The Certified Security Awareness Trainer (CSAT) is a beginner, vendor-neutral certification for the people who reduce human risk. It validates that you understand security awareness foundations, can recognize social engineering and human risk, can build an awareness program, can deliver training that engages, can run phishing simulations and testing, and can measure results and shape a security culture. The exam is computer adaptive and performance-based, and the credential is kept current through continuing education.
| Level | Beginner. An entry credential: it establishes solid security-awareness fundamentals and assumes some exposure to security or training. |
|---|---|
| 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 | 60 questions. A performance-based exam that includes performance-based questions and multiple-choice questions. Concepts transfer across every organization and toolset. |
| Time | 90 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 35 CEUs per cycle and the $25 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 Instruction (OG-WRL-005), Cybersecurity Curriculum Development (OG-WRL-004). O*NET occupations: Training and Development Specialists (13-1151.00). Self-declared by CertLabz, not reviewed by NIST or CISA. See the full mapping. |
A signed, verifiable:
The CSAT 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 lures to their tactic, order the steps of a program, fix a flawed phishing campaign, and choose the right metric. It is computer adaptive, is proctored and timed, needs no mandatory course, and tests running an awareness program rather than reciting one vendor's slides.
What security awareness is, the human factor, social engineering, phishing and insider risk.
Program goals, audience segmentation, content planning, policies and buy-in.
Training formats, engaging content, gamification, microlearning and communication.
Phishing simulations, campaign design, metrics, culture and compliance.
People are the biggest attack surface, and organizations need trainers who can measurably reduce human risk. 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 CSAT | SANS SSAP | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Certification exam | Certification exam |
| Computer adaptive | Yes | No |
| Hands-on PBQs | Yes | No |
| Scope | Security awareness, vendor neutral | Security awareness |
| Vendor neutral | Yes | Yes |
| Proctored | Yes | Yes |
| Questions | 60 | 50 |
| Time | 90 min | 120 min |
| Pass mark | 700 of 900 | Not published |
| Course required | No | No |
| Exam voucher | $99 | $599 |
Compiled September 2026 from the SANS SSAP pages. The SSAP is a respected security-awareness credential priced at about $599; the CSAT differs by being computer adaptive, performance-based and priced at $99. 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 90 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 lures to their tactic, order the steps of a program, fix a flawed phishing campaign, or choose the right metric. They are scored all or nothing, so partial guesses do not pass.
The CSAT is vendor neutral and describes awareness platforms and phishing tools generically, naming products only as examples. It tests the awareness judgement that transfers across organizations.
Yes. Where a capability such as a phishing simulator or a learning platform is involved, it is described by what it does, not tied to one product.
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 35 CEUs during the cycle and paying the $25 annual CE fee before expiry, or by passing the current exam again.
The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. The CSAT 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 90 minutes. Phones and tablets are not supported.
CSAT 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 35 continuing-education units during the cycle and pay the $25 annual CE fee before your expiry date. Or pass the current version of the exam again. Earning a higher-level CertLabz certification renews it too, the way CompTIA certifications stack.
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.