Coming soon: updates to AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is being updated to reflect changes in trends, the industry landscape, and the work practices of cloud professionals. If you are preparing for this exam, you have the option to take the current exam (CLF-C01) on or before September 18, 2023, or the updated AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam (CLF-C02) starting September 19, 2023.

Passing this certification validates foundational understanding of the commonly used AWS services, support options, and concepts around the value proposition of AWS. You do not need prior cloud experience to prepare for and take this exam. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is designed to be an entry point to learn about AWS Cloud.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is designed for:

• Candidates who have a non-IT background and want to switch to a cloud career
• Sales, product management, project management, customer service, and other line-of-business professionals looking to communicate more effectively with technical stakeholders and customers about the AWS Cloud
• Entry-level IT professionals who might want a high-level understanding of AWS Cloud prior to attempting more advanced AWS Certification(s)

What has changed and why in the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) content outline

The number of domains remains the same between the two versions of the exam, but the number of questions in each domain has been adjusted. Below is a comparison of the current and the updated content outlines:

Specific changes to the content outline:

• Domain 1 now includes the transformation of business outcomes to the AWS Cloud. This is covered by the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework (AWS CAF). This framework, updated in 2021, provides more structured and prescriptive guidance to digitally transform and accelerate your business outcomes through innovative use of AWS. You can use AWS CAF to identify and prioritize transformation opportunities, evaluate and improve cloud readiness, and iteratively evolve a transformation roadmap.
• Domain 2 now includes governance at a higher-level to manage your AWS resources. More and more AWS services now include governance. AWS now offers new options for centralizing  governance to manage and govern at scale with AWS Cloud.
• Domain 3 is now divided into specific topics to give exam candidates more direction on how to prepare for the exam. Previously, this domain included multiple high-level topics. This made it difficult for candidates to understand where to focus their preparation efforts. We have now broken that domain up into the following topics: compute (3.3), database (3.4), network (3.5), storage (3.6), AI/ML (3.7), and other (3.8), with knowledge and skill statements for each topic included in the exam guide.
• Domain 4 now includes support as a consolidated topic, making it easier for candidates to understand the content. Previously, aspects of support were spread across other domains.

How to prepare for the updated AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

You are not required to take any specific AWS training as part of your exam prep. However, we recommend the following four steps to help you get ready for exam day. The preparation resources below are accessible on the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam detail page.

Step 1: Get to know the exam and exam-style questions.

• Review the exam guide to understand who should take the exam and exam topics
• Sign up for a free AWS Skill Builder account, to access our online learning center, and take the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Official Practice Question Set (CLF-C02) available now in English

Step 2: Learn about exam topics in AWS Skill Builder

• Enroll in self-paced digital courses where you need to fill gaps in foundational knowledge
• Learn and apply role-based skills in a gamified environment by enrolling in AWS Cloud Quest: Cloud Practitioner
• Get hands-on with AWS Builder Labs and other interactive content to apply your skills in an AWS Management Console sandbox (subscription required)
• Review white papers:
  • Overview of Amazon Web Services
  • How AWS Pricing Works
  • Compare AWS Support Plans

Step 3: Take exam prep training in AWS Skill Builder

• Enroll in a self-paced digital exam prep course for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-CO2). AWS Skill Builder offers both a free version and an enhanced version that includes additional practice materials (subscription required). Available July 2023.

Step 4: Assess your exam readiness with a practice exam

Take the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Official Practice Exam (CLF-C02) available in English in July 2023. The practice exam offers the same question style, depth, and rigor as the certification exam.

Want more ideas on how to prepare for an AWS Certification exam? Check out the following blogs:

• Learner journey: From zero cloud knowledge to achieving three AWS Certifications in one year
• 10 tips to prepare simultaneously for AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exams

Hear from certified individuals on how this certification jump-started their AWS Cloud career:

• Building a resilient career through AWS re/Start and AWS Certification
• Diana Todea: Lifelong learner with a philosophy of flexibility

This exam is delivered by Pearson VUE, our test delivery provider, at test centers or through online proctoring, in the following languages: English, French (France), German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese, Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), and Traditional Chinese.

Note: AWS Certified individuals receive a single-use 50% discount voucher for any additional AWS Certification exams or for exam retakes to recertify. This discount voucher can be accessed through your AWS Certification Account.

Want to build your cloud career? Choose your AWS Certification path aligned with popular cloud roles and get started.