Guide · free to read
What the Fortinet NSE 4 exam actually costs, and how to book it
Last checked: 2026-10-03. Fortinet introduced priced recertification assessments on July 15, 2026, and its fee notice sets new fees for some exams from November 2, 2026. Treat anything you read elsewhere with an older date on it as suspect until you re-check it against Fortinet’s own pages, linked throughout below.
Most of what’s written about the NSE 4 exam covers the material. Almost nothing covers the logistics — what it costs, how you actually pay for it, and what happens if you don’t pass the first time. This is that page, sourced entirely to Fortinet’s own documentation.
The exam fee
$200 USD, tax not included, for the exam itself. Fortinet’s public NSE Certification Program Notice – Changes to Exam Fees lists “NSE 4-6 exams at $200”, and its footnote reads “Price is in USD - tax not included.” The same figure appears in the Fortinet Training Institute Help Desk article on post-July-15-2026 exam prices. That article currently requires a Fortinet login, so the public notice above is the copy to check.
That’s the price now. If you’ve seen a “prices are changing” headline, here is what the notice says about NSE 4: “All other NSE certification exam fees will remain unchanged:” and then, as its own line, “NSE 4-6 exams at $200”. The change is for other exams. The notice says the NSE 7 exams, NSE 7 recertification assessments, and the new Industry certification exams “will each cost $400”, beginning November 2, 2026. NSE 4, 5, and 6 stay at $200. If you’re reading this well after that date, don’t assume the $200 figure still holds — check the fee notice linked above for the current table before you pay.
Recertification is listed in the same notice: “NSE 4-6 recertification assessments at $200” — the same price as the exam itself, for someone renewing an NSE 4 they already hold.
Where you actually pay it
There are two ways to pay. Fortinet’s booking article covers paying Pearson VUE directly, and its purchasing process page lists the voucher routes.
- Pay Pearson VUE directly by credit card when you schedule. The booking article labels this “Credit Card (recommended)” and says: “Follow the prompts on the payment window to pay for your exam using a credit card when booking or scheduling your exam directly on the Pearson VUE website.” You pay on Pearson VUE’s site at booking, with no separate purchase step first.
- Buy a voucher, then pay with it at booking. The purchasing process page lists three routes to a voucher, under “NSE 4-7 certification”: “Through a Fortinet Partner or ATC” (ATC is a Fortinet-accredited training center), “Through Gilmore Global”, and “Through a credit card transaction on the Exam Voucher Purchase page.” At Pearson VUE’s payment window, the booking article says to “follow the prompts on the payment window to pay for your exam using a voucher”. Fortinet’s policy is that “Exam vouchers are valid for 365 days from the purchase date, you must apply the voucher and take the exam before it expires” (Exam Policy — Exam Registration and Cancellation). Buy one too far ahead of when you’re ready to sit the exam and it can expire unused.
How the booking itself works
Registration runs through Pearson VUE. Fortinet’s booking article says to “Open a Pearson VUE account and register for Fortinet NSE exams” at home.pearsonvue.com/fortinet, and you’ll need that account to schedule, reschedule, or cancel.
- Test-center appointments can be rescheduled or canceled up to 24 hours before the scheduled appointment time, through your Pearson VUE account (Exam Policy — Exam Registration and Cancellation).
- OnVUE appointments can be canceled at any time before the appointment time, per the same policy page.
- Check which delivery option you’re offered when you book. Fortinet’s OnVUE delivery notice says: “Effective September 21, 2026, remote exam delivery for NSE 7 exams will be discontinued.” The same notice says: “NSE 4, NSE 5, and NSE 6 exams will continue to be available through both the OnVUE remote proctoring and Pearson VUE test center options.” Pearson VUE’s booking screen shows what’s available to you, so check it when you book.
If you don’t pass the first time
Fortinet’s retake policy is short: you have to wait 15 consecutive days after a failed attempt before you can sit it again. The policy says: “Candidates who fail an exam must wait (15) consecutive days after the failed attempt, to retake it.”
If you do pass, that’s it for that exam: “Once a proctored Fortinet exam has been passed it cannot be taken again.” There’s no option to retake a passed exam for a better score.
Primary source: Exam Policy — Retake Pearson VUE Proctored NSE Certification Exams.
One thing that policy page does not state, and this guide isn’t going to guess at: a retake fee. The page has no fee information. Fortinet’s fee notice lists $200 for NSE 4–6 exams, so confirm the amount Pearson VUE shows you at checkout rather than taking that as a promise.
How long it’s actually good for
Two years. Fortinet’s help desk says: “[A]ll NSE certifications are active for two (2) years from the date the certification requirements are fulfilled.” Fortinet’s help desk is explicit that expiration dates “cannot be extended”: “Certification expiration dates cannot be extended. Examinees should recertify before the expiration date shown on the Certification.” The same article adds: “See the Recertification policies page to learn how you can recertify any of your certifications and extend their expiration date.” Recertification options for each level are listed on Fortinet’s renewal options page.
Primary source: Is there an expiration date for NSE certifications?.
Tell me when these questions change
FortiOS changes, and so does this bank. Leave an address and you will get one email when the questions are updated for a new release. Nothing else is sent, and a reply saying stop removes you.
What’s fixed and what’s optional
The $200 exam fee is the cost of the exam itself. Everything else — an instructor-led course, a self-paced Training Institute course, a practice bank, a prep book — is spend you choose on top of it.
If you want to check where you actually stand before you spend anything, a free 15-question readiness check, with sourced explanations for every question, is at /sample.