PSAP study guide
PSAP · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Physical Security Access Professional (PSAP) is a vendor-neutral credential for practitioners who design, install, operate, or audit electronic access control in buildings and campuses. It suits security managers, integrators and technicians, locksmiths moving into electronic access control, facilities and IT staff who share responsibility for door systems, and consultants who need a common vocabulary across physical and cyber domains. The PSAP study guide has 8 sections and about 2,624 words.
01Access Control Fundamentals and Risk Assessment
This domain tests whether you can tie access control decisions to a defensible risk assessment rather than to hardware preferences. Expect questions on asset identification, threat and vulnerability analysis, defense in depth, risk treatment, residual risk, and how access control fits a broader physical security program.
309 words, about 2 min02Physical Access Control Systems (PACS) Architecture and Components
This domain tests the signal path and division of labor in a PACS: credential, reader, controller, door hardware, head end, network, and power. You should know what makes an access decision, what happens when the server is offline, and where architecture weak points sit.
351 words, about 2 min03Credentials, Readers, and Identity Verification Technologies
This domain tests how identity is enrolled, bound to a credential, presented at a reader, and revoked. Expect questions on card technologies, mobile credentials, biometrics, PINs, authentication factors, and identity proofing.
341 words, about 2 min04Electronic Access Control Hardware: Locks, Controllers, and Door Hardware
This domain tests the physical layer: locks, strikes, controllers, power supplies, request-to-exit devices, door position switches, and fire-rated door hardware. You must connect electrical behavior to life-safety and security outcomes.
338 words, about 2 min05System Design, Integration, and Installation
This domain tests how requirements become a working, documented, and commissioned system. Expect questions on door schedules, riser diagrams, cable schedules, power calculations, integration points, installation practices, testing, and as-built documentation.
319 words, about 2 min06Cybersecurity and Information Security for Physical Security Systems
This domain tests the PACS as a networked OT and IoT system. Expect questions on default credentials, network segmentation, encryption, patching, remote access, logging, supply-chain risk, and the physical security of controllers and servers.
312 words, about 2 min07Operations, Monitoring, and Incident Response
This domain tests what happens after installation: alarm handling, operator procedures, video verification, access events, visitor management, reporting, training, and incident documentation. Expect questions on prioritization, escalation, evidence preservation, and after-action review.
309 words, about 2 min08Codes, Standards, Compliance, and Privacy
This domain tests the legal and standards environment around access control: life safety, building codes, accessibility, listing requirements, and privacy. Expect questions on egress, fire alarm release, ADA considerations, standards such as NFPA 101 and UL 294, PIV and FIPS 201, and data protection principles.
345 words, about 2 min