The ISTQB CTFL v4.0 exam has 40 questions, 60 minutes, and 26 of 40 points (65%) to pass. ExamCaliber has 629 free ISTQB CTFL v4.0 practice questions in 15 full-length mock exams of 40 questions, 60 minutes and 65% to pass — every answer, right and wrong, carries a written rationale. No sign-up, no paywall.
40 multiple-choice questions, worth one point each, for a total of 40 points. The number is fixed by ISTQB and is the same with every accredited exam provider.
26 of 40 points, which is 65%. The threshold is the same in every country and does not move with the difficulty of the paper you happen to get.
60 minutes. Candidates who qualify for the non-native-language allowance get 75 minutes — 25% more.
Yes. If you sit the exam in a language that is not your native language and no exam is offered in your native language, you are entitled to 25% extra time — 75 minutes instead of 60. Request it when you book; it is granted at booking, not at the exam desk.
The split is fixed: 8 questions from chapter 1 (Fundamentals of Testing), 6 from chapter 2 (Testing Throughout the Software Development Lifecycle), 4 from chapter 3 (Static Testing), 11 from chapter 4 (Test Analysis and Design), 9 from chapter 5 (Managing the Test Activities) and 2 from chapter 6 (Test Tools).
Chapter 4, Test Analysis and Design. It carries 11 of the 40 points and holds most of the questions that require you to apply a technique rather than recall a fact. Chapters 4 and 5 together are half the exam.
K-levels are the cognitive levels ISTQB assigns to learning objectives: K1 remember, K2 understand, K3 apply. Eight of the 40 questions are K3, meaning you must derive something — test cases, a coverage percentage, a state sequence — rather than recognise a definition.
No. Wrong answers score zero, the same as unanswered ones, so there is never a reason to leave a question blank. Guess on anything you cannot finish.
No. CTFL is the entry point of the ISTQB scheme: there is no required prior certification and no mandatory work experience or accredited training course. You can register for the exam directly.
For someone already working in software testing, four weeks at six to eight hours a week is a realistic plan. Without testing experience, allow six to eight weeks — the terminology, not the concepts, is what takes the extra time.
No. ISTQB certifications are awarded for life and require no renewal, recertification or continuing-education credits. A CTFL earned against an older syllabus version stays valid.
ISTQB does not set a single global price. The fee is set by the national member board or the accredited exam provider you book with, so it varies by country and by whether you sit the exam remotely or at a test centre. Check your local member board's site for the current figure.
Yes in content, no in format. v4.0 reorganised the material and refreshed the terminology, with more emphasis on the tester's role in Agile teams, the whole-team approach and collaboration-based approaches such as acceptance test-driven development. The exam is still 40 questions, 60 minutes and 65% to pass. Study v4.0 material only — v3.1 question banks test topics that have moved or gone.
No, and nobody legitimately has those — ISTQB does not release live exam questions. Ours are original questions written against the published v4.0 syllabus, matching the official format, chapter weights and cognitive levels, with a written rationale on every answer option including the wrong ones.
80% or better across three different mocks, taken timed, with no single chapter below 65%. Scraping 65% on one mock is not a readiness signal — it is the pass mark with nothing left over for a bad morning.