CSCS Retake Policy 2026: Resit Only the Section You Failed
Most people fail one section, not two - and NSCA lets you keep the one you passed. For twelve months, and not a day longer.
- 3Attempts / year
- 1/yr after 3Lifetime cap
- 30 daysWait between
- $250 memberRetake fee
- Scaled 70Pass mark
Table of Contents
The rules, exactly
CSCS works differently from every other exam in this series, and the difference is worth money. It is two separately scored sections - Scientific Foundations and Practical/Applied - and if you fail only one, you resit only that one, at a reduced single-section price. NSCA's own numbers show why that matters: in 2025, 71% passed Scientific Foundations while only 55% passed Practical/Applied. Most failures are one section, not two.
| Rule | What NSCA says |
|---|---|
| Attempts | Three consecutive attempts. After the third and every attempt after it, you wait a full year from your most recent test date. |
| Waiting period | At least 30 days from your most recent test date. Registration is blocked in the system until it passes - this is not a guideline. |
| Section banking | Fail one section and you retake only that section. The section you passed stands, because exam results are valid for one calendar year. |
| The one-year deadline | The failed section must be retaken within a year of the initial exam date. Miss it and the banked pass lapses and you sit the whole exam again. |
| Retake fee | Not discounted as such, but a single-section retake is cheaper than the full exam: $250 for members and $385 for non-members. |
| Scheduling window | 120 days from registration to schedule and complete the exam. |
| Eligibility | No documents to resubmit unless your CPR/AED certification has lapsed - and if it has, NSCA requires an in-person course to re-earn it. |
How many goes you actually get
Three boxes, then a very long gap. The 30-day wait between the first three attempts is enforced by the registration system, and after the third every further attempt is limited to one a year.
- Attempt 1$340 / $475
- 30 days
- Attempt 2$250 / $385
- 30 days
- Attempt 3$250 / $385
- 3lifetime cap
Three consecutive attempts at 30-day intervals, then one attempt per year indefinitely. Registration will not open before the wait has run.
What your score report is telling you
NSCA gives both a raw and a scaled score, and a scaled 70 is the pass mark for each section independently. The domain breakdown is included but the handbook attaches a caution to it that is worth taking seriously.
- Exercise sciencePassed S1
- Sport psychologyPassed S1
- Program designWeak
- Exercise techniqueWeak
- Organisation and administrationNear
Two cautions from NSCA itself. The raw score cannot be converted to the scaled score, so do not try to work out how close you were. And domain-level results are based on limited information compared with your total performance, so a weak domain is a pointer rather than a diagnosis.
What to change before the next attempt
The section pass rates tell you where the work is. Practical/Applied fails nearly half of candidates, and it is the section with video and image-based questions - 30 to 40 of them - which is a different skill from reading a textbook.
Change this
- If you failed Practical/Applied, practise from video and images rather than text. A third of that section is delivered that way.
- Work programme design as design problems, not as recall. It is the heaviest domain in the section that fails people.
- Rehearse exercise technique visually - being able to spot a fault on screen is the tested skill.
- Book the resit well inside the one-year window, because letting it lapse costs you the section you already passed.
Do not change this
- The section you passed - it is banked for a year, so do not restudy it.
- Your NSCA membership: the single-section member price is $135 below the non-member one.
- Your CPR/AED certification, and check it has not lapsed, because relicensing it requires an in-person course.
- The study approach that got you through Scientific Foundations, if that is the half you passed.
What a retake really costs
Section banking is what makes a CSCS retake affordable - the single-section price exists only for retakes.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| First attempt, full exam | $340 for members, $475 for non-members |
| Single-section retake | $250 for members, $385 for non-members |
| Both sections failed | Full exam price again |
| No-show | All fees forfeited; re-register and pay in full |
| Member: full exam plus one section retake | $590 |
First-time candidates must register for the full exam - the single-section option is retake-only. That is precisely why the one-year banking deadline matters: miss it and you are back to the full price.
The rules with no exceptions
Do not get caught by these
- 30 days, system-enforced. You cannot register for a retake until the wait has elapsed.
- After three attempts it is one per year. Indefinitely, for test-security reasons NSCA states openly.
- The banked section expires at one year from your initial exam date. After that both sections must be retaken.
- 120 days to sit once registered, and a no-show forfeits the whole fee.
- Lapsed CPR/AED means an in-person course. Online renewal is only available if the certification never lapsed.
The strategy writes itself from the pass rates. If you failed Practical/Applied you are in the majority, the section you passed is safe for twelve months, and the resit costs $250 rather than $340. Book it early in the window, practise from video, and treat the one-year deadline as the real one - because that is the date that can cost you a section you have already earned.
The gap between attempts is question volume
Candidates who pass on a retake are almost always the ones who answered a lot more unfamiliar questions, not the ones who reread the same book. Start free, then $5.99 unlocks the full CSCS bank.
App StoreGoogle PlayFree practice testCSCS exam pageFAQ
Do I have to retake both CSCS sections if I fail one?
No. CSCS is two separately scored sections and NSCA requires you to retake only the section you failed. The passed section is banked because exam results are valid for one calendar year - but the failed section must be retaken within a year of your initial exam date or both sections lapse.
How long do I have to wait to retake CSCS?
At least 30 days from your most recent test date, and registration is blocked in NSCA's system until it has passed. You get three consecutive attempts on that basis; after the third and every attempt afterwards you must wait one full year.
How much is a CSCS section retake?
$250 for NSCA members and $385 for non-members for a single section, against $340 and $475 for the full exam. The single-section price is available to retake candidates only - first-timers must register for the whole exam.
What are the CSCS section pass rates?
NSCA publishes them annually. In 2025, across 9,650 candidates, 50% passed both sections; Scientific Foundations was passed by 71% and Practical/Applied by 55%. The practical section is what fails most candidates.
Sources
Every rule on this page comes from NSCA, not from a coaching site:
- https://www.nsca.com/globalassets/certification/certification-pdfs/nsca-certification-handbook.pdf
- https://www.nsca.com/nsca-exam-report/
- https://www.nsca.com/certification/cscs/
Checked September 6, 2026. Retake policies and fees change without much notice — confirm with NSCA before you rebook.