IT support · entry
CompTIA A+
Issued by CompTIA · Exam 220-1201, 220-1202
A+ is the usual first certification for people starting out in help desk and desktop support. It covers hardware, networking basics, operating systems, security and troubleshooting across two exams.
- Price (2 exams)
- $274 × 2
- Exam time
- 90 min per exam
- Valid for
- 3 years
- Prerequisite
- None required
Exam details
- Price
- $274Per exam voucher (US store, no retake). Two exams (Core 1 and Core 2) are required, so $548 total; a voucher with retake assurance is $359 per exam.
- Format
- multiple choice (single and multiple response), drag-and-drop and performance-based
- Questions
- up to 90 per exam
- Length
- 90 minutes per exam
- Passing score
- Core 1: 675; Core 2: 700 (scale 100-900)
- Delivered by
- Pearson VUE (test centre or OnVUE online proctored)
- Required
- None
- Recommended
- 12 months of hands-on experience in an IT support role
- Renewal
- CompTIA Continuing Education: 20 CEUs plus CE fees within the 3-year cycle, or a single activity such as CertMaster CE, a higher-level CompTIA cert, or passing the latest exam version.
Checked October 29, 2026 against CompTIA's official page. Fields the vendor does not publish are left out rather than estimated.