Re: Cissp endorsment delays

Khalig

Hi dear community,

I passed the CISSP exam on October 30, 2025, and I have completed and submitted all required endorsement information. It has now been six weeks since submission.

Completing the endorsement process before the end of this year is very important for me, as achieving the CISSP certification this year is a key requirement related to my performance goals at my company. I also need to be able to inform my employer about the certification status before year-end.

I would greatly appreciate any advice, guidance, or support you can share that might help expedite or better understand the endorsement process. Any help, even small suggestions, would be highly appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance.

nkeaton

@Khalig Congratulations on passing your exam. Unfortunately especially during US holidays, 6 weeks is not unusual. I would submit your pass report to your supervisor and explain the process. Even if your endorsement was done today, your certificate would be the first of the next full month although your official date will be when everything is completed on ISC2’s end. Endorsement feels like it takes forever anyway. On my first ISC2 exam, I passed it in December. My endorsement was completed in January; so my actual certification was then, but my certificate shows February 1.

Khalig

Thank you responce and advice

nkeaton

@Khalig Welcome. At least we get immediate results now rather than waiting for that. I have 2 ISC2 certifications that did not require endorsement but still had to go through the process to accept the code of ethics. Both took over 4 weeks to complete. My employer reimburses with just the print out showing the passing of the exam. I often work as a mediator as part of my job between employees and their supervisors on certification issues. So I feel that there is an easy solution as long as your employer is educated about the process. Best wishes and holidays.

dcontesti

It might be best for you to reach out to management to see what is happening.

You can email:

https://isc2.org/contact-us

Or phone

https://www.isc2.org/contact-us

The normal processing time is 4 - 6 weeks, however, in the US they had Thanksgiving (November) and a number of folks take time off to be with family and friends AND now the Christmas Holidays are upon us (another time that folks take time).

We can ask one of the admins @Kaity to chime in on the current processing time.

Best

d

Kaity

Hi all,

Yes - it's 4-6 weeks for processing any certification application. @dcontesti is correct that our offices were closed for 2 days at Thanksgiving and we are actually closed now for the Christmas holiday. I'm just checking in 😉

The team worked very hard to get through as many applications as possible before the closure, as they know they'll continue to come in during the break and they'll have to catch up again in January.

Our office re-open on Friday, January 2. You can always email Programs@isc2.org for a direct line to the team that reviews applications.

ethanzbaker

You should really publish that the Christmas holiday is a closure and impacts timelines. I passed ISSEP Dec 6, and a colleague did so on Dec 3. His certification was approved Dec 19, but mine took until Jan 2. Because my original CISSP was 15 years ago, it was virtually zero work for an approver to find 2 ISSEP-domain years of experience in the 15 since CISSP. Clearly, work stopped after Dec 19, but the stated 6-week allowance before contacting support does not mention holidays or shut downs. In my case, the approval was still achieved within those 6 weeks, but for person above waiting on CISSP, that soft expectation was breached. This is not the fault of the candidate. Changes in expected timelines should be clearly stated ahead of time. Maintaining reviewer/approver staffing isn't the candidates' responsibility.

nkeaton

@ethanzbaker When I took my ISSEP, ISC2 was still treating it like a concentration. I only went into endorsement to accept the code of ethics. It still took just over a month to get my approval. So I feel that they check each one independently of other ones. On my ISSMP afterwards, I did need endorsement and also took about a month. Congratulations on passing yours.

Kaity

Hi all,

As mentioned on some other threads, the certification application process is 4-6 weeks for everyone, regardless of if you hold an ISC2 certification already or not.

Our office is always closed on the weekends. We were also closed entirely on Christmas Day and December 26. A limited staff was working the rest of the weekdays in December. January 1 was a holiday and we returned to business as usual on the 2nd.

I'm glad you received your approval - congratulations!

Khalig

Hi @Kaity ,
Thank you for the information. However, I am still awaiting approval.