- Why There Is No Published Pass Rate
- What Palo Alto Networks Does Publish
- Reading the 860 Passing Score Correctly
- What Actually Drives Difficulty
- Where the Points Live: Three Domains
- Format Details That Remain Unverified
- Retake Rules and What They Cost
- A Domain-Weighted Readiness Plan
- How to Evaluate Pass-Rate Claims You Find Online
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Palo Alto Networks does not publish a pass rate for the NGFW Engineer exam, so any specific percentage is unverified.
- The passing score is 860 on a 300-1000 scale, not an 86% raw requirement.
- PAN-OS Networking Configuration and PAN-OS Device Setting Configuration are each 40% of the blueprint; Integration and Automation is 20%.
- Failed-attempt waits run 15 days, then 30 days, then 90 days, and registration is USD 250 plus applicable taxes.
Why There Is No Published Pass Rate
Search for the pass rate of the Palo Alto Networks Certified Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) Engineer exam and you will find confident numbers on forums, social posts and vendor-neutral listicles. None of them trace back to an issuer disclosure. As of the October 20, 2026 verification date for this article, Palo Alto Networks has not published a pass rate for the NGFW Engineer exam in its datasheet, its Certification Program FAQ, or its Certification Handbook.
That matters because this site would rather give you an honest "unknown" than a fabricated figure. A made-up pass percentage does real harm: it anchors your expectations, it can make you over- or under-prepare, and it gets repeated until it looks like fact. What we can do is examine everything the issuer does disclose and use it to reason about how demanding the exam is likely to be and how to prepare for it.
What Palo Alto Networks Does Publish
The NGFW Engineer is a Specialist-level credential in the Network Security track. Several concrete, citable facts exist, and they shape how you should think about your odds. If you are new to the credential itself, our overview of what the NGFW-Engineer certification is covers the basics.
| Item | What the issuer publishes |
|---|---|
| Registration fee | USD 250 plus applicable taxes/fees; no published member/non-member distinction |
| Passing score | 860 on a 300-1000 scale (applies to all PAN certification exams) |
| Domains | PAN-OS Networking Configuration 40%; PAN-OS Device Setting Configuration 40%; Integration and Automation 20% |
| Testing provider | Pearson VUE, computer-based; new appointments in-person only (effective August 1, 2025) |
| Validity | Two years; renew by examination |
| Retake waits | 15 days, then 30 days, then 90 days |
| Pass rate | Not published |
| Exact question count and base duration | Not published in the current public datasheet |
Notice what is missing: the pass rate, the number of questions, and the base time limit. We deliberately do not substitute generic figures from other vendors or from practice-bank sizes. For the fee mechanics in full, see the NGFW-Engineer certification cost breakdown.
Reading the 860 Passing Score Correctly
The Certification Handbook (September 2026) states a passing score of 860 on a 300-1000 scale for all Palo Alto Networks certification exams. A common misreading is to convert 860 into "86% of questions correct." That conversion is not supported. Scaled scoring maps your raw performance onto a reporting scale, and the issuer does not disclose how raw results translate.
Two further details complicate any attempt to back out a raw percentage:
- The scored/unscored split is undisclosed. Unidentified pretest items may appear in your exam. They do not affect your score, but you cannot tell which ones they are, so you must treat every item as live.
- Results are provisional pending review. The score you see at the end of the session is not necessarily final.
The practical consequence: stop trying to compute a "safe raw score" and aim for broad, reliable command of the blueprint. Our dedicated NGFW-Engineer passing score article goes deeper on this.
What Actually Drives Difficulty
Without a pass rate, the best predictor of your outcome is the match between your hands-on experience and what the blueprint tests. The issuer recommends 2-3 years in IT security and 2 years working with its NGFW solutions, plus relevant networking and scripting knowledge. No prior credential is mandatory, and no degree or references are required. Those recommendations are guidance, not gates, and recommended Network Security Professional/Analyst certifications and training are not required credentials or hour quotas. See NGFW-Engineer requirements for the full eligibility picture.
Three factors tend to separate candidates who are ready from those who are not:
- Configuration fluency, not memorization. This is an engineer-level exam concentrated on configuring PAN-OS. Candidates who have only read documentation, without working through interface, routing and policy configuration on real or virtual firewalls, tend to struggle with scenario-style items.
- Breadth across two equally weighted configuration domains. Because networking and device settings carry equal weight, a strong networking background with thin device-management experience (or the reverse) leaves a large share of the blueprint exposed.
- Scripting and integration comfort. The smallest domain is also the one many network engineers practice least. At 20%, it is too large to ignore.
Where the Points Live: Three Domains
The official weights come from the Next-Generation Firewall Engineer Datasheet (November 2025). These are the published blueprint, not inferred curriculum. Do not convert the percentages into exact item counts, since the issuer does not publish how many questions you will see. A full walkthrough is in our complete guide to the three exam domains.
Domain 1: PAN-OS Networking Configuration (40%)
The networking layer of the firewall: how traffic enters, is classified and is forwarded.
- Interface types and zone design
- Routing configuration, including virtual routers
- NAT and how it interacts with policy
- High availability and related networking behavior
Domain 2: PAN-OS Device Setting Configuration (40%)
The management plane and system-level settings that keep a firewall operable and secure.
- Device and administrative configuration
- Authentication and access controls for administrators and users
- Logging, monitoring and certificate-related settings
- Configuration management and operational maintenance
Domain 3: Integration and Automation (20%)
Connecting the firewall to its surrounding ecosystem and reducing manual effort.
- API-driven configuration and retrieval
- Integration with external systems and services
- Automation of repeatable tasks, which is where scripting knowledge is useful
Format Details That Remain Unverified
The Pearson VUE provider page describes computer-based exams using multiple-choice, matching and ordering question types. However, the exact NGFW item mix, current question count and base duration were not verified for this exam, and the public datasheet does not publish a question count or timer. We therefore will not tell you how long the exam runs or how many items it contains.
What is confirmed about delivery:
- Delivery is in English. In non-English-speaking countries, a default 30-minute ESL extension applies.
- New appointments are in-person only under the June 30, 2025 issuer announcement, effective August 1, 2025, even though some Pearson OnVUE links may still appear.
- Personal books, notes and other unauthorized materials are prohibited under the Candidate Agreement.
- No exam-specific calculator is verified, and no adaptive-testing claim is verified.
Scheduling specifics are covered in NGFW-Engineer exam dates and scheduling.
Retake Rules and What They Cost
Whatever the true pass rate is, your own risk management starts with the retake policy. After a failed attempt, the mandatory waits are 15 days, then 30 days, then 90 days. Cancellation or rescheduling requires 48 hours' notice. Each attempt carries the USD 250 registration fee plus applicable taxes and fees.
| Attempt | Wait after a fail | Fee consideration |
|---|---|---|
| First | 15 days | USD 250 plus applicable taxes/fees |
| Second | 30 days | USD 250 plus applicable taxes/fees |
| Third | 90 days | USD 250 plus applicable taxes/fees |
The escalating waits mean a rushed first attempt can cost you months, not just a fee. The 15-day first wait is short enough to tempt candidates into a quick retry, but if you failed because of a structural gap in one domain, two weeks is rarely enough to close it. Use the wait to diagnose, not just to re-read.
Key Takeaway
Treat the first attempt as the one you plan to pass. The cumulative cost of a fail is the fee, the enforced waiting period and the delay to any career benefit, which is why readiness checks matter more than chasing a pass-rate statistic.
A Domain-Weighted Readiness Plan
Since 80% of the blueprint sits in two configuration domains, sequence your preparation around them. This is the only generic-style planning section in this article, and it is tied to the blueprint rather than a stock template. For a broader plan, see the NGFW-Engineer study guide.
Networking first (Domain 1, 40%)
- Build a lab firewall and configure interfaces, zones and virtual routers from scratch
- Practice NAT and policy interaction until you can predict packet flow without looking it up
Device settings second (Domain 2, 40%)
- Work through administrative access, authentication, logging and certificate configuration
- Rehearse configuration management tasks you would perform in a production change window
Integration and Automation (Domain 3, 20%)
- Script API calls against your lab firewall; this is where hands-on repetition pays off most
- Review integration scenarios and where automation replaces manual steps
Cross-domain integration and timed practice
- Take a timed set of questions that mixes all three domains
- Review misses by domain and revisit your weakest area
Networking goes first because routing, zones and NAT underpin nearly everything else you configure. For quick last-pass reinforcement, our NGFW-Engineer cheat sheet condenses the must-know facts, and you can pressure-test yourself on the NGFW-Engineer practice test site.
How to Evaluate Pass-Rate Claims You Find Online
Because no official rate exists, any number you encounter should be interrogated. Ask these questions:
- Who is the source? Palo Alto Networks and Pearson VUE are the only parties with authoritative pass data. A training vendor, forum poster or aggregator is not.
- Is the sample disclosed? A figure drawn from one bootcamp's students says nothing about the general candidate pool.
- Is it about this exam? Several credentials share similar names. A pass rate for a differently issued or differently scoped certification does not transfer to the Palo Alto Networks NGFW Engineer.
- Does it confuse score with percentage? Claims that "you need 86%" misread the 860 on a 1000-point scaled score.
If a source cannot answer these, discard the figure. Your time is better spent on the blueprint and hands-on practice than on rumor. Whether the credential is worth that effort is a separate question addressed in our ROI analysis of the NGFW-Engineer certification. Note that no certification-specific salary premium has been verified, so we avoid quoting earnings figures here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Palo Alto Networks has not published a pass rate for this exam. Any specific percentage you see online is unverified unless it links directly to an issuer or Pearson VUE disclosure.
No. The Certification Handbook lists 860 on a 300-1000 scaled range for all certification exams. It is not a raw 86% requirement, and the issuer does not disclose how raw performance converts to the scaled score.
The current public datasheet does not publish an exact question count or base duration, and we have not verified them. A default 30-minute ESL extension applies in non-English-speaking countries.
You must wait 15 days after the first failed attempt, 30 days after the second, and 90 days after that. Each new attempt requires the USD 250 registration fee plus applicable taxes and fees.
PAN-OS Networking Configuration and PAN-OS Device Setting Configuration each carry 40% of the blueprint, so together they make up the large majority. Integration and Automation is 20% and should not be skipped.
The honest summary is that the pass rate is unknown, but the path to passing is well defined: master the two 40% configuration domains, build real scripting fluency for the 20% domain, and plan your first attempt as though a 90-day retake wait were the penalty for rushing. For the single-page view of this topic and related questions, you can also revisit our hub on the NGFW-Engineer certification and test your readiness at ngfwexam.com.