Everything you need to know about how the CTFL v4.0 exam is structured — questions, time, scoring, and exactly how the marks are distributed.
40 multiple-choice questions worth one point each, no negative marking, in 60 minutes (75 minutes for candidates sitting the exam in a non-native language). ISTQB itself does not run the exam — it is delivered online (remote-proctored) or at test centres through ISTQB-recognized boards and providers such as ASTQB/AT*SQA, iSQI, GASQ and BCS.
ISTQB publishes how the 40 questions are distributed (ISTQB CTFL Syllabus v4.0.1 + Exam Structures & Rules v1.13). Weight your preparation to match — this is the single most useful planning fact:
| Area | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| Test Analysis and Design | 28% | |
| Managing the Test Activities | 22% | |
| Fundamentals of Testing | 20% | |
| Testing Throughout the Software Development Lifecycle | 15% | |
| Static Testing | 10% | |
| Test Tools | 5% |
Test Analysis and Design is the heaviest at 28% — most candidates under-weight it.
6 free questions · explanation for every option · per-area readiness · no dumps.
Start free →It is an entry-level exam, but most content sits at K2 (understand) and K3 (apply) rather than pure recall — Test Analysis and Design plus Managing the Test Activities alone carry half the exam. Practising applied questions matters more than memorizing terms.
v4.0 restructured the six chapters, folded test management into 'Managing the Test Activities', and added Agile/DevOps concepts like shift-left, ATDD and collaborative user-story writing. The format — 40 questions, 60 minutes, 65% pass mark — is unchanged.
Yes — ISTQB explicitly lists project managers, product owners, business analysts and IT managers in the Foundation Level audience. It gives non-testers a working vocabulary of testing.
40 multiple-choice questions worth one point each, no negative marking, in 60 minutes (75 minutes for candidates sitting the exam in a non-native language).
The passing score is 65% — 26 out of 40 points. Aim for a consistent 80–85% on realistic practice exams before booking.
ISTQB does not publish official pass rates, so any exact percentage quoted online is unverified. The readiness signal that actually predicts passing: consistently holding 80–85% on realistic, full-length practice exams before you book.
No prerequisites — open to anyone. Aimed at testers, test analysts and developers, but ISTQB explicitly includes project managers, product owners, business analysts and quality managers in the target audience.
ISTQB does not set a global price - fees are set by the local member board: $229 in the US (AT*SQA, same price online-proctored or at a Kryterion test centre) and £200 in the UK (BCS, including the £35 remote-proctoring fee, VAT added at checkout - about £240 all-in), and much less in some countries (both verified 14 Sep 2026). The certificate is identical regardless of which board you buy from - verify with your local board.
For most candidates, accredited courses run ~19 hours of instruction; 20–40 hours of self-study is commonly reported. What matters most is practising questions and analysing why each option is right or wrong — not just reading.
None — CTFL does not expire and needs no renewal (certificates from any past syllabus stay valid).
No — every question is original, written to test the concepts and reviewed before it ships, with an explanation linked to the source for every option. Dumps are stale, often wrong, and against ISTQB's policies.