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 15th 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 | Then take one more exam from the available options | Certification Awarded |
A core exam from the FCP in Public Cloud Security track | FortiGate Administrator before Oct 15 | FCP in Cloud Security |
FortiMail Administrator before Oct 15 | ||
| FortiWeb Administrator before or after Oct 15 | ||
FortiMail Administrator | One core in FCP Public Cloud Security before Oct 15 | FCP in Cloud Security |
Cloud Security Architect after Oct 15 | FCSS in Cloud Security | |
FortiAuthenticator Administrator | FortiGate Administrator before or after Oct 15 | FCP in Secure Networking |
| FortiOS Administrator before or after Oct 15 | ||
FortiAnalyzer Administrator | FortiGate Administrator before or after Oct 15 | FCP in Secure Networking |
| FortiOS Administrator before or after Oct 15 | ||
FortiClient EMS Administrator | FortiGate Administrator before Oct 15 | FCP in Secure Networking |
FortiSASE Enterprise Administrator after Oct 15 | FCSS in Secure Networking | |
FortiSOAR Administrator or FortiSIEM Analyst | Any other elective for FCP in Security Operations before Oct 15 | FCP in Security Operations |
Security Operations Architect after Oct 15 | FCSS in Security Operations | |
FortiEDR Administrator | Any other elective for FCP in Security Operations before Oct 15 | FCP in Security Operations |
SASE Enterprise Administrator after Oct 15 | FCSS in SASE | |
SD-WAN Architect | Enterprise Firewall Administrator before Oct 15 | FCSS in Secure Networking |
SASE Administrator before or after Oct 15 | FCSS in SASE | |
| SASE Enterprise Administrator after Oct 15 | ||
FortiSASE Administrator | SD-WAN Architect before or after Oct 15 | FCSS in SASE |
| SD-WAN Enterprise Administrator after Oct 15 |
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