CISSP Exam Requirements | Eligibility, Cost, Skills & Experience

The CISSP certification is a globally accredited certification for cyber security practitioners hoping to claim certified expertise in diverse domains of information security. It is one of the most sought-after certifications, and acquiring it demands aspirants to fulfil more than one criterion. The two main CISSP certification requirements are — successfully advancing through the CISSP exam and accumulating five years of work experience. But that’s not all. Having a relevant educational background and getting an endorsement are a few key prerequisites any aspiring CISSP candidate must possess.

Still, wondering what are all the CISSP experience requirements to become CISSP certified? Keep reading to learn more!

Table of Contents

• CISSP Certification Requirements
  • Work Experience Within the Top Domains of CISSP
    • Full-time Experience
    • Part-time & Internship Experience
  • Professional Experience Required for CISSP Candidates
  • Relevant Education or Certifications a Candidate Should Have
    • 1. Four-year College Degree or Regional Equivalent
    • 2. Approved Credentials Listed on ISC2’s Official Website
  • CISSP Examination and Endorsement Process
  • Annual Certification Maintenance Fees & Education
• Conclusion

CISSP Exam Requirements

The major CISSP exam eligibility requirements that are covered in this article are the required work experience that the candidate should have (full-time or part-time), relevant education or certifications, CISSP examination and endorsement process, and the annual fees that is required to maintain the CISSP professional’s certification once they pass the exam.

Let’s dive right in.

Work Experience Within the Top Domains of CISSP 

To become CISSP certified, you require a minimum of five years of cumulative experience acquired within two or more of the eight CBK domains.

Here’s a breakdown of the eight CISSP domains you must study to pass the CISSP exam. Respective to them is their weightage in the total syllabus.

1. Security and Risk Management (16%)
2. Asset Security (10%)
3. Security Architecture and Engineering (13%)
4. Communication and Network Security (13%)
5. Identity and Access Management (IAM) (13%)
6. Security Assessment and Testing (12%)
7. Security Operations (13%)
8. Software Development Security (10%)

If you don’t have five years of working experience, you can still appear for the exam and join the ISC2 associate for six years after passing the exam.

You must pass all domains in the CISSP examination to qualify for the endorsement step.

Full-time Experience

If you want to display your full-time experience, you need five or more years of cumulative work experience in two or more CBK domains. Your job must be a minimum of 35 hours/week for four weeks to count as one month.

Part-time & Internship Experience

Part-time and internship experiences are also counted, but the calculation is distributed. For example, two years of part-time work (20 hours/week) would be equivalent to one year of full-time experience (40 hours/week).

The CISSP exam requirements might seem like a lot, but the dynamic and lucrative nature of this role makes it worth your while. The average CISSP salary in India falls between INR 8,00,00 and INR 30,00,000. The amount is subject to change and increases if you decide to get a job role internationally.

Professional Experience Required for CISSP Candidates:

Apart from matching the work tenure, here are some other CISSP exam requirements you may need to fulfil to prove your expertise.

• An understanding of CISSP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK).
• Experience in managing projects, supervising others and exercising independent judgement in security decision-making.
• The ability to consistently display ethical judgement beyond following basic ethical guidelines.
• Specifying and selecting security controls and mechanisms, such as identification and authentication technologies.
• Conducting research and development in the field of information security.
• Teaching, instructing, training and mentoring others in security practices.

Relevant Education or Certifications a Candidate Should Have

The CISSP requires very specific educational qualifications. Ticking all these boxes can actually help you complete the CISSP exam faster.

1. Four-year College Degree or Regional Equivalent

In terms of educational qualification, a four-year college degree or regional equivalent is mandatory for applicants. The subjects that are acknowledged include:

• Computer science
• Information technology (IT)
• Bachelor’s degree in cyber security

2. Approved Credentials Listed on ISC2’s Official Website

If your educational qualifications do not match the mentioned ones, you can still opt for an ISC2-approved credential and clear the criteria.

If you have a four-year college degree or an advanced information security degree from the US National Centre of Academic Excellence in CAE/IAE or ISC2-approved credentials, you can reduce and satisfy one year of your required experience.

Therefore, your CISSP exam requirements will be:

A four-year college degree/advanced certification/ISC2-approved credentials + four years of cumulative working experience.

CISSP Examination and Endorsement Process

The endorsement process marks the final stage of your CISSP certification journey. As a CISSP aspirant, you are also required to fulfil certain specific CISSP endorsement criteria. Here’s how you can achieve so.

1. Pass the CISSP exam (the most important prerequisite).
2. Have five years of cumulative work experience or four years of experience with relevant educational qualifications.
3. A fellow CISSP with a solid reputation who would fill out the designated parts of the form.

Once you have the CISSP certification requirements in hand, you can apply for the endorsement process by following the steps given below.

• First, get an endorsement form and fill out your portion.
• Have your fellow CISSP fill in their respective sections.
• Attach your resume with the endorsement form and mail, fax, or e-mail the endorsement form to the ISC2.

Remember that you only get nine months from your exam qualification date to complete the application process.

The approval takes around 4-6 weeks. However, due to the lack of timely endorsement, you’ll have to retake the CISSP exam. If you want to maximise your chances of passing the CISSP exam, we suggest enrolling in CISSP Certification training.

Annual Certification Maintenance Fees & Education

Once you have passed the CISSP interview round and are accepted as a CISSP personnel, you have to pay a certain annual fee and maintain an educational score to keep your certificate valid.

The annual maintenance fee (AMF) for CISSP certification is USD 135. The first AMF is due immediately after certification, and the next due date is the anniversary date. The fees will be USD 50 if you only focus on cyber security.

For CISSP CPE requirements, you must earn 40 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits each year and 120 CPEs in total, for a three-year renewal.

If you are an undergraduate wanting to get clarity on pursuing a career as a CISSP or CEH professional, check out our CEH vs. CISSP certification article to learn the difference and navigate through the right path.

Conclusion

The CISSP exam requirements are rigorous, which explains the 20% success rate. However, with the right CISSP exam prep, you can ensure to emerge as a leading CISSP professional! Edureka has launched its CISSP certification training module, which prepares you for all the aspects of this certification through live coaching. Over 11K learners have already benefited from this training. Do check it out!