Updated on 8 October 2026. What’s new: exam details corrected to 45 questions and USD $249, and the guide now follows syllabus v4.0 released in May 2025
A CTAL-TA mock test written for syllabus v3.1 will drill you on material ISTQB has since reshaped. Version 4.0 appeared on 2 May 2025: equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis folded into domain testing, CRUD and metamorphic testing arrived, and the paper now holds 45 questions in 120 minutes, with 51 of 78 points needed to pass. This guide shows what to practise and how to read your practice scores.

Is a mock test built for CTAL-TA v3.1 still any use now that v4.0 is current?
Partly, and the part that is no longer useful is the part that used to carry the most marks. ISTQB's Test Analyst certification page calls v4.0 the latest released version, and I checked it in October 2026. It keeps the v3.1 information available only until its sunset dates, which it gives as 16 May 2026 for English-language exams and 16 November 2026 for non-English ones. The syllabus's own revision history describes v4.0 as a major update with an overall revision and a scope update, not a set of errata.
The release notes inside the syllabus explain what moved. The table below lines up the two versions so you can judge any practice paper against it.