Registration for the GIAC Certified Penetration Tester goes through the official channels listed here:

• GIAC Official Registration

As for the format, the GPEN exam is delivered Web-based proctored exam; remote proctoring via ProctorU or onsite via Pearson VUE — pick whichever fits your situation when you schedule.

The official GIAC Certified Penetration Tester blueprint is divided into 6 domains, led by Exploitation Techniques (25%), Penetration Testing Planning, Scoping & Legal Considerations (15%), and Scanning & Enumeration (20%). The full domain-by-domain breakdown is in the syllabus section above — that is the checklist your study plan should follow.

The passing score for the GPEN exam is 73%, and registering officially costs $979 USD (exam only); $2,499 USD (challenge exam). That fee buys exactly one attempt — if you fall short, the retake is charged in full again, no discount for a second try. The practical move is to measure yourself first: drill the 405 practice questions at PrepAwayTest under timed conditions until your mock scores clear the bar with room to spare, then book your seat.

You can. PrepAwayTest publishes a free PDF demo of the GPEN practice questions — download it, work through it, and decide on evidence rather than promises. Once you own the full product, 365 days of free updates are included, and an expired product can have its update service renewed at a 50% discount from your member zone.

The GPEN exam — officially the GIAC Certified Penetration Tester — is how GIAC verifies that you can apply its technologies in real working scenarios, and passing it earns you the GIAC Certified Penetration Tester certification, a credential at the Professional / Advanced level. Employers recognize it because it is vendor-issued and skills-based. Candidates often continue toward related credentials such as GXPN, GSEC, GCIH, GWAPT once this one is in hand.

Yes — GIAC lists these training options for the GIAC Certified Penetration Tester:

• SANS SEC560: Enterprise Penetration Testing

Courseware teaches the concepts; repetition makes them exam-proof. Combine whichever course you choose with the 405 practice questions from PrepAwayTest and you cover both halves of preparation.

You will face 82 questions within 180 minutes on the GPEN exam. Do the math once and the lesson is clear: dwell too long on a hard item and the clock eats your easy points later. The fix is rehearsal, not luck — take full-length timed mocks in the PrepAwayTest desktop or online test engine until pacing becomes automatic, and learn to flag a question, move on, and return with fresh eyes.

First, delivery: your download is available immediately after payment, and the package also arrives in your email within one minute. If 2 hours pass with nothing in your inbox, check spam and contact support — and feel free to install the software on as many computers as you like, there is no device limit.

Second, the safety net: if you sit the GPEN exam within 60 days of purchase and do not pass, the PrepAwayTest money back guarantee entitles you to a full refund. File the claim within 2 days of the exam with a scanned enrollment slip and your official score report (PDF); claims are processed within 7 days. The candidate name must match the payer name, and the guarantee excludes exams taken within 3 days of purchase, purchases never used in an actual exam attempt, free materials, and expired orders. If you would rather keep studying, you can swap the product for two free exam packages of equal value and keep the update service on your original purchase.

No mandatory prerequisites; recommended 2+ years of information security or penetration testing experience

Vendor policies shift from time to time, so treat this as your starting point and verify the current criteria on the official GIAC exam page before you schedule anything.