CAST Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling

Why CAST Doesn't Use Fixed Testing Windows

If you're searching for a published 2026 calendar of CAST testing dates the way you might for a large national licensing exam, you won't find one - and that's by design. The Certified Alarm Security Technician credential, administered by ETA International, doesn't operate on quarterly or seasonal testing windows. Instead, the exam is delivered on-demand through a network of ETA Certification Administrators using Trapeza-based online testing or paper exams, with ExamRoom.AI available for remote proctoring.

This means your "exam date" is whatever date you and your Certification Administrator agree on - not a date dictated by a governing calendar. For candidates coming from certification programs with rigid quarterly windows, this flexibility is a relief: you schedule when you're ready, not when a testing body opens registration.

Before locking in a date, it helps to understand exactly what you're walking into. Our complete difficulty guide breaks down what makes the exam challenging, and the passing score breakdown explains precisely how close a 75% requirement really is.

Registration Mechanics and Fees

Because there's no centralized national test date, registration for CAST happens directly with an approved Certification Administrator. The core costs to budget for are straightforward:

• Base exam fee: $80
• Remote proctoring add-on: $16 for the two-hour ExamRoom.AI session (only applies if you test remotely instead of in-person)
• Retake: One free retake within one year of your first session - remote-proctoring charges still apply separately if you retest remotely

These fees cover the stand-alone base CAST credential, not the additional CAST(C) commercial competencies, which are a separate track. For a full cost breakdown including maintenance fees, see our CAST certification cost guide.

Testing Formats: Trapeza, Paper, and Remote Proctoring

When you schedule your session, you'll typically choose between three delivery methods, all proctored:

• Trapeza online testing at an ETA Certification Administrator location
• Paper-based testing, also administered on-site
• Remote proctoring via ExamRoom.AI, which lets you test from a location of your choosing but adds the $16 fee and requires a stable internet connection for the full two-hour session

Regardless of format, the exam itself is identical: 75 questions, a two-hour time limit, and a 75% passing threshold. There is no hands-on/practical component for the base CAST credential - it's a written, knowledge-based exam only. No reference materials or formula sheets are permitted, though calculator use is allowed under standard ETA rules, which matters given the mathematics content covered later in the exam.

The 13 Domains You'll Be Scheduled to Cover

Your scheduling decisions should be driven by domain readiness, not just calendar convenience. The current competency document (carrying 2013/2016 copyright dates) organizes the base CAST exam into 13 sections:

The remaining domains - Cameras and Intercoms, Components, Interfacing, Locks, Block Diagrams and Schematics, Troubleshooting, Computers and Digital Concepts, Hand Tools/Soldering, and Data Communications and Software - round out a body of knowledge that spans physical hardware, electronic theory, and system-level troubleshooting. For a full walkthrough of every section, see the complete domains guide, and pair it with the CAST study guide for a domain-by-domain prep sequence.

Your One-Year Retake Deadline

This is the single most important date-related rule in the entire CAST process: if you don't pass on your first attempt, you're entitled to one free retake - but only if you use it within one year of your original exam session. Miss that window and you'll need to pay the full $80 exam fee again from scratch.

Remote-proctoring charges are billed separately from the retake itself, so if you test remotely again, expect the $16 ExamRoom.AI fee to apply a second time even though the base retake is free. Understanding how the scoring actually works can help you avoid needing a retake at all - see our detailed look at the 75% passing score requirement and how it's applied across the 75-question format.

Journeyman Status and the CETa Timeline

A common scheduling question is whether you need additional certifications before sitting for CAST. You don't - the stand-alone CAST credential does not require CETa as a prerequisite. It's fully accessible to candidates entering the field who want a recognized entry credential first.

Journeyman status is a separate, later milestone. It requires CETa plus at least two years of combined training and experience. If your career goal includes Journeyman status, think of your CAST exam date as the first checkpoint in a multi-year progression rather than a final destination. For a full eligibility breakdown, see our CAST requirements guide.

Maintenance Deadlines After You Pass

Passing your exam isn't the end of the date-tracking process - it's the start of a new four-year clock. CAST certification carries a four-year term, and keeping it active requires either:

• 10 continuing-education hours annually (totaling 40 over the full four-year term), or
• Employer/supervisor verification under ETA policy in lieu of logged CE hours

Maintenance costs $25 annually, or you can pay $100 up front to cover the full four-year cycle. Missing your annual CE reporting deadline is a scheduling risk just as real as missing your exam date, so calendar it the same way you would a renewal for a license or insurance policy.

Building Your Own Scheduling Timeline

Since there's no external testing window to plan around, your prep timeline should work backward from when you personally feel domain-ready - not from an arbitrary registration deadline. Here's a sample structure that maps directly to the exam's heavier, more technical domains:

Once you've worked through this sequence, schedule your exam date for the week immediately after Week 4 while the material is freshest - waiting too long after finishing review tends to erode retention on the more technical domains like Mathematics and Data Communications and Software. If you want a condensed reference for that final review pass, the CAST cheat sheet is built specifically for that last week before test day.

Curious how your prep timeline compares to typical outcomes? Our CAST pass rate breakdown looks at what the available data actually shows, without relying on invented statistics.

Who Actually Books These Exam Dates

Scheduling patterns for CAST tend to cluster around a few candidate types: apprentice technicians at security integration firms working toward Journeyman eligibility, career-changers entering the alarm and access-control trade, and current field techs whose employers require a recognized credential for advancement or bidding on commercial contracts. If you're weighing whether locking in an exam date is worth the time investment at all, our ROI analysis and salary guide both dig into the career-side calculus, while CAST jobs covers where the credential shows up in actual hiring listings.

Whichever path brought you here, the practice environment at CAST Exam Prep is built to mirror the real 75-question, two-hour format, so your scheduled date isn't the first time you've faced that time pressure. Running full-length timed sessions on the practice platform before your administrator-scheduled date is one of the most reliable ways to know you're actually ready, not just familiar with the material.

Frequently Asked Questions