NRS I Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

What We Can and Cannot Say About the NRS I Pass Rate

Search for "NRS I pass rate" and you will find confident-sounding percentages on forums and aggregator sites. For Nokia Network Routing Specialist I, none of those numbers can be traced to a primary source. The Nokia exam, certification, and course pages reviewed on October 11, 2026 do not establish a pass rate, a pass threshold, or a split between scored and unscored questions.

That matters because "NRS I" is a shared acronym. Other credentials use it, and their statistics have a way of leaking into search results and AI-generated summaries. Everything in this article refers only to the Nokia Network Routing Specialist I certification and its single required exam, 4A0-100 IP Networks and Services Fundamentals.

The Verified Facts: One Exam, 40 Questions, 90 Minutes

Before interpreting any pass-rate claim, anchor yourself in what Nokia actually publishes about the exam. The table below separates confirmed facts from items that are not established.

For a deeper look at the numbers candidates ask about most, read NRS I Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass and NRS I Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

A common timing misunderstanding

The 110-minute figure on your appointment is not your exam clock. The first 20 minutes are an introductory survey. Your working time is 90 minutes for 40 questions, which averages to just over two minutes per item. That is a comfortable pace for fundamentals content, but not a leisurely one if you tend to re-derive subnet math from scratch.

Why Nokia Does Not Publish a Pass Rate You Can Cite

Many vendors treat pass rates as internal data. Whatever the reason, the practical consequence for you is the same: any specific percentage attached to NRS I should be treated as unsourced unless the publisher shows where it came from. Three patterns account for most of the misleading figures you will encounter:

• Borrowed statistics. A number from a different certification that shares the "NRS I" abbreviation gets pasted onto Nokia's credential.
• Survey-based claims. A training vendor reports how many of its own students passed. That reflects a self-selected group, not all candidates.
• Recycled forum anecdotes. A single "I passed on the first try" thread gets rounded into a statistic.

Where Candidates Actually Lose Points: The Six Modules

Nokia designates six modules as the preparation outline for the exam. These are unweighted: Nokia does not publish how many of the 40 questions come from each module, and the outline is not presented as an exhaustive blueprint. That means you cannot safely skip a module on the theory that it carries little weight. Here is what each one asks of you, with the topics that most often separate a comfortable pass from a stressful one.

For a module-by-module breakdown with study priorities, see NRS I Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 6 Content Areas.

Difficulty Signals That Replace the Missing Statistic

Without a published pass rate, you need other ways to judge how hard this exam is likely to be for you. The structure of 4A0-100 offers several useful signals.

Signal 1: The exam is a fundamentals exam

The title says it plainly: IP Networks and Services Fundamentals. The learning objectives cover layered TCP/IP, Ethernet, IP forwarding and addressing, static versus dynamic routing, OSPF and BGP, VPN types and MPLS transport, placing Nokia router products in networks, and using the 7750SR CLI to configure service components. That is wide, but it is introductory in depth. There is no lab component for NRS I, and you should not assume the lab or composite requirements of NRS II or SRA apply here.

Signal 2: Breadth is the real challenge

Forty questions across six modules and 28 subtopics means you will see a small sample of a large surface area. A candidate who knows OSPF deeply but has never touched the SR OS boot sequence or VPRN concepts can be caught out by the gaps, not by any single hard question.

Signal 3: Background shifts the experience

Someone with a general networking background will find Domains 1, 3, and 4 familiar and spend most of their effort on Domains 2 and 6, which are the most Nokia-specific. Someone new to networking faces the reverse problem: every module is fresh, and the layered model has to be built from the ground up. Our NRS I requirements guide explains why no mandatory exam prerequisite does not mean no preparation is needed.

A Module-Ordered Readiness Plan

This is the one section where we discuss study sequencing, and it is tied directly to the exam's structure. The ordering below follows dependency: later modules assume earlier ones. Adjust the duration to your background; the sequence is what matters.

Add a final pass of mixed review across all six modules before you sit the exam. For a fuller schedule and resource list, see the NRS I Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and keep the NRS I Cheat Sheet 2026 handy for last-minute review.

Practice Scenarios That Mirror the Fundamentals Exam

The exam is multiple-choice, so the most useful practice is the kind that makes you commit to an answer and then explain why the alternatives are wrong. The prompts below are original study exercises, not actual exam questions, and they are not endorsed by Nokia. Work through them aloud or on paper.

1. Encapsulation trace. A host sends data to a server on another subnet. Describe what headers are added at each layer and which addresses change at each router hop and which stay constant.
2. Subnet carve-out. Given a block, divide it into subnets for departments of different sizes, then summarize the results into the smallest number of advertised routes.
3. Switch versus hub. Explain what happens to a frame at a hub and at a switch when the destination address is unknown.
4. Boot reasoning. Place the router boot sequence in order and state what you would expect to check if a router fails to complete it.
5. Service selection. A customer needs a point-to-point Layer 2 connection, another needs multipoint Layer 2, and a third needs routed connectivity. Match each to VPWS, VPLS, or VPRN and name the transport underneath.

When you want timed, exam-style repetition, use the practice questions on the NRS I Exam Prep practice test site. If you are still deciding whether the investment is justified, Is the NRS I Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 lays out the trade-offs.

The 2027 Revision Window and Your Timing

This is the single most time-sensitive fact for anyone planning an attempt. Nokia announces a revised exam, with the current version unavailable from 2027-02-09 through 2027-03-08 and the revised version launching on 2027-03-09. Everything in this article reflects the October 2026 scope, so recheck Nokia's exam page before you commit to a study plan that runs close to the transition.

Practical implications:

• If you plan to test before February 2027, you are preparing for the current 4A0-100 scope described above.
• If your timeline drifts toward the blackout window, you will either rush or wait for the revised exam, whose content may differ.
• Do not mix study materials from different exam versions without checking which scope they target.

For scheduling specifics, see NRS I Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

Who typically benefits from the certification

NRS I is an entry credential in Nokia's routing track, aimed at people who will work with or around service-provider and enterprise IP networks that use Nokia equipment: network technicians, junior engineers, and professionals moving into IP/MPLS service delivery. We do not cite salary figures here because none are established for this credential in the sources reviewed; see NRS I jobs and the NRS I Salary Guide 2026 for how to evaluate the career side qualitatively.

Frequently Asked Questions