What Does CIT Mean?

The Short Answer: What CIT Means Here

On this site, CIT stands for Certified Intrusion Technician Level II. It is an Electronic Security Association (ESA) certification, delivered through the National Training School, that recognizes technicians who have moved beyond entry-level alarm work into advanced intrusion systems and the networking knowledge those systems now depend on.

If you landed here searching for the acronym itself, the quick answer is just that. The rest of this article explains what the title implies, what you must complete to earn it, and how its structure differs from what many people assume when they hear the word "certification." For more variations on the same question, see our pages on what CIT is and what CIT stands for.

Why the Acronym Causes Confusion

"CIT" is a crowded abbreviation. Several unrelated credentials, programs, and organizations in different fields use the same three letters, and search results routinely blend them together. A reader who types "What does CIT mean?" may be looking for any of them.

This article deliberately covers one thing only: the Certified Intrusion Technician Level II credential in the electronic security industry. Its certifying body, fees, requirements, and exam details are specific to ESA and National Training School. If you are comparing information from another source, check that it names ESA and mentions Advanced Intrusion Systems and Fundamentals of Networking. If it does not, it is almost certainly describing something else.

What the Credential Actually Is

The most important thing to understand about CIT Level II is its structure. It is not one standalone exam. There is no single "CIT test" with its own question bank, timer, and score report. Instead, CIT Level II is a coursework-and-experience certification: you hold a qualifying lower-level credential, you have documented industry experience, you complete two required courses, and you submit a certification request with supporting documentation.

That distinction matters for anyone planning their preparation. Questions like "how many questions are on the CIT exam?" or "what is the CIT pass rate?" assume a single instrument that does not exist in the published pathway. Our pages on CIT pass rate and how hard the CIT exam is address this directly: the only published examination figures belong to one course component, and a candidate pass rate is not publicly disclosed.

The current program is an active ESA certification. Its prerequisite is an active ESA Certified Alarm Technician Level 1 credential or a higher ESA or accredited certificate. That Level 1 requirement is separate from the two additional courses you take for Level II.

The Two Required Courses Behind the Name

Everything in CIT Level II rests on two courses, and it helps to keep their boundaries clear from the start.

Advanced Intrusion Systems (AIS)

AIS is the technical heart of the credential. It carries a proctored multiple-choice examination, and it is the only component with published exam specifications:

• 50 multiple-choice questions
• Two hours
• Open book - you may use the course manual
• 70% to pass
• A verified proctor is required for certification or licensing purposes
• A six-month window to complete the exam process

The scored/unscored split on this exam and any candidate pass rate are not publicly disclosed, so any figure you see claiming otherwise should be treated with suspicion. The online AIS course runs 14 instruction hours, and its listing is marked as revised in 2020. A separate live offering of the course is listed at 16 instruction hours. Those are course lengths, not exam timers.

Fundamentals of Networking

The networking course is a four-hour course ending in a terminal quiz that requires 70% or higher. Here the public listing is thinner: the quiz's question count, item format, and numerical timer are not verified. Do not assume it mirrors the AIS exam. The four hours is instruction time, not a quiz length, and nothing published says the networking quiz is open book or proctored in the same way.

The Sixteen Published Topics

ESA publishes nine topics for Advanced Intrusion Systems and seven subjects for Fundamentals of Networking. Together they form sixteen preparation areas. These are course topics, not an official weighted exam blueprint: no percentages, scoring weights, or "largest domain" are published, and the list should not be treated as an exhaustive question inventory. For the full walkthrough, see our complete guide to all 16 CIT content areas.

Notice the progression. The AIS topics move from electrical fundamentals (electronics, controls, power) through signaling (input and output, communication), into system design and delivery (advanced devices, testing and commissioning, project management), and finish with sensor selection for different building types. The networking topics then supply the vocabulary and troubleshooting method for the IP-connected side of those systems.

What the Exam Experience Looks Like

Required course exams are administered by ESA using online proctoring through Honorlock and Absorb, or through approved in-person arrangements. The practical experience depends on which route you take.

For the AIS exam, the open-book rule changes how you should think about preparation. Because you can consult the course manual, the exam rewards candidates who know where to find answers and can apply concepts to scenarios, rather than those who have memorized every figure. Two hours for 50 questions is a comfortable pace for someone who has worked through the material, but not for someone seeing it for the first time and flipping pages hunting for every answer. Our guide on the CIT passing score explains how the 70% threshold applies to the AIS exam.

The question style is multiple choice. Expect items that ask you to apply a topic, such as how a power supply and battery choice affects a system, how an input or output device behaves, or what step comes next in commissioning, rather than purely reciting definitions. Practicing with scenario-based questions at our main practice test site helps you get used to that style.

Who Qualifies and How the Request Works

Because CIT Level II is a coursework-and-experience credential, eligibility is a checklist rather than a single test date. The published pathway requires:

1. An active ESA Certified Alarm Technician Level 1 or higher ESA or accredited certificate.
2. Either 24 months of verified industry work history, or at least 24 months holding the ESA CAT Level 1 credential.
3. Completion of both Advanced Intrusion Systems and Fundamentals of Networking within the previous five years.
4. A documented certification request with supporting documentation.

The five-year window and the 24-month experience period are administrative requirements, not exam durations, and they are easy to misread. The five years limits how old your course completions can be at the time of your request; the 24 months relates to your experience or time holding the Level 1 credential. For a deeper walkthrough of qualifying, see our CIT requirements guide.

Fees and Retakes

The costs depend on whether you need to take both courses or already have prerequisite coursework in place. The certification request itself is free.

ESA's FAQ lists a retake fee of $135 and a six-month testing window. Our CIT certification cost breakdown goes through the pricing in more detail, and it is worth confirming current figures on ESA's course pages before you pay, since pricing can change.

Validity and Renewal

Once earned, CIT Level II is valid for 24 months. To renew, you complete 24 CEU hours per two years and submit a renewal application and fee. The current renewal fee is not verified in the public sources reviewed, so check with ESA before budgeting for it.

The renewal model reinforces what the credential represents: ongoing professional development rather than a one-time exam result. That framing is useful when you weigh the value of the credential, a question we take up in our CIT worth-it analysis.

Where the Credential Fits in the Industry

CIT Level II sits above the entry-level Certified Alarm Technician Level 1 in ESA's progression. It signals that a technician can handle more complex intrusion systems, understands the power, signaling, and sensor decisions behind them, and can work with the networking layer that connects modern panels and devices.

The people who typically care about it are the employers that install and service electronic security systems: alarm and security integrators, dealers, and service companies. For those employers, a Level II credential can be a way to identify technicians ready for more advanced installation, commissioning, and troubleshooting responsibilities, and for some roles to support promotion or expanded scope. No salary figures are published for this credential in the sources reviewed, so we avoid quoting any here; see our CIT salary guide and CIT jobs page for how we frame the role qualitatively.

Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Topics

Rather than a generic study calendar, it makes sense to order your preparation by how the topics build on one another. Electrical foundations come first because later topics assume them; networking can be studied in parallel or after, since it has its own separate quiz.

Because the AIS exam is open book, tab your manual by topic as you go. For a fuller plan, see our CIT study guide, and for a quick refresher near test day, the CIT cheat sheet. When you want to test yourself, the practice tests on our main site let you drill by topic.

Frequently Asked Questions