You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
ISTQBCertified Tester Performance Testing
The ISTQB® Certified Tester Performance Testing (CT-PT) certification validates your ability to plan, design, and execute performance tests that reveal how systems behave under load. It is for testers and performance engineers who want to master the technical, method-based, and organizational aspects of performance testing. Earning it demonstrates you can turn performance risks and goals into measurable, actionable results that protect business-critical applications.
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration90 minutes
DeliveryISTQB Member Boards
Passing score26 out of 40
Free questions572
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What Certified Tester Performance Testing proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
5domains
22objectives
122concepts
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The ISTQB® Certified Tester Performance Testing (CT-PT) certification provides comprehensive knowledge of performance testing, covering technical, method-based, and organizational aspects. It equips you to understand basic concepts, define performance risks and goals, collect and analyze metrics, and design and execute performance tests that meet stakeholder expectations.
This certification goes beyond theory: you will learn how to plan performance tests, use load generation concepts, identify common failure modes, and report results effectively. It also covers how performance testing fits into the software lifecycle and how to select and use performance testing tools. By earning CT-PT, you demonstrate a professional-level understanding of performance testing that is recognized worldwide.
Who it’s for
The Performance Testing certification is aimed at anyone involved in software testing who wishes to broaden their knowledge of performance testing or who wishes to start a specialist career in performance testing. It is also designed for anyone involved in performance engineering who wants to gain a better understanding of performance testing. This certification is ideal for testers, test analysts, performance testers, and performance engineers who want to deepen their expertise in performance testing and contribute more effectively to their teams.
Recommended experience
While there is no formal experience requirement beyond holding the CTFL certificate, a background in software testing and familiarity with performance testing concepts is beneficial. Understanding of fundamental software testing concepts; Basic knowledge of performance testing principles; Familiarity with performance testing tools and metrics
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective ISTQB measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official ISTQB exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
Basic Concepts
- Principles of Performance Testing
- Types of Performance Testing
- Static testing
- Dynamic testing
- The Concept of Load Generation
- Common Performance Efficiency Failure Modes and Their Causes
Performance Measurement Fundamentals
- Why Performance Metrics are Needed
- Collecting Performance Measurements and Metrics
- Selecting Performance Metrics
- Aggregating Results from Performance Testing
- Key Sources of Performance Metrics
- Typical Results of a Performance Test
Performance Testing in the Software Lifecycle
- Principal Performance Testing Activities
- Categories of Performance Risks for Different Architectures
- Performance Risks Across the Software Development Lifecycle
- Performance Testing Activities
Performance Testing Tasks
- Planning
- Implementation
- Execution
- Analysis and Reporting
Tools
- Tool Support
- Tool Suitability
On the day
The exam itself
Everything ISTQB publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
Hold the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certificate.
CertificationCertified Tester Performance Testing
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration90 minutes
Questions40 questions
Passing score26 out of 40
DeliveryISTQB Member Boards
LanguagesEnglish, Non-native language support available (+25% time)
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path ISTQB lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to Certified Tester Performance Testing
PrerequisiteHold the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certificate.
Credential earnedCertified Tester Performance Testing Certification Renewal and maintenance
ISTQB certifications do not require renewal except for Expert Level. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. ISTQB maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by ISTQB
Exam registration
Register for the exam through ISTQB Member Boards, ISTQB’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official ISTQB certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How does CT-PT relate to the Foundation Level certification?
CT-PT is a Specialist level certification that builds on the Foundation Level. You must hold the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certificate to be eligible for CT-PT.
Is there a hands-on or lab component in the CT-PT exam?
No, the CT-PT exam is a multiple-choice exam with 40 questions. There is no hands-on or lab component.
What is the retake policy for the CT-PT exam?
ISTQB exam retake policies are set by each Member Board or exam provider. Please contact your local ISTQB Member Board or exam provider for specific retake rules and waiting periods.
What job roles does the CT-PT certification map to?
The CT-PT certification is relevant for software testers, performance testers, performance engineers, and anyone involved in performance testing or performance engineering who wants to validate their skills.
Can I recertify by passing a different ISTQB exam?
ISTQB certifications do not require renewal except for Expert Level. However, you may choose to pursue other Core, Agile, or Specialist stream certifications to broaden your skills.
Are there regional differences in how the CT-PT exam is delivered?
Yes, the CT-PT exam is delivered by ISTQB Member Boards and their accredited exam providers. Availability, pricing, and delivery options may vary by region. Please contact your local Member Board for details.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 572 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept ISTQB measures — each one written out.
5domains
22objectives
122concepts
124free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official ISTQB exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Basic Concepts144 questions
Principles of Performance Testing6 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Types of Performance Testing9 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Static testing5 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Dynamic testing3 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →The Concept of Load Generation5 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Common Performance Efficiency Failure Modes and Their Causes3 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →
2Performance Measurement Fundamentals158 questions
Why Performance Metrics are Needed4 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Collecting Performance Measurements and Metrics6 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Selecting Performance Metrics7 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Aggregating Results from Performance Testing7 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Key Sources of Performance Metrics6 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Typical Results of a Performance Test4 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →
3Performance Testing in the Software Lifecycle108 questions
4Performance Testing Tasks114 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
Principles of Performance Testing6 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
30 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
572 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
572questions
124pages
22objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Basic Concepts144 questions
2Performance Measurement Fundamentals158 questions
3Performance Testing in the Software Lifecycle108 questions
4Performance Testing Tasks114 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
122concepts
572free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from ISTQB
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
2official links
122concepts mapped
The source
ISTQB’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official ISTQB outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 22 objectives, 122 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When ISTQB changes the outline, this page changes with it.
22objectives on the outline→122concepts written→572free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.