CEH certification requirements and how to become a certified ethical hacker

What are the CEH certification prerequisites?

There is no degree requirement and no earlier certification you must hold. The CEH certification prerequisites come down to eligibility, and EC-Council accepts it in one of two forms:

Those two routes are the complete certified ethical hacker certification requirements as EC-Council publishes them. Anything else you read — a required degree, a minimum age you must document, a mandatory earlier certificate — is not on EC-Council’s eligibility page.

• Official training: if you have completed official EC-Council training, for example at an Authorized Training Center or through EC-Council’s own iClass, you are eligible to attempt the exam.
• Work experience: without official training, EC-Council requires two years of work experience in an information security role, with verifiable proof, submitted in an eligibility application with a non-refundable $100 application fee.

Source: EC-Council — Application process and eligibility. Checked 9 October 2026.

Certified ethical hacker requirements on the experience route

If you take the experience route, the requirements for certified ethical hacker eligibility are about documentation. EC-Council asks for verifiable proof of at least two years of experience in an information security role and states that verification and approval typically take between 5 and 10 working days.

Once approved, you receive purchase links for the exam voucher by email. The approval is valid for 90 days, so buy the voucher within that window. After buying it you have 12 months to schedule and complete the exam.

The $100 application fee is non-refundable, so check before you apply that your two years were genuinely in an information security role and that you can document them.

Source: EC-Council — Application process and eligibility. Checked 9 October 2026.

Is official training a requirement for CEH certification?

Only if you cannot document the experience. Official training is the alternative to the two-year requirement, not an extra condition on top of it. EC-Council describes its official CEH training as structured as a five-day boot camp, with the exam typically at the end of day five, and also sells on-demand and live online options.

The exam voucher itself costs the same on both routes. EC-Council’s eligibility page lists the CEH voucher at $950 for the online proctored exam and $1199 for VUE delivery, both in its official-training section and in its table for candidates applying without training. What differs is everything around it: training packages are priced separately on the CEH page, and the experience route adds the $100 application fee.

Source: EC-Council — Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). Checked 9 October 2026.

How to become a certified ethical hacker, step by step

How do I become a certified ethical hacker in practice? The order is fixed by EC-Council’s process:

Passing the knowledge exam is what certifies you. EC-Council states that the certification is awarded when the knowledge exam is passed; the practical exam is optional and leads to CEH Master.

• Choose your route: official EC-Council training, or the experience route with two documented years in information security.
• On the experience route, submit the eligibility application with the $100 fee and wait for approval, typically 5 to 10 working days.
• Buy the exam voucher — within 90 days of approval on the experience route — and schedule the exam within 12 months of purchase.
• Prepare against the current version, v13: the knowledge exam is 125 multiple-choice questions in four hours.
• Pass the knowledge exam. The cut score is set per exam form, somewhere between 60% and 85%.
• Optionally, take the six-hour practical exam of 20 challenges for CEH Master.

Source: EC-Council — Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). Checked 9 October 2026.

How to get an ethical hacker certification if you are just starting

If you are asking how to get ethical hacker certification with no security job yet, the two-year rule is the part to plan around. Without that experience, the only way to sit CEH is through official training, which is the more expensive route.

Whichever route you choose, the knowledge exam is the same. Before paying for a voucher, it is worth testing yourself on practice questions across all CEH domains. Certsqill’s CEH questions are expert-developed, each answer option has its own explanation, and a readiness score per domain shows which areas still need work. There is a 7-day money-back guarantee.

What keeps the certified ethical hacker qualification valid

The requirements do not end with the exam. EC-Council certifications run on a three-year cycle: you need 120 continuing education credits per certification within three years, and members pay an annual continuing education fee of USD $80 if they hold at least one certification under that scheme.

If the credits are missing at the end of the cycle, the certification is suspended; if they are still missing at the end of the suspension period, it is revoked and you have to pass the exam again to regain it.

Source: EC-Council — Continuing education (ECE/CPE) policy. Checked 9 October 2026.

CEH requirements: questions people ask

What are the requirements for CEH?

Either official EC-Council training, or two years of verifiable work experience in an information security role plus an eligibility application with a non-refundable $100 fee. Source: EC-Council, checked 9 October 2026.

Are there prerequisites for CEH certification beyond experience or training?

EC-Council’s eligibility page names no degree and no earlier certification. The fork between official training and two years of documented experience is the whole requirement.

How do I get CEH certified without official training?

Submit the eligibility application with proof of two years in information security and the $100 fee. Approval typically takes 5 to 10 working days and is valid for 90 days; after buying the voucher you have 12 months to take the exam.

How to get CEH certification fastest?

EC-Council’s official training is structured as a five-day boot camp with the exam typically at the end of day five. That removes the experience requirement, but it is the most expensive route.

What are the certified ethical hacker prerequisites for the practical exam?

The practical exam is an optional addition. EC-Council awards the certification for the knowledge exam; candidates who also pass the six-hour practical earn CEH Master.

How to get a CEH certification renewed?

Earn 120 continuing education credits within each three-year cycle and pay the annual USD $80 continuing education fee. Source: EC-Council, checked 9 October 2026.