CCISOEC Council Certified Information Security Officer
Created per CertMap methodology · Updated 12 May 2026 · About the editorial team → · Official page ↗
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What is CCISO?
The CCISO from EC-Council is a management credential for people who carry executive responsibility for information security, not proof of hands-on implementation. The exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions over two and a half hours under proctored conditions and spans the five CCISO domains. Admission requires five years of experience in each of those five domains; after authorised EC-Council training, five years in three of the five domains suffice, submitted through the Exam Eligibility Application and confirmed by named verifiers. The credential is valid for three years and is renewed with 120 CPE credits per cycle.
Suitable for
Quick facts
CertMap assessment & background
The demonstrable value of the CCISO sits in Anglo-American government and defence settings: DoD 8140 lists it as a qualifying credential for nine position codes, and the UK NCSC recognises it as certified training. For the German-speaking job market, no reliable demand signal is available. Candidates regularly underestimate admission: without authorised training, five years of experience in each of the five domains, with training five years in three of them, each confirmed by named verifiers. The limit is the format. 150 multiple-choice questions in two and a half hours test governance knowledge, not execution. Budget a 100 USD application fee, 999 USD for the voucher, and then 100 USD per year plus 120 CPE credits per three-year cycle.
More on CertMap editorial methodology →Cost, prerequisites, exam & renewal
Cost over 5 years
Prerequisites
Without authorised EC-Council training, admission requires five years of experience in each of the five CCISO domains; with training, five years in three of the five domains suffice. Experience is submitted through the Exam Eligibility Application and confirmed by named verifiers, and the years may overlap. Applying without training carries a non-refundable 100 USD application fee.
Exam format
The exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions and runs for two and a half hours. It is taken under proctored conditions at an EC-Council test centre and covers application and analysis alongside factual recall. There is no fixed pass mark: the cut score is set per exam form and ranges from 60 to 85 percent.
Renewal & maintenance
The credential is valid for three years. Renewal requires 120 CPE credits documented in the EC-Council Aspen portal. On top of that an annual continuing education fee of 100 USD applies.
CertMap score and matching roles
Rating
Schema quality 3/3 through ISO/IEC 17024 with ANAB accreditation. Practice evidence 2/3: scenario-based multiple choice under proctored conditions, no lab. Maintenance 0/3: EC-Council describes a nine-phase exam development process but names no revision cycle in years and no date of the last content revision, so the rubric awards 0. Market recognition 2/3 via DoD 8140 and the UK NCSC, without a demand signal for the German-speaking market.
Matching NICE roles
About EC-Council
EC-Council runs a broad certification family. Alongside the CCISO, the Certified Ethical Hacker, the Certified Penetration Testing Professional and the Certified Network Defender are among the programmes accredited to ISO/IEC 17024 by the ANSI National Accreditation Board. The UK NCSC lists several of these programmes as certified training. The CCISO has its own candidate handbook documenting exam format, admission, fees and recertification in one place, plus a nine-phase exam development process. Continuing education is tracked in EC-Council's own Aspen portal, and the annual fee for the CCISO is 100 USD.
More certifications
From EC-Council
CASEEC Council Certified Application Security Engineer (.NET or Java)CEHEC Council Certified Ethical HackerCHFIEC Council Computer Hacking Forensics InvestigatorCNDEC Council Certified Network DefenderCNDAEC Council Certified Network Defense ArchitectCPENTEC Council Certified Penetration Testing Professional
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