- Passing Score vs. Pass Rate: Two Different Numbers
- What Is Actually Verified About This Exam
- The One Published Cohort: 18 of 18 Passed
- Why a Single National Pass Rate Is Hard to Publish
- What Really Drives Outcomes: The 14 Topic Areas
- Allen Bradley vs. Siemens: Separate Records
- Using Practice Scores as Your Own Data
- Cost, Eligibility and Career Context
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The 70% score needed to pass is a threshold, not a pass rate; no current issuer-wide pass rate was verified.
- The only published cohort found: 18 external UBC Okanagan learners took the Siemens exam and all 18 passed.
- That cohort was self-selected, Siemens-only and historical, so it cannot stand in for Allen Bradley or current results.
- Virginia lists 50 test items per platform exam, school-administered online, with instructor-determined timing and no cost per test.
Passing Score vs. Pass Rate: Two Different Numbers
Search for the Fundamentals of PLCs exam pass rate and you will find plenty of pages that blur two very different ideas. The first is the passing score: the minimum result an individual candidate must earn. For this Festo/NC3 credential, the requirement is an exam score of at least 70%. The second is the pass rate: the share of all candidates who actually clear that bar. They answer different questions, and confusing them leads to bad planning.
If you want the threshold itself in detail, see our breakdown of the FPABS passing score. This article is about the other number, and the honest answer is that the data is thin. We will show you exactly what exists, what does not, and how to turn that gap into a sensible preparation strategy.
What Is Actually Verified About This Exam
This credential sits within the Festo Industry Certification Program (FICP), Level 1 Fundamentals, and is administered through the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) via participating institutions and NC3Certs. Before looking at any outcome data, it helps to pin down what the exam record actually says.
| Item | What the sources support |
|---|---|
| Governing body | Festo (Festo Industry Certification Program, Level 1 Fundamentals) |
| Administering partner | NC3, through participating institutions and NC3Certs |
| Passing score | At least 70% |
| Virginia-listed format | 50 test items per platform exam, school-administered online, instructor-determined timing |
| Virginia-listed test cost | No cost per test |
| NC3 student certification charge | US$0 (training tuition and institutional charges remain separate) |
| Issuer-wide pass rate | Not verified |
| Fixed national written-exam timer | Not verified |
Notice what is missing: a current, issuer-published pass rate and a single national exam clock. Timing is set locally by the school, and proctoring and open-book or closed-book allowances vary by exam and institution. Those local rules apply to the testing environment and should not be generalized from instructor policies to student policies.
The One Published Cohort: 18 of 18 Passed
The only concrete outcome figure in the sources we reviewed comes from an academic paper: Dean Richert, Lisa Marshall and Greg James, Design and Implementation of an Industry 4.0 Micro-Credential Program (CEEA-ACÉG 2023, Paper 111). It reports that 18 external learners chose the NC3 Fundamentals of PLCs (Siemens) exam following early-2021 training at UBC Okanagan, and all 18 passed.
It is tempting to read that as a 100% pass rate and stop there. Don't. Consider what the data cannot tell you:
- It is self-selected. These learners chose to sit the exam after completing a structured micro-credential program. People who opt in after training are not a random sample of all candidates.
- It is Siemens only. Nothing in that study speaks to the Allen Bradley exam.
- It is historical. The cohort trained in early 2021, under a special COVID-era arrangement involving temporary certificates followed by physical lab completion. That does not establish current simulation-only eligibility or any current renewal rule.
- It is small. Eighteen people is an encouraging anecdote, not a statistical foundation.
- Program details are not exam specs. The course contact hours and historical attempt limits described there should not be read as current exam specifications.
Key Takeaway
Treat the 18-of-18 result as evidence that well-prepared, instructor-supported learners can succeed on the Siemens exam, not as a promise about your odds. Your preparation matters more than any cohort statistic.
Why a Single National Pass Rate Is Hard to Publish
Several structural features of how this credential is delivered explain why a clean headline number does not exist in the verified record.
Delivery runs through schools
Exams are school-administered and proctored by the participating institution. Timing is instructor-determined. Two schools can run the same 50-item exam under noticeably different conditions, so aggregating results across them is not apples to apples.
Training comes first
Candidates are expected to complete training with an actively NC3-certified instructor using required equipment, finish all hands-on labs, and then reach at least 70% on the exam. Because eligibility is gated by training, the pool of people who sit the exam is already filtered. A school that only registers confident students will report a different rate than one that registers everyone enrolled.
Two platforms, separate records
Allen Bradley and Siemens each have their own examination record. Virginia lists them separately, each with 50 items. They are not one combined 100-question test, and a blended pass figure would obscure real differences between them.
No recertification for students
Student recertification is not required, which removes one source of repeat-testing data that might otherwise have generated ongoing statistics.
For a broader view of how demanding candidates tend to find the material, read our guide on how hard the FPABS exam is, and for the minimum bar itself see the FPABS requirements article.
What Really Drives Outcomes: The 14 Topic Areas
If a published pass rate is unavailable, the most useful data you have is the issuer's own preparation curriculum. Festo's documentation for both platforms (Allen Bradley, document 272391; Siemens, document 272390; both EN 2025.09) publishes the same fourteen preparation-topic headings. These are unweighted curriculum topics, not a verified formal exam blueprint, so no percentage weights are assigned here. Treat all fourteen as fair game.
Foundations: Relays, Sections and Design
Control relays, basic design and operation, and the three PLC sections (input, logic, output) form the conceptual base.
- Know how relay logic maps to PLC logic and why PLCs replaced relay panels.
- Be able to describe how input, logic and output sections interact.
- Understand basic design and operation before touching programming.
I/O and Memory
Input types (discrete, analog, digital), output types (discrete, analog, digital) and memory types (ROM and RAM).
- Distinguish discrete from analog signals with real field-device examples.
- Explain what ROM holds versus what RAM holds during operation.
- Match a sensor or actuator to the right I/O type.
Logic Processing and Programming
Logic processing (addressing and scanning), programming techniques and Boolean functions (identity, AND/OR/NOT circuits).
- Trace a scan cycle: read inputs, execute logic, update outputs.
- Read ladder logic and translate between ladder rungs and Boolean expressions.
- Work AND, OR and NOT truth tables from memory.
- Understand addressing conventions on your chosen platform, Allen Bradley or Siemens.
Numbering Systems
Decimal, binary, octal, hexadecimal and ASCII conversions.
- Practice conversions until they are automatic; they are quick points when you are fluent and a time sink when you are not.
- Know where each numbering system shows up in PLC addressing and data handling.
Connectivity and Troubleshooting
Communication protocols, networks, HMI integration and basic troubleshooting using a PLC as a troubleshooting tool.
- Describe how a PLC communicates with other devices and how networks tie a system together.
- Explain what an HMI does and how it connects to the controller.
- Use PLC status and diagnostics to isolate a fault rather than guessing.
For a content-area-by-content-area walk-through, see FPABS exam domains: all 14 content areas. The practical point for pass-rate thinking: candidates rarely fail because of one exotic question. They fail because they left one or two of these areas soft. Numbering systems and scan-cycle reasoning are classic soft spots because they feel mechanical until you are asked to apply them under time pressure.
Allen Bradley vs. Siemens: Separate Records
Because the two exams are separate, your preparation should be platform-labelled from day one. The shared fourteen topics cover the same concepts, but addressing conventions, instruction naming and software environments differ by manufacturer. Study examples labelled for your platform, and do not assume that a screenshot or instruction from one vendor transfers to the other.
| Aspect | Allen Bradley | Siemens |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation document | Festo document 272391, EN 2025.09 | Festo document 272390, EN 2025.09 |
| Preparation topics | Same fourteen headings | Same fourteen headings |
| Curriculum components | 6 units, 5 labs, 1 project | 6 units, 5 labs, 1 project |
| Virginia-listed items | 50 | 50 |
| Only published cohort data found | None | 18 of 18 passed (historical, self-selected) |
The EN 2025.09 label identifies the curriculum publication, not an exam-form release and not a PLC software version. Do not infer a required programming-software release from older legacy material, such as the earlier combined PLC Technology I guide. Prefer the current separate fourteen-topic sheets.
Using Practice Scores as Your Own Data
Since no authoritative pass rate exists, build your own evidence. A practice test is a cheap way to generate data about your readiness, and you can try ours at the main practice test site. Instead of asking "what percentage of people pass," ask "how consistently do I clear 70% across all fourteen topics?"
A short, FPABS-specific schedule for turning scores into decisions:
Concepts that everything else leans on
- Control relays, PLC sections, and basic design and operation.
- Take a short diagnostic and record which topics fall below 70%.
The mechanical topics
- Numbering systems and Boolean functions, drilled daily with conversions and truth tables.
- I/O types and ROM versus RAM, tied to real devices.
Scanning, addressing and programming
- Trace scan cycles and practice ladder logic on your platform's conventions.
Systems and diagnosis
- Communication protocols, networks, HMI integration and PLC-assisted troubleshooting.
- Retest every weak topic and confirm you clear 70% across the board.
This sequencing is deliberate: concepts first, mechanical fluency second, application third, systems last. The full approach is laid out in our FPABS study guide, and the FPABS cheat sheet is a handy final-week review.
Key Takeaway
Your personal pass rate is the only one you control. If you consistently score comfortably above 70% on every one of the fourteen topics, you have done more to protect your result than any published statistic could.
Cost, Eligibility and Career Context
Pass-rate questions usually come bundled with "is it worth it" questions, so a few grounded facts help. NC3 lists a student certification charge of US$0, and Virginia lists no cost per test. That does not mean the path is free: training tuition and institutional charges are separate. As one example, Virginia Western's bundled PLC and Sensors course, which covers Allen Bradley PLCs and Sensor Technology (not the Siemens branch), lists estimated tuition of US$999, including online resources, lab equipment, software and the credentialing exam, plus a local Electricity prerequisite. Its own pages are inconsistent on duration, saying eight weeks in the introduction and four weeks in the cost table. That tuition is not a Siemens exam fee, and the prerequisite is not universal Festo eligibility. See our FPABS certification cost breakdown for the full picture.
On the career side, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a May 2025 median annual wage of US$73,900 for electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians. That is occupational pay for the broader field, not a salary tied to this certificate and not a measured certification premium. For a careful discussion, see the ROI analysis and the salary guide. If you are weighing it against other routes, note that Rockwell Automation and Siemens run their own separate certificate and badge programs, which are different paths rather than replacements for this credential.
Frequently Asked Questions
No current issuer-wide pass rate was verified for the Festo/NC3 Fundamentals of PLCs exams. The only published cohort found reported that all 18 external UBC Okanagan learners who chose the Siemens exam passed, but that group was self-selected and historical.
No. The 70% figure is the minimum score an individual needs to pass. A pass rate would describe what share of all candidates reach that score, and that figure has not been published at the issuer level.
No. That cohort took the Siemens exam only, and it reflects a specific early-2021 training program. It says nothing about Allen Bradley outcomes or current results.
Virginia lists 50 test items for each platform exam, delivered online by the school, with timing determined by the instructor. No fixed national timer was verified, and the two platforms are separate exams rather than one combined test.
Be skeptical of any precise percentage without a primary source. Check the figure against the issuer's published materials and our pass rate overview, and focus on mastering all fourteen curriculum topics.
If you take one idea from the data, make it this: the absence of a headline pass rate is not a reason to worry, it is a reason to prepare on the things you can measure. Master the fourteen topics, confirm you clear 70% on a platform-matched practice test, and check the logistics in our guides to exam dates and scheduling and training options.