What is the difference between VMCE+ and VMCSE?
The VMCE+ (Veeam Certified Engineer Plus) is Veeam's professional-level operations credential: it validates that you can design, implement, configure, and operate Veeam Data Platform solutions - backup and recovery, infrastructure monitoring, and disaster recovery across Backup & Replication, Veeam ONE, and Recovery Orchestrator. The VMCSE (Veeam Certified Security Expert) is the security layer above it: Veeam says it validates advanced security configurations, zero trust principles, and integration with cybersecurity frameworks and SIEM/SOAR environments. The order is fixed - Veeam's FAQ states the VMCE+ certification is a hard requirement for VMCSE certification.
The VMCE+ Side: Fully Published and Bookable
The VMCE+ v13 is the credential with a complete public record. Veeam's exam specification publishes everything a candidate needs to plan: 100 multiple-choice items with every item scored, a 150-minute time limit plus 30 more minutes when English is not the local language, scaled scoring from 300 to 900 with 724 to pass, delivery in English (US) at a Pearson test center or online from home, and an escalating retake ladder from 24 hours up to 12 months.
Its prerequisite is three courses - Veeam Backup & Replication: Configure, Manage and Recover; Veeam Data Platform: Monitor, Manage, Analyze; and Veeam Data Platform: Scale, Automate, Secure - listed by University PRO at 55+ hours self-paced. The intended audience is the operations bench: backup administrators, disaster recovery specialists, system engineers, IT and cloud administrators, and the consultants who support them, with two years of hands-on Veeam experience recommended.
The VMCSE Side: Announced, Gated, and Not Fully Published
The VMCSE is where Veeam's own pages disagree, and the honest answer is to show the disagreement. The main certification page presents proctored VMCE+ and VMCSE exams as the current program, describes the VMCSE as demonstrating advanced expertise in securing, governing, and strengthening enterprise data protection, and gives scheduling instructions. The University PRO page still labels the VMCSE as coming soon. No public VMCSE exam guide was available at retrieval time - question count, time limit, passing score, languages, and retake rules are all unpublished.
What is published is the gate. To be eligible for the VMCSE you must hold a valid VMCE+ certification and complete the Veeam Data Platform: Enterprise Data Security training - the cyber-secure course covering zero trust, compliance, and SIEM/SOAR integration - which University PRO lists at 16+ hours self-paced. Veeam's FAQ adds that the VMCE+ training track is highly recommended before that course but only the VMCE+ certification itself is the hard requirement.
VMCE+ vs VMCSE, Side by Side
The table below lines up the two credentials strictly on what Veeam publishes. The pattern to notice: everything operational about the VMCE+ is documented - questions, timing, passing score, delivery, prerequisites - and everything operational about the VMCSE is pending. That gap is not a reason to wait on the VMCE+. The VMCE+ is the hard prerequisite for the security credential either way, so every VMCSE path runs through it, and Veeam credentials do not expire while you wait for the security exam to finish launching.
| Attribute | VMCE+ v13 | VMCSE |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Operate the Veeam Data Platform: backup, recovery, monitoring, orchestration | Secure it: zero trust, ransomware defense, framework and SIEM/SOAR integration |
| Status | Live and bookable | Marked 'coming soon' on University PRO |
| Prerequisite | Three mandatory courses (55+ hours self-paced) | Valid VMCE+ certification + Enterprise Data Security training (16+ hours) |
| Questions | 100 multiple-choice, all scored | Not published |
| Time limit | 150 minutes (+30 if English is not your local language) | Not published |
| Passing score | 724 on a 300-900 scale | Not published |
| Delivery | Pearson test center or online via OnVUE | Proctored per certification page; specifics not published |
| Expiry | Does not expire | Does not expire (credentials do not expire) |
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
Which One First - and Why the Order Is Fixed
There is no either-or sequencing decision here. Veeam's FAQ states the VMCE+ certification is a hard requirement for VMCSE certification, so every security-focused path begins with the operations credential: three courses, then the 100-question sitting, then the Enterprise Data Security training on top. If your role is backup operations, the VMCE+ alone is the credential your job description asks for. If your role touches ransomware response, compliance reporting, or security architecture, the VMCE+ is step one of two.
Timing matters too. Because the VMCSE's format and availability are not fully published, the controllable move is the one in front of you: complete the three-course bundle and clear the VMCE+ while the security credential finishes launching. Veeam credentials do not expire, so nothing you earn now lapses while you wait.
The Bottom Line
VMCE+ first, VMCSE second - that is Veeam's published order, not a preference. The VMCE+ is live, fully documented, and bookable online or in center; the VMCSE is gated behind it and still finishing its rollout. Check your Veeam account for the VMCSE's real availability before you schedule around it.
If you want the VMCE+ sitting handled end to end, Exam Assist handles the exam sitting end to end, and the service fee is due only after the agreed result posts. Start with the take my VMCE+ exam page.