Security+ Exam Guide: SY0-701, V8 and Passing Score

CompTIA Security+ is the most common first security certification: vendor-neutral, practical, and recognised by employers and government hiring frameworks as proof of baseline security skills. It covers how attacks work, how to architect and operate defensively, and how security programmes are governed.

Two versions matter right now. Security+ V7 (exam code SY0-701) is the exam you can book today. CompTIA says Security+ V8 is expected to launch on or around 17 November 2026, and SY0-701 retires in English on 11 June 2027 (13 August 2027 for Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai).

The SY0-701 exam format

SY0-701 has a maximum of 90 questions in 90 minutes, mixing multiple-choice questions with performance-based questions (PBQs). PBQs are short hands-on tasks — configuring a firewall rule set, matching attacks to indicators, ordering incident-response steps — and they usually appear first.

Scores are reported on a 100–900 scale and the passing score is 750. Because PBQs take longer, a good habit is to flag them, clear the multiple-choice questions at a steady pace, then return with the time you have banked.

The 5 Security+ SY0-701 domains

Security Operations is the largest domain at 28%, so hands-on, day-to-day defensive work carries the most weight.

• General Security Concepts (12%) — security controls, the CIA triad, zero trust, change management and cryptographic basics.
• Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations (22%) — threat actors, attack surfaces, malware and attack indicators, and mitigation techniques.
• Security Architecture (18%) — cloud, on-premises and hybrid architecture, network segmentation, data protection and resilience.
• Security Operations (28%) — hardening, identity and access management, monitoring, vulnerability management, automation and incident response.
• Security Program Management and Oversight (20%) — governance, risk management, third-party risk, compliance, audits and security awareness.

SY0-701 or V8: which should you sit?

CompTIA describes V8 as expanding coverage of AI-related risks, security operations and modern environments. Both versions lead to the same Security+ certification, and both are valid for three years.

• Already studying SY0-701 and planning to test within the next few months: stay on SY0-701. Its objectives are final, and study material for it is mature.
• Starting from scratch after V8 launches: consider V8 once CompTIA publishes its final objectives and study materials catch up.
• Either way, book before 11 June 2027 if you want SY0-701 in English — there is no extension once it retires.

Prerequisites and renewal

There is no formal prerequisite. CompTIA recommends Network+ level knowledge and around two years of IT administration experience with a security focus, but you can sit the exam without either. The certification is valid for three years and is renewed through CompTIA’s continuing education programme, or by passing a higher-level CompTIA exam such as CySA+.

A study plan that works

Security+ rewards breadth and recognition speed: you need to identify an attack, a control or a protocol quickly and apply it to a short scenario.

• Take a diagnostic and rank the five domains; start with your weakest, weighted toward Security Operations (28%).
• Study 30 minutes a day and use spaced repetition for ports, protocols, attack types and acronyms.
• Practise PBQ-style tasks, not just multiple choice — they carry more time and more marks.
• Sit full timed practice exams in the last two weeks to fix pacing.
• Book when your practice scores sit comfortably above the pass line across every domain.