F5-CSE Cloud Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

The Number: 245 on a 100-350 Scale

The F5 Certified Solution Expert, Cloud (F5-CSE, Cloud) is awarded through the Cloud Solutions exam 402. The passing score for that exam is 245, reported on a scaled range of 100 to 350. Both figures come from the current 402 exam blueprint (identifier 402.42019), specifically its exam-specification page.

That is the entire official definition of "passing." F5 does not publish a minimum number of correct answers, a percentage threshold, or a per-section minimum. When you see a score report, the number you compare against is 245, nothing else.

Why 245 Is Not 70% Correct

The most common mistake candidates make is dividing 245 by 350 and concluding that the exam needs roughly 70%. That arithmetic is wrong for two reasons.

• The scale does not start at zero. A 100-350 range means the lowest reportable score is 100, not 0. The distance from floor to passing is 145 points out of a 250-point span, which is a different calculation from 245 out of 350.
• Scaled scores are not raw percentages. Scaling is a statistical conversion applied so that results are comparable across exam forms. F5 has not published the conversion table, so no honest raw-percent translation exists.

Some third-party prep sites present an "approximately 70-75% passing threshold." Treat that as marketing shorthand, not an F5 fact. The blueprint gives you a scaled score and stops there.

What Sits Behind the Score: Format and Pilot Items

Understanding the format helps you interpret what 245 asks of you. These specifications come directly from the current 402 blueprint:

The five pilot items

Five of the 70 questions are pilot or beta items that do not count toward your result. They are not labeled, so you cannot skip them. The practical consequence: treat every question as scored, and do not let one baffling item convince you that you are failing. Some of those puzzling questions may simply be unscored experiments.

Exhibits and scenarios

Some questions use exhibits or scenarios. These take longer to read than a standalone recall question. With 105 minutes for 70 questions, you have an average of roughly a minute and a half per item, so budgeting extra time for scenario items means moving quickly through straightforward ones. Whether the exam mixes single-select and multiple-select formats, and whether it is adaptive, was not verified from F5's published material, so do not build a strategy around either assumption. Read each question stem for how many selections it requires.

For the full cost picture beyond the exam fee, including prerequisites, see F5-CSE Cloud Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

The Eligibility Gate Before You Can Score Anything

A passing score only matters if you are eligible to sit the exam. The current 402 support page requires all three of the following valid certifications:

1. F5-CA BIG-IP (administrator level)
2. F5-CTS BIG-IP LTM
3. F5-CTS BIG-IP DNS

One technology-specialist credential alone is not enough. The issuer's Cloud learning path shows the route as the five F5CAB administrator exams (or an eligible legacy administrator route), LTM exams 301a and 301b, DNS exam 302, and then Cloud Solutions 402. Retained legacy entries do not reopen exam 101 to new candidates.

On exam day, the catalog requires two signed IDs, one of them government-issued with a photograph, matching your candidate account. The exam is closed-book under the F5 Certified Candidate Agreement, with restrictions on books, notes and personal electronics. Calculator provision was not verified, so do not plan around having one.

Where Your Points Come From: The Five Blueprint Sections

The blueprint lists five examination sections. No percentage weights and no highest-weighted section are published. That is a significant point for anyone trying to optimize toward 245: you cannot responsibly skip a section on the theory that it carries few points. Any site that quotes section percentages for 402 is inventing them.

These objectives are illustrative of the headings, not an exhaustive list; the blueprint's examples are explicitly non-exhaustive. The exam is also not designed around version-specific TMOS features, so memorizing release-specific trivia is a poor use of time. For a section-by-section walkthrough, read F5-CSE Cloud Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas.

Practicing the Scenario Style That Moves Your Score

Because 402 is an architect-level exam, many items hand you a business situation and ask for the best decision. The difference between a 235 and a 255 often comes down to eliminating plausible distractors, not recalling a fact. Here are the patterns worth rehearsing, written as original practice themes rather than recalled exam questions.

Pattern 1: A migration with a hidden dependency

A scenario describes an application being moved to a cloud environment. One component relies on something that will not exist at the destination. The right answer addresses the dependency and the validation step; the distractors fix a real-sounding but unrelated issue. Ask yourself: what must be true before cutover, and how would I prove it afterward? This maps to Domain 3.

Pattern 2: A sizing or placement trade-off

Requirements pull in two directions, such as capacity headroom versus licensing or support limits. Wrong options usually optimize one constraint while violating another that the stem mentioned earlier. Reread the stem for every stated constraint before choosing. This maps to Domain 2.

Pattern 3: An orchestration order problem

A template or API workflow is described, and the question asks what goes wrong or what should happen next. The tested skill is sequencing: a resource cannot be configured before the thing it depends on exists. Distractors reorder steps in ways that sound efficient but break dependencies. This maps to Domain 5, and it benefits from understanding which API direction (north, east, south or west) a given integration uses.

Pattern 4: A capacity burst

Demand spikes beyond local capacity. The scenario tests whether you recognize cloud bursting as the pattern and what it requires to work, rather than simply "add more servers." Look for the option that accounts for how traffic is directed and how the extended capacity is kept consistent.

If you want a deeper read on how demanding the exam feels in practice, see How Hard Is the F5-CSE Cloud Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.

If You Miss 245: Retake Waits and a Source Conflict

Falling short is not final, but the waiting periods matter for planning. The 402 blueprint and current catalog specify:

• 15 days after the first failure
• 30 days after the second failure
• 45 days after the third failure
• 365 days after the fourth failure
• 90 days for subsequent attempts

There is an unresolved conflict at the fourth failure. The July 2025 F5 Certified Candidate Agreement instead gives up to 90 days or a new exam version, whichever is shorter, after a fourth failure, and says prerequisite exams must be retaken and passed. Because the sources disagree, confirm the current rule with F5 directly before you plan around a fourth attempt. The practical takeaway is simple: do not treat early attempts as free practice, because each additional failure lengthens your wait and costs another US$180.

For the broader scheduling picture, see F5-CSE Cloud Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Score

Because the score is scaled and sections are unweighted, a balanced plan beats a lopsided one. This is the one place for scheduling guidance, tied to the five sections. Adjust the pacing to your own experience.

Note that F5 states it does not create or maintain official certification study guides, and the F5-hosted community page for 402 is explicitly an unofficial, not-developed placeholder. Build your plan from the blueprint itself. A fuller approach is in F5-CSE Cloud Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.

Passing-Score Claims to Distrust

Several third-party pages publish details that conflict with F5's own published specifications. Verify against the blueprint before relying on any of these:

• "80 questions" or "90 minutes." The published format is 70 questions in 105 minutes.
• A raw passing percentage. F5 publishes a scaled score of 245, not a percent correct.
• "One CTS credential is enough." The current requirement is valid F5-CA BIG-IP, F5-CTS BIG-IP LTM and F5-CTS BIG-IP DNS together.
• Remote or Certiverse delivery. The current provider list places 402 with Pearson VUE test centers.
• Section percentages. None are published for 402.
• A "99% pass rate." No official F5-CSE Cloud pass rate was retrieved; see F5-CSE Cloud Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows for what can and cannot be said.

Also worth knowing: the blueprint PDF carries a 2021 copyright footer, but that does not create a new blueprint edition, and F5 treats the current linked blueprint as the authority. Your passing target stays 245.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pair this score guide with the F5-CSE Cloud Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts as a final-week review, and test your readiness against the 245 benchmark with full-length practice exams before you book your Pearson VUE appointment.