AWS Certification FAQ

AWS Certification helps learners build credibility and confidence by validating their cloud expertise with an industry-recognized credential and organizations identify skilled professionals to lead cloud initiatives using AWS.

Learn about each AWS Certification exam here. To learn more about the benefits of AWS Certification, visit our benefits page.

You must earn a passing score via a proctored exam to earn an AWS Certification. Upon receiving a passing score, you will receive your certification credentials. 

You will be required to update your certification (or recertify) every three years. View the AWS Certification Recertification page for more details.

An exam is a test that validates an individual's technical knowledge of AWS products and services. A certification is a credential that you earn upon successfully passing an exam. This credential is a digital badge and title that you may use on your business cards and other professional collateral to designate yourself as AWS Certified.

AWS Certification uses beta exams to test exam item performance before use in a live exam. An exam may go through the beta process before the exam is launched for the first time. AWS Certification may also complete a beta process when an exam outline changes. If the beta is successful, candidates who passed the exam will be among the first to hold the new certification. Discover what’s coming soon to AWS Certification, including available beta exams, here.

AWS Certification and their vendors are committed to providing all individuals with an opportunity to validate technical skills and cloud expertise. We will provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities to help ensure equitable access to AWS Certification. To learn how to request an accommodation, please visit the Before Testing page section about Requesting Accommodations.

Yes. Any qualifying US veteran covered under a GI Bill with an education provision can submit a reimbursement request to Veterans Affairs for AWS Certification exams taken after December 10, 2015. To qualify, you must purchase your exam via your AWS Certification Account and submit the VA application for reimbursement.

The VA will only pay for the exam fee. Costs connected with preparing for a certification (e.g., training courses or practice exams) are not reimbursable. Learn more.

No. Only AWS Certification exam fees are eligible. Learn more.

Candidates must be 13 years or older to take an AWS Certification exam. For candidates ages 13-17, please see the answer to the question below.

Candidates ages 13-17 are permitted to take AWS Certification exams with the consent of their parent or legal guardian. Candidates must be at least 13 years old at the time of scheduling an exam. This special process is outlined below:

1. Create an AWS Certification Account: The parent or legal guardian must create an AWS Certification Account for their teenage candidate, and the account must be in their teenage candidate’s name. After creating the account, the parent or legal guardian must select the “My Profile” tab, followed by the “Identification” subtab that appears below it. On the next page, they must note the login ID (AWSXXXXXXXX) for their teenage candidate; this will be needed in step 2 below.

2. Open a customer support case: The parent or legal guardian must next open a customer support case with AWS Training and Certification here. In order to avoid delays in processing requests for testing their teenager(s), the parent or legal guardian must enter the following information into the case form’s fields

• First Name: Enter the parent/legal guardian’s first name
• Last Name: Enter the parent/legal guardian’s last name
• Company Name: Enter the teenage candidate’s first and last name
• Email Address: Enter the parent/legal guardian’s email address
• Country/Region: Select your applicable country/region
• Telephone: Enter the parent/legal guardian’s telephone number
• Inquiry Type: Select “Certification”
• Additional Details: Select “Scheduling/Accommodations”
• How can we help you? Enter the phrase “Teenage Candidate” immediately followed by the login ID from the teenage candidate’s AWS Certification Account

Please note. If a teen (13-17) files the initial ticket, they will need to have their parent or legal guardian submit a new ticket completed properly to initiate the process.  

3. Complete a consent form: AWS Customer Service will respond to your customer service case with further instructions. Reply to the customer support email and attach the completed customer support form (available below). The parental/legal guardian consent form must be completed by both the teenage candidate and the parent/legal guardian who will accompany the teenage candidate to their scheduled appointment.

4. After consent form approval, assist in scheduling the exam: Approximately 5-7 business days after receipt of the consent form, AWS Customer Support will either notify the parent/legal guardian if any further information is needed, or if the consent form is approved. Upon receiving that copy of the approved form, the parent/legal guardian can then assist their teenage candidate in scheduling an AWS Certification exam. They may do so by logging into their AWS Certification Account and selecting “Pearson VUE” as the test delivery provider for the appropriate exam.

5. Follow proper identification (ID) steps on the day of the exam appointment:

• The teenage candidate must present one form of photo ID. School IDs are acceptable.
• The parent/legal guardian who is identified on the consent form must accompany the teen candidate to the test center and provide a valid, government-issued ID that matches the name listed on the consent form, as well as a copy of the consent form.
• The parent/legal guardian must sign the log sheet next to the candidate’s signature in order to verify the candidate’s identity.
• The parent/legal guardian is not permitted to wait in the test center after the admission process is completed.

Because certification exam policies often change, the scheduling process above must be repeated, and a new consent form completed and submitted, for each AWS Certification exam taken by a teenage candidate.

To preserve the security and value of the certification program, you must accept the terms and conditions of the AWS Certification Program Agreement when registering for your exam appointment and before beginning the certification exam.

The AWS Certification Program Agreement applies to all exams. It sets forth the AWS Certification Program participation requirements, responsibilities, testing rules, and consequences for noncompliance. Penalties for noncompliance include canceling the results of any AWS Certification exam, revoking any AWS Certification, requiring you to retake an exam, terminating your rights under the AWS Certification Program Agreement, and prohibiting you from participating in the AWS Certification Program.

All AWS Certification exam content, including, without limitation, any questions, answers, and/or diagrams are the proprietary and confidential property of Amazon Web Services (AWS). They may not be copied, reproduced, modified, published, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way without the express written authorization of AWS. Agreeing to the AWS Certification Program Agreement is required to be officially certified and to maintain valid certification.

You can purchase AWS Certification exam vouchers, which eliminates the need for candidates to have to pay when scheduling their exam. They simply enter a voucher code when scheduling exams at Pearson VUE. Learn more here.

Vouchers are available for purchase anytime online. Learn more here.

Training is recommended as part of your certification preparation, but it is not mandatory for the completion of the certification. Go to AWS Skill Builder to find a learning plan that’s right for you.

The best preparation for certification exams is practical experience. We recommend six months to two years of hands-on experience using AWS. We also offer training and materials to help you prepare.

AWS Certification does not publish a list of all services and/or features that are covered in a certification exam. However, the exam guide for each exam does list the current topic areas and objectives covered in the exam. Exam guides can be found here.

AWS Certification passing scores are set by using statistical analysis and are subject to change. AWS does not publish exam passing scores because exam questions and passing scores are updated to reflect changes in test forms as the content is updated. 

AWS Certification regularly rotates questions in and out that adhere to the exam guide. Major revisions to an exam, including changes to an exam guide, will be made public. The exam guide for each exam lists the current topic areas covered by the exam. Exam guides can be found here. 

A new product, service, or feature must be generally available (GA) for 6 months prior to it appearing on a certification exam. Note that this applies only to certification exams, not training: training will cover new services and features more quickly. The AWS Certification team wants to ensure candidates have enough time to work with new services and features before they are assessed against the new material.

AWS Certification does not publish a list of all services and/or features that are covered in a certification exam. However, the exam guide for each exam does list the current topic areas and objectives covered in the exam. Exam guides can be found here. 

The AWS Certification team will replace exam questions determined to be impacted by the change. 

Choose the best available answer from the options in the question. 

Most AWS Certification exams do not display your pass/fail result at the end of the test. Your detailed exam results will be available within five business days of completing your exam in your AWS Certification Account, under Exam History. If you pass your exam, you may receive your Credly digital badge email notification before your exam results are posted to your AWS Certification Account. Credly is our approved digital badge provider.

Only the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam will display your pass/fail result at the end of the test.

Your detailed exam results will be available within five business days of completing your exam in your AWS Certification Account, under Exam History.

Beta exam results are typically available 90 days (13 weeks) or less from the close of the beta exam. You will be notified via email once your exam results are available in your AWS Certification Account.

In addition to validating your technical skills, AWS Certification gives you tangible benefits to help you showcase your achievement and further advance your AWS expertise. View the AWS Certification Benefits page for a complete list of benefits.

Gain access to exclusive AWS Certified benefits via aws.training. Once signed in, go to your AWS Certification Account where you’ll have access to all your benefits. Benefits will be available within five business days after passing your exam. 

To verify an AWS Certification, ask the earner for an AWS Certification digital badge link. Via Credly’s Acclaim platform, we provide digital badges to everyone who earns an AWS Certification to support recognition and verification. Each AWS Certification digital badge has an option to verify it, which checks and displays the issue date as well as the issuer (AWS Training and Certification). Links to AWS Certification digital badges are unique for each AWS Certified individual. Digital badges may also be linked from social media profiles or on personal websites.

You can also verify a digital certificate using the validation number, on the bottom right of an AWS Certification certificate. Earners download certificates from their AWS Certification Account. Once you have the validation number, you can verify the certification.

No, AWS does not provide a list of AWS Certified individuals. Many AWS Certified individuals opt to share their certification status on public profiles and on resumes. AWS Certification digital badges can be verified via Credly’s Acclaim platform.

AWS Certification provides digital badges as a benefit of earning an AWS Certification to showcase certification status. We provide digital badges via Credly’s Acclaim platform to offer flexible options for recognition and verification. You can take advantage of one-click badge sharing on social media newsfeeds, tools for embedding verifiable badges on websites or email signatures, and an optional public profile with all earned AWS Certification badges. Learn more.

If your digital badge(s) do not appear on Credly’s Acclaim platform, you might have more than one AWS Certification Account. Please make sure you are logged into the account which holds your certification(s). If you have more than one AWS Certification Account with the same email address, you will need your accounts merged before you claim your badge(s) on Credly’s Acclaim platform. Please contact us for assistance.