The PSM II exam (Professional Scrum Master II) is Scrum.org's advanced Scrum Master certification test. It has 30 questions, a 90-minute time limit and an 85% passing score, and one attempt costs $250 USD. In practice, you can miss at most four questions. Most questions are scenarios: you must pick the answer that best fits the Scrum Guide, not the one your company would choose. The certificate does not expire.
This guide gives the official facts, what candidates report on forums, the most common reasons people fail, and a short preparation path.
PSM II exam at a glance
The PSM II exam is a short, open-schedule online test with a high pass mark and no renewal.
| Item | PSM II |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Scrum.org |
| Questions | 30 (partial credit on some) |
| Time limit | 90 minutes |
| Passing score | 85% |
| Question types | Multiple choice, multiple answer, true/false |
| Price | $250 USD per attempt (taxes may apply) |
| Prerequisite | None required; PSM I recommended |
| Recommended courses | PSM Advanced (live), PSM Advanced Fundamentals (self-paced); not required |
| Language | English; Simplified Chinese via scrum.org.cn |
| Password | Does not expire; valid for one attempt |
| Validity | Lifetime, no renewal fee |
| Feedback | Score by competency area, no per-question review |
Last verified: October 2026, on the official PSM II page.
The source of truth for Scrum rules is the Scrum Guide. The current version is still the November 2020 edition by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland (scrumguides.org). Ignore study material that refers to "roles" or "self-organizing teams" as current terms; the 2020 guide uses "accountabilities" and "self-managing".
What the PSM II exam tests
The PSM II exam tests whether you can apply Scrum in messy, real situations across five Professional Scrum Competency focus areas. Scrum.org does not publish weights for these areas.
| Focus area | Topics listed by Scrum.org |
|---|---|
| Understanding and Applying the Scrum Framework | Empiricism, Scrum Values, Scrum Team, Events, Artifacts, Done |
| Developing People and Teams | Self-managing teams, facilitation, leadership styles, coaching and mentoring |
| Managing Products with Agility | Product Backlog management, stakeholders and customers |
| Developing and Delivering Products Professionally | Managing technical risk |
| Evolving the Agile Organization | Organizational design and culture |
Two things stand out compared with PSM I:
- Product Owner topics are in scope. Backlog management and stakeholder work appear in the official list. In a 2018 forum reply, Scrum.org Support said a good part of PSM II comes from PSM and PSPO subject areas. If you have not studied product ownership, start with our notes on Backlog Refinement.
- Stances matter more than definitions. Facilitation, coaching, teaching and leadership styles are tested through scenarios. A typical question describes a team problem and asks what a Scrum Master should do first. The "fix it for them" option is usually wrong. Our article on the Scrum Master as impediment remover covers where removing impediments ends and team self-management begins.
Scrum.org's suggested reading page also says you should know which agile practices are not part of Scrum. Story points, velocity charts and a Definition of Ready are common practices, but Scrum does not require them. See Velocity: Useful Signal, Dangerous Target and Definition of Done vs Definition of Ready for the distinctions the exam likes to test.
How hard is the PSM II exam: what candidates say
The PSM II exam is hard mainly because of the 85% bar and because several answers often look reasonable. Candidates disagree on whether it is harder than PSM I, but they agree it is a different kind of test.
Time is not the main problem. PSM I gives 60 minutes for 80 questions; PSM II gives 90 minutes for 30, about three minutes per question. One non-native English speaker on the Scrum.org forum said this extra time made PSM II easier for them. A Scrum Master certified at PSM III, writing on Viblo in 2020, advised bookmarking hard questions and leaving time to re-check answers you may have misread.
The answers are "best", not "correct". An agile coach who passed on the first attempt in 2024 wrote that the exam rarely offers an absolutely correct option, only better ones. A candidate on the Scrum.org forum who scored just over 82% after taking the PSM Advanced course said some questions had no clearly right answer; to him they were "shades of grey".
Strong practitioners still fail. In the same 2018 thread, a Scrum Master who had held PSM I for five years scored 75% on his first PSM II attempt. He had relied on what he knew from his own work. Another candidate failed with 84%, one point under the bar.
Some find it easier than PSM I. One practitioner scored 97.1% on PSM II and 96.3% on PSM I and argued the wrong answers on PSM II are easy to eliminate. Most other members of the thread disagreed. One member who tried sample questions with students reported that they found PSM II much harder. The useful conclusion: the exam rewards people whose habits already match Scrum, and punishes people whose habits come from "Scrum-like" processes.
Common reasons people fail
Most PSM II failures come from answering from company habits instead of from the Scrum Guide.
- Using your company's version of Scrum. A 2021 Scrum.org forum post by a former team lead argues that relying on experience is dangerous, because none of the four companies he worked with followed Scrum fully. He passed by reading widely and doing many practice tests. Scrum.org Support made the same point in 2018: what you practice may not be Scrum by the book.
- Answering from another framework. A Scrum.org forum member noted that the tricky part was answering every question in the context of Scrum, not of other frameworks combined with it. Kanban, SAFe or project-management habits lead to wrong answers. Our overview of SAFe, LeSS, and DAD helps you see where those frameworks differ.
- Skipping product ownership. Candidates who prepare only for Scrum Master topics lose points on backlog and stakeholder scenarios.
- Choosing the "action" answer. Options where the Scrum Master decides, assigns or fixes things for the team are rarely the best answer. Options that make a problem transparent, coach the team or let the accountable person decide usually are.
- Underestimating the margin. With 30 questions and an 85% pass mark, five mistakes mean failure. Partial credit exists on some multiple-answer questions, but you cannot plan around it.
How to prepare for the PSM II exam
The fastest preparation path is the Scrum Guide, the Scrum.org open assessments, scenario practice, and honest reflection on your own team.
- Re-read the 2020 Scrum Guide slowly. The coach who passed in 2024 recommends reading it word by word and checking each rule against situations you have lived through.
- Take the free Scrum.org open assessments until you score 100%. Scrum.org suggests Scrum Open, Product Owner Open and Developer Open. A candidate who passed in 2022 also took Nexus Open and aimed for 100% on each.
- Practise on scenario questions, not recall questions. The 2024 coach suggests working through at least 150 practice questions and discussing the ones you disagree with in a community. You can practise on the certificate.tips PSM II simulator, and keep your Scrum basics sharp with the PSM I simulator.
- Read one or two Scrum Master books. Scrum.org's suggested reading for PSM II includes Mastering Professional Scrum (Ockerman and Reindl), Scrum Mastery (Geoff Watts) and Coaching Agile Teams (Lyssa Adkins). A 2022 candidate passed using the Scrum Guide, Scrum Mastery and two other books.
- Consider the PSM Advanced course. It is recommended but not required. Several forum posters passed without it, and one failed after taking it, so treat it as a learning choice rather than a guarantee.
- List the practices you use that Scrum does not require. Scrum.org asks candidates to know this. For each item, write what Scrum itself says.
How much experience do you need? Scrum.org does not set a minimum. The 2024 coach recommends at least one year as a Scrum Master. A 2017 forum post by a Scrum Master who passed without special preparation said real Scrum Master experience was the main factor.
Is the PSM II worth it?
The PSM II is worth it if you work as a Scrum Master or agile coach and want proof that goes beyond PSM I. It has no renewal fees, so the cost is the $250 attempt plus study time.
The credential is rarer than PSM I. The 2024 coach estimated that over 650,000 people held PSM I and over 42,000 held PSM II when he researched it. Scrum.org publishes a searchable list of certificate holders, so employers can check the claim.
It is less useful if you are new to Scrum. Without at least some time in a real Scrum Team, the scenarios are hard to judge, and a failed $250 attempt gives only a score by competency area, not the questions you missed.
FAQ
How many questions are on the PSM II exam?
The PSM II exam has 30 questions in 90 minutes. Formats are multiple choice, multiple answer and true/false, and some questions give partial credit. You need 85% to pass, so you can afford about four mistakes.
Do I need PSM I before taking PSM II?
No. Scrum.org lists PSM I as a recommended certification, not a requirement. Some candidates on the Scrum.org forum took PSM II directly and passed. Most people take PSM I first because it confirms they know the Scrum Guide rules that PSM II assumes.
Is the PSM II harder than the PSM I?
It is different. PSM I checks whether you know what the Scrum Guide says, under time pressure. PSM II gives more time per question but asks you to choose the best action in a scenario, often between several plausible options, with a higher pass mark of 85%.
Does the PSM II certification expire?
No. Scrum.org states that PSM II is a lifetime certification with no annual renewal fee. The exam password also does not expire, but it is valid for one attempt only.
Can I see which questions I got wrong?
No. Scrum.org does not share questions or answers after the exam. You receive a breakdown of your score by Professional Scrum Competency area, which shows where to focus before another attempt.
Is a course required for the PSM II exam?
No. Scrum.org strongly recommends the Professional Scrum Master Advanced course or its self-paced version, but you can buy an attempt and take the test without any course.
Sources
- Professional Scrum Master II Certification — Scrum.org
- Suggested Reading: Professional Scrum Master II — Scrum.org
- The 2020 Scrum Guide — scrumguides.org
- PSM II is easier than PSM I (forum thread, 2018–2022) — Scrum.org
- Depending on Real Experience to Pass PSM 2 Can be Dangerous? (forum, 2021) — Scrum.org
- Passed PSM-II (forum, 2017) — Scrum.org
- How to effectively pass PSM-II for the first time — Your Agile Coach (Substack)
- Kinh nghiệm thi chứng chỉ PSM II — Khiem Huynh (Viblo)