era material: GOVERN did not exist as a Function before CSF 2.0, yet it ties for the heaviest category on this blueprint at 18%.
The second trap is the closing category. Assess Cybersecurity Risk Communication and Integration sounds like soft material, but Dell's objectives give it real teeth: conveying cybersecurity risk with effective communication strategies, integrating cyber risk into enterprise risk management programs, supply-chain risk management, and the risks of emerging technologies including AI risk management frameworks, tools, and techniques. Candidates who budgeted zero preparation there hand back 10% of the exam.
Dell publishes no question count, duration, or passing score for this exam, so preparation quality is the only lever a self-study candidate controls. For candidates whose requirement is the credential rather than the learning - a partner-tier obligation, a program prerequisite, a compliance checkbox - Exam Assist handles the D-CSF-SC-01 sitting end to end, at home via OnVUE or at a Pearson center, with the service fee due only after the agreed pass posts.
The bottom line on the NIST CSF v2 exam
D-CSF-SC-01 is a ten-category, governance-heavy framework exam with a $230 US voucher price, at-home OnVUE delivery, immediate provisional scoring, and a 72-hour final-result window - and no retirement notice as of September 2026. Dell gives you the topic weights and the Functions; the rest is execution.
If the exam itself is the obstacle - the timeline, the retake math, or the GOVERN-and-risk breadth - send your role, your window, and your deadline. You get an honest feasibility answer against the current exam page, and if the engagement makes sense, the sitting is handled end to end with the service fee due only after your pass posts.