Cisco published the CCNA v2.0 exam topics on 20 May 2026, and the new blueprint becomes the only version you can sit from 3 February 2027. The exam number does not change. It is still 200-301, which is exactly why so many candidates have missed the announcement: the code on your booking page looks identical whether you are sitting the old exam or the new one.
If you are part-way through a CCNA study plan right now, you have two questions. Is my material about to expire, and should I book v1.1 before the cutover? The short answer is that v1.1 is available until 2 February 2027, and if you can realistically sit before then, that is the safer exam to take. Below is the detail behind that answer.
The dates that actually matter
There are only three, and Cisco has confirmed all of them.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 20 May 2026 | CCNA v2.0 exam topics published (announced at Cisco Live, Las Vegas) |
| 2 February 2027 | Last day to sit CCNA 200-301 v1.1 |
| 3 February 2027 | CCNA 200-301 v2.0 becomes the only version available |
There is no overlap window. Cisco is not running both versions side by side the way CompTIA typically does. On 3 February 2027, v1.1 is gone.
Exam Tip: A CCNA earned on v1.1 is worth exactly the same as one earned on v2.0. The certification is not versioned on your transcript, and it stays valid for three years from the date you pass. Sitting the older exam does not give you a lesser credential.
What changed in CCNA v2.0
Cisco classes this as a major revision, which under its own versioning convention means more than 20% of the blueprint content has moved. It is the largest CCNA restructure since the 200-301 exam launched in 2020.
The six domains of v1.1 have been consolidated into five, and the names have been rewritten rather than just reshuffled.
| CCNA v1.1 domain | Weight | CCNA v2.0 domain | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Network Fundamentals | 20% | Network Infrastructure and Connectivity | 25% |
| Network Access | 20% | Switching and Network Access | 25% |
| IP Connectivity | 25% | IP Routing | 20% |
| IP Services | 10% | Network Services and Security | 20% |
| Security Fundamentals | 15% | AI, and Network Operations and Management | 10% |
| Automation and Programmability | 10% |
Weights are taken from the official Cisco exam topics document for 200-301 v2.0, dated 2026.
Three things are worth pulling out of that table.
Infrastructure and switching now carry half the exam. Domains 1.0 and 2.0 are 25% each. In v1.1, the two nearest equivalents came to 40% between them. Cisco has moved weight back towards physical connectivity, cabling faults, wireless client troubleshooting and Layer 2 switch configuration.
IP Routing has been trimmed. The old IP Connectivity domain was the heaviest section at 25%. It is now 20%, and the topic list is tighter: static routing troubleshooting, single-area OSPFv2 and OSPFv3, routing table interpretation, and reading the operational status of HSRP and VRRP.
Security has been folded in rather than cut. Security Fundamentals disappears as a standalone domain, but ACLs, port security, DHCP snooping, dynamic ARP inspection, AAA with TACACS+ and RADIUS, and IPsec VPN concepts all reappear inside the 20% Network Services and Security domain. The content did not go away.
The new AI domain
Domain 5.0 is called "AI, and Network Operations and Management" and it is worth 10%. It absorbs the old automation and network management content and adds two genuinely new topics:
- 5.1 Describe the role of agentic AI in network operations
- 5.2 Select a prompt to send to a generative AI system to support network operations, including prompt components such as data classification, output format, persona and instructions
The exam description states that you may be required to evaluate output and recommendations from agentic AI and digital network assistants to support network operations and troubleshooting activities.
Read the verbs before you panic about this. They are "describe" and "select". You are not being asked to build a model, tune anything, or write production prompts. You are being asked to recognise what an AI network assistant is for, judge whether its recommendation is sensible, and identify a well-formed prompt from a poor one. The rest of domain 5.0 is familiar ground: SNMP, syslog severity levels and facilities, network management approaches, and using Ansible to run configuration commands.
The verb shift is the real difficulty change
The domain names get the headlines, but the change that will cost people marks is the action verbs. Across the v2.0 topic list, topics that previously asked you to explain something now ask you to configure it, and topics that asked you to configure now ask you to troubleshoot. Roughly a quarter of v2.0 topics use troubleshoot or diagnose, which are the highest performance levels in Cisco's testing model.
Look at the opening item of the whole blueprint. Topic 1.1 is "diagnose interface and cable issues such as collisions, errors, mismatched duplex, speed, distance, interface, signal levels, pin out, and cable types". That is a fault-finding task, not a definition to memorise. Topics 1.3, 1.4, 1.6 and 1.7 all lead with "troubleshoot" as well, covering IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, wired and wireless client connectivity across Windows, macOS and Linux, and DHCPv4 client, server and relay.
Passing v2.0 will take more lab time than passing v1.1, on the same syllabus knowledge.
Should you sit v1.1 or wait for v2.0?
Work out how many weeks you realistically have before 2 February 2027, then use this.
Sit v1.1 before 2 February 2027 if:
- You are already studying and can be exam-ready in the time remaining. Your material is current, your practice questions match the blueprint, and every free resource online was written for this version.
- You are working from the CCNA 200-301 Official Cert Guide Library or a similar book. Those editions cover v1.1, and a v2.0 edition will take months to appear after the cutover.
- You need the certification for a job application, a pay review or a partner requirement with a deadline in the first half of 2027.
Wait for v2.0 if:
- You are starting from zero. Building CCNA-level competence from scratch in the weeks remaining is not a realistic plan, and failing v1.1 in late January leaves you retaking on a blueprint you never studied.
- You want the AI and agentic network operations content on your transcript, because your employer is deploying assurance and analytics tooling and you want the vocabulary.
- Your budget only covers one attempt at $300 and you would rather aim at the version that will be current for the next few years.
The trap to avoid is the middle path: starting v1.1 study in December 2026, sitting the exam in late January, and having no fallback if it goes badly. If you cannot comfortably finish before the deadline, study for v2.0 deliberately instead of racing a clock.
Exam Tip: CCNA v2.0 is a 120-minute exam and costs $300 USD, both unchanged from v1.1. Cisco does not publish a fixed question count or a pass mark for the CCNA, so treat any specific number you see quoted online as an estimate rather than an official figure.
What to do with study material you have already bought
Most of it survives. The consolidation moved topics between domains, but the underlying protocols did not change: OSPF is still OSPF, spanning tree is still Rapid PVST+, and subnetting is still subnetting.
- Keep anything covering switching, VLANs, trunking, EtherChannel, OSPF, ACLs, NAT, DHCP, wireless principles and IPv6 addressing.
- Deprioritise the deep automation and programmability material from v1.1. REST API and JSON-heavy content is thinner in v2.0.
- Add lab time on fault-finding. Break a working topology deliberately, then fix it. That habit maps directly onto the troubleshoot and diagnose verbs.
- Add the AI vocabulary in domain 5.0, but keep it proportionate. It is 10% of the exam and it is conceptual.
If you are weighing CCNA against a vendor-neutral alternative while you decide, our CompTIA Network+ vs CCNA comparison covers which one employers actually ask for, and the CCNA 200-301 12-week study plan still works as a schedule for v1.1.
Cisco has been busy elsewhere in the CCNA family too. CyberOps became CCNA Cybersecurity 200-201 and DevNet Associate became CCNA Automation 200-901, both in 2026. If you were tracking the old names, they are gone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the current CCNA version?
CCNA 200-301 v1.1 is the current version and remains the only exam you can sit until 2 February 2027. Version 2.0 takes over on 3 February 2027. The exam code stays 200-301 for both, so check the version number on the exam topics document rather than the code when you buy study material.
Is CCNA still worth it in 2026?
Yes, for network-facing roles. CCNA remains the credential most commonly named in job adverts for network technician, NOC analyst and junior network engineer positions, and the v2.0 revision extends its relevance by adding AI-assisted network operations. It is less useful if your target role is purely security or cloud, where Security+ or a cloud associate certification lands closer.
Is the CCNA a hard exam?
It is harder than an entry-level fundamentals exam and it will get harder under v2.0. The difficulty is breadth plus the format: 120 minutes across five domains, with no going back to review a question once you have answered it. The v2.0 shift towards troubleshoot and diagnose verbs means memorising definitions will not carry you the way it once did.
Can I pass CCNA in 1 month?
Only if you already work with switches and routers daily. For someone starting without hands-on networking experience, a month is not enough to build subnetting fluency and lab confidence at the same time. Twelve weeks at ten to twelve hours a week is a more honest target, which is worth knowing if you are trying to squeeze v1.1 in before February 2027.
Does CCNA v1.1 expire when v2.0 launches?
No. The exam retires, not the certification. A CCNA earned on v1.1 stays valid for three years from your pass date, and nothing on your certificate or transcript identifies which blueprint version you sat.
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