FCTC Scoring — Passing, Retaking and How Long a Score Lasts
Seventy per cent passes. The score lasts one year, only your most recent one counts, and you may retake the test as often as you like as long as you leave thirty days between attempts.
- Passing score
- 70%
- Score valid for
- One year from the test date
- Retest limit
- Not more than once in 30 days
- Results available
- Within five business days
Passing is the floor, not the finish
FCTC sets the passing score at 70%. But departments each decide their own passing grade for their own hiring, so clearing FCTC's bar and clearing the bar at the department you want are two different things.
That is why the marks worth chasing are the ones you are currently dropping for an avoidable reason — a ratio inverted, a unit not converted, a detail you never attached to a name.
Retaking, and which score counts
You can take the FCTC written test as many times as you like, but not more than once in any thirty-day period. Only your most recent score is considered by FCTC and by hiring agencies — so a retake replaces what you had rather than adding to it, in both directions.
Scores are posted to your FCTC profile and made available to hiring agencies within five business days of the test, usually sooner.
How long it lasts
One year from the date you took it. If you take the test again before it expires, the newer score is the one that counts.
Fees are not refundable, and a fee is forfeited if you do not attend or do not take the test within twelve months of paying. If cost is a barrier, FCTC points candidates to a California Fire Foundation program that can cover the fees for both the written test and the CPAT.
Sources
- FCTC — Frequently Asked Questions: The FCTC Written Test · checked 2026-08-22