IPA (the Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan) has announced that from December 28, 2026, CBT delivery of the IT Passport Examination, the Information Security Management Examination (SG) and the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination (FE) will be suspended. The restart date is due to be announced around autumn 2026 — as I write this in early August 2026, it has not been set.
In practice, that makes "can I finish this within 2026?" the real question for anyone currently studying. Below I lay out the dates and which exams are affected, how to work backwards from them when booking, what happens to prepaid vouchers, and what comes after the pause: the FY2027 reform of the whole exam system. Everything here comes from IPA's own published material.
The short version
- From December 28, 2026, CBT delivery of three exams is suspended — IT Passport, Information Security Management (SG), and Fundamental Information Technology Engineer (FE).
- Some test centres will stop before December 27. "I can definitely sit it up to the 27th" is not a safe assumption.
- The restart date is undecided, and is due to be announced by IPA around autumn 2026.
The rest of this article takes each of those three points in turn.
When does the pause start, and which exams?
The pause applies to the three categories delivered on demand by CBT.
| Exam | Delivery | Suspended |
|---|---|---|
| IT Passport Examination (IP) | CBT, on demand | from Dec 28, 2026 |
| Information Security Management Examination (SG) | CBT, on demand | from Dec 28, 2026 |
| Fundamental IT Engineer Examination (FE) | CBT, on demand | from Dec 28, 2026 |
The detail people miss: IPA states explicitly that "depending on the test centre, exam delivery may be suspended before December 27, 2026." Because CBT sittings are scheduled by each centre individually, the last available date at your centre is not necessarily December 27. For some centres, a plan built around late December simply cannot be made.
The Applied Information Technology Engineer Examination (AP) and the Advanced exams, together with the Registered Information Security Specialist Examination (SC), sit outside this group. For FY2026 they are scheduled around November 2026 (first period) and February 2027 (second period), both by CBT.
Why the pause — and why it has already moved once
The reason is a replacement of the examination system itself (the delivery platform). What is worth noticing is that this pause was originally scheduled to begin after April 27, 2026. Because the system replacement was postponed, the start of the suspension moved back to December 28, 2026.
The fact that it has already moved once means the dates could move again. That is not a reason to relax, though — it could just as easily move earlier. The one approach that survives either outcome is simply to sit the exam sooner rather than later.
When you actually need to book by
Holding off on booking until the last stretch of December is risky. Working backwards, the date you should really be aiming at is earlier than that.
CBT centres set their own calendars. Regional centres, or ones that only run a few days a month, may have nothing at all in late December. Start by checking which days your preferred centre actually offers in December.
The better known the pause becomes, the more candidates crowd into November and December. The main advantage of CBT — pick whichever day suits you — may not hold during this particular window.
The IT Passport Examination has rules on how soon you may re-sit. If you push everything to December on the assumption you will pass first time, a fail leaves you with nowhere to go. First attempt by November, December as the spare is the safer shape.
- Now to October: finish your preparation, and check your preferred centre's December dates while you do.
- By November: take your first attempt. If you pass, none of the rest matters.
- Early December: your spare date. Plan on being done by here.
- Late December: don't count on it. Some centres will already have stopped.
Vouchers and exam fees
If your employer or school has given you a prepaid voucher, read this part carefully. IPA's guidance is:
So "if they're pausing, surely they'll extend the expiry" does not hold. Whichever comes first — your voucher's expiry date or the December 28 suspension — is your real deadline. If your voucher runs into 2027, then with the restart date still unknown, you should factor in the risk that it expires unused.
When will it restart?
IPA says the restart will be announced on its website around autumn 2026. As of early August 2026, no specific date has been published.
There is one hint, though, if you read it alongside the other announcements. Under the new exam system beginning in FY2027, the IT Passport, Information Security Management and Fundamental IT Engineer examinations are listed as starting "around spring of FY2027". Given that the pause exists because of a platform replacement, it is a natural reading that the restart on the new platform lines up with the start of the new system.
That is my inference from the published documents, not something IPA has stated. The official announcement in autumn is what settles it. I will update this article when it appears.
What comes after: the FY2027 system
On the far side of the pause is a substantial reform. From FY2027, Japan's Information Technology Engineers Examination is set to be restructured into eight categories.
| Exam | Status | Start (planned) |
|---|---|---|
| IT Passport Examination | content revised | FY2027, around spring |
| Information Security Management Examination | partly revised | FY2027, around spring |
| Fundamental IT Engineer Examination | partly revised | FY2027, around spring |
| Data Management Examination (provisional name) | new | FY2027, summer–autumn |
| Professional Digital Skills Examination (Management) | new | FY2027, summer–autumn |
| Professional Digital Skills Examination (Data & AI) | new | FY2027, summer–autumn |
| Professional Digital Skills Examination (Systems) | new | FY2027, summer–autumn |
| Registered Information Security Specialist Examination | partly revised | FY2027, summer–autumn |
The IT Passport Examination continues, but its subject areas are being reorganised from "Strategy / Management / Technology" into "Business", "Technology" and "Security & Ethics", with DX mindset, data management fundamentals, and security and ethics for the AI era added.
The Applied Information Technology Engineer Examination and the Advanced exams (IT Strategist, Systems Architect, Project Manager, Network Specialist, Database Specialist, Embedded Systems Specialist, IT Service Manager, Systems Auditor), by contrast, end under their current names with FY2026 and are folded into the Professional Digital Skills Examination.
How to use the pause
If it turns out you cannot make December, that is not a reason to stop studying. The IT Passport Examination continues under the new system, and while the subject areas are being rearranged, the underlying vocabulary and fundamentals are the same material. If anything, there will be a gap right after the restart before study materials for the new syllabus are all in place — a window in which anyone who locked down the terminology early has the advantage.
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Conclusion
Pulling it together:
- Your real deadline is not December 27. It is whichever comes first: your centre's last sitting, or your voucher's expiry.
- Aim to take your first attempt by November. Keeping early December in reserve means a fail is not fatal.
- The restart is undecided — the announcement is due in autumn 2026. "I'll just wait a bit" is not something anyone can promise right now.
When an exam system is in transition, logistics decide as much as preparation does. Start by checking what days your preferred centre actually offers in December; once that is clear, the rest is arithmetic.
I will update this article as soon as IPA announces the restart.
· On exam delivery from May 2026 onward for the IT Passport, Information Security Management and Fundamental IT Engineer examinations delivered by CBT
https://www.ipa.go.jp/shiken/2026/cbt-202605-jisshi.html
· On the state of deliberations regarding the review of the Information Technology Engineers Examination and the Registered Information Security Specialist Examination
https://www.ipa.go.jp/shiken/syllabus/henkou/2025/20260331.html
· On the FY2026 (Reiwa 8) schedule for the Applied Information Technology Engineer Examination, the Advanced examinations and the Registered Information Security Specialist Examination
https://www.ipa.go.jp/shiken/2026/ap_koudo_sc_yotei.html
· Press release: on the proposed review of the exam category framework of the Information Technology Engineers Examination
https://www.ipa.go.jp/pressrelease/2025/press20260331.html