There's one thing about SecurityX that confuses many CompTIA test-takers: you finish the exam without knowing if you passed or failed. The screen doesn't show a score or a result. This article explains why, and how you receive your results.
Why SecurityX doesn't provide a score
Most CompTIA certifications—Security+, CySA+, PenTest+—are scored on a 100–900 scale, have a published passing score (750), and display immediate results upon completion.
SecurityX is quite different. It's scored on a pure pass/fail basis: CompTIA does not publish a passing score, there are no converted scores, and no post-exam domain analysis. You receive only one of two pieces of information: pass, or fail.
The reason lies in the nature of the certification. SecurityX is an expert-level credential, assessing overall competency—the ability to integrate governance, architecture, engineering, and operations into a cohesive whole. This type of skill is difficult to quantify with a precise number, so CompTIA chooses a pass/fail assessment based on the difficulty of the exam set you receive.
Important: you are notified in advance
You won't be surprised in the exam room. As soon as you start the exam, the system informs you that the results will not be displayed at the end. Knowing this beforehand helps prevent panic when you click the finish button and nothing appears on the screen.
This is also why you should read this article before exam day. Those who don't know in advance often lose their composure at the last minute, thinking the system has malfunctioned.
How to get your results
There are two ways, and you'll usually learn via the first method first.
1. Check your exam history on Pearson VUE — fastest way
This is the earliest way to know. After finishing the exam, log in to your Pearson VUE account and go to the exam history section. Approximately 30 minutes after completing the exam, your pass/fail status should usually be displayed there.
This means even if the final screen doesn't tell you anything, you don't have to wait long—just go to the right place to check.
2. Official notification via email
CompTIA sends official result notifications via email to your registered address. If you pass, you'll receive a congratulatory email from CompTIA.
The email arrival time might be longer than checking on Pearson VUE, as the results need to transfer from the Pearson VUE system to CompTIA's system. Typically within a few business days, sometimes much quicker.
The digital badge via Credly usually appears afterward—many test-takers report receiving it within half a day to a day after the exam.
Timeline after the exam
To give you a clear picture:
- Finish the exam — no results displayed on screen
- Approximately 30 minutes later — check exam history on Pearson VUE, usually shows pass/fail
- Several hours to one day — Credly badge may appear if you passed
- Several business days — official email notification and certificate in your CompTIA account
If after a few days the results on Pearson VUE still haven't transferred to the CompTIA system, that's usually normal sync delay, not an issue with your results.
How this affects your study approach
The absence of a score has a notable psychological consequence: you have no way of knowing if you "nearly passed" or "definitely passed." A pass is a pass, with no information about the margin.
This changes the appropriate preparation strategy:
You cannot rely on a feeling of "sure pass." For exams with scores, someone who scores 88% on a practice test might feel more confident than someone who scores 76%. With SecurityX, you don't get that signal from the actual exam. Therefore, prepare to an overly safe extent, don't aim too close to the threshold.
Practice exams are still useful, but for assessing overall readiness, not for predicting a score. Use them to identify weak areas and strengthen them, not to calculate how far you are from the passing mark.
If you fail, you also won't have a domain-specific score breakdown to know where you were weak—unlike other CompTIA exams. This makes thorough preparation from the outset even more important, because for a retake, you'll have to guess which areas need reinforcement based on your perception during the exam, without specific data.
Why this makes the retake option more valuable for SecurityX
For most certifications, when you fail, you get a score report showing weak domains, so you know exactly what to review. SecurityX doesn't give you that.
Coupled with the higher exam cost compared to other certifications and its expert-level difficulty, failing SecurityX is both more expensive and harder to learn from. This is a certification where a contingency exam attempt is clearly valuable—not because you think you'll fail, but because if you do, you want to be able to retest immediately without having to wait for budget approval for an already expensive exam.
Preparing for exam day
Procedurally, SecurityX is similar to other CompTIA exams taken via Pearson VUE:
- Take the exam at a Pearson VUE testing center or online via OnVUE
- Requires photo ID with name matching registration; passport is safest
- If taking online: private room, clear desk, check equipment beforehand
Detailed notes on online testing—room preparation, posture, handling issues with the proctor—apply generally to all CompTIA exams and are covered in the article taking CompTIA exams online at home.
The only unique difference to remember for SecurityX: don't wait for results on the screen at the end. After finishing the exam, wait about 30 minutes, then check your exam history on Pearson VUE.
Related products at Security365:
- Exam Voucher CAS-005 with Exam Insurance — includes 01 free retake — 9,000,000₫ (original price 11,500,000₫). Official voucher, valid for 12 months, Vietnamese registration support.
- CompTIA SecurityX Online Course (CAS-005) — includes CertMaster Perform — 5,900,000₫ (original price 9,900,000₫).
See also: What is CompTIA SecurityX CAS-005? · PBQs and labs in SecurityX CAS-005 · Taking CompTIA exams online at home: requirements and common issues