- What This Cheat Sheet Covers (and What It Doesn't)
- Format Facts at a Glance
- The Nine Advanced Intrusion Systems Topics
- The Seven Fundamentals of Networking Topics
- Fees, Retakes and Time Windows
- Eligibility Checklist
- Five Boundary Traps That Cost Candidates Time
- Sequencing Your Prep Around the Topic List
- After You Qualify: Validity and Renewal
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CIT Level II is coursework plus experience: two required ESA courses, Advanced Intrusion Systems and Fundamentals of Networking, not one standalone exam.
- The 50-question, 2-hour, open-book, 70% exam belongs to the AIS component only.
- The networking course has a 70% terminal quiz; its length and timer are not publicly verified.
- Sixteen published topics (nine AIS, seven networking) define the scope; none carries an official weight.
What This Cheat Sheet Covers (and What It Doesn't)
This page condenses the facts that matter most for the Certified Intrusion Technician Level II credential issued through the Electronic Security Association (ESA) and National Training School. It is deliberately scoped: CIT here means Certified Intrusion Technician Level II and nothing else. If you want the background on the name itself, see What Is CIT? or What Does CIT Stand For?.
The most important structural fact comes first. CIT is a coursework-and-experience credential. There is no single CIT exam with one blueprint, one timer and one published pass rate. You complete two required additional courses, satisfy a prerequisite and experience rule, and file a documented certification request. Everything below is organized around that reality.
Format Facts at a Glance
| Item | Advanced Intrusion Systems (AIS) | Fundamentals of Networking |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment | Proctored multiple-choice examination | Short terminal quiz |
| Questions | 50 | Not verified publicly |
| Time limit | 2 hours | Not verified publicly |
| Passing score | 70% | 70% or higher |
| Reference materials | Open book (course manual) | Not verified |
| Course length | 14 hours online (course page tagged Revised 2020) | 4 hours |
| Proctoring | Verified proctor for certification; ESA uses Honorlock/Absorb online or approved in-person arrangements | Do not assume |
Two cautions on that table. First, course hours are instruction time, not exam timers: the AIS course is 14 instruction hours online, yet the AIS exam itself is two hours. Second, the scored/unscored question split and any candidate pass rate for AIS are not publicly disclosed, so treat any figure you see quoted elsewhere with suspicion. For more on this, read CIT Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows and CIT Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
The Nine Advanced Intrusion Systems Topics
The AIS course publishes nine topics. They are unweighted; ESA does not release item percentages, and no topic can honestly be called "the largest." Think of them as nine areas you must be able to handle even with the manual open beside you.
1. Practical Application of Electronics
The component-level foundation under every panel and device.
- Be ready to reason about circuits and components as they appear in intrusion hardware, not just recite definitions.
- Open-book access helps with look-ups, but not with reasoning you have never practiced.
2. Practical Application of Controls
How control equipment is configured and behaves in real installations.
- Focus on what the control does with inputs and how installers verify that behavior.
3. System Power
Powering the system reliably, including how supply decisions affect operation.
- Expect scenario-style thinking: what happens to the system when power conditions change.
4. Input and Output
How signals enter and leave the system.
- Understand initiating devices on the input side and annunciation or control behavior on the output side.
5. Networking and Communication
How intrusion systems communicate with other equipment and with monitoring.
- This topic overlaps conceptually with the networking course, but it remains a separate AIS topic. Keep the boundary clear.
6. Advanced Systems and Devices
Equipment beyond basic Level I installations.
- Study how advanced devices differ from entry-level ones in function and integration.
7. Testing and Commissioning
Proving a system works before and after handoff.
- Think procedure and sequence: what you verify, in what order, and why.
8. Project Management
Running intrusion work as a project rather than a single visit.
- Expect questions framed around planning, coordination and delivery rather than wiring alone.
9. Residential and Commercial Sensor Application
Choosing and placing sensors for the environment.
- Be able to justify why a given sensor type fits a given residential or commercial setting.
For a deeper walk-through of how these nine fit alongside the networking topics, see CIT Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 16 Content Areas. Because the exam is open book, the real challenge is speed and judgment: you need to know the manual's layout well enough to find answers inside a two-hour limit, and to understand the material well enough to interpret scenario wording. Candidates who plan to lean entirely on the book tend to run short of time, which is part of why How Hard Is the CIT Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 is worth reading before you schedule.
The Seven Fundamentals of Networking Topics
The networking course contributes seven published subjects. They are public preparation topics, not an exhaustive question inventory and not equally weighted by any published rule.
- What a network is and its components - the vocabulary everything else builds on.
- Common network topologies - recognize how devices are arranged and what each arrangement implies.
- How networks communicate and share data - the mechanics of moving information between devices.
- Storage types used in networked systems - relevant to modern recording and data retention.
- Composition of a network cable - what is physically inside the cable you terminate and troubleshoot.
- How a LAN and WAN function, and how they differ - a classic comparison you should be able to state cleanly.
- The steps of troubleshooting network problems - a process topic; know the logical order of steps.
Fees, Retakes and Time Windows
Costs depend on whether you buy the full online bundle or already hold the prerequisite and only need the two courses. Member and nonmember rates differ.
| Route | Member | Nonmember |
|---|---|---|
| Full online bundle | $644.40 | $1,020 |
| AIS course alone | $308 | $440 |
| Networking course alone | $100 | $140 |
| Existing-prerequisite route (AIS + networking, calculated) | $408 | $580 |
| Certification request | Free | |
Per the ESA FAQ, the retake fee is $135, and you have a six-month window to complete the exam process. Build your schedule around that window rather than treating it as slack. A full cost discussion, including how the bundle compares to buying components separately, lives in CIT Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Eligibility Checklist
Before you spend a dollar on courses, confirm every item below. The complete rules are covered in CIT Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
- Active qualifying credential: an active ESA Certified Alarm Technician Level 1 or higher, or an accredited equivalent certificate.
- Experience: 24 months of verified industry work history, or at least 24 months holding the qualifying Level 1 credential.
- Required courses: Advanced Intrusion Systems (with its proctored multiple-choice exam) and Fundamentals of Networking, both completed within the previous five years.
- Paperwork: a documented certification request with supporting documentation.
Note that the Level 1 prerequisite is separate from the two additional courses. Holding Level 1 does not count as completing either course.
Five Boundary Traps That Cost Candidates Time
Trap 1: Hunting for a "CIT exam"
There is no separate standalone CIT examination in the published pathway. If a resource describes a single CIT exam with a unified blueprint, it is describing something the published pathway does not contain.
Trap 2: Treating the 16 topics as weighted domains
The sixteen headings organize published course topics. No official weights exist, so no one can legitimately tell you which area is "worth the most points." Any practice-question allocation, including on this site, is editorial.
Trap 3: Confusing course quizzes with the proctored exam
The online AIS course page describes a short 70% completion quiz. That is distinct from the separately required proctored certification examination. Passing the quiz does not complete the exam requirement.
Trap 4: Mixing up course hours and exam time
Fourteen instruction hours (AIS), four instruction hours (networking) and a two-hour AIS exam are three different things. A live course listing may state a different instruction length than the online page, so check the listing for the format you are actually taking.
Trap 5: Assuming experience periods are exam durations
The 24-month experience and renewal periods are administrative requirements, not testing timers or windows.
Key Takeaway
When any source gives you a number, ask which component it belongs to: AIS exam, AIS course, networking quiz, networking course, or an administrative rule. Most CIT misinformation comes from numbers attached to the wrong component.
Sequencing Your Prep Around the Topic List
Since the topics are unweighted, sequence by dependency rather than by guessed importance. One sensible order that ties directly to the published topics:
Foundations: Electronics, Controls, System Power
- These three underpin everything else in AIS, so settle them first.
- Practice finding answers in the manual quickly, since the exam is open book.
Signals and Devices: Input/Output, Advanced Devices, Sensors
- Pair input/output with sensor application so device choice and signal behavior reinforce each other.
Process Topics: Testing/Commissioning, Project Management, AIS Networking and Communication
- Process questions reward sequence knowledge; rehearse the order of steps.
Fundamentals of Networking, then a full AIS timed run
- Cover all seven networking subjects, especially LAN versus WAN and the troubleshooting steps.
- Finish with a timed 50-question run to test your pace against the two-hour limit.
Adjust the pacing to your experience. A technician with years of commissioning work may compress Week 3, while someone newer to IP networking may want extra time before Week 4. For a fuller plan, see CIT Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and use the timed drills at the CIT Exam Prep practice test site to rehearse the pacing described above.
After You Qualify: Validity and Renewal
The credential is valid for 24 months. Renewal requires 24 CEU hours per two-year period, plus an application and fee. The current renewal fee has not been verified, so confirm it with ESA rather than relying on older figures.
If you are weighing the payoff, Is the CIT Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and CIT Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis discuss the career side, and CIT Jobs covers where the credential tends to matter. The credential is aimed at technicians already working in alarm and intrusion roles who want to demonstrate advanced intrusion and networking competence. When you are ready to test yourself, start a session at our practice test hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. CIT Level II is a coursework-and-experience credential. You complete the Advanced Intrusion Systems course, which includes a proctored multiple-choice exam, and the Fundamentals of Networking course, which ends in a 70% terminal quiz. There is no separate standalone CIT examination in the published pathway.
The AIS exam has 50 multiple-choice questions, a two-hour limit and a 70% passing score, and you may use the course manual. These specifications apply to AIS only, not to the networking quiz.
None can be identified. ESA publishes nine AIS topics and seven networking subjects as unweighted course scope, with no item percentages and no ranked largest area. Treat all sixteen as required knowledge.
The ESA FAQ lists a $135 retake fee and a six-month window to complete the exam process. Plan your first attempt to leave room inside that window in case a retake is needed.
Yes. Both required courses must have been completed within the previous five years, alongside an active qualifying Level 1 or higher credential, 24 months of qualifying experience, and a documented certification request. The request itself carries no fee.