CCIE Enterprise certification: core exam, lab exam and cost
The CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certification — Cisco’s expert-level enterprise networking credential — requires two exams: the 350-401 ENCOR core exam at $US400 (120 minutes) and the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure lab exam v1.1, an 8-hour hands-on exam at $US1,600 taken in person. That is $2,000 in exam fees if both pass first time; the certification is valid for three years.
- Certification
- Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Enterprise InfrastructureCisco CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure page, checked 8 October 2026
- Exams required
- 350-401 ENCOR core exam plus the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure lab exam v1.1Cisco CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure page, checked 8 October 2026
- Exam fees
- $US400 core + $US1,600 lab — $2,000 in total, or Cisco Learning CreditsCisco CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure page, checked 8 October 2026
- Core exam
- 350-401 ENCOR v1.1 — 120 minutes, English or Japanese, pass/fail, results online within 48 hoursCisco ENCOR exam page and CCIE page, checked 8 October 2026
- Lab exam
- 8 hours, hands-on, in person onlyCisco CCIE page and Cisco online testing page, checked 8 October 2026
- Prerequisites
- None for the core examCisco states “Prerequisites: None”, checked 8 October 2026
- Completion window
- All requirements within three years of passing the qualifying written examCisco exam policies, checked 8 October 2026
- Passing score
- Not published by CiscoCisco exam policies: Cisco does not publish passing scores, checked 8 October 2026
- Valid for
- 3 years — renew with Continuing Education credits or examsCisco CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure page, checked 8 October 2026
Get notified when the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure question bank launches →
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What is the CCIE Enterprise certification?
When people search for the CCIE Enterprise certification they usually mean CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure: Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert, the expert tier of Cisco’s enterprise networking track, above CCNA and CCNP Enterprise. Cisco also runs CCIE Enterprise Wireless as a separate expert certification; this page is about Enterprise Infrastructure.
The certification is earned with two exams: a core exam and a lab exam. The core exam is 350-401 ENCOR, Implementing Cisco Enterprise Network Core Technologies. The lab exam is the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure lab exam v1.1, which Cisco describes as testing your ability to plan, design, operate and optimise dual-stack (IPv4 and IPv6) solutions for the infrastructure of complex enterprise networks.
ENCOR is shared across the enterprise track. It is the core exam for CCNP Enterprise as well, Cisco lists it as contributing the core requirement toward CCIE Enterprise Wireless, and passing it on its own earns Cisco Certified Specialist – Enterprise Core.
Source: Cisco — CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certification. Checked 8 October 2026.
How much does the CCIE Enterprise certification cost?
Cisco publishes both prices. 350-401 ENCOR costs $US400 and the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure lab exam costs $US1,600, so the exam fees come to $2,000 if you pass each on the first attempt. Cisco Learning Credits are accepted for both.
Retakes are where the budget moves. Cisco does not publish a separate retake fee, so plan for the list price again. Its policy fixes the waiting times: five calendar days after a failed written exam, and 30 calendar days after a failed expert-level lab before you can schedule the same lab again. Cisco also notes that exams can be scheduled up to six months in advance and that prices may change without notice.
Travel to a lab location and any training are not part of the exam fee. Cisco publishes no salary data with the certification, so no salary figure is stated here.
Source: Cisco — Exam, Testing, and Certification Policies. Checked 8 October 2026.
What is the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure exam format?
The core exam, ENCOR v1.1, is a 120-minute written exam offered in English and Japanese, graded pass/fail with results online within 48 hours. Cisco states that all expert written exams are offered both in person and online, with registration through Pearson VUE.
The lab exam is different in kind. Cisco’s blueprint describes it as an eight-hour, hands-on exam, and states that candidates are expected to program and automate the network within the exam — automation is not a side topic. All expert lab and practical exams are offered in person only.
Cisco also states on the exams page that a new CCIE lab exam module to integrate with AI tools is underway. No date or format for it is published, so check the exams page before you book.
Source: Cisco — Online testing for certification exams. Checked 8 October 2026.
CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure passing score
Cisco does not publish a passing score for ENCOR or for the CCIE lab exam. Its exam policy explains that passing scores are set by statistical analysis and are not published because exam questions and passing scores are subject to change and may vary from exam to exam, without notice.
For an eight-hour lab, that means you prepare for the whole blueprint rather than for a margin. A weak area cannot be offset by a target percentage you do not know; the lab weightings below show where most of the work sits.
Source: Cisco — Exam, Testing, and Certification Policies. Checked 8 October 2026.
What is on the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure lab exam?
Cisco publishes the v1.1 lab blueprint with five weighted domains. Network Infrastructure is the largest; software-defined infrastructure is the second-largest; the remaining three share the rest equally.
The core exam, ENCOR, has its own exam topics list on Cisco’s Learning Network. Because ENCOR is a written exam and the lab is hands-on, the same technologies are tested twice in two different ways: first whether you know them, then whether you can build and fix them under time pressure.
- Network Infrastructure — 30%
- Software-Defined Infrastructure — 25%
- Transport Technologies and Solutions — 15%
- Infrastructure Security and Services — 15%
- Infrastructure Automation and Programmability — 15%
Source: Cisco — CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure v1.1 blueprint (PDF). Checked 8 October 2026.
CCIE Enterprise prerequisites and requirements
Cisco lists “Prerequisites: None” for the ENCOR core exam, and does not list a CCNP or CCNA requirement for CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure. The requirement is to pass the core exam and the lab exam.
The timing rule matters more here than anywhere else in the Cisco programme. Cisco’s policy states that you must complete all requirements for a certification within three years of passing the corresponding qualification written exam. Passing ENCOR starts that clock for the lab, and a lab attempt that fails means a 30-day wait before you can schedule again.
Source: Cisco — Exam, Testing, and Certification Policies. Checked 8 October 2026.
How long is CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure valid?
Cisco states that the certification is valid for three years, and that you can renew with Continuing Education credits or by retaking exams before they expire. ENCOR is marked as usable toward recertification.
Cisco’s policy adds one restriction: a passed expert-level lab can only be taken again if the certification has become inactive. Recertification therefore runs through exams and Continuing Education, not through repeating the lab. The number of credits required is not stated on the certification page.
Source: Cisco — CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure certification. Checked 8 October 2026.
CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure study materials and training
The lab blueprint and the ENCOR exam topics are Cisco’s definition of scope; they are the documents to plan around.
For training, Cisco points to Cisco U. (guided learning paths and hands-on practice), instructor-led training online or in person through Cisco and its authorised Learning Partners, and Cisco Press books from its authorised publisher.
Source: Cisco — CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure exams and training. Checked 8 October 2026.
CCIE Enterprise vs CCNP Enterprise
Both use 350-401 ENCOR as the core exam. CCNP Enterprise adds one of six concentration exams — 90 minutes at $US300 each — for $700 in total. CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure adds the 8-hour lab at $US1,600 for $2,000 in total.
The real difference is the lab. CCNP Enterprise stays with written exams that can be taken online; CCIE requires a full day of hands-on design, deployment, operation and automation, in person. Since ENCOR counts toward both, it is the logical first exam on either path.
Source: Cisco — CCNP Enterprise certification. Checked 8 October 2026.
CCIE Enterprise practice questions
Certsqill’s CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure practice questions explain each option and are weighted the way Cisco weights the exams. Practice questions prepare the knowledge for ENCOR; the hands-on lab still needs real or virtual equipment.
CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure questions people ask
How much does the CCIE Enterprise certification cost?
$2,000 in exam fees: $US400 for 350-401 ENCOR plus $US1,600 for the lab exam. Source: Cisco, checked 8 October 2026.
How long is the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure lab exam?
Eight hours, hands-on, in person. Source: Cisco, checked 8 October 2026.
Which core exam does CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure use?
350-401 ENCOR, the same core exam as CCNP Enterprise. Source: Cisco, checked 8 October 2026.
What is the CCIE Enterprise passing score?
Cisco does not publish passing scores for the core or the lab exam. Source: Cisco exam policies, checked 8 October 2026.
Do I need CCNP before CCIE Enterprise?
No. Cisco lists no prerequisites for the ENCOR core exam and none for the certification. Source: Cisco, checked 8 October 2026.
How long do I have to pass the lab after ENCOR?
Cisco requires all certification requirements to be completed within three years of passing the qualifying written exam. Source: Cisco exam policies, checked 8 October 2026.
How long must I wait after failing the CCIE lab?
30 calendar days before scheduling the same lab again. Source: Cisco exam policies, checked 8 October 2026.
How long is CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure valid?
Three years. Renew with Continuing Education credits or by retaking exams. Source: Cisco, checked 8 October 2026.
One CCIE certification track among several
CCIE is not a single certification but a family. Enterprise Infrastructure is one CCIE certification track; Cisco runs others with their own core exam and their own lab. The tracks we checked — Enterprise Infrastructure, Security, Wireless and Automation — follow the same pattern: a written core exam, then an eight-hour, in-person, hands-on lab or practical exam.
The CCIE Security certification, for example, uses 350-701 SCOR as its core exam (US$400, 120 minutes) and the CCIE Security Lab Exam v6.1 (US$1,600, 8 hours). If you are deciding which CCIE cert to aim for — Enterprise Infrastructure or Security — the choice is about which technologies you work with; the price and the lab format are the same. Cisco calls the hands-on part a lab in most tracks and a practical exam in CCIE Automation; either way, the CCIE practical exam is taken in person.
Whether you hold Enterprise Infrastructure or a CCIE Security certificate, the CCIE certificate itself is not what Cisco treats as proof — Cisco says that to obtain official expert-level certification status, candidates and their employers must verify status online with Cisco’s verification tool.
Source: Cisco — CCIE Security exams and training. Checked 9 October 2026.
How to schedule the CCIE lab exam
The core exam is booked like any Cisco written exam. The lab is not: you schedule CCIE lab exam dates through Cisco’s Expert Level Certifications Lab Exams Portal, and Cisco lists what you need before you start — a valid Cisco user account, the ID you used to register for your written exam, the date you passed the core exam, and your passing score on it. Lab exams can be booked up to six months in advance.
For your CCIE lab exam schedule, location is the real constraint. Cisco lists expert lab facilities in Bangalore, Beijing, Brussels, Dubai, Singapore, Richardson (USA), Sydney and Tokyo, plus mobile labs. The fee is US$1,600 at Cisco testing facilities, or at mobile labs with the Bring Your Own Device option, and US$1,900 at mobile labs using the Cisco kit option. Fees are per attempt and do not include travel and lodging.
On CCIE exam lab day, expect pre-lab security screening; Cisco states it uses CCTV cameras during expert-level lab testing.
Source: Cisco — Expert certifications: exams and training. Checked 9 October 2026.
The CCIE written exam is the core exam
Older guides talk about a separate CCIE written exam. Today the written part of every CCIE track is its core exam — for Enterprise Infrastructure, 350-401 ENCOR, the same exam that counts toward CCNP Enterprise. Cisco states the core exam can be taken online, while the lab is in person only.
So if you are preparing for the CCIE written test, you are preparing for ENCOR: its exam topics on Cisco’s Learning Network are the scope. Cisco tracks your core exam result and uses it as an entry ticket — you need the date and passing score to schedule the lab.
Source: Cisco — Expert certifications: exams and training. Checked 9 October 2026.
CCIE syllabus: where the official exam topics are
Cisco does not use the word syllabus. The official scope is published as exam topics: one list for the ENCOR core exam and the lab exam blueprint for the CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure lab. Both are linked from Cisco’s exams and training page, and the lab blueprint is the document to plan your study around.
Cisco also notes that a new CCIE lab exam module to integrate with AI tools is underway. Check the CCIE exam topics again shortly before you book, so you prepare for the lab version you will actually sit.
Source: Cisco — CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure exams and training. Checked 9 October 2026.
CCIE practice labs and practice exams from Cisco
Cisco sells CCIE practice labs itself: online, hands-on lab environments with pre-configured scenarios, in four-hour sessions for Enterprise Infrastructure — a single Cisco CCIE practice lab session runs four hours. Cisco’s expert certifications page lists them at US$50 per four-hour slot. Cisco’s own service description is honest about their limits — the labs simulate the actual CCIE exam environment, but the practice lab does not replicate the exact questions or difficulty of the live exam.
Two more official options sit alongside the Cisco CCIE practice labs: Graded Labs at US$1,000 or 10 Cisco Learning Credits, and the Cisco Expert Prep Program, which Cisco lists as free.
For the written side, a CCIE practice test — whether it is sold as a CCIE practice exam or a CCIE written practice test — means ENCOR practice. Cisco U. lists practice tests along with pre- and post-assessments for this certification. A CCIE written practice exam can tell you whether you know the technologies; only a CCIE practice lab tells you whether you can build them under time pressure.
CCIE practice questions from Certsqill are expert-developed, and every question explains each answer option.
Source: Cisco — CCIE Practice Labs service description (PDF). Checked 9 October 2026.
CCIE dumps and leaked test questions
Anything sold as a CCIE dump — real CCIE test questions or lab solutions — breaks Cisco’s rules. Cisco’s policy says exam content is the proprietary and confidential property of Cisco, that disclosure of exam content is strictly prohibited, and that misconduct can lead to sanctions up to and including a lifetime ban on all future exams, with possible loss of certifications already earned. Candidates accept the Cisco Certification and Confidentiality Agreement before testing.
Practically, a dump is also unverifiable: you cannot know whether its answers are right or which version of the lab it describes.
Source: Cisco — Exam, Testing, and Certification Policies. Checked 9 October 2026.
What the CCIE certification cost adds up to
The CCIE exam cost — US$400 for the core exam and US$1,600 for the lab — is on the certification page above. The full CCIE certification cost is usually larger: every failed lab attempt is another lab fee, mobile labs with Cisco kit cost US$1,900, and travel and lodging are never included. Practice labs, Graded Labs and any CCIE course cost come on top.
On payment: Cisco’s CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure page quotes both exam prices in US dollars or Cisco Learning Credits. It does not mention an exam voucher, so if an employer or partner offers you one, confirm with Cisco that it applies to the exam you want before you rely on it.
Source: Cisco — Expert certifications: exams and training. Checked 9 October 2026.
CCIE recertification
To recertify CCIE certifications by Continuing Education, Cisco requires 120 CE credits. You can also recertify by passing exams during the active period. All requirements have to be met by your expiration date; Cisco does not grant extensions, and if the certification expires you must complete the full exam process again.
Note the expiration date of your CCIE: recertify before it, with credits or exams. Because a passed expert lab can only be retaken if your status becomes inactive, you recertify through credits or exams, not by sitting the lab again.
Source: Cisco — Recertification. Checked 9 October 2026.
CCIE certification tracking and verification
There is no single CCIE certification tracker. Cisco splits it in two: the Cisco Certification Tracking System handles written exams — scheduling, purchasing, rescheduling, and downloading score reports, transcripts, certificates and logos — and the Expert Level Certifications Lab Exams Portal handles your lab exam status.
For CCIE certification tracking from the employer’s side, Cisco points to its online verification tool: candidates and their employers must verify status there to confirm official expert-level certification status. That is the CCIE certification verification route Cisco itself names.
Source: Cisco — Exam, Testing, and Certification Policies. Checked 9 October 2026.
Requirements for CCIE certification, in practice
On paper the CCIE requirements are short: pass the core exam and the lab exam, with no formal certification prerequisites. In practice, there is a sequence that the CCIE certification requirements imply — the lab cannot be scheduled without a passed core exam, and Cisco’s policy gives you three years from passing it to complete the certification.
Cisco lists no experience requirement and no CCIE certification prerequisites beyond that. What the lab expects — planning, designing, operating, optimising and automating complex enterprise networks over eight hours — is the part you cannot shortcut.
Source: Cisco — Exam, Testing, and Certification Policies. Checked 9 October 2026.
CCIE boot camp: what to check before you pay
A CCIE bootcamp is an intensive course, and it can only be judged against Cisco’s own documents. Before booking a CCIE boot camp, check that it is built on the current lab blueprint version, that it includes hands-on lab time rather than only lectures, and whether it is delivered by Cisco or one of its authorised Learning Partners — Cisco lists instructor-led training through those partners.
Ask also how the course measures readiness. Cisco’s practice labs and Graded Labs are the official reference points, so a course that cannot show you where you stand against the blueprint is not doing the job you are paying for.
Source: Cisco — CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure exams and training. Checked 9 October 2026.
Is CCIE worth it? Salary, jobs and pass rate
Cisco publishes no CCIE salary data — no CCIE average salary, no CCIE security salary, no figures on CCIE certified jobs — and no CCIE pass rate. Any number you see for those comes from somewhere other than Cisco, so we do not repeat one here.
Whether CCIE is worth it is therefore a cost-and-role question: at least US$2,000 in exam fees plus travel, a three-year window to finish, 120 CE credits or exams to keep it, and a lab that tests the job itself. If your work is designing and running large Cisco enterprise networks, those costs buy a credential that maps directly onto that work.
Source: Cisco — Expert certifications: exams and training. Checked 9 October 2026.
More CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure questions
What is CCIE exam content based on?
Cisco’s published exam topics. Each track has two exams: a written core exam (350-401 ENCOR for Enterprise Infrastructure) and an eight-hour, in-person, hands-on lab or practical exam, each with its own topic list or blueprint. Source: Cisco, checked 9 October 2026.
How do I schedule the CCIE lab exam?
Through Cisco’s Expert Level Certifications Lab Exams Portal, with your Cisco account, written-exam registration ID, core exam pass date and passing score. Labs can be booked up to six months ahead. Source: Cisco, checked 9 October 2026.
What is the CCIE pass rate?
Cisco does not publish a CCIE passing rate, and it does not publish passing scores either. Source: Cisco exam policies, checked 9 October 2026.
What is the average CCIE salary?
Cisco publishes no salary figures for CCIE, so we do not state one.
How many CCIE certified in the world — is there an official count?
None of the Cisco CCIE and expert-certification pages we checked on 9 October 2026 states a current number of CCIE holders. To check one individual, Cisco points to its online verification tool.
How do I recertify CCIE?
Earn 120 Continuing Education credits or pass qualifying exams before your expiration date. Cisco grants no extensions. Source: Cisco recertification page, checked 9 October 2026.
Does Cisco sell CCIE practice labs?
Yes — US$50 per four-hour slot, plus Graded Labs at US$1,000 or 10 Cisco Learning Credits. Source: Cisco expert certifications page, checked 9 October 2026.
