CCNA v1.1 vs v2.0: what changes on February 3, 2027

Everything below was read off Cisco’s own pages on November 12, 2026: the v1.1 exam topics page and its PDF, the v2.0 exam topics page and its PDF, Cisco’s post on the CCNA refresh, and the recertification policy. Each figure is linked where it is used.

The dates, and why there is no overlap

Some vendors run old and new versions side by side for months. Cisco does not here: one version ends and the next begins the following day. That makes the retake rule the thing to plan around. Under Cisco’s retake policy, after a failed associate exam you wait 5 calendar days, counted from the day after the attempt, and you pay the full price again unless you bought Exam Safeguard. A first attempt in the final days of January leaves no room for a v1.1 retake, so a failed attempt then means restarting on the v2.0 blueprint. Booking by mid-January leaves room for one more try.

What stays the same

Cisco does not publish a question count or a passing score for either version. Both pages say only that the exam is graded pass/fail. Passing either version earns the same CCNA certification. Our CCNA certification page has the rest of the current details.

Domain weights: v1.1 vs v2.0

The domains were reorganized, not renamed, so the two lists do not line up row for row. Here they are as Cisco publishes them.

Two things stand out. Security no longer has a domain of its own: the old 15 percent Security fundamentals domain is gone, and most security topics now sit inside Network services and security, with wireless security under Network infrastructure and connectivity. And automation shares its 10 percent with AI in the last domain, where in v1.1 it had a domain to itself.

The biggest change: troubleshooting

Count the verbs. In the v1.1 PDF, 0 of its 53 numbered topics start with “troubleshoot” or “diagnose.” Most say “configure and verify,” “describe,” or “explain.” In the v2.0 PDF, 8 of its 29 numbered topics do: interface and cable issues, IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, client connectivity, DHCPv4, Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity using show commands and packet capture output, static routing, and DNS records.

Fewer numbered topics does not necessarily mean less to learn. The v2.0 lines are broader, and each one asks you to find a fault rather than recite a definition. Cisco’s post on the refresh says the same thing in its own words: not a total overhaul, but more practical assessment and more troubleshooting tasks.

Topic by topic: what moved

This is our side-by-side reading of the two PDFs, with Cisco’s topic numbers in brackets so you can check each line yourself.

The AI change goes further than the topic list. The v2.0 exam description says you may be asked to evaluate output and recommendations from agentic AI and digital network assistants as part of network operations and troubleshooting. In v1.1, AI is one “explain” topic.

Some v1.1 topics have no counterpart named in the v2.0 PDF:

• TCP vs UDP (1.5)
• Network topology architectures such as two-tier, three-tier, and spine-leaf (1.2)
• NTP client and server mode (4.2)
• QoS per-hop behavior (4.7)
• REST-based APIs and JSON-encoded data (6.5, 6.7)
• Wireless LAN GUI configuration, including WPA2 PSK (2.9, 5.10)
• Terraform (named alongside Ansible in 6.6)

Do not read that list as “off the exam.” Both PDFs say that related topics not listed may appear on any given exam. It tells you where Cisco has stopped putting its emphasis, not what you can safely skip.

Which version you should take

Take v1.1 if you are already working through v1.1 material and can sit the exam by mid-January, with room for a retake before February 2, 2027. That is what Cisco itself advises in its refresh post: keep going rather than wait. Most of the routing, switching, and addressing you study carries over.

Plan for v2.0 if you are starting from scratch now, or you cannot be ready before late January. Study the shared core (addressing, VLANs, spanning tree, static routing, OSPF, ACLs, NAT, Layer 2 security) first, then add the v2.0 extras: OSPFv3, HSRP and VRRP status, AAA client configuration, SFTP and SCP, DNS records, prompts and agentic AI, and lots of show command output. Practice reading output until you can name the fault, because that is what the new verbs ask for.

If you are weighing CCNA against a security certification instead, our CCNA vs Security+ guide covers that choice.

What the change means if you already hold CCNA

Nothing changes for a current holder. Cisco’s recertification policy counts 3 years from the date you earned the certification, and none of the Cisco pages we read ties that to the exam version. To recertify CCNA you earn 30 continuing education credits, pass the current CCNA exam again, or pass a higher-level Cisco exam, as the CCNA page lists them, all before your expiration date. Cisco gives no extensions, and an expired certification means taking the full exam again. Cisco emails reminders at 2 years, 1 year, 90, 60, and 30 days before expiry.

FAQ

Sitting v1.1 before the cutover? Our CCNA course is weighted to the v1.1 blueprint, and its first module, Network fundamentals, is free.