I have completed one exam. Given the NSE certification program changes happening on October 15, which exam should I take next to earn certification?

Modified on Mon, 6 Oct at 10:25 PM

You may have already completed one exam toward certification, and you are now planning to take the second. Given the Certification Program changes, what should your second exam be? The following table outlines your options for the exams to take either before or after October 15^th to achieve the certification of your choice.

The requirement for achieving an NSE Certification is to pass two exams within two years.

If the one exam you have taken is not listed, then your options for your second exam have not changed.

See the NSE Certification Program Updates page for information about program changes effective October 15, 2025.

For example: if you pass the FortiMail Administrator exam before Oct 15 and you pass the Cloud Security Architect exam after October 15th, you will be awarded the FCSS in Cloud Security certification.

You passed one exam before Oct 15	Take one more exam from the available options		Certification Awarded
You passed one exam before Oct 15	Before Oct 15, 2025	After Oct 15, 2025	Certification Awarded
A core exam from the FCP in Public Cloud Security track	FortiGate Administrator FortiMail Administrator FortiWeb Administrator	FortiWeb Administrator	FCP in Cloud Security
FortiMail Administrator	One core in FCP Public Cloud Security	N/A	FCP in Cloud Security
FortiMail Administrator	N/A	Public Cloud Security Architect	FCSS in Cloud Security
FortiAuthenticator Administrator	FortiGate Administrator	FortiOS Administrator	FCP in Secure Networking
FortiAnalyzer Administrator	FortiGate Administrator	FortiOS Administrator	FCP in Secure Networking
FortiClient EMS Administrator	FortiGate Administrator	N/A	FCP in Secure Networking
FortiClient EMS Administrator	N/A	SASE Administrator FortiSASE Enterprise Administrator	FCSS in SASE
FortiSOAR Administrator	Any other elective for FCP in Security Operations	N/A	FCP in Security Operations
FortiSOAR Administrator	N/A	Security Operations Architect	FCSS in Security Operations
FortiSIEM Analyst	Any other elective for FCP in Security Operations	N/A	FCP in Security Operations
FortiSIEM Analyst	N/A	Security Operations Architect	FCSS in Security Operations
FortiEDR Administrator	Any other elective for FCP in Security Operations	N/A	FCP in Security Operations
FortiEDR Administrator	N/A	SASE Administrator SASE Enterprise Administrator	FCSS in SASE
SD-WAN Architect	Enterprise Firewall Administrator	N/A	FCSS in Secure Networking
	SASE Administrator	SASE Administrator	FCSS in SASE
	N/A	SASE Enterprise Administrator	FCSS in SASE
FortiSASE Administrator	SD-WAN Architect	SD-WAN Architect SD-WAN Enterprise Administrator	FCSS in SASE
Enterprise Firewall Administrator	SD-WAN Architect Network Security Support Engineer LAN Edge Architect	Network Security Support Engineer LAN Edge Architect OT Security	FCSS in Secure Networking
OT Security	N/A	N/A	FCSS in OT Security
OT Security	N/A	Enterprise Firewall Administrator	FCSS in Secure Networking