Prep
How the AWS certification path is structured
The AWS certification path has four main levels: Foundational, Associate, Professional and Specialty. AWS now also lists a separate Business category, which currently holds one beta exam. AWS lists no formal prerequisites for any of these exams, so you can book a Professional exam without holding an Associate one. What AWS does publish is recommended experience for each exam, and that is the better guide to order.
In practice the path looks like this:
- Foundational: cloud and AI concepts. No hands-on experience expected. Good for beginners and non-technical staff.
- Associate: role-based exams for architects, developers, operations engineers, data engineers and ML engineers. AWS recommends about one year of hands-on AWS work for most of them.
- Professional: advanced exams for architects, DevOps engineers and generative AI developers, with two or more years of experience recommended.
- Specialty: deep exams in one domain. After the Advanced Networking exam retires, Security is the only Specialty exam left on the list.
AWS certifications are valid for three years. You usually renew by passing the latest version of the same exam or by earning a higher-level certification in the same track. For example, AWS lets you renew Solutions Architect - Associate by earning Solutions Architect - Professional.
| Level | Certification | Exam code | Questions | Time | Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundational | Cloud Practitioner | CLF-C02 | 65 | 90 min | 100 |
| Foundational | AI Practitioner | AIF-C01 | 65 | 90 min | 100 |
| Associate | Solutions Architect - Associate | SAA-C03 | 65 | 130 min | 150 |
| Associate | Developer - Associate | DVA-C03 (DVA-C02 until Nov 30, 2026) | 65 | 130 min | 150 |
| Associate | CloudOps Engineer - Associate (formerly SysOps Administrator) | SOA-C03 | 65 | 130 min | 150 |
| Associate | Data Engineer - Associate | DEA-C01 | 65 | 130 min | 150 |
| Associate | Machine Learning Engineer - Associate | MLA-C02 (beta; MLA-C01 in some languages) | 85 beta (MLA-C01: 65) | 170 min beta (MLA-C01: 130 min) | 75 beta (MLA-C01: 150) |
| Professional | Solutions Architect - Professional | SAP-C03 (SAP-C02 until Nov 16, 2026) | 75 | 180 min | 300 |
| Professional | DevOps Engineer - Professional | DOP-C02 | 75 | 180 min | 300 |
| Professional | Generative AI Developer - Professional | AIP-C01 | 75 | 180 min | 300 |
| Specialty | Security - Specialty | SCS-C03 | 65 | 170 min | 300 |
| Specialty | Advanced Networking - Specialty (retires Dec 31, 2026) | ANS-C01 | 65 | 170 min | 300 |
| Business | AI Business Strategist (beta) | AIB-C01 | 85 | 170 min | 50 beta (100 standard) |
What changed in 2026
Several AWS exams changed this year, and many older guides are now out of date. As of November 7, 2026, the official AWS exam guide list shows the following:
- SysOps Administrator is now CloudOps Engineer - Associate. The current exam is SOA-C03. AWS says existing SysOps holders keep their certification for its normal three years and do not need to retake anything.
- Developer - Associate moves to DVA-C03. Registration for DVA-C03 opened on October 27, 2026. The last day to take DVA-C02 is November 30, 2026. The new version adds AI-assisted development tools.
- Solutions Architect - Professional moves to SAP-C03. The last day to take SAP-C02 is November 16, 2026.
- Machine Learning Engineer - Associate is in beta as MLA-C02. Beta delivery started on September 29, 2026, in English only, and general availability dates are still to be announced. The last day for MLA-C01 in English was September 28, 2026. MLA-C01 stays available in Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese until MLA-C02 reaches general availability.
- Generative AI Developer - Professional (AIP-C01) is now on the Professional list.
- Advanced Networking - Specialty (ANS-C01) retires. The last day to take it is December 31, 2026. Certifications earned before then stay active for three years.
- AI Business Strategist (AIB-C01) is a new beta exam in the Business category for people who lead AI initiatives without building them.
The old Machine Learning - Specialty and Data Analytics - Specialty exams no longer appear on the AWS exam list. If a guide still recommends them, it is out of date.
Which exam fits which job
The table at the top of this page lists every current exam with its official numbers. Here is what each Associate exam is actually for, based on the target candidate descriptions AWS publishes:
- Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03): designing systems on AWS that are secure, resilient, high-performing and cost-optimized. Its four domains follow those four goals.
- Developer - Associate (DVA-C03): building, deploying and debugging cloud applications. AWS recommends one or more years of hands-on development on AWS.
- CloudOps Engineer - Associate (SOA-C03): deploying, managing and operating workloads, the classic systems administrator role. About one year of experience is recommended.
- Data Engineer - Associate (DEA-C01): data pipelines and data stores. AWS recommends 2 to 3 years in data engineering or data architecture, with at least 1 to 2 years of hands-on AWS work, so this is not a beginner exam despite the Associate label.
- Machine Learning Engineer - Associate (MLA-C02 beta): building, deploying and maintaining ML solutions with services such as Amazon SageMaker AI and Amazon Bedrock. The update adds generative AI, agentic AI and responsible AI content.
Recommended AWS certification paths by role
This is our recommended order for each common role. The arrows are suggestions, not AWS rules. Skip a step if your experience already covers it.
| Your role or goal | Start with | Then | Advanced step |
|---|---|---|---|
| New to IT or cloud, or non-technical (sales, finance, project management) | Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) | AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) if your work touches AI | Solutions Architect - Associate if you move into a technical role |
| Software developer | Developer - Associate (DVA-C03) | Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03) | DevOps Engineer - Professional (DOP-C02) or Generative AI Developer - Professional (AIP-C01) |
| Solutions or cloud architect | Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03) | Hands-on design work for two or more years | Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C03) |
| Operations, sysadmin or DevOps engineer | CloudOps Engineer - Associate (SOA-C03) | Developer - Associate (DVA-C03) to strengthen CI/CD and code skills | DevOps Engineer - Professional (DOP-C02) |
| Data engineer or analyst | Cloud Practitioner if new to AWS, otherwise Data Engineer - Associate (DEA-C01) | Solutions Architect - Associate for wider design skills | Generative AI Developer - Professional if you build AI applications |
| ML or AI engineer | AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) if new to AI on AWS | Machine Learning Engineer - Associate (MLA-C02) | Generative AI Developer - Professional (AIP-C01) |
| Security professional | Solutions Architect - Associate or CloudOps Engineer - Associate | Two or more years securing AWS workloads | Security - Specialty (SCS-C03) |
| Business leader driving AI adoption | Cloud Practitioner (optional) | AI Business Strategist (AIB-C01, beta) | None required |
A note on security: AWS recommends five years of IT security experience and two or more years of hands-on AWS security work for SCS-C03. If you are earlier in a security career, a vendor-neutral credential such as CompTIA Security+ is usually the better first step.
A note on networking: with Advanced Networking retiring, there is no longer an AWS networking certification to aim for. AWS points to its Skill Builder networking training instead. Network engineers often pair a vendor networking credential such as the CCNA with Solutions Architect - Associate.
What is the best AWS certification?
There is no single best AWS certification. The right one is the exam that matches the job you do or want next. That said, two exams cover most first-time candidates:
- Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) if you have no IT background or work alongside technical teams. It costs USD 100, has 65 questions in 90 minutes, and tests concepts rather than hands-on configuration. You need a scaled score of 700 out of 1,000.
- Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03) if you already work in IT. It costs USD 150, has 65 questions in 130 minutes, and needs a scaled score of 720. It covers the widest range of core services, which is why we recommend it as the first technical AWS exam for most people, whatever their final specialty.
If you already have about a year of AWS experience, you do not need Cloud Practitioner first. AWS advises candidates with no IT experience to take it before the Solutions Architect exam, but it is not a requirement.
How to move along the path
- Download the official exam guide for your exam from the AWS exam guide list and use its domains and task statements as a checklist.
- Check the version. Several exams changed this year. Make sure your study material matches the exam code you will sit, for example DVA-C03 rather than DVA-C02.
- Build things. Use an AWS Free Tier account to launch EC2 instances, create S3 buckets, set up IAM roles and look at billing. Associate and Professional questions are long scenarios that are much easier if you have done the work.
- Practice under time pressure. Take timed practice exams and, for each question, work out why the wrong options are wrong. Our free AWS practice test covers Cloud Practitioner and Solutions Architect - Associate domains.
- Plan renewal. Certifications last three years. Passing the next exam in your track often renews the one below it, so a steady path also keeps your earlier certifications current.
Exam prices are in US dollars. AWS notes that additional costs and foreign exchange rates may apply depending on where you test.