Fortinet have announced that they are releasing a new version of the FCX exam on April 15th 2026, and there are some big (and exciting) changes coming to the program.

All the information you could need about the new exam is available on their Pre-Release Handbook:
https://nseti-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/NSE8_Assets/NSE8_Pre-Release_Handbook_Public_Exam.pdf

But, what are the key things to know:

If you are studying for the FCX at present

The last day that you can schedule the current version of the exam is February 15th, 2026, and the last day that you can actually sit the practical exam is March 15th 2026.
So if you have passed the NSE8_812 written exam, you now have 5 months to sit and pass the practical exam.
If you are yet to pass the written, you have until December 31st 2025 to pass that exam and those same 5 months to schedule and pass your practical exam. The majority of people do not pass on their first attempt, so I would recommend leaving enough time to attempt the practical exam twice.

Its worth noting that the current NSE8 written exam (NSE8_812) will be discontinued as a prerequisite for initial certification. If you pass the NSE8_812 exam you need to pass the current practical exam while its still available, otherwise you are starting over again.

If you are starting your FCX journey

First, the name of the certification is reverting to NSE8 which will please a lot of people.

Second, you can schedule the new exam from February 16th, 2026, and the first day that you can attempt the new exam is April 15th, 2026.
Under the new format there is no written exam anymore.
To qualify to be able to take the NSE8 lab exams (there are now two), you need to meet the following requirements:
– Valid NSE4 (7.6 or higher)
– Valid NSE5 or NSE6
– Valid NSE7 (7.6 or higher)

“WWHHHHYYYY so many prerequisites!!!” I hear you ask? Because the team responsible for making the exam have noticed that the people who are most likely to succeed in their journey, are the ones who have completed the lower level exams. So in the end this is helping you gain the knowledge you are going to need to pass the practical exams.

Over the coming weeks Ill be writing some further articles about the changes, as well as developing new versions of my excel spreadsheet. These changes put some finite timeframes to study to, so good luck to everyone who is studying for the FCX (NSE8)