The Certified Post-Quantum Cryptography Specialist (CPQS) is an advanced, vendor-neutral certification for security engineers, architects, PKI and platform teams who have to move an organization off RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography before a quantum computer makes it unsafe. It validates that you can inventory where cryptography lives, judge which data is already exposed, choose the right NIST algorithms and parameter sets, run hybrid key exchange and post-quantum signatures in real protocols, and govern the program against the 2030 and 2035 deadlines. 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 post-quantum migration and assumes working security or infrastructure 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. No vendor product knowledge required. |
| 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: Cybersecurity Architecture (DD-WRL-001), Technology Research and Development (DD-WRL-008), Cybersecurity Policy and Planning (OG-WRL-002). O*NET occupations: Information Security Engineers (15-1299.05), Information Security Analysts (15-1212.00). Self-declared by CertLabz, not reviewed by NIST or CISA. See the full mapping. |
A signed, verifiable:
Of the post-quantum certifications we could find, none publishes a hands-on component: one is 50 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, another assesses with a course quiz. The CPQS is a performance-based exam: it includes performance-based questions alongside multiple-choice questions. Instead of only picking A, B, C or D, you sequence a migration by risk, drag algorithms onto the workloads they fit, diagnose a failed hybrid handshake, and complete a real inventory table. Theory-only exams cannot tell an employer whether you can run a migration. This one can.
Shor, Grover, harvest-now-decrypt-later and Mosca's inequality, applied to real data with real shelf lives, not slogans.
FIPS 203, 204 and 205, SP 800-208, FN-DSA and HQC. Parameter sets, sizes, trade-offs and the implementation traps.
Find cryptography in code, configuration, HSMs, firmware and vendors, then rank what to migrate first and prove it.
Hybrid TLS 1.3, SSH, IKEv2, PKI and code signing, with the handshake sizes, interoperability failures and rollbacks that come with them.
Post-quantum migration is now a line item in every regulated organization: United States federal guidance and the European roadmap both point at 2030 and 2035, and the people who can run that migration are scarce. 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 CPQS | Quantum Academy PQCS | SISA CQSP | Tonex CQPQC-P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Certification exam | Certification exam | Certification exam | Course with exam |
| Computer adaptive | Yes | Not published | No | No |
| Hands-on PBQs | Yes | Not published | No | No |
| Vendor neutral | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Prerequisites | None | Learning path required | 16-hour workshop or 1 year experience | Course attendance |
| Level | Advanced | Specialist | Professional | Professional |
| Questions | 120 | Not published | 50 | Not published |
| Time | 180 min | Not published | 60 min | Not published |
| Pass mark | 700 of 900 | Not published | 66% | 70% |
| Retake wait | None | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Exam voucher | $199 | $599 | Not published | Not published |
Compiled September 2026 from the Quantum Academy PQCS page, the SISA CQSP page and its O*NET listing, and the Tonex catalog and US NICCS listing. 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 170 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 sequence a migration by risk, drag schemes onto the workloads they fit, or complete an inventory or handshake-size table. They are scored all or nothing, so partial guesses do not pass.
Yes. Questions use the NIST standards, IETF protocols and plain configuration and pseudocode. You never need one vendor's product, console or command syntax. Where a question involves a library or an HSM, it is described generically.
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 CPQS 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.
CPQS 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.