SY0-701 or SY0-801? Choose Your Security+ Exam by Test Date

Choose by your test date. If you can sit before June 11, 2027 with room for a second attempt, and you are already studying for SY0-701, finish and sit SY0-701. If your date is later than that, or you are starting from scratch with a long runway, study for SY0-801. Either way you earn the same certification.

The dates come from CompTIA's Security+ pages. SY0-801 is expected to launch on or around November 17, 2026. SY0-701 retires on June 11, 2027 for the English exam, and on August 13, 2027 in Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai. Last verified 27 October 2026.

What you can sit, by test date

The second row is the overlap: just under seven months when both exams are open in English.

A rule for the overlap

Count forward from today. Add the study time you need, then add room for a second attempt. If the result lands before June 11, 2027, SY0-701 is a safe choice. If it lands after, study for SY0-801.

For the study time, our study-time guide puts Security+ at 6 to 12 weeks, depending on background. For the second attempt, CompTIA's retake policy sets no waiting period between a first and second attempt, then a wait of at least 14 calendar days before a third. You pay the exam price each time. A first SY0-701 attempt in early June 2027 leaves almost no room: fail it, and the second has to fall before June 11.

Two things can tip the choice:

• You are well into SY0-701 study. Book SY0-701 before June 11, 2027 rather than switching. Moving to SY0-801 means relearning incident response and adding the AI objective.
• You test in Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish or Thai. CompTIA lists SY0-801 in English only, so SY0-701 is your exam until August 13, 2027.

What does not change

Both exams lead to CompTIA Security+. Both have a maximum of 90 questions in 90 minutes and pass at 750 on a scale of 100 to 900. Renewal works the same whichever exam you sat: a three-year cycle, with 50 CEUs and the $150 CE fee, or no fee if you pass the latest release of the exam or earn a higher-level CompTIA certification. CompTIA's renewal fees page lists the options.

So the choice is about what you study and when you can sit, not about the certificate you end up with.

Vouchers near the switchover

A CompTIA voucher is valid for 12 months from the day you receive it, and CompTIA's guide to vouchers says a purchased voucher can be used for any version of the certification exam before it expires. CompTIA's voucher terms add three limits:

• Retirement beats expiry. Retirement dates supersede voucher expiration dates, so no voucher keeps SY0-701 open past June 11, 2027.
• Series and code. Vouchers are "exam series specific, and in some cases, exam code specific." Check which code a voucher names before you schedule.
• Retakes stay on one version. Special retake vouchers, the kind with a retake option, are exam specific and cannot be redeemed for another version of the same exam. If you buy SY0-701 with Retake Assurance, plan for the retake to be SY0-701 as well, before June 11, 2027.

If you are studying for SY0-701 now

Keep going, and book early enough to leave a few weeks before June 11, 2027. Our SY0-701 study guide covers the five domains, the performance-based questions and a study schedule.

If you choose SY0-801

Start from the SY0-801 objectives, linked from CompTIA's Security+ V8 page. If you are working from SY0-701 material, What changes in SY0-801 lists what to add: the AI objective, the eight incident response headings, and the new terms.