The A+ passing score, and what it does not mean
CompTIA publishes the pass marks for A+ plainly, which makes this one of the easier facts about the certification to establish and one of the most widely misunderstood once established.
Core 1 (220-1201) passes at 675. Core 2 (220-1202) passes at 700. Both sit on a scale of 900. Network+, for comparison, passes at 720 on a scale CompTIA writes as 100-900. Read 24 September 2026.
- A+ Core 1 passes at675
- A+ Core 2 passes at700
- Network+ passes at720
Why the two halves differ
They just do. CompTIA states each score on its respective exam page and offers no explanation, and this site is not going to invent one. What matters is the consequence: the two exams are calibrated separately, so a Core 1 result tells you very little about how a Core 2 attempt will go.
It is also a small trap for anyone revising from memory. Candidates who remember "675" from their Core 1 preparation and aim at the same target for Core 2 are aiming 25 points low.
What a scaled score actually is
A scaled score is not a count of correct answers and it is not a percentage of them. It is a value on a fixed reporting scale that has been adjusted for the difficulty of the particular set of questions you received. Two candidates answering the same number of questions correctly on two different forms of the exam can receive different scaled scores, and that is the scale doing its job — it exists so that a pass means the same thing whichever form you sat.
How many questions do you have to get right?
Nobody outside CompTIA can tell you, and CompTIA does not say. Both exams deliver a maximum of 90 questions in 90 minutes. The word "maximum" is doing work there: the number you receive is not guaranteed to be 90.
The question types are also not equally weighted in any way that is published. CompTIA lists multiple choice in single and multiple response form, drag-and-drop, and performance-based items. A performance-based item is a simulated task, and it is reasonable to assume it does not count the same as a four-option question — but reasonable assumption is all that is, and it is not going on this page as a fact.
What the pass mark is not a measure of
It is not a measure of how good you are at the job. CompTIA's recommended experience for A+ is 12 months hands-on in an IT support specialist role — an acknowledgement that the exam is checking a body of knowledge rather than certifying competence at work. Somebody who scrapes a pass and has spent a year fixing machines is a different proposition from somebody who scores well after eight weeks of video.
It is also not a ranking. A pass is reported against a threshold and the certification you receive is the same certification whether you cleared the mark by two points or by two hundred. There is no distinction, no merit grade and nothing on the credential that says how close it was. Aiming for a comfortable margin is sensible insurance against a bad day; it buys nothing else.
What to do with the number instead
Treat the pass mark as a threshold you cannot calibrate against, and calibrate against the objectives instead. CompTIA publishes a full objectives document for each exam, free, and every bullet in it is something the exam may ask about. Working through that list and marking each bullet honestly is a far better readiness signal than any practice-exam percentage, because the objectives are the specification and the practice exam is somebody's approximation of it.
Use the weightings the same way. Core 1 is 28% hardware and network troubleshooting and 25% hardware; Core 2 is 28% operating systems and 28% security. A weak domain inside a 28% block is worth more attention than two weak bullets inside an 11% block, and the weightings are published precisely so you can make that judgement.
Comparing across certifications
Because the scale is fixed, it is tempting to read the published pass marks as a difficulty ranking: Tech+ at 650, A+ Core 1 at 675, Core 2 at 700, Network+ at 720. That reading is wrong, and CompTIA gives a hint as to why — it writes A+'s scale as "on a scale of 900" and Network+'s as "on a scale of 100-900".
Each exam is calibrated against its own question pool and its own standard. The number tells you where the threshold sits on that exam's reporting scale, not how that exam compares to another one. If you want a difficulty signal from CompTIA, use the recommended-experience line instead: Tech+ expects none, A+ expects a year in support, Network+ expects A+ plus nine to twelve months in a network role. That is an ordering CompTIA actually publishes.
The score report
CompTIA's candidate agreement refers to authenticating a score report, and to CompTIA disclosing certification status to a third party who verifies a voucher code — so the result is a verifiable record rather than a private one. The agreement also warns that CompTIA uses statistical analysis of results and may invalidate a score where anomalies call its validity into question, which is a reminder that the number is audited rather than simply issued.
If the number comes back short, the rules about what happens next are in the practice-test and retake page: no waiting period before a second attempt, at least fourteen calendar days before a third, and the full exam price every time.
Three scores you will see quoted that are not pass marks
Two numbers get mistaken for the pass mark often enough to be worth naming. The first is a practice-engine percentage — a proportion of practice questions answered correctly, which is not on CompTIA's scale and has no defined relationship to it. The second is a "mastery" figure from a study product. CompTIA's own CertMaster Practice is described as reporting "exam objective mastery scores", and that is a progress measure inside a product, not a prediction of a scaled result.
The third thing worth separating is the number of questions. Both A+ exams deliver a maximum of 90 items in 90 minutes, and people routinely quote "90" as though it were part of the scoring. It is a ceiling on the length of the exam, nothing more, and it has no arithmetic relationship to 675 or 700 whatsoever.
The short version
| Exam | Passing score | As CompTIA writes the scale |
|---|---|---|
| A+ Core 1 (220-1201) | 675 | on a scale of 900 |
| A+ Core 2 (220-1202) | 700 | on a scale of 900 |
| Network+ (N10-009) | 720 | on a scale of 100-900 |
| Tech+ (FC0-U71) | 650 | on a scale of 900 |
Everything else about the two exams — what is in them, how long the certification lasts, what renewing costs — is on the CompTIA A+ page. If the difference between the two halves is still not clear, Core 1 against Core 2 separates them domain by domain.
Scoring questions
Is 675 a percentage?
No. It is a scaled score on a reporting scale ending at 900, adjusted for the difficulty of the form you sat. CompTIA publishes no conversion between scaled scores and correct answers, so 675 cannot be expressed as a number of questions.
Why does Core 2 need a higher score than Core 1?
CompTIA does not explain it on the pages we read. It states 675 for Core 1 and 700 for Core 2 and leaves it there. The practical point is simply to aim at the right one.
Do performance-based questions count more?
Unpublished. CompTIA lists them as one of the question types without stating how they are weighted. Anything you read claiming a specific weighting is not sourced from CompTIA.
Do I always get 90 questions?
CompTIA says "maximum of 90 per exam", so no more than 90 — not necessarily exactly 90.
The exams themselves are laid out bay by bay on the CompTIA A+ page, and every other guide is on the index. Figures here are quoted from the certifying body’s own pages on the day shown; they are not advice about whether to sit an exam.