CCNP SecurityCisco certification

How CCNP Security recertification works

Path 1 — Exams. Pass the current Security core exam (350-701 SCOR) again, or a qualifying higher / concentration exam from Cisco's recertification list. A single core or qualifying-exam pass recertifies CCNP Security and renews your CCNA underneath it. This is the path most active engineers take.

Path 2 — Earn 80 Continuing Education (CE) credits through Cisco's CE Program. Path 3 — combine some CE credits with an exam. CCNP's 80-credit requirement is far higher than CCNA's 30, which changes the math (below).

The 80-credit CE math

Cisco's CE Program tracks credits in your Cisco Learning Network profile, earned strictly from Cisco-authored sources: Cisco U / Learning Network instructor-led courses (3–40 credits by length), Cisco Press books (≈8 credits each, read and assessed), and Cisco Live sessions (≈1 credit per eligible on-site session). Third-party training — CBT Nuggets, Pluralsight, INE — counts for zero, no matter how Cisco-relevant.

Reaching 80 credits without an exam is a genuine project: roughly two long Cisco U courses (~16 credits each), a couple of Cisco Press books (~16), a Cisco Live's worth of eligible sessions, and additional courses to close the gap. The content cost (subscriptions plus a Cisco Live registration around $2,200 in-person) typically runs well past the price of a single $300 exam.

The CE route makes sense mainly if your employer already funds Cisco Live and Cisco U and you're accumulating credits anyway; otherwise the exam is cheaper and faster.

Why the SCOR core retake usually wins

For most CCNP Security holders, re-taking the 350-701 SCOR core ($300, ~120 minutes) is the cleanest recert: you keep the core current, you recertify CCNP Security for a fresh 3-year cycle, and you renew your CCNA at the same time via Cisco's stack-renew rule.

The SCOR core is the shared foundation of the whole CCNP Security track, so the study overlaps with day-job work — Firepower/FTD, ISE, secure VPN, ASA, and Cisco's cloud and zero-trust security. If you've been doing the work, a focused refresh on what's changed since your last pass is usually enough.

A CCIE Security qualifying exam also recertifies CCNP Security, but that's a stretch goal — viable only if you were heading for CCIE regardless.

Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

Pitfall 1: Counting third-party study toward CE credits. Cisco's CE Program is Cisco-content-only. Engineers who prep with non-Cisco material for two years and then try to claim CE credits learn the rule too late. Audit your activities against Cisco's eligible-activity list every 6 months if you're on the CE path.

Pitfall 2: Assuming a failed exam attempt buys time. Cisco only credits a PASS. Starting a concentration exam and failing does nothing for your recert clock. Schedule the qualifying exam with buffer, not on the expiry date.

Pitfall 3: Date math. Your 3-year window runs from the qualifying exam-completion date, not badge issuance. Cisco's completion email is canonical; there's no grace period, so plan at least 90 days of margin.