What is the Nokia NRS II Composite exam?
The Nokia NRS II Composite exam is the compressed route through the written side of the Nokia Network Routing Specialist II certification. The standard path requires four multiple-choice written exams; Nokia's SRC exams page states the composite exams combine all of the NRS II written exam requirements in one exam, and only one version is required - 4A0-C03 built on IS-IS, or 4A0-C04 built on OSPF.
The format is published on Nokia's composite exam pages, and this guide repeats it exactly: The Nokia NRS II Composite Exam (4A0-C03 IS-IS version or 4A0-C04 OSPF version) runs 70 questions in 120 minutes, costs US$375 per attempt, is offered in English only, and carries no mandatory prerequisites.
Delivery is stated word-for-word on Nokia's SRC exams page: Nokia written exams are delivered through Pearson VUE. Exams are offered online and at global test sites in a secure and proctored environment. The certification is not finished after the composite - a 3.5-hour practical lab exam, held virtually directly through Nokia, is the final step.
What is the 4A0-C03 / 4A0-C04 exam format?
Seventy questions in 120 minutes, on an appointment booked as 140 minutes. Both composite exam pages publish the identical block: exam duration 120 minutes, and an exam appointment duration of 140 minutes because the sitting adds a 20-minute introductory survey on top of the exam clock.
The administrative facts sit in the same blocks: exam numbers 4A0-C03 and 4A0-C04, language English, price US$375, mandatory prerequisites none, and credit toward the Nokia Network Routing Specialist II (NRS II) certification. Nokia does not publish a passing score for either composite version - the result you receive is the pass or fail posted to your Student Portal after a results transfer Nokia publishes can take up to five business days.
The retake rule is Nokia's published written-exam rule: no waiting period required before retaking a failed written exam and no limit on how many times an exam can be rewritten, with the full US$375 paid on every attempt. The lab exam follows the stricter rule - a mandatory one-month waiting period after a failed attempt.
What does the composite exam cover - and how do C03 and C04 differ?
Nokia's composite exam pages name the four preparation courses that define the scope: the routing-protocol course for your version - Nokia IS-IS Routing Protocol for 4A0-C03 or Nokia OSPF Routing Protocol for 4A0-C04 - plus Nokia Border Gateway Protocol Fundamentals for Services, Nokia Multiprotocol Label Switching, and Nokia Services Architecture. That is the entire written side of the NRS II in one sitting: interior routing, BGP as it delivers services, MPLS tunnelling, and service architecture.
The C03-versus-C04 choice is the only fork. Nokia's SRC exams page states candidates are only required to take the IS-IS or OSPF routing protocol exam, and the composite follows the same rule - pick the version whose routing protocol matches your daily work. Both versions carry the same 70-question, 120-minute, US$375 format.
Both versions share the same end date. Nokia's 2026/27 program update retires 4A0-C03 and 4A0-C04 on February 8, 2027 along with all four component written exams, because the modernized NRS II is rebuilt on two new written exams - Segment Routing and EVPN - plus a new lab. If the composite is your route, the sitting has to happen before that date.
Who can take the Nokia NRS II Composite exam?
Anyone - Nokia lists mandatory prerequisites as none for both composite versions, and its NRS II certification page states training is not required to attempt the exams. The composite is a written exam like any other in the program, bookable through the Student Portal at a Pearson VUE test center or online via OnVUE.
Eligibility rules attach to the lab, not the composite. Nokia's certification page states candidates are eligible for lab exams once they have successfully completed all of the respective written exam requirements - the composite satisfies that in one pass. Nokia also notes holders of select valid IP certifications from other organizations may be eligible for one or more exam exemptions toward the NRS II.
One sequencing fact from the program update deserves emphasis: the current NRS II lab exam is the critical deadline. If you are working toward the NRS II on the current path, you must pass the current lab exam on or before March 8, 2027 - it is the final step and is not carried over. Miss it, and the written work resets into the new NRS II.
What does the Nokia NRS II Composite exam cost?
The fee is US$375 per attempt, published on both composite exam pages and in the SRC fee table. The arithmetic that drives the composite's existence: the four component written exams cost US$125 each - US$500 across four sittings - so one composite sitting at US$375 saves US$135 and three check-ins, in exchange for compressing the full written surface into 120 minutes.
The full certification budget includes the lab: the NRS II Lab Exam (NRSII4A0) is priced at EUR650, held virtually directly through Nokia, with a mandatory one-month wait after a failed attempt. Total published exam fees for the composite route land at US$375 plus EUR650; the four-exam route lands at US$500 plus EUR650.
Retakes are full price every time, but Nokia's written-exam rule carries no waiting period and no rewrite limit. The program-wide fee table, including the US$400 SRA composite and the EUR1150 SRA lab, sits in the Nokia SRC certification cost explainer. And if the binding constraint is the calendar rather than the content, Exam Assist handles the Nokia NRS II Composite sitting end to end and you pay only after the pass posts - that commercial path is the take-my Nokia NRS II Composite service page.
Can you take the Nokia NRS II Composite exam online from home?
Yes. Nokia's SRC exams page states it word-for-word: Nokia written exams are delivered through Pearson VUE. Exams are offered online and at global test sites in a secure and proctored environment. Pearson VUE runs a dedicated Nokia OnVUE page with account login and the System Test.
The published minimums: Windows 10 or macOS 14 or higher; working webcam, microphone, and speaker with no headphones or headsets; one display screen only - multi-monitor setups are not permitted; a stable connection at 6 Mbps download and 2 Mbps upload or better; every application except OnVUE closed. Prohibited: virtual machines and beta operating systems, phones, tablets, headphones, earbuds, styluses and watches, smart or connected devices with recording or AI features, secondary or touchscreen displays, and VPN, corporate, or public or shared networks.
The testing space rules: a completely empty desk - a beverage in an unmarked container is the listed exception - and a room scan at check-in. Pearson warns that failing to meet the minimums on exam day can result in immediate exam cancellation and forfeiture of the exam fee - at US$375 per attempt, the composite is the wrong exam to lose to a second monitor.
How hard is the Nokia NRS II Composite exam, honestly?
The honest answer is breadth under compression. Seventy questions across routing protocols, BGP service fundamentals, MPLS, and Services Architecture means no single strong subject can carry the sitting, and there is no published passing score to plan a margin against. Candidates who would pass each component exam separately can still run out of clock when all four subjects share 120 minutes.
The calendar adds real pressure. Both composite versions retire on February 8, 2027, and the current lab exam must be passed by March 8, 2027 - a candidate who clears the composite in January 2027 but leaves the lab to the spring starts over under the modernized NRS II. Booking order now decides whether the work counts.
The logistical layer carries its own risk: an unmet OnVUE minimum can mean immediate cancellation and a forfeited US$375 before the first question, and the 140-minute appointment surprises candidates who planned around the 120-minute exam clock.
The Nokia NRS II Composite Exam, Summed Up
The Nokia NRS II Composite Exam (4A0-C03 IS-IS version or 4A0-C04 OSPF version) runs 70 questions in 120 minutes, costs US$375 per attempt, is offered in English only, and carries no mandatory prerequisites. Delivery runs online from home through Pearson OnVUE or at a Pearson VUE test center, the 3.5-hour lab remains the separate final step, and both versions retire February 8, 2027.
If you want the credential without the preparation risk, Exam Assist handles the Nokia NRS II Composite sitting end to end, and the service fee is due only after the agreed result posts - no pass, no fee. Send your role, your window, and your deadline for a straight feasibility answer.