The Certified IPv6 Deployment Specialist (CIDS) is an advanced, vendor-neutral certification for the network professionals who roll out IPv6 for real. It validates that you understand IPv6 addressing and can build a clean, aggregatable address plan, configure neighbor discovery, SLAAC and DHCPv6, route and transition with dual stack and NAT64, get DNS and applications working over IPv6, and secure the deployment with parity to IPv4 and protections against rogue RAs. The exam is computer adaptive and performance-based, and the credential is kept current through continuing education.
| Level | Advanced. A specialist credential: it goes deep on deploying IPv6 across a network and assumes working networking experience. |
|---|---|
| Delivery model | Computer adaptive, three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so no two candidates sit the same paper. |
| Format | 120 questions. A performance-based exam that includes performance-based questions and multiple-choice questions. Concepts transfer across every vendor's equipment. |
| Time | 180 minutes for the whole exam, timed. Autosaves every answer. |
| Scoring | You need a score of 700 out of 900 to pass. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly. Harder questions carry more weight, so a score means the same thing on any route. Multiple-response items and PBQs are all or nothing. |
| Retakes | No waiting period after a failed first attempt. Every attempt is paid for at the exam price. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy. |
| Voucher validity | 12 months from purchase, for one sitting. |
| Certification validity | 3 years. Renew with 75 CEUs per cycle and the $55 annual CE fee, or pass the current exam. Renewal details. |
| Language | English. |
| Credential | PDF certificate with QR code, public verification page, LinkedIn-ready credential ID. Issuer: CertLabz Certification Board. |
| Free resources | The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. |
| Workforce mapping | NICE Framework work roles: Network Operations (IO-WRL-004). O*NET occupations: Computer Network Architects (15-1241.00), Network and Computer Systems Administrators (15-1244.00). Self-declared by CertLabz, not reviewed by NIST or CISA. See the full mapping. |
A signed, verifiable:
The CIDS is a performance-based exam: it includes performance-based questions alongside multiple-choice questions. Instead of only picking A, B, C or D, you match address ranges to their type, plan subnets, diagnose a broken SLAAC or PMTUD, and order a safe IPv6 rollout. It is computer adaptive, is proctored and timed, needs no mandatory course, and tests deploying IPv6 rather than reciting RFC numbers.
128-bit addressing, notation, address types, and clean, aggregatable /64-based subnet plans.
Neighbor discovery, router advertisements, duplicate address detection and stateless or stateful configuration.
Dual stack, tunnelling, NAT64/DNS64, 464XLAT, Path MTU Discovery and Happy Eyeballs.
AAAA and reverse DNS, IPv6-ready applications, RA Guard, ICMPv6 policy and security parity.
IPv6 adoption keeps rising and IPv4 is exhausted, yet few engineers can deploy IPv6 confidently. That gap is what this credential fills. Every route is shown here at once, so nothing is hidden behind a control you have to find.
United States pay reported by Glassdoor, checked September 2026. Pay varies by location, employer and experience. No certification guarantees a salary or a job.
| CertLabz CIDS | Hurricane Electric IPv6 | IPv6 Forum Certified Engineer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Certification exam | Free online tests | Training-based certification |
| Computer adaptive | Yes | No | No |
| Hands-on PBQs | Yes | Practical tasks | No |
| Scope | IPv6 deployment end to end | IPv6 configuration basics | IPv6 engineering |
| Vendor neutral | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Proctored | Yes | No | Varies |
| Questions | 120 | Progressive levels | Not published |
| Time | 180 min | Self-paced | Not published |
| Pass mark | 700 of 900 | Per level | Not published |
| Exam voucher | $199 | Free | Course-based |
Compiled September 2026 from the Hurricane Electric IPv6 certification and the IPv6 Forum certification program. Those are a free self-paced set of tasks and a training-based credential respectively; the CIDS is a proctored adaptive exam. Product names and trademarks belong to their owners; CertLabz is not affiliated with any of them. Confirm current details with each provider.
Six reasons this credential is worth your time, and worth an employer's attention.
One price for the exam, set by its level. Bundles add the study guide and hands-on practice at a saving.
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Every form is drawn from a bank of more than 130 items to these exact weights, whichever adaptive route you take. Filter by the area you want to study.
The exam runs in three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so a strong candidate is stretched and a struggling one is measured fairly rather than swamped. No two candidates sit the same paper. Harder questions carry more weight, so a scaled score means the same thing whichever route you took.
Each exam can have up to 5 to 12 performance-based questions, drawn fresh on every attempt, alongside the multiple-choice questions. A PBQ is a task rather than a list: you match address ranges to types, plan subnets, diagnose a configuration, or order a rollout. They are scored all or nothing, so partial guesses do not pass.
Yes. IPv6 is an open standard, and the exam avoids vendor-specific command syntax. What you prove transfers across every vendor's routers, switches and firewalls.
Working networking experience helps, but the exam focuses on IPv6 itself: addressing, configuration, transition, DNS and security. No vendor exam is a prerequisite.
700 out of 900. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly.
There is no waiting period between a failed first attempt and a second attempt. Buy another voucher and sit the exam again when you are ready, and it will draw a fresh adaptive form from the bank. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy.
Yes, after three years. Keep it current by logging 75 CEUs during the cycle and paying the $55 annual CE fee before expiry, or by passing the current exam again.
The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. The CIDS Official Study Guide is a $50 ebook, included in two of the bundles. Hands-on practice comes with the All Access plan, included in the Complete bundle.
A laptop or desktop with a webcam and microphone, Chrome, Edge or Firefox, a stable connection, and a quiet private room for three hours. Phones and tablets are not supported.
CIDS is a continuing-education certification, like the CE credentials from CompTIA and ISC2. It is valid for three years from the day you pass. To keep it, log 75 continuing-education units during the cycle and pay the $55 annual CE fee before your expiry date. Or pass the current version of the exam again.
CEUs are logged from your CertLabz dashboard with supporting evidence. A certification that lapses can be reinstated only by passing the current exam.
Buy a voucher, study the objectives, sit the exam when you are ready. Your credential is issued the moment you pass.