Study guide · Exam overview
The format, passing score, and four content domains of the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam, plus the services and ideas worth learning before you book CLF-C02.
Exam version notice: This overview follows the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam Guide (CLF-C02). The guide lists four domains, 50 scored questions plus 15 unscored questions, and a scaled passing score of 700. Pricing, languages, and delivery options can change. Confirm them on the AWS certification site before you register. Items tagged Extra are useful context that the exam guide places out of scope.
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is the foundational AWS certification. It checks whether you can explain the value of the AWS Cloud, the shared responsibility model, the Well-Architected Framework, security basics, billing, and which core service fits a common use case. It is not tied to one job title. AWS describes the target candidate as someone with up to 6 months of exposure to AWS design, implementation, or operations.
The exam guide is explicit about what that candidate is not expected to do: coding, designing cloud architecture, troubleshooting, implementation, and load or performance testing. If a question asks you to choose a service, it is asking for the purpose of the service, not a console procedure.
Figures below come from the CLF-C02 exam guide and the AWS certification pages reviewed in October 2026.
| Specification | CLF-C02 |
|---|---|
| Level | Foundational. There is no required prerequisite certification. |
| Number of questions | 65. Fifty affect your score. Fifteen are unscored and are not identified on the exam. |
| Question types | Multiple choice (one correct answer and three distractors) and multiple response (two or more correct answers out of five or more options). |
| Length of test | 90 minutes. AWS offers an additional 30 minutes for eligible non-native English speakers who request the ESL accommodation before they register. |
| Passing score | 700 on a scaled range of 100–1,000. Scoring is compensatory: you pass the exam as a whole, not each domain. |
| Recommended experience | Up to 6 months of exposure to the AWS Cloud, in any role. |
| Exam price | Foundational exams are listed at 100 USD. Taxes and local-currency prices can differ. Confirm the current fee before you book. |
| Validity | Three years. Confirm the current recertification options with AWS. |
Unanswered questions are scored as incorrect. There is no penalty for guessing, so answer every question. A scaled score of 700 is not the same thing as 70 percent of the questions.
These percentages are the share of scored content in the official exam guide. The 200 practice questions on this site follow the same weights.
Why the cloud is valuable, and how a migration and a bill change when you leave a data center.
The largest security share on a foundational exam. Know the boundary, then the service that sits on each side of it.
The largest domain. Match a need to a service, not a service to a memorized slogan.
A small domain that is easy to lose points on if you mix up the tools.
The exam guide publishes an in-scope list and an out-of-scope list. Learn the in-scope services first. The same map is in the core notes and flashcards.
| Need | Service to recognize | Remember |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual servers | Amazon EC2 | You choose the instance family and you patch the guest operating system. |
| Run code without servers | AWS Lambda | You provide the function. AWS runs the infrastructure. |
| Object storage | Amazon S3 | Buckets and objects, with storage classes for how often you read the data. |
| Block volume for one instance | Amazon EBS | Persistent disks. Instance store disappears when the instance stops. |
| Managed relational database | Amazon RDS, Amazon Aurora | AWS operates the database engine. DynamoDB is the NoSQL choice. |
| Private network | Amazon VPC | Subnets, gateways, security groups, and network ACLs. |
| DNS | Amazon Route 53 | Names for your resources. CloudFront is the content delivery network. |
| API activity log | AWS CloudTrail | Who called which API. Amazon CloudWatch is metrics, logs, and alarms. |
| Threat detection | Amazon GuardDuty | Findings about suspicious activity. AWS Shield is for DDoS. |
| Queue versus fan-out | Amazon SQS, Amazon SNS | SQS holds a message for one consumer. SNS publishes to many subscribers. |
| Estimate a bill | AWS Pricing Calculator | A forecast before you launch. Cost Explorer looks at spend you already have. |
| Extra Apache Kafka | Amazon MSK | Listed as out of scope in the CLF-C02 exam guide. Do not treat it as a tested service. |
Vendor-neutral versions of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS are in the networking and cloud notes. CLF-C02 asks you to place AWS services on that same map.
Multiple choice has one correct response and three distractors. Multiple response has two or more correct responses out of five or more options. The stem tells you how many to choose. Select every response that completes the statement, and nothing extra.
Distractors are plausible services that solve a nearby problem. If the need is "a durable object store," Amazon EBS is the nearby wrong answer because it is storage, but it is a block volume. Read the noun in the question: file, object, block, queue, topic, or log.
There is no published penalty for a wrong guess. A blank answer is incorrect. On a timed practice exam, answer every item, then use the review to see which domain actually needs work.
A practical sequence if service names still blur together.
Say why elasticity is different from buying a larger server, and name the six Well-Architected pillars without looking.
For EC2, RDS, and Lambda, say who patches what. Then protect the root user and prefer a role over a long-lived access key.
Compute, storage, database, and network first. Add one messaging pair (SQS and SNS) and one observability pair (CloudTrail and CloudWatch).
On-Demand, Spot, Reserved Instances, and Savings Plans solve different constraints. Cost Explorer, Budgets, and the Pricing Calculator are different tools.
Use the four decks until you can answer before the card flips. Revisit misses the next day.
Work through original questions, review every explanation, and return to the notes on domains below 75 percent. Aim for a steady 85 percent before you book.
The overview, core notes, flashcards, and practice exams are all published.
Exam format, the 700 passing score, domain weights, and a study plan.
Reference notes for responsibility, identity, infrastructure, services, pricing, and support.
40 recall cards in four decks, plus memory notes for pillars, services, and pricing.
200 original questions with custom exams, explanations, and a score report by domain.
The current foundational exam in the AWS exam guide is CLF-C02. This overview follows that guide. Confirm the code on the AWS certification page before you book, because AWS can retire an exam version.
Results use a scaled score from 100 to 1,000. The minimum passing score is 700. You do not need a passing score in every domain. A scaled score is not the percentage of questions you answered correctly.
The exam has 65 questions and a 90-minute time limit. Fifty questions affect your score. Fifteen are unscored and are not labeled. Question types are multiple choice and multiple response.
There is no required prerequisite. AWS describes the target candidate as someone with up to 6 months of exposure to the AWS Cloud, in any role.
AWS certifications are valid for three years. Recertification options can change, so confirm the current policy with AWS before your expiration date.
No. The practice questions on this site are original. They are not AWS exam items, and a practice score does not predict a result.
Service names, support-plan names, and prices change. Use the current AWS exam guide and the AWS certification site as the authority when they differ from these notes.
Useful companions while you study.
Generate strong random passwords with custom length, characters, symbols, and security options.
Convert structured data between JSON and YAML with formatting and validation.
Encode text and files to Base64 or decode Base64 data with UTF-8 support.
Compare two text blocks and highlight added, removed, and changed content.
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