What Is CIT Certification?

What CIT Certification Actually Is

Certified Intrusion Technician Level II is a professional credential for electronic security technicians who have moved beyond entry-level alarm work and into more advanced intrusion system design, installation, and troubleshooting. It is issued through the Electronic Security Association (ESA) and its National Training School, and it recognizes a combination of formal coursework and documented field experience.

The most important thing to understand up front is the shape of the credential. Many people searching for it expect a single, high-stakes test with a published blueprint. That is not how this one works. CIT Level II is a coursework-and-experience certification: you complete two required courses, satisfy the prerequisite and work-history requirements, and then submit a documented certification request. There is no separate standalone CIT examination in the published pathway.

Which "CIT" This Is (and Isn't)

The acronym "CIT" is shared by several unrelated credentials across different industries, and search results routinely blur them together. This article, and this site, concern one credential only: Certified Intrusion Technician Level II, administered by ESA for electronic security professionals.

If you are trying to confirm you have the right credential, the markers are straightforward: the issuer is ESA/National Training School, the subject matter is intrusion detection and networking for security systems, and the prerequisite is a Level I-or-higher alarm technician certificate. If you want more on the naming question itself, our explainers on what CIT stands for and what CIT is cover the terminology in detail.

The Two Required Courses at the Core

The Level II credential is built on two additional courses beyond the Level I prerequisite. Keeping the boundary between them clear is essential, because they have different formats, different timing, and different assessments.

Advanced Intrusion Systems (AIS)

AIS is the technical heart of the credential. It carries a proctored multiple-choice examination, and it covers nine published topics: practical application of electronics, practical application of controls, system power, input and output, networking and communication, advanced systems and devices, testing and commissioning, project management, and residential and commercial sensor application.

The online version is 14 instruction hours, and the course page is tagged as revised in 2020. The current live instructor-led course listing runs 16 instruction hours. Treat those as course lengths, not exam timers; the exam itself is a separate two-hour event.

Fundamentals of Networking

The networking course is a four-hour course ending in a short terminal quiz that requires 70% or higher. The public listing does not verify the quiz's question count, item format, or timer, so it would be a mistake to assume it mirrors the AIS exam. It is not described as open-book or proctored in the public material, and you should not infer those traits from AIS.

Who Qualifies: Prerequisites and Work History

CIT Level II is deliberately not an entry point. The current program requires several things working together:

• An active ESA Certified Alarm Technician Level 1 or higher credential (or an accredited equivalent certificate).
• 24 months of verified industry work history, or at least 24 months holding the qualifying Level I credential.
• Completion of both Advanced Intrusion Systems and Fundamentals of Networking within the previous five years.
• A documented certification request with supporting paperwork.

Note that the Level I prerequisite is separate from the two additional courses. Holding Level I does not exempt you from AIS or networking, and completing the courses does not substitute for the Level I credential. The full eligibility picture, including how verification works, is laid out in our CIT requirements guide.

The five-year window is worth noting for planning. If you finish AIS early and then delay the networking course or your certification request, an older course completion can age out. Sequence the courses and the paperwork close together.

How the Testing Works

Because assessment is tied to the courses, the testing experience is different from a conventional certification exam. Required course exams are administered by ESA, using Honorlock and Absorb online proctoring or approved in-person arrangements.

The AIS exam in detail

The official ESA training listing confirms the AIS exam specifications:

• 50 multiple-choice questions
• Two hours to complete
• Open book, using the course manual
• 70% passing score
• A verified proctor for certification or licensing
• A six-month window to complete the exam process

The scored/unscored split and the candidate pass rate are not publicly disclosed. We will not guess at either; if you want to see what the available evidence does and does not support, read our pass rate analysis and the passing score breakdown.

Retakes

The ESA FAQ lists a retake fee of $135, and the six-month testing window applies to the exam process. Confirm current retake handling with ESA when you register, since administrative details can change. Scheduling specifics are covered in our CIT exam dates guide.

The Sixteen Published Topic Areas

The sixteen "domains" used for study organization come from the nine AIS topics and seven networking subjects that ESA publishes for the two required courses. They are an unweighted map of course preparation scope. They are not an official weighted blueprint, not a ranked list, and not an exhaustive inventory of what could appear on a test.

Advanced Intrusion Systems topics

Fundamentals of Networking subjects

The seven networking subjects are: what a network is and what its components are; common network topologies; how networks communicate and share data; storage types used in networked systems; composition of a network cable; how a LAN and WAN function and how they differ; and the steps of troubleshooting network problems.

For technicians who came up through traditional alarm work, this component is often the less familiar one. Intrusion systems increasingly ride on IP infrastructure, which is why the credential pairs advanced intrusion content with networking fundamentals. Our full domains guide walks through each area, and the CIT cheat sheet condenses the must-know facts.

Fees and Registration Mechanics

Pricing depends on membership status and on whether you already hold what you need. The published figures:

The existing-prerequisite route totals are calculated from the individual course prices. The certification request itself carries no fee. For a fuller picture of what to budget, including how the bundle compares with buying courses individually, see the CIT certification cost breakdown.

Staying Certified: Validity and Renewal

The credential is valid for 24 months. To renew, you complete 24 CEU hours per two-year period and submit an application and fee. The current renewal fee has not been verified, so confirm the amount directly with ESA rather than relying on any figure you find secondhand.

Renewal and the prerequisite experience periods are administrative requirements, not exam durations. A common source of confusion is mixing up "24 months" in different contexts: 24 months of work history (a prerequisite), a 24-month validity period (the credential's life), and 24 CEU hours (the renewal requirement). They are three separate things.

Where the Credential Fits in the Industry

CIT Level II signals that a technician can work on more complex intrusion systems than a Level I holder, and that they understand the networking layer those systems depend on. The people most likely to value it are security integrators and alarm dealers who install and service commercial and advanced residential intrusion systems, and monitoring-adjacent firms that need technicians comfortable with networked panels and communicators.

For individual technicians, the credential is a documented step beyond entry level, useful when seeking lead-technician, installer-in-charge, or system-design responsibilities. We cannot cite salary figures for it, because none are verified; our qualitative discussion lives in the CIT salary guide, the CIT jobs overview, and the ROI analysis.

Sequencing Your Preparation

Because the two courses differ in difficulty profile, it helps to order your work deliberately rather than treating all sixteen topics equally. A short, CIT-specific sequence:

Doing networking first is deliberate: the AIS communication topic assumes you already understand how networks move data. When you are ready to rehearse under realistic conditions, our practice tests let you drill each topic area, and our CIT study guide gives a longer plan. If you want to review the training options themselves, start with CIT training, and you can explore additional question sets on the main practice site.

Frequently Asked Questions