The CISSP exam cost is US$749 per attempt in the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and every other region ISC2 prices in dollars. In EMEA it is EUR 719.04, and in the UK it is GBP 606.69. ISC2 sets the price, and the tax, by where you sit the exam, not where you live or where your employer is.
That fee buys exactly one sitting. It does not include a retake, a reschedule, study material, or the annual maintenance fee you start paying once you are certified. A realistic first-year budget for most candidates is the exam fee plus a US$135 annual maintenance fee, and a pessimistic one adds a second US$749. Below, each line item gets its own section so you can build your own number. For what the credential is and who it suits, see what the CISSP certification is.
Why is the CISSP priced in three currencies?
ISC2 publishes one price table with three columns for the CISSP, and the column you pay from is set by the test center you book. ISC2's wording is "Pricing and taxes based on location of exam."
| Where you sit the exam | Exam fee | Reschedule | Cancel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, other regions | US$749 | US$50 | US$100 |
| EMEA | EUR 719.04 | EUR 40 | EUR 80 |
| United Kingdom | GBP 606.69 | GBP 35 | GBP 70 |
Sales tax or VAT can be added on top depending on the location, so the number on your receipt may be higher than the table. If you live near a border and have a choice of centers, the price difference between regions is small enough that convenience should decide, not currency.
What does the CISSP cost across the first year?
The fee table is not a budget. A budget depends on how your year goes, so here are three versions of it, all in US dollars.
You pass first time and have the experience. US$749 for the exam. Once you are certified, the US$135 annual maintenance fee (AMF) starts, due each year on your certification anniversary. Call it US$884 before study costs.
You pass first time but are short on experience. You become an Associate of ISC2 instead of a CISSP. Associates pay a US$50 AMF and must earn 15 CPE credits a year. When you later qualify and upgrade, you pay an US$85 upgrade, which is the difference between the two fees, and then US$135 a year from there. Your first year is roughly US$799. The full requirements, including what counts as experience, are in the CISSP requirements post.
You fail once, then pass. US$749 twice, plus the AMF: about US$1,633. If you rescheduled along the way, add US$50 each time.
The gap between the first and third scenarios is a full exam fee. That is the number to keep in mind when you decide how ready is ready enough.
What does it cost to reschedule or cancel a CISSP exam?
Rescheduling is US$50 and canceling is US$100 in the dollar regions. ISC2's scheduling page says you cannot reschedule within 24 hours of your appointment, and its FAQ advises rescheduling at least 48 hours ahead to avoid forfeiting the fee. Once you are inside that window your choices are to sit or to forfeit the seat.
There is also a deadline on the purchase itself. An exam you buy must be scheduled and sat within 365 days. ISC2 states that if you do not sit within 365 days of the purchase date, your exam fee will not be refunded. A year sounds generous until a project at work eats four months of it.
The cheapest US$50 you will spend
If you are two weeks out and your practice results are still shaky, reschedule. US$50 to move the date is far cheaper than US$749 for a retake, and it does not cost you the 30-day waiting period a failed attempt triggers.
The trap is waiting too long to make that call. People hold the date out of stubbornness, hit the 24-hour cutoff, then sit an exam they already suspect they will fail. Decide by the weekend before, not the night before. If you need help judging readiness, how hard the CISSP exam is explains why your gut feeling during a CAT exam is a poor guide.
What about Peace of Mind Protection?
ISC2 sells an exam-only option called Peace of Mind Protection that bundles two attempts at a lower cost than two single exams. Both attempts must be sat within 180 days of purchase. ISC2's CISSP page listed it at US$998 when we checked on October 1, 2026, against US$1,498 for two single exams. Confirm the current figure at checkout rather than relying on a number from a forum. It makes the most sense if you already expect to need the second attempt, which is an honest question to ask yourself before you buy.
How much is a CISSP retake, and how long do you wait?
Every retake costs the full exam fee again. There is no discounted second attempt outside the Peace of Mind option. ISC2 also controls how fast you can come back, with two rules:
-
After attempt 1, you wait 30 test-free days. After attempt 2, 60 days. After attempt 3 and every later attempt, 90 days.
-
You get a maximum of 4 attempts in any 12-month period.
Run that forward and the calendar gets tight. Sit on January 5 and fail, and the earliest second attempt is early February. Fail again and the third lands in early April. A fourth arrives around early July. That is four attempts in about six months, the ceiling for the year, and a combined spend of US$2,996 in exam fees alone. Nobody plans for that, but it shows why preparing properly the first time is the cheaper strategy by a wide margin.
Can you take the CISSP exam online?
No. The CISSP is delivered only through Pearson VUE, at ISC2 Authorized PPC and PVTC Select Pearson Testing Centers. ISC2 ran two online proctoring pilots starting in 2021 and concluded they did not meet its standards for security and integrity. Its FAQ answer to whether the exam can be taken online is "Not at this time."
So the logistics cost you cannot see on the price table is travel. Look up your nearest ISC2 authorized center before you pay, because a two-hour drive changes how you plan the morning.
Taking the CISSP in Chinese
The exam is offered in Chinese, English, German, Japanese and Spanish. Chinese, however, runs only in set windows: March 1 to 31, June 1 to 30, September 1 to 30, and December 1 to 31. If you plan to sit in Chinese, build your study plan backward from one of those months. Missing a window means waiting about two months for the next one, and your 365-day purchase clock keeps running the whole time.
What happens on CISSP exam day?
You sit an adaptive (CAT) exam of 100 to 150 items, with up to 3 hours to finish and a passing standard of 700 out of 1000. Twenty-five items are unscored pretest items you cannot identify. Three rules matter most for your money, because each one can turn a paid seat into a wasted one:
Running out of time is an automatic fail if you have not answered at least 100 items (75 operational plus 25 pretest). Three hours for up to 150 items is a little over a minute each.
Breaks are unlimited, but the clock keeps running, so every break comes out of your three hours.
There is no going back. Once you finalize an answer, you cannot review or change it.
The exam can also stop at item 100 once ISC2's model is 95% confident either way, and because it targets items at about a 50% chance of a correct answer, almost everyone walks out unsure. Neither tells you how you did.
You get your result at the test center straight away: pass or fail, with no numerical score. Only candidates who fail receive domain-level feedback, rated below, near or above the proficiency standard. Scoring is compensatory, so a weak domain can be offset by strong ones.
What happens after you pass?
Passing the exam is not the same as holding the credential. You must complete your certification application within nine months of the exam date, and it needs an endorser: another ISC2 certified professional in good standing. That person does not have to hold a CISSP. If you know nobody, you can ask ISC2 to endorse you, in which case you provide proof of employment. A percentage of applications are randomly audited, so keep your employment records tidy.
Missing the nine-month deadline wastes the exam fee you already paid, which makes it the most expensive deadline in this post.
How much is the CISSP annual maintenance fee?
The exam is a one-time cost. Holding the credential is a recurring one.
| Ongoing cost | CISSP | Associate of ISC2 |
|---|---|---|
| Annual maintenance fee | US$135 a year | US$50 a year |
| CPE credits | 120 per three-year cycle | 15 a year |
| Upgrade to full CISSP | n/a | US$85 one time |
ISC2 notes that tax may be added to the AMF in some jurisdictions. If you go on to earn other ISC2 certifications, you still pay only one AMF, which softens the cost of adding a second credential later.
The CPE requirement is time rather than money, but it is not free either. Of the 120 credits per cycle, at least 90 must be Group A (tied to the CISSP domains), and the other 30 can be Group A or Group B (general professional development). ISC2 suggests 40 a year as a pace but does not require an annual minimum for full CISSPs. Up to 40 Group A credits earned in the last six months of a cycle, beyond the 120 required, roll over to the next. Miss the cycle, and after a 90-day grace period your certification is suspended.
Over one three-year cycle, the AMF alone comes to US$405. Over the life of a career, the maintenance fee will cost far more than the exam ever did, so treat US$749 as the entry ticket rather than the price.
How to spend less on the CISSP
The biggest saving is not a coupon. It is passing once. A retake costs exactly as much as your first attempt, plus a 30-day delay, so money spent on preparation pays back quickly if it prevents even one failed sitting. Map your weeks against the eight domain weights with a CISSP study plan, and practice the scenario style the CAT engine uses. A study guide like the ISC2 CISSP Simply Certified Study Guide can carry the content side for a small fraction of a retake fee.
Beyond that: ask your employer, since ISC2 sells bulk vouchers to organizations. If you are a US veteran, ISC2's scheduling page mentions GI Bill assistance, so check your eligibility. And book your date only when you can see a credible path to it, because the 365-day purchase window and the 24-hour reschedule cutoff both punish optimism.
FAQ
How much does the CISSP exam cost?
US$749 per attempt in the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and other dollar-priced regions. It is EUR 719.04 in EMEA and GBP 606.69 in the UK. ISC2 sets the price and any tax by the location where you sit the exam.
Is the CISSP exam fee refundable?
Canceling costs US$100, EUR 80 or GBP 70, and you cannot reschedule within 24 hours of your appointment (ISC2's FAQ advises at least 48 hours' notice). If you never sit within 365 days of purchase, ISC2 states the fee will not be refunded.
How much does it cost to retake the CISSP?
The full exam fee again. You must wait 30 days after a first attempt, 60 after a second, and 90 after a third or any later attempt, with a maximum of four attempts in any 12-month period.
Is Peace of Mind Protection worth it for the CISSP?
Only if you already expect to need a second attempt. It bundles two attempts, both to be sat within 180 days, and ISC2's CISSP page listed it at US$998 on October 1, 2026, against US$1,498 for two single exams. If you expect to pass first time, a single US$749 exam is cheaper.
What is the CISSP annual maintenance fee?
US$135 a year for a CISSP, due on your certification anniversary. An Associate of ISC2 pays US$50 a year, then an US$85 upgrade when moving to full CISSP status. You pay one AMF no matter how many ISC2 certifications you hold.
Want one plain-English book to prepare with? The ISC2 CISSP Simply Certified Study Guide is mapped to the eight domains of the official exam outline, with ten full-length mock exams of 125 questions each, with answer keys.
Simply Certified is an independent publisher. CISSP and ISC2 are trademarks of ISC2. Our books are independent study material and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ISC2.