C-306 Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

What the Data Actually Shows About C-306 Pass Rates

If you searched for the C-306 pass rate hoping for a clean percentage, here is the honest answer: no verified, official pass rate for the C-306 exam was found in the issuer materials reviewed for this article. The Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA) did not publish a pass-rate figure in its micro-credential description, its release announcement, its certification process document, or its membership pages. Neither did the college and training-provider listings that mention the exam.

That absence is itself the most important finding. Many exam-prep sites print a confident pass-rate number with no source behind it. This article will not do that. Instead, it explains what is known about how C-306 is structured, who takes it, how retakes work, and which content areas are most likely to decide whether a candidate passes on the first try. If you want the broader difficulty picture, see our companion piece on how hard the C-306 exam really is.

Which C-306 This Article Covers

The label "C-306" is used by several unrelated credentials in different industries. This article covers exactly one: Industrial Electronic Systems 2 (C-306), a micro-credential in SACA's smart automation certification family. It has nothing to do with other certifications that happen to share the code, and none of their fees, pass rates, or exam rules apply here. If you need a primer on the name itself, our explainers on what C-306 is and what C-306 stands for cover the basics.

SACA's description frames the exam around connecting, adjusting, operating, and troubleshooting a defined set of industrial electronic switching circuits. SACA's micro-credential announcement was published March 17, 2025, and reported a pilot release. That date should not be read as an exam version number or as proof the exam is still in pilot status today.

Why a Single Pass-Rate Number Would Be Misleading

Even if a percentage existed, a single figure would hide more than it reveals. Several structural features of C-306 make a blended pass rate hard to interpret:

• Two credential levels. Silver (written) and Gold (written plus hands-on) test different things, so their pass rates would differ.
• Delivery through member institutions. Candidates are students or employees of SACA members, so results reflect the quality of local instruction as much as the exam itself.
• Variable preparation. SACA requires no particular preparation course, which means candidates arrive with very different backgrounds.
• No verified exam parameters. Official question count, time limit, and passing score were not verified in the sources reviewed, so there is no stable denominator for comparisons.

For the scoring side of the question, our guide to the C-306 passing score explains what is and is not publicly confirmed.

Silver vs. Gold: Two Different Pass Questions

SACA's certification process document distinguishes two levels. Understanding the difference matters because "passing C-306" can mean two different achievements.

Because Gold candidates must already hold Silver, anyone attempting the hands-on tier has by definition cleared the written barrier. A Gold-level pass rate, if it were ever published, would reflect a pre-filtered group and would not be comparable to the Silver figure. For a deeper look at how the pieces fit together, read our C-306 requirements guide.

Who Sits the Exam and How That Shapes Outcomes

C-306 is not an open-enrollment public exam. Candidates must be students or employees of a SACA member organization. In practice that means two populations: students in education programs, such as community and technical college automation or electronics courses, and employees of industry members who are upskilling in industrial electronics.

This matters for interpreting any pass-rate claim. A cohort of students who just finished a structured industrial electronics course, with lab time on switching circuits, behaves differently from a group of working technicians sitting the exam cold. SACA requires no particular preparation course, but some institutions attach their own. For example, Athens Technical College's listing for its Silver certifications specifies completion of related Amatrol coursework, and its fee is USD 100 per exam. Those are local provider conditions, not universal SACA rules.

Where Candidates Are Most Likely to Stumble

SACA lists the scope of C-306 as a set of topic phrases rather than numbered exam objectives, and no percentage weights were verified. That means we cannot tell you which domain carries the most questions. What we can do is identify which topics demand the most conceptual and diagnostic skill, since those are where first-attempt candidates tend to lose ground. The full breakdown lives in our complete guide to all 11 C-306 content areas; here is the condensed, pass-rate-oriented view.

The pattern across these domains is that C-306 rewards integration. A single scenario can touch component testing, instrumentation, and a specific device family at once. That is one reason raw topic memorization produces weaker first-attempt results than hands-on familiarity with how these circuits behave.

Retake Mechanics and What They Mean for Your Odds

One of the few concrete, verifiable facts that bears directly on pass outcomes is SACA's retake policy. According to the SACA Gold & Silver Certification Process document (March 19, 2021), a candidate who fails the written exam may retake it after 24 hours. Results and electronic certificates are issued through the SACA portal.

This has two practical consequences. First, a failed attempt is not a long-term setback under the process document, so the cost of a first-attempt miss is lower than for exams with extended waiting periods. Second, it changes how you should interpret any "first-time pass rate" claim: a first-attempt figure and an eventual-pass figure would be very different numbers, and nobody should quote one while implying the other. Local institutions may layer their own scheduling or fee rules on top, so confirm with your testing center. Our C-306 exam dates and scheduling guide covers the logistics side.

Fees, Access, and Local Conditions

Pass-rate discussions often ignore money, but cost shapes who attempts the exam and how prepared they are. Here is what the sources support:

• Eligible students of education members and employees of industry members receive certifications without additional SACA certification fees.
• Organizational membership and local provider charges are separate from SACA certification fees.
• Athens Technical College lists C-306 at USD 100 per exam in its FY27 Silver listing, with related Amatrol course completion specified. This is a provider-specific example, not a universal SACA price.
• Where enabled, remote proctoring may run through Honorlock, which documents a SACA-specific workflow in its learner guide.

Because fees vary by institution, there is no single price to quote. Our C-306 certification cost breakdown walks through what to ask your provider.

A Domain-Sequenced Prep Plan

Since official weights are unavailable, a sensible approach is to sequence your preparation by dependency: instruments and components first, then devices, then complete circuits, then troubleshooting that ties them together. This is a suggested plan, not an official SACA curriculum.

For a fuller approach to pacing and resources, see our C-306 study guide, and use our one-page cheat sheet for last-days review. When you want realistic question practice, try the C-306 practice tests.

How to Read Pass-Rate Claims You Find Elsewhere

Because no official figure was found, you will likely encounter unsourced percentages on forums, flashcard sites, and competitor blogs. Use this checklist before trusting any of them:

1. Is it attributed to SACA? If a number does not point to an issuer publication, treat it as an estimate at best.
2. Does it say which level? Silver and Gold are different exams, and a figure that does not specify is nearly meaningless.
3. Is it first-attempt or eventual? With a 24-hour retake allowance, these diverge sharply.
4. Is it about the right C-306? The code is shared across unrelated credentials, and pass rates for those do not apply to Industrial Electronic Systems 2.
5. Does it cite a date? SACA reviews certifications annually, so stale figures lose relevance.

Frequently Asked Questions