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SCTE · Last updated November 2026

SCTE DOCSIS Engineering Professional (DEP): free practice test

DEP certifies knowledge of DOCSIS interface requirements and operation, from DOCSIS 1.0 through 3.1, for engineers deploying cable modems and CMTS or CCAP platforms. The online exam has 50 questions in 3 hours with a 76% pass mark across four categories: architecture, DOCSIS layering, DOCSIS operations and DOCSIS enablement. SCTE recommends its DOCSIS Engineering Professional course and the CableLabs specifications as study sources.

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About the SCTE DEP exam

DEP certifies knowledge of DOCSIS interface requirements and operation, from DOCSIS 1.0 through 3.1, for engineers deploying cable modems and CMTS or CCAP platforms. The online exam has 50 questions in 3 hours with a 76% pass mark across four categories: architecture, DOCSIS layering, DOCSIS operations and DOCSIS enablement. SCTE recommends its DOCSIS Engineering Professional course and the CableLabs specifications as study sources.

What's on the exam

SCTE DEP
Architecture: HFC, CCAP and Distributed Access
8 key facts
DOCSIS Versions and Spectrum Plans
8 key facts
DOCSIS Layering: Physical Layer
8 key facts
DOCSIS Layering: MAC, Ranging and Scheduling
8 key facts
DOCSIS Operations: Provisioning and Registration
7 key facts
DOCSIS Operations: Plant Performance and PNM
7 key facts
DOCSIS Enablement: Security, IPv6 and Services
7 key facts

Each branch is a topic in the official outline. Members see every key fact on the full mind map. Read the free study guide →

How to pass the SCTE DEP exam

  • The exam is open book, so build a one-page sheet of numbers you will look up anyway: split frequencies, SC-QAM symbol rates, OFDM subcarrier spacings, cyclic prefix sizes and the registration message order. Searching a 900-page spec mid-exam wastes the 3 hours.
  • SCTE says DEP spans DOCSIS 1.0 to 3.1. Know which feature arrived in which version: QoS and BPI+ in 1.1, ATDMA in 2.0, bonding and IPv6 in 3.0, OFDM, OFDMA and LDPC in 3.1.
  • Troubleshooting questions usually hinge on direction: T3 timeouts and pre-equalization point upstream, T4 timeouts and downstream MER point downstream. Decide which path is at fault before reading the options.
  • 50 questions in 3 hours is 3.6 minutes each, and you need 38 right. Do the calculation items (bit rates, subcarrier counts, echo delays) carefully rather than fast.

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Create a free account after the test: your score by topic, a mistakes bank, the complete study notes for the first topic, flashcards and the RCDD Numbers & Formulas Sheet.

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What's in the premium SCTE DEP prep

Premium SCTE DEP prep is studied one topic at a time. Each step starts with that topic's key notes and flashcard deck, then its own question sets of 25, so you master one topic before you move to the next. When every topic is strong, the 6 full mock exams show you're ready.

3,000practice questions, every answer explained
6full-length mock exams, 50 questions each, timed
800flashcards with spaced repetition, sorted by topic
60comprehensive key notes across 7 topics

Your step-by-step study path

  1. 1
    Architecture: HFC, CCAP and Distributed Access9 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 450 practice questions in 18 sets of 25
    Notes free with an account
  2. 2
    DOCSIS Versions and Spectrum Plans9 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
    Premium
  3. 3
    DOCSIS Layering: Physical Layer9 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
    Premium
  4. 4
    DOCSIS Layering: MAC, Ranging and Scheduling9 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
    Premium
  5. 5
    DOCSIS Operations: Provisioning and Registration8 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
    Premium
  6. 6
    DOCSIS Operations: Plant Performance and PNM8 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
    Premium
  7. 7
    DOCSIS Enablement: Security, IPv6 and Services8 key notes, 110 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
    Premium
  8. Final step: 6 full mock exams50 questions each, timed like test day. Pass them, then book your exam.
    Premium
Free with an account

Read the complete SCTE DEP study notes for “Architecture: HFC, CCAP and Distributed Access”

Our first full set of comprehensive notes, about 12 minutes of reading: The HFC path · CMTS and CCAP · Service groups and capacity · Distributed access, a worked exam example, the traps examiners use and a one-minute recap. Create a free account to read it and see how premium notes work before you decide.

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Study tools included

3,000 practice questions

3,000 exam-style questions per exam, organized topic by topic in sets of 25. Every answer explained, with the rule it comes from.

6 full mock exams

6 full-length timed mock exams per exam, with real question counts and time limits, so test day feels like practice day.

Exam Readiness Score

One 0 to 100 number that tells you when you're ready to book. Reach 80 and you're covered by our Pass Guarantee.

800 flashcards + spaced repetition

800 flashcards per exam, in a deck for each topic, that come back right before you'd forget them. Five minutes a day keeps every number fresh.

60 comprehensive key notes

60 key notes per exam, split across its topics and each explained in full: the concepts, worked exam examples, the traps examiners use and a quick recap. Your first set is free with an account.

Mind maps

See the whole exam on one screen: every topic and the facts under it.

Sample questions with answers

These are the questions in the free test above, with answers. Try the test first. You'll learn more by getting some wrong.

1. An operator moves to a Remote PHY architecture. Which DOCSIS function moves out of the headend and into the node?
Answer: The DOCSIS physical layer: modulation and demodulation. In Remote PHY the CCAP core keeps the MAC, scheduler and routing, and the Remote PHY Device in the node does only the PHY, linked to the core over digital Ethernet with DEPI and UEPI pseudowires. Moving the MAC as well describes Remote MACPHY. Provisioning servers stay in the back office in every architecture.
2. A node serving about 600 homes shows upstream channel utilization above 80% at peak, while downstream utilization is low. Without changing customer modems, which change most directly raises upstream capacity per subscriber?
Answer: Split the node so fewer modems share each upstream channel set. Upstream capacity is shared by every modem in the service group, so a node split (segmentation) halves the number of modems contending for the same channels. Changing downstream modulation does nothing for the upstream, and raising config file rate limits only lets each modem compete harder for the same congested capacity.
3. An operator upgrades from sub-split to a DOCSIS 3.1 mid-split plant. What upstream band and lowest downstream frequency does mid-split use?
Answer: Upstream 5 to 85 MHz, downstream starting at 108 MHz. Mid-split moves the diplex split so the upstream runs 5 to 85 MHz and the downstream starts at 108 MHz. Sub-split is the legacy North American 5 to 42 MHz with downstream from 54 MHz, and high-split is 5 to 204 MHz with downstream from 258 MHz. Every amplifier and node diplexer must be changed to move the split.
4. A CMTS runs eight 256-QAM SC-QAM channels plus one 192 MHz OFDM channel downstream. A customer still has a DOCSIS 3.0 modem. What downstream capacity can that modem use?
Answer: The SC-QAM channels only; it cannot receive OFDM. DOCSIS 3.1 is backward compatible: the CMTS keeps SC-QAM channels for 3.0 modems, which can bond only SC-QAM. A 3.1 modem can bond the OFDM channel together with SC-QAM channels. This is why operators keep a block of SC-QAM channels during migration.
5. A DOCSIS 3.0 ATDMA upstream channel is 6.4 MHz wide, runs at 5.12 Msym/s and uses 64-QAM. What is its raw (pre-FEC) bit rate?
Answer: 30.72 Mbps. Raw bit rate is symbol rate times bits per symbol: 5.12 Msym/s x 6 bits (64-QAM) = 30.72 Mbps. Multiplying the 6.4 MHz bandwidth instead of the symbol rate gives 38.4, and 40.96 or 20.48 come from using 8 or 4 bits per symbol. Usable throughput is lower after FEC and MAC overhead.
6. A DOCSIS 3.1 downstream OFDM channel is 192 MHz wide with 50 kHz subcarrier spacing. How many subcarriers span the channel, and which FFT size is in use?
Answer: About 3,840 subcarriers, 4K FFT. 192 MHz / 50 kHz = 3,840 subcarriers. With the 204.8 MHz sample rate, 50 kHz spacing comes from a 4K (4096-point) FFT and 25 kHz spacing from an 8K FFT, which would give 7,680 subcarriers in 192 MHz. Some edge subcarriers are guard band, so not all carry data.
7. Two impedance mismatches 100 ft apart on hardline coax (velocity factor 0.87) cause a micro-reflection. About how long is the echo delay, and does the shortest DOCSIS 3.1 cyclic prefix cover it?
Answer: About 0.23 µs; yes, the shortest 0.94 µs prefix exceeds it. The echo travels the 100 ft twice: 60.96 m / (0.87 x 3 x 10^8 m/s) is about 0.23 µs. The shortest OFDM cyclic prefix (192 samples at 204.8 MHz) is about 0.94 µs, so it covers this echo. Forgetting the round trip gives 0.12 µs; the cyclic prefix must exceed the longest significant echo delay.
8. Modems on one node log repeated T3 timeouts and go offline, while their downstream levels and MER are normal. What do the timeouts indicate, and where should you look first?
Answer: Ranging requests are not being answered; check the upstream path for noise, ingress or attenuation. A T3 timeout means the modem sent a ranging request and got no ranging response in time, so the CMTS did not hear it cleanly. With a healthy downstream, the upstream is the suspect: ingress, impulse noise, a bad return path or high loss. T4 timeouts are the ones tied to missing station maintenance opportunities.
9. A PacketCable voice line uses G.711 with 20 ms packetization and needs constant upstream bandwidth with minimal jitter. Which upstream scheduling service suits it?
Answer: Unsolicited Grant Service (UGS). UGS gives fixed-size grants at fixed intervals without the modem having to request, which suits constant bit rate voice. rtPS polls the modem periodically for variable-rate real-time flows, and nrtPS and Best Effort depend on contention or polling, adding delay and jitter. UGS with Activity Detection releases grants during silence.
10. A DOCSIS 3.0 modem provisioned in IPv4 mode has just completed initial ranging. Which sequence normally follows?
Answer: DHCP, Time of Day, TFTP config file download, registration. After ranging, the modem gets its IP address and the TFTP server and file name through DHCP, requests Time of Day, downloads the config file by TFTP and then sends a registration request built from that file. The modem cannot register before it has the config file, and cannot fetch the file before DHCP tells it where it is.
11. A technician edits a cable modem config file to raise the upstream rate, then saves it to the TFTP server without re-encoding it with the CMTS shared secret. What happens when a modem downloads the file?
Answer: The CMTS rejects the registration because the CMTS MIC does not match. The CMTS MIC is a hash of the config settings keyed with the shared secret, and the modem copies it into its registration request. Edited settings no longer match the MIC, so the CMTS rejects the registration. The protection exists to stop users loading their own speed tiers.
12. Proactive network maintenance data show many modems on one node with pre-equalization coefficients that share a strong echo at the same delay. What does this most likely indicate?
Answer: A common impedance mismatch in the shared plant, which the echo delay helps locate. Pre-equalization taps describe the echo each modem's signal suffers on the upstream path. When many modems share the same echo delay, the fault is in plant they have in common, such as a loose connector or damaged cable, and the delay converts to a distance for locating it. Faults in individual homes would show different signatures.
13. A DOCSIS 3.0 modem reports +18 dBmV on its 256-QAM SC-QAM downstream channels. What is the correct conclusion?
Answer: The level is above the DOCSIS 3.0 input range; reduce it, for example with an attenuator. DOCSIS 3.0 specifies a modem input range of -15 to +15 dBmV per SC-QAM channel, so +18 dBmV risks overload and distortion. Pad it down, and many operators target a tighter window near 0 dBmV. Removing a splitter would raise the level further.
14. A cloned modem with a copied MAC address but no valid device certificate tries to register on a CMTS enforcing BPI+. What stops it?
Answer: BPI+ authorization, which requires an X.509 device certificate chained to the DOCSIS root. BPI+ authenticates the modem with its X.509 device certificate and manufacturer certificate chained to the DOCSIS root, and the CMTS issues the authorization key only after validating them. A copied MAC address gives the clone no matching private key. Config file MICs and DHCP leases are not tied to the device identity.
15. Which CMTS message tells a DOCSIS 3.0 modem whether to provision in IPv4, IPv6, alternate or dual-stack mode?
Answer: MAC Domain Descriptor (MDD). The MDD carries the IP provisioning mode TLV along with the downstream channel list and other MAC domain settings. The UCD describes upstream channel parameters, the MAP allocates upstream minislots, and RNG-RSP returns timing, power and frequency adjustments.

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SCTE DEP exam FAQ

How many questions are on the SCTE DEP exam?

50 questions, with a time limit of 3 hours (dep, dvep and ipep get 3 hours; most scte exams get 2). the exam cannot be paused and breaks are not allowed. Format: open book under the scte certification exam integrity policy: scte online training materials, books, printed documents, notes, tables, calculators and internet resources are allowed (digital content in a tab of the same browser), but ai tools and ai-enabled search are banned. written knowledge exam only.

What is the passing score for SCTE DEP?

76%.

How much does the SCTE DEP exam cost?

US$125 (same for SCTE members and non-members); each attempt needs a new fee. Certification is valid 3 years; the recertification application fee is US$110 (US$60 for members). BICSI fees can change without notice, so confirm on bicsi.org before you apply.

Which languages is the SCTE DEP exam offered in?

English. SCTE's catalog lists Spanish versions of some exams, but not DEP.

Where do I take the SCTE DEP exam?

Bought from the SCTE online exam catalog and taken online with Proctorio remote proctoring in a Chromium browser (Chrome or Edge); the exam must be taken within one year of purchase.

Is this SCTE DEP practice test free?

Yes. The 15-question practice test on this page is free, with an explanation for every answer and no signup. A free account also unlocks the complete study notes for the first topic. The full SCTE DEP prep is Premium at $147 a month for this exam.

What's in the premium SCTE DEP prep?

3,000 practice questions organized topic by topic (Architecture: HFC, CCAP and Distributed Access: 450; DOCSIS Versions and Spectrum Plans: 425; DOCSIS Layering: Physical Layer: 425; DOCSIS Layering: MAC, Ranging and Scheduling: 425; DOCSIS Operations: Provisioning and Registration: 425; DOCSIS Operations: Plant Performance and PNM: 425; DOCSIS Enablement: Security, IPv6 and Services: 425), 6 full-length timed mock exams of 50 questions, 800 flashcards and 60 comprehensive key notes split across all 7 topics, plus a mistakes bank and the Readiness Score.

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Exam details are summarized from the official candidate information available in October 2026. BICSI changes formats and fees, so confirm with SCTE, a subsidiary of CableLabs; DEP is offered in partnership with CableLabs before you book. RCDDQuizBank is not affiliated with BICSI or Pearson VUE.

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