Short answer: plan on 100-150 hours of study, including lab time. That is about 12 weeks at 10 hours a week, or 8 weeks at 15 hours a week. Cisco publishes no official study-hours figure, so treat that range as a planning estimate, not a promise. There is also a hard date in 2026-2027 that matters more than the hours: the last day to sit the current CCNA v1.1 exam is 2 February 2027, and CCNA v2.0 goes live on 3 February 2027 with a different blueprint. If you start this plan now, you can finish v1.1 with time left for a retake. All exam facts below were checked on cisco.com and the Cisco blog on 17 October 2026.
CCNA 200-301 at a glance
| Implementing and Administering Cisco Solutions (200-301 CCNA) v1.1 | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Price | US$300, or Cisco Learning Credits |
| Prerequisites | None |
| Number of questions | Not published by Cisco |
| Passing score | Not published by Cisco |
| Retake after a fail | 5 calendar days, starting the day after the attempt |
| Validity | 3 years |
| Last day to test on v1.1 | 2 February 2027 |
Sources: Cisco CCNA exam page, CCNA certification page, Cisco exam policies, Cisco Learning blog, 1 July 2026.
Cisco does not publish a question count or a pass mark, and it does not publish a pass rate either, so we give none. At the end of the exam you get a score report with your performance broken down by exam section, according to Cisco's exam policies. Our CCNA exam format page explains the question types in more detail.
Where the hours go: the v1.1 blueprint
The CCNA v1.1 exam topics split the exam into six domains. Use the weights to plan your hours, not just your reading order.
| Domain | Weight | Share of 120 study hours |
|---|---|---|
| Network Fundamentals | 20% | about 24 h |
| Network Access | 20% | about 24 h |
| IP Connectivity | 25% | about 30 h |
| IP Services | 10% | about 12 h |
| Security Fundamentals | 15% | about 18 h |
| Automation and Programmability | 10% | about 12 h |
The hour split is our arithmetic on Cisco's weights, not a Cisco figure. Two adjustments make it more realistic. First, Network Fundamentals deserves more than its 20% if you are new to networking, because subnetting and IPv6 addressing come back in almost every other domain. Second, IP Connectivity is both the heaviest domain and the one that most rewards lab time: routing tables, administrative distance, static routes and OSPF only stick once you have broken and fixed them yourself.
Which plan fits you
| Your background | Plan | Weekly load | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| You work in IT support, systems or development and know basic IP addressing | 8 weeks | about 13-15 h | about 100-120 h |
| You are new to networking, or can only study evenings | 12 weeks | about 10-12 h | about 120-150 h |
Both plans end with two weeks of full timed mocks and review. Both assume hands-on practice in Cisco Packet Tracer or Cisco Modeling Labs, which Cisco lists among its recommended CCNA resources with a free trial. Reading and videos alone will not prepare you for the configuration and troubleshooting tasks.
The 12-week plan (new to networking)
| Week | Focus | Exit check |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OSI and TCP/IP models, cabling and interfaces, TCP vs UDP | You can explain what happens at each layer when a host opens a web page |
| 2 | IPv4 addressing and subnetting, every day | You can subnet any /20 to /30 in under a minute |
| 3 | IPv6 addressing, wireless principles, virtualization basics, switching concepts | 80%+ on Network Fundamentals questions |
| 4 | VLANs, trunks, inter-VLAN routing; lab every configuration | You can build and verify a two-switch VLAN lab from memory |
| 5 | EtherChannel, STP roles and states, wireless architectures and WLC concepts | 80%+ on Network Access questions |
| 6 | Routing table logic, administrative distance, static and default routes | You can predict which route a router will use before you check |
| 7 | Single-area OSPFv2, first-hop redundancy; break and fix in the lab | 80%+ on IP Connectivity questions |
| 8 | NAT and PAT, DHCP, DNS, NTP, SNMP, syslog, QoS concepts | 80%+ on IP Services questions |
| 9 | ACLs, port security, DHCP snooping, DAI, AAA, WPA2 and WPA3 | 80%+ on Security Fundamentals questions |
| 10 | Controller-based networking, REST and JSON, configuration management tools, the AI and machine learning concepts added in v1.1 | 80%+ on Automation and Programmability questions |
| 11 | First full timed mock; rebuild weak labs | Error log grouped by domain |
| 12 | Second and third timed mocks; fix the error log; book | 80-85% held on fresh mocks |
Subnetting gets a full week on purpose. It is the skill that most often slows candidates down, and it feeds every later topic: VLAN design, route summaries, ACL wildcard masks and NAT. If you cannot subnet quickly by the end of week 2, add a week here rather than later.
The 8-week plan (some IT background)
| Week | Focus | Exit check |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Network Fundamentals: models, cabling, IPv4 subnetting, IPv6 | You can subnet any /20 to /30 in under a minute |
| 2 | Network Access: VLANs, trunks, EtherChannel, STP, wireless | 80%+ on Network Access questions |
| 3 | IP Connectivity part 1: routing table logic, static routes | Correct route prediction in every lab |
| 4 | IP Connectivity part 2: OSPFv2, first-hop redundancy | 80%+ on IP Connectivity questions |
| 5 | IP Services and Security Fundamentals | 80%+ on both domains |
| 6 | Automation and Programmability; lab every configuration topic once more | 80%+ on Automation questions |
| 7 | Two full timed mocks; rebuild the labs you got wrong | Error log under control |
| 8 | Final mock, light review, book the exam | 80-85% held on fresh mocks |
The 80-85% target on fresh mocks is our own readiness rule, not a Cisco pass mark. Cisco does not publish the passing score, so aim high enough to absorb a bad day.
The v2.0 deadline: work backwards from 2 February 2027
Cisco published the CCNA v2.0 exam topics on 20 May 2026 and set 3 February 2027 as the go-live date. In its 1 July 2026 post, Cisco's advice to current candidates is direct: "Take the current CCNA v1.1 exam now."
Work backwards from the last v1.1 day:
| If you start | 12-week plan ends | Room before 2 February 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Late October 2026 | Mid-January 2027 | About 2-3 weeks, enough for one retake after the 5-day wait |
| Mid-November 2026 | Early February 2027 | None: a single failed attempt pushes you onto v2.0 |
| December 2026 or later | After the cutover | Prepare for v2.0 instead |
With the 8-week plan, you can start as late as early December 2026 and still keep a retake buffer.
What changes in v2.0 is the structure, not the price or the length. According to Cisco's v2.0 exam topics, the exam stays at 120 minutes, US$300, English and Japanese, but the six domains become five: Network Infrastructure and Connectivity (25%), Switching and Network Access (25%), IP Routing (20%), Network Services and Security (20%) and AI and Network Operations (10%). Cisco's May 2026 announcement describes more hands-on labs, a stronger troubleshooting focus and "understanding the role of AI in network management and operations" as a core pillar.
The good news for anyone mid-way through this plan: subnetting, VLANs, STP, OSPF, NAT, ACLs and wireless all appear in both blueprints. Cisco's July post puts it this way: "the skills you build carry straight into CCNA v2.0." If you miss the v1.1 window, most of your study time still counts.
Cost and retakes
The CCNA exam costs US$300, or you can pay with Cisco Learning Credits. The certification page also lists an Exam Safeguard Plus option at US$450; Cisco's July 2026 post describes the Exam Safeguard options as covering two exam attempts. Under Cisco's exam policies, a candidate who fails must wait five calendar days, starting the day after the failed attempt, before retesting. Our CCNA cost page lists the fees in one place.
You can sit the exam at a Pearson VUE test centre or online. For online testing, Cisco's online testing FAQ says you download Pearson VUE's OnVUE software and check in 30 minutes before the start time.
After you pass: keeping the CCNA
The CCNA is valid for three years. To recertify, you can pass the current CCNA exam or any higher-level Cisco certification exam, or earn 30 Continuing Education credits through Cisco training, webinars or approved courses. That three-year clock applies whichever version you pass, so taking v1.1 in January 2027 does not shorten your certification. Our eligibility page covers the entry rules.
How ExamDeck fits into the plan
Our CCNA practice questions follow the six v1.1 domains, with every subnetting step shown in the explanation. Use one domain set as the exit check at the end of each block in the plans above. Then use the full CCNA simulator in the last two weeks: it runs 100 questions in 120 minutes, which gives you a realistic sense of pace.
Two limits, stated plainly. Our questions are multiple-choice and do not reproduce Cisco's simulation items, so keep doing your labs. And they follow the v1.1 blueprint, so they will not cover the new AI and Network Operations domain in v2.0.
Verdict
The CCNA is a 100-150 hour project, and in this cycle the calendar matters as much as the hours. If you are starting now, choose the 8- or 12-week plan, book a date in January 2027, and leave yourself room for one retake before v1.1 closes on 2 February. If you are starting in December or later, study for v2.0 from day one. Still choosing between certification families? See the which certification hub.
Exam title, duration, languages, price, prerequisites, validity, recertification options and the Exam Safeguard Plus price verified on cisco.com (CCNA exam and certification pages) on 17 October 2026. Retake and score-report rules from Cisco's exam policies page; v1.1 last test date and v2.0 go-live date from the Cisco Learning blog (20 May and 1 July 2026); v1.1 and v2.0 domain weights from Cisco's exam topics documents. Cisco publishes no study-hours figure, question count, passing score or pass rate, so the hours are a commonly reported estimate and we give no pass mark or pass rate.