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LPI Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the purpose of the Linux Professional Institute?

LPI shall promote and certify essential skills on Linux and Open Source technologies through the global delivery of comprehensive, top quality, vendor-independent exams.

2. Why is a certification program needed for Linux?

  • reate industry recognition
  • Provide an organizational path for students
  • Provide an organizational mechanism for training centers
  • Enhance marketing
  • Counter the "no-support" argument
  • Turn students into advocates
  • Provide other means of employment for Linux skilled individuals
  • Recruit new Linux users
  • Assist in the hiring process

The easiest way to gain corporate, governmental, and institutional support and usage of Linux is to ensure that there is a recognized support system in place. This includes professionally accredited support services and an industry recognized skills standard. A widely-recognized Linux certification ensures that IT professionals have a means of demonstrating their Linux skills to potential employers while assuring customers that they are receiving support services from highly skilled and knowledgeable professionals.

3. What are the benefits of Linux certification?

  • Establishes your competence for well-defined Linux-related functions
  • Easily demonstrates your competence to a potential contractor or employer
  • Certification helps you set out and follow a career path
  • LPI certification is developed from within the Linux community, by your peers, and gives you the opportunity to help develop the certification standards and exams.

 4. How many tests does it take to be certified?

The answer depends on how many levels of LPI certification you intend to pursue. There are currently 2 exams for the first level (LPIC-1) and 2 exams for the second (LPIC-2). LPIC-3 only requires one exam--however, it does have two specialty designations: "Mixed Environment" (LPI-302) and "Security" (LPI-303)

5. How are the test scores computed? How many questions do I need to answer correctly to pass? What is the maximum score? How good is my score of ...?

As of April 1, 2009, all exam weights for LPI exams have been standardized to 60 weights. The 301 exam is a current exception with 50 weights.

Regardless of weight totals each exam score is between 200 and 800. A passing score is 500. However, the number of correct questions required to achieve a score of 500 varies with the overall difficulty of the specific exam that is taken.

The number of questions on the exam is also tied to the total of the weights of the objectives on the exam. With a total weight count of 60, the exam will have 60 questions. For each weighting, there will be one question. For example, if an objective has a weight of 4, there will be 4 questions on the exam related to the objective.

6. How long will it take for LPI to send out my certificate once I've passed?

The total time to receive your certificate once you've been notified that you have passed an exam is between 2 to 5 weeks. It will take approximately 1-2 weeks for processing and up to an additional 3 weeks for international mail delivery. Please note, however, that it is critical that you notify LPI if you change mailing addresses during this time.

7. Do LPI certifications expire? 

Once a person is certified by LPI and receives a certification designation (LPIC-1, LPIC-2, LPIC-3), recertification is recommended after two years from the date of the certification designation to retain a current certification status. However, to RETAIN an ACTIVE certification status, a certification holder is REQUIRED to recertify within 5 years of the certification designation.

Recertification requires that the individual candidate passes all up-to-date exams that are only required for the highest earned certification designation. After successful recertification, the designation status will be updated to ACTIVE for a period of FIVE years.

When a higher level certification designation is earned, the status of all lower level designations are considered ACTIVE for FIVE years from the date of the higher level certification designation. However, candidates who do not recertify and allow their certification status to lapse will be required to earn their current and all lower level certification designations, should they subsequently pursue reactivating their certification status.

The addition of the designation status of ACTIVE or INACTIVE into the LPI database began on September 1, 2004. Certification designations (LPIC-1, LPIC-2, etc.) earned before that date will be subject to the recertification stipulations as outlined above. Therefore all certification designations earned before September 1, 2004 will no longer be considered 'lifetime' designations and instead will only have ACTIVE status from FIVE years from the date of certification designation. However, certification designations earned prior to September 1, 2003 will be considered ACTIVE certifications until September 1, 2008.

8. What is the policy with regards to the retaking of Exams?

  • Anyone who takes an LPI exam once must wait one week before re-taking.
  • Anyone who takes an LPI exam a second (and subsequent) time must wait 90 days before re-taking.
  • Anyone who passes an LPI exam may not retake that exam for at least two years.