F5-CA Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

The Number: 245 on a 100-350 Scale

The passing score for the F5 Certified BIG-IP Administrator (F5-CA) is 245. F5 reports results on a scaled range of 100 to 350, and 245 is the threshold you must reach or exceed on each exam in the certification path. That is the whole official answer, and it is deliberately simple: one number, one scale, applied to each of the five separately assessed exams.

The current issuer naming is F5 Certified Administrator, BIG-IP, and the production blueprint identifier is F5-CAB.0425. The five exams are F5CAB1, F5CAB2, F5CAB3, F5CAB4 and F5CAB5. If you want the bigger picture of how these exams fit together before diving into scoring, start with the overview of F5-CA certification.

Why 245 Is Not a 70% Requirement

Many candidates see a 100-350 range, glance at 245, and try to translate it into a percentage of questions answered correctly. That instinct is understandable, and it is wrong in two ways.

• The scale does not start at zero. A floor of 100 means the scale is offset, so 245 does not sit at a simple fraction of the way through the range in the way a raw percentage would.
• F5 does not publish a percent-correct cut. F5's explanation of scaled scoring describes the reported score as a transformation of exam performance, not a count of right answers divided by total questions.

Scaled scoring exists so that scores stay comparable even if the underlying questions differ from one candidate's form to another's. The practical consequence for you: do not set a goal like "get 21 of 30 right and relax." Treat every question as worth earning, and treat any provider that tells you a specific raw-percentage target for the real exam with suspicion. Some third-party pages convert a 245 into an approximate percentage; that is their own arithmetic, not an F5 statement.

Five Exams, Five Separate Scores

The structure is the part of this credential that surprises people most. There is no single sitting that rolls everything into one result. The five domains in the blueprint correspond to five named exams, each with its own registration, its own timer, and its own scaled score against the same 245 threshold.

Key implications of this design:

• All five must be passed. The credential is awarded only after the final required passing exam.
• Order is up to you. F5 permits any order. That is the official rule; any suggested order you read (including the one later in this article) is an editorial recommendation, not a requirement.
• Domains are not percentage-weighted sections. Because each domain is its own exam, there is no published weighting inside a single sitting. Equal question counts across exams should not be read as equal "weights" of anything.

For a deeper tour of what each exam covers, see the complete guide to all five F5-CA content areas.

What You Are Scoring Against: Format and Question Style

Understanding the format helps you convert knowledge into a 245 or better. Each current F5CAB exam presents 30 multiple-choice questions in a 30-minute limit, which works out to about one minute per question. Two format details matter for scoring behavior:

• Some questions require two choices. F5 staff confirmed this in the production launch announcement and an April 28, 2025 clarification. Read the stem carefully for a "choose two" instruction before you commit.
• Scoring internals are not fully published. The scored versus unscored split and any production partial-credit rule for two-choice items were not verified. Plan as though you need both correct selections on those items.

The exams are in English and closed book. Books, notes and personal electronic devices are prohibited under the F5 Certified Candidate Agreement. At a test center, notes may be made only on writing materials supplied for that purpose.

The pace is brisk. Thirty minutes does not leave room to puzzle over an unfamiliar object model, which is why hands-on familiarity with the BIG-IP interface and command line matters as much as memorized definitions. Our difficulty guide for the F5-CA exam breaks down where candidates tend to feel the time pressure.

Domain-by-Domain: Where Your Points Come From

F5 states that blueprint examples are illustrative rather than exhaustive and that the blueprint does not target version-specific BIG-IP features. So the goal is durable, conceptual-plus-practical competence in each domain. Here is what a candidate should be ready to demonstrate in each.

One honest note on "which domain is hardest": F5 does not publish percentages or a highest-weighted area, so any claim about a "heaviest domain" is unsubstantiated. If you want a plan built around the real objectives, the F5-CA study guide maps preparation to each exam.

Reading Provider Claims About Scores and Pass Rates

Search for this credential and you will find a lot of confident numbers. Most of them do not describe the current five-exam certification. A few patterns are worth recognizing so they do not shake your confidence or misdirect your preparation.

• Legacy 101/201 specifications. Some resources still describe an older route with roughly 80 questions, 90 minutes and a different fee. Those details are not evidence for the current five-CAB credential.
• Converted percentages. A page may state that 245 equals about 80%. F5 publishes no such conversion for these exams.
• Advertised pass rates. Provider-quoted success rates are marketing claims. No official candidate pass rate for this credential was found, so treat any specific figure as unverified. For what is and is not known, see what the data shows on the F5-CA pass rate.
• Practice tests with different lengths. Some third-party sets run 65 questions or group multiple exam labels together. The real exams are 30 questions each, so a long practice set measures stamina differently than the actual sitting.

When you evaluate any prep material, ask whether it is built around F5CAB1-F5CAB5 specifically. Practice that maps to the five production exams is more useful than a generic bank, and it keeps your sense of the 245 threshold honest.

Fees, Retakes, and What a Miss Costs

Scoring and money are linked, because each attempt is billed individually. Current delivery and fees:

These totals exclude retakes and preparation costs, and no member versus nonmember split is published. For a full accounting, see the F5-CA certification cost breakdown.

Retake waiting periods: a policy conflict

If you fall short of 245 on an exam, retake rules apply. Current catalog pages list waits of 15, 30 and 45 days after the first three failures, and the candidate agreement agrees on those first three waits. After that, the sources conflict: catalog pages describe one year after the fourth failure and 90 days after the fifth and later failures, while the July 2025 candidate agreement describes up to 90 days or the release of a new version, whichever is shorter, after the fourth failure, and says prerequisite exams must be retaken and passed. This fourth-failure discrepancy is unresolved, so check F5's current policy directly at the time you schedule rather than relying on any single published rule.

The practical lesson is the same either way: the early-attempt waits are short, but they are not nothing, and each miss costs another exam fee. Preparing to clear 245 the first time is the cheapest strategy. Scheduling logistics are covered in the guide to F5-CA exam dates and scheduling.

Passing Score on the Renewal Exam

The credential is valid for two years from the final required passing exam. One renewal route is the separate recertification exam, F5CABR, which also uses a passing score of 245. Its details differ from the initial exams:

• 50 total questions in 60 minutes, versus 30 questions in 30 minutes for each initial exam
• US$100 online or US$130 at a test center
• Available to previous holders, including inactive or expired holders regardless of when the credential expired

Renewal can alternatively come through achieving or renewing a higher certification that lists F5-CA as a prerequisite. Passing an intermediate exam alone does not establish renewal under that route. No CEU or CPE renewal path is published. The renewal blueprint is its own document and should not be substituted for the five-exam initial scope. Whether the credential is worth maintaining is a fair question; the ROI analysis and salary guide discuss that without inventing a pay premium.

Sequencing Your Prep Around the Score

Because every exam needs a 245, the smart move is to avoid carrying a weak domain into a scheduled test. F5 allows any order, but an editorially recommended order that follows how the product builds on itself can reduce wasted effort. This is a suggestion, not an issuer rule.

Troubleshooting goes last in this order because it draws on everything before it. F5 does not publish an official study guide and points candidates to the blueprint, preparation resources and practical experience, so lab time is not optional. A course alone is not described as sufficient. Confirm prerequisites and registration steps in the F5-CA requirements guide, and keep the one-page cheat sheet handy for last-minute review. When you are ready to measure yourself against exam-style questions, use the F5-CA practice tests to check readiness on each domain before booking the real thing.

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