Q&A: Study time for ITIL 4 Foundations Exam

Tough question, Lana! Unfortunately, there’s no magic number of hours that guarantees success—it really depends on you and your unique situation. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Let’s break it down to help you figure out what works best for you! Here are a few factors that can influence your study time:

Your familiarity with ITIL
If you’ve worked with ITIL before or have a general understanding of service management, you might breeze through the material faster than someone who’s starting from scratch. If ITIL is a completely new world, you might need a bit more time to wrap your head around it.

Your work experience
Here’s where it gets interesting. If your organisation doesn’t follow ITIL best practices, unlearning some old habits could actually take more time than you think. On the flip side, if you’ve been practising ITIL (even if you didn’t know it), you’re ahead of the game!

Your comfort with exams
Are you the kind of person who can breeze through exams like a pro, or do you find the thought of it a bit nerve-wracking? If exams are your thing, great! If not, give yourself extra time to ease that stress and build your confidence.

Your ability to absorb information
ITIL isn’t exactly light reading—there are lots of concepts and terminology to digest. If you’re great at remembering and understanding big chunks of info, you’ll probably need less time. If you need to break it down a bit more, no worries! Just budget some extra hours.

Course vs self-study
If you’ve attended a 2- or 3-day course, you’ve already got some structure in place, and a few hours of revision might be all you need. On the other hand, self-studying may take more time as you'll need to dive deeper into the material, which could take a few days.

Pro tip: If you’ve taken a course, try not to wait too long before sitting the exam—the details can slip away faster than sand through your fingers!

Estimating the time you need

The best way to get a sense of how much you’ll need to study? Take an official practice exam! If you’re scoring in the 80s or 90s, congratulations! You probably just need to polish up a few weak areas. If you’re scoring in the 50s or 60s, do not panic—you’ll just need to focus your efforts on those areas to bring your score up to passing (and beyond!).

Bottom line
Some might only need 8-10 hours, while others may need 20-30 hours or more.. The key is to focus on quality over quantity—study smarter, not harder! The best way to do this? Tailor your sessions based on your practice exam results and your knowledge gaps.

No matter how many hours you spend, make sure your study plan fits you and sets you up for success. For more tips on preparing, check out our blog that contains tips on how to pass your exam >

You’ve got this Lana - good luck!