- What the Published Data Actually Says
- Why ETA Does Not Publish a Cohort Pass Rate
- The Hard Numbers You Can Verify
- What the 75% Cut Score Means in Practice
- Who Sits for the Basic STS Exam
- Where Candidates Lose Points: A Domain-by-Domain Read
- Retake Policy and Its Effect on Your Odds
- Test-Day Conditions That Affect Results
- Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Domains
- Frequently Asked Questions
- ETA International has not publicly disclosed a verified Basic STS candidate-cohort pass rate in the sources reviewed.
- The verified passing score is 75% on a 75-80 question, two-hour written knowledge exam.
- One free eligible retake is available within one year of your first exam session.
- The exam draws on 12 competency domains, and ETA publishes no percentage weights for them.
What the Published Data Actually Says
Anyone searching for the Smart Technology Systems pass rate wants a single number: what percentage of candidates pass on the first try. The honest answer is that no verified, STS-specific candidate-cohort success rate appears in the official sources reviewed for this article. ETA International, the body that governs the Basic STS certification, does not publish one on its STS program page, its certification catalog, its FAQ, or its testing-policy pages.
That gap matters because the web is full of confident-sounding pass-rate claims for credentials that share the "STS" acronym. Those figures belong to other programs and have no bearing on the ETA Smart Technology Systems exam. This article deliberately avoids borrowing any of them. What follows is a data-driven look at everything that is verifiable, so you can estimate your own odds from the structure of the exam rather than from a made-up statistic.
Why ETA Does Not Publish a Cohort Pass Rate
Several structural reasons plausibly explain the absence of a published rate, though ETA has not stated them. These are observations about how the program is built, not claims about ETA's intent.
- Stand-alone, open-door design. Basic STS does not require ETA membership, an Associate CET, a degree, or fixed training hours. A candidate pool with no gatekeeping is highly heterogeneous, which makes a single pass-rate figure a poor predictor for any individual.
- Distributed testing. The exam is delivered through ETA Certification Administrators, either in person (Trapeza online testing or paper and pencil) or via remote proctoring through ExamRoom.AI. Results are spread across many sites and proctors.
- Competency-referenced scoring. ETA states that exam questions derive from its published competencies. The standard is a fixed 75% cut score against those objectives, not a curve that forces a target pass percentage.
The practical conclusion: you are being measured against a fixed standard, not against other candidates. That is good news for a well-prepared technician, because your result depends on what you know, not on how the rest of the cohort performs. If you want to gauge difficulty qualitatively, read How Hard Is the STS Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
The Hard Numbers You Can Verify
While a pass rate is unavailable, the exam's mechanics are well documented. This table collects the figures that ETA publishes, which are the real inputs to any realistic estimate of your chances.
| Exam Factor | Verified Detail |
|---|---|
| Governing body | ETA International |
| Testing provider | ETA Certification Administrators |
| Exam fee | USD 105 |
| Question count | 75-80 questions (published range; exact core count and scored/unscored split not publicly specified) |
| Time allowed | 2 hours |
| Format | Proctored written knowledge exam, online or on paper |
| Hands-on component | None required |
| Passing score | 75% |
| Free retake | One eligible retake within one year of the first exam session |
| Remote proctoring surcharge | USD 16 for two-hour remote proctoring |
| Certification term | Four years, with maintenance required |
Notice what is missing: ETA does not publish a precise question count, so do not trust any source that claims an exact number. The documented range of 75 to 80 is the most you can responsibly say. For a full cost picture, including the half-price core exam when paired with an endorsement, see STS Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
What the 75% Cut Score Means in Practice
The 75% passing score is the single most useful number for estimating your odds. Because the exact scored-question count is not publicly specified, avoid converting 75% into a precise number of correct answers. You can reason in proportions instead: roughly three out of every four scored items must be answered correctly, which leaves a margin of about one in four for misses.
For a closer look at how the threshold works, including what is and is not specified about scoring, see STS Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Who Sits for the Basic STS Exam
The competency document highly recommends prior certification in areas such as CAT, DCI, DVE, FOI, FOT, FOT-OSP, or TTT, but these are recommendations rather than mandatory prerequisites. ETA's Credly badge describes the audience as practicing technicians and requires acceptance of the ETA Code of Conduct, without quantifying a minimum experience level.
This tells you something about likely outcomes even without a pass rate. The candidate pool plausibly includes:
- Low-voltage and structured-cabling technicians who already pull and terminate cable daily.
- Security, surveillance, and home-theater installers moving toward smart-home work.
- Newer technicians with limited field exposure who are attempting the credential cold.
Candidates with field experience in wiring and installation tend to have a natural advantage in several domains, while those newer to the trade must build that background deliberately. Review STS Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify to see exactly what is and is not required before you register.
Where Candidates Lose Points: A Domain-by-Domain Read
ETA publishes 12 top-level competency domains and no percentage weights. Without weights, the sensible strategy is to assess your personal risk in each area. The blocks below group the 12 domains by the kind of knowledge they demand and flag where technicians commonly have uneven preparation. These are reasoned observations about the content, not statistics.
Domains 1, 2, and 6: Safety, Industry Standards, and Electrical Basics
These are foundational knowledge areas that reward memorization of rules and definitions as much as field skill.
- Experienced installers sometimes know the practice but not the standard's terminology.
- Electrical Basics rewards precise understanding of low-voltage fundamentals rather than rough familiarity.
Domains 3, 4, and 5: Low Voltage Wiring and Wireless Communication Technologies, Cabling - Connectorization, and Pre-wiring
This cluster covers the physical layer of a smart-home install.
- Field technicians usually do well here, but the wireless side of Domain 3 can trip up cabling specialists.
- Connectorization questions often hinge on correct technique and component identification.
- Pre-wiring tests planning knowledge that you apply before drywall, which is easy to underweight if you mostly do retrofit work.
Domains 7, 8, and 10: Communications Systems, Residential and Light Commercial Management, and Tools and Equipment
These domains connect the installed hardware to the way systems are managed and serviced.
- Communications Systems rewards conceptual understanding of how devices interconnect.
- Residential and Light Commercial Management is less about hands-on skill and more about scope and system awareness.
- Tools and Equipment questions favor candidates who can name and correctly apply the right instrument for a task.
Domains 9, 11, and 12: Premises Restoration, Customer Orientation and Documentation, and Basic Troubleshooting
These are the professionalism and problem-solving domains.
- Premises Restoration and Customer Orientation and Documentation are easy to dismiss as soft topics, yet they appear as official competency headings and therefore as examinable content.
- Basic Troubleshooting rewards a systematic, step-by-step diagnostic mindset over guesswork.
For a full breakdown of what each heading covers, see STS Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 12 Content Areas.
Retake Policy and Its Effect on Your Odds
ETA offers one free eligible retake within one year of your first exam session. This meaningfully changes the risk calculus. Your first attempt is not a one-shot gamble: if you miss the 75% mark, you have a built-in second opportunity without paying the exam fee again.
Two cautions apply. First, remote-proctoring charges remain payable on a retake, so the retake is free of the exam fee but not necessarily free of every cost. Second, the one-year window is a deadline, so use your score feedback to target weak domains promptly rather than letting months slip by.
Key Takeaway
Treat the free retake as a safety net, not a strategy. Prepare to pass on attempt one, and if you fall short, convert your result into a domain-by-domain remediation plan and schedule the retake well inside the one-year window.
To plan the timing of your first and second attempts, see STS Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Test-Day Conditions That Affect Results
Several verified rules shape the testing experience and can influence performance, independent of your knowledge.
- Proctor and photo ID are required for every sitting.
- Scratch paper and a nonprogrammable or scientific calculator are permitted. Used scratch paper must be surrendered at the end.
- Personal electronic devices, including phones, are prohibited.
- Leaving the room after testing starts is prohibited under ETA's general rules, so manage breaks before you begin.
- Remote testing requires a webcam, microphone, suitable computer, and reliable connectivity, with registration arranged through ETA.
Exact open-book or closed-book rules and any adaptive-testing behavior for STS were not verified, so confirm those details directly with ETA when you register. Having a calculator and scratch paper available is useful for Electrical Basics questions, so practice working through them without leaning on external references.
Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Domains
Since no pass rate exists to anchor expectations, the best use of your time is a preparation order that matches your actual weaknesses. This is the one place for a short, domain-tied schedule. Adjust it to your own background.
Foundations first
- Safety, Industry Standards, and Electrical Basics (Domains 1, 2, 6), because later topics build on this vocabulary.
Physical layer
- Low Voltage Wiring and Wireless Communication Technologies, Cabling - Connectorization, and Pre-wiring (Domains 3, 4, 5).
Systems and tools
- Communications Systems, Residential and Light Commercial Management, and Tools and Equipment (Domains 7, 8, 10).
Service and practice
- Premises Restoration, Customer Orientation and Documentation, and Basic Troubleshooting (Domains 9, 11, 12), then full timed practice.
ETA's membership page lists practice-exam access for STS members, but this is optional, is not required for certification, and does not establish access to actual exam questions. You can also build readiness with our own resources on the STS practice test site. For a full preparation plan, see STS Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and for last-minute review use the STS Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
ETA International has not publicly disclosed a verified candidate-cohort pass rate for Basic STS in the sources reviewed. Any specific percentage presented as the STS pass rate without an ETA citation should be treated as unreliable.
The passing score is 75%. The exam is a proctored written knowledge test of 75-80 questions over two hours, and ETA does not publicly specify the exact scored/unscored split.
Yes. ETA provides one free eligible retake within one year of your first exam session. Remote-proctoring charges still apply if you test remotely.
No. According to ETA's STS table, no hands-on assessment is required. The certification is earned through the written knowledge examination alone.
That cannot be determined. ETA lists 12 competency domains but publishes no percentage weights, so no highest-weight domain can be identified. Prepare across all 12 rather than gambling on a few.
While the missing pass rate leaves some uncertainty, the verified structure of the exam gives you plenty to plan around. To weigh whether the credential suits your goals, explore Is the STS Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026, and when you are ready to test your readiness, start with the STS practice test.