When does Security+ V8 come out?

No date has been announced. The usual cadence puts it somewhere around November 17, 2026, but that is an estimate from past release patterns and nothing more. These dates move routinely, often by three to six months, so plan on the date you can actually rely on: SY0-701 can be booked through June 11, 2027.

What is changing in the V8 domains?

Draft revision 1.2 keeps the same five domains and moves the weights: General Security Concepts 12 to 16 percent, Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations 22 to 24 percent, Security Architecture 18 to 19 percent, Security Operations 28 to 27 percent, Security Program Management and Oversight 20 to 14 percent. Governance shrinks; the foundational and threat domains grow. Draft objectives change between revisions, so these numbers are a direction of travel and not a blueprint to study against.

Can I study for V8 now?

Not usefully. Drafts get published so that training providers can start building, and CompTIA says outright that a draft may contain issues. There is no V8 exam to sit, no confirmed objective list, and no item bank written against it anywhere. Studying a draft means memorising sentences that can be rewritten before launch. If you want to be certified in the next year, study SY0-701.

Where can I read the V8 draft objectives myself?

CompTIA publishes them free on the exam-objectives-under-development page, no purchase required. It is the only source worth reading on this subject, and every claim on this page is checked against it. The link is at the bottom.

Does passing SY0-701 now become worthless when V8 launches?

No. A CompTIA certification is tied to the certification, not to the exam version you passed. The certificate reads "CompTIA Security+" with no version number on it. It is valid for 3 years from the day you pass, and it renews through continuing education rather than by re-sitting whatever the current exam happens to be. Employers hire against "Security+", never against an exam code.

Exam versions

Security+ SY0-801 (V8): What Is Changing, and What Nobody Knows Yet

CompTIA is working on the next Security+ and calling it Security+ V8. No exam code has been made public. SY0-801 is the code most people assume, because the number has always gone up with each cycle, but an assumption is all it is, and this page will keep saying so until CompTIA says otherwise. Below are the draft domain weights, then a split between what has been confirmed and what is being guessed at. After that, what all of it means for the exam you were about to book.

Last verified September 15, 2026

Where this stands

A new Security+ is real and in development. The code and the launch date are both unpublished, and the objectives are still a draft. Meanwhile SY0-701 can still be booked until June 11, 2027, and the certificate you earn does not carry a version number. It is valid for 3 years, whichever exam you take. So there is nothing here that is a reason to delay booking. The full 701-or-801 reasoning is here.

Draft domain weights

Draft revision 1.2 keeps the same five domains but moves how much each one is worth. Governance loses the most. The foundational and threat domains gain. These are draft figures and they have moved between revisions before.

Security+ domain weights, SY0-701 compared with the Security+ V8 draft revision 1.2
Domain	SY0-701	V8 draft	Change
1.0 General Security Concepts	12%	16%	up 4
2.0 Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations	22%	24%	up 2
3.0 Security Architecture	18%	19%	up 1
4.0 Security Operations	28%	27%	down 1
5.0 Security Program Management and Oversight	20%	14%	down 6

Read off CompTIA draft revision 1.2. Draft objectives change between revisions, so treat these as a direction of travel rather than a study plan.

What is confirmed, and what is not

Confirmed by CompTIA

A new version is coming: CompTIA lists "Security+ V8" on its published exams-under-development page. That much is official.
Draft objectives revision 1.2 is public: Free, no purchase, downloadable. Drafts get published after the job task analysis, in order to give training providers something to start building against.
SY0-701 can be booked until June 11, 2027: This is the one date on the page you can plan around. It is also the reason the answer to "should I wait" is no.

Not confirmed by anyone

The exam code is SY0-801: Not published. It is the obvious next number and what everyone searches, but CompTIA has not said it, and any page telling you otherwise is guessing too.
A launch date: No announcement. Past cadence suggests somewhere around November 17, 2026. These dates move regularly, historically by three to six months.
The final objectives: A draft is a draft. CompTIA says in its own words that draft objectives "may contain minor issues", and revision 1.2 is not the last one.

What this means for your study plan

A Security+ revision rewrites and reweights. It does not replace. All five domains survive into the draft with the same subjects, and a large share of objectives carry over with new wording. Which is why the sensible move is to study the exam that exists, and why our Lifetime plan includes the Security+ V8 update free and carries your progress across objectives rather than resetting it.

One thing is worth doing early, and it is the material that is new in the draft and already very real in the job: AI security, meaning prompt injection, model poisoning, and AI-assisted phishing. We teach it now as bonus material alongside SY0-701, because it is worth knowing whether or not CompTIA examines it.

Security+ V8 FAQ

Is SY0-801 the real exam code for the next Security+?
Not confirmed. The exams-under-development page lists the next Security+ as "Security+ V8" and gives no exam code for it. Most people assume and search SY0-801, because the number has always gone up with each cycle, but until CompTIA publishes it that is a pattern rather than a fact. Treat any site stating SY0-801 as confirmed with caution, including the ones ranking for it.
When does Security+ V8 come out?
No date has been announced. The usual cadence puts it somewhere around November 17, 2026, but that is an estimate from past release patterns and nothing more. These dates move routinely, often by three to six months, so plan on the date you can actually rely on: SY0-701 can be booked through June 11, 2027.
What is changing in the V8 domains?
Draft revision 1.2 keeps the same five domains and moves the weights: General Security Concepts 12 to 16 percent, Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations 22 to 24 percent, Security Architecture 18 to 19 percent, Security Operations 28 to 27 percent, Security Program Management and Oversight 20 to 14 percent. Governance shrinks; the foundational and threat domains grow. Draft objectives change between revisions, so these numbers are a direction of travel and not a blueprint to study against.
Can I study for V8 now?
Not usefully. Drafts get published so that training providers can start building, and CompTIA says outright that a draft may contain issues. There is no V8 exam to sit, no confirmed objective list, and no item bank written against it anywhere. Studying a draft means memorising sentences that can be rewritten before launch. If you want to be certified in the next year, study SY0-701.
Where can I read the V8 draft objectives myself?
CompTIA publishes them free on the exam-objectives-under-development page, no purchase required. It is the only source worth reading on this subject, and every claim on this page is checked against it. The link is at the bottom.
Does passing SY0-701 now become worthless when V8 launches?
No. A CompTIA certification is tied to the certification, not to the exam version you passed. The certificate reads "CompTIA Security+" with no version number on it. It is valid for 3 years from the day you pass, and it renews through continuing education rather than by re-sitting whatever the current exam happens to be. Employers hire against "Security+", never against an exam code.

The source

Everything here is checked against CompTIA's own exams-under-development page, which hosts the draft objectives free. Read it yourself. Last verified September 15, 2026.

Study the exam that exists

SecPlus Mastery covers every SY0-701 objective and has over 1,000 practice questions in the PBQ style. Spaced review is what tells you when you are actually ready. Domain 1 is free, and Lifetime includes the Security+ V8 update at no charge.

Start free with Domain 1 See plans

New accounts get 50% off both plans for 7 days: the 90-Day Pass is $19.50 instead of $39.

CompTIA and Security+ are trademarks of CompTIA, used here for identification only. SecPlus Mastery is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by CompTIA. Draft objective information is CompTIA's and is subject to change before launch.