CAST Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

The Actual CAST Passing Score

If you're preparing for the Certified Alarm Security Technician exam, the number that matters most is simple: 75%. ETA International, the certifying body behind CAST, sets a flat passing score of 75 percent on the base CAST written examination - no domain-by-domain minimums, no weighted curve, just a single overall threshold you need to clear.

That 75% applies to the standard, base-level CAST credential - the version that excludes the additional CAST(C) Commercial competencies. If you're stacking commercial competencies on top of your base certification, that's a separate scope covered elsewhere; this article focuses strictly on the base CAST passing requirement.

Exam Format: What's on Screen or Paper

Understanding the passing score means understanding the format it's attached to. The base CAST exam is a proctored written examination administered through an ETA Certification Administrator. You'll sit for it using Trapeza online testing or a traditional paper exam at an approved test site, or you can test remotely through ExamRoom.AI if a physical site isn't convenient.

• Question count: 75 questions
• Time limit: two hours
• Passing score: 75%
• Hands-on component: none - this is a written-only credential exam
• Reference materials: not permitted; no formula sheets or lookup tables
• Calculators: allowed, but only under standard ETA International rules

Because there's no practical bench test, every point you earn toward that 75% comes from written-question performance across the 13 competency sections. That makes question style - how ETA phrases and structures items - just as important as raw subject knowledge. For a deeper look at what the testing experience actually feels like question-to-question, see How Hard Is the CAST Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.

How the 13 Domains Shape Your Score

The passing score is a single number, but it's built from performance spread across the current competency document's 13 base sections. Since ETA doesn't publish a minimum per-domain cutoff, a weak showing in one domain can be offset by strength in another - but you still need enough breadth across all 13 to comfortably clear 56 correct answers out of 75.

The domains you'll be tested on are:

For a full walkthrough of how each domain is weighted conceptually and what subtopics show up most, read CAST Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas.

Registration, Fees, and Retake Rules

The passing score doesn't exist in a vacuum - it's tied to specific registration mechanics you should plan around before test day.

That retake policy matters directly to how you should think about the passing score. If you fall just short of 75%, you're not locked out or forced to pay full price again immediately - one free retake is built in as long as you use it within a year of your original session. Remote-proctoring charges, if you choose that testing method, are billed separately each time. For the full cost picture, including how retakes and maintenance fees stack up over four years, see CAST Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Note also that stand-alone CAST does not require CETa. If you're aiming for Journeyman status later, that path requires CETa plus at least two years of combined training or experience - but that's a separate track from simply passing the base CAST written exam. Full eligibility details are covered in CAST Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Doing the Score Math: 75% of 75

It helps to translate the percentage into a concrete question count. With 75 total questions and a 75% passing score, you need to answer at least 56 questions correctly (75 × 0.75 = 56.25, rounded up). That means you have room for roughly 18-19 missed questions and still pass.

Because there's no per-domain floor, a candidate who's rock-solid on Alarms, Cameras and Intercoms, and Components can absorb some weaker performance on, say, Data Communications and Software. But relying on that buffer is risky - it assumes you already know exactly which domains are strong versus weak, and most candidates don't have that visibility without structured practice. This is where realistic domain-by-domain practice questions on the main CAST practice test platform earn their keep: they show you where your 18-19 missable-question buffer is actually going.

Scheduling Your Prep Around the Passing Threshold

Generic study techniques only matter here in how they help you hit 75%. Since the exam has no hands-on component and no formula sheet, your prep time should go almost entirely into recall accuracy and applied reasoning across all 13 domains - not physical skill rehearsal.

This structure only works if it's paired with honest self-assessment. A full study methodology - including how to sequence review sessions and when to reattempt weak domains - is laid out in CAST Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.

After You Pass: Maintaining the Credential

Clearing the 75% threshold isn't the finish line - CAST certification runs on a four-year term, and keeping it active requires either 10 continuing-education hours annually (40 total over four years) or employer/supervisor verification under ETA policy. Maintenance runs $25 annually or $100 for the full four-year term.

It's worth planning for this cost alongside your exam fee from the start, rather than treating certification as a one-time expense. Whether the full cycle of exam fee, potential retake, and four years of maintenance pays off depends on your career goals - something explored in Is the CAST Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and in CAST Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding the exact passing score turns exam prep from guesswork into a measurable target. For registration timing and testing windows to plan your attempt around, check CAST Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling, and for a condensed review of every fact in this article, bookmark CAST Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts. When you're ready to test your readiness against realistic questions, the practice test platform is built specifically around these 13 domains and the 75% benchmark.