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AWS · Cloud · Associate

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam guide

Exam SAA-C03

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate proves you can design secure, resilient, high-performing and cost-optimized architectures on AWS using the Well-Architected Framework. It remains the most requested AWS credential in cloud job postings and the usual first step beyond Cloud Practitioner.

Questions65 (50 scored, 15 unscored)
Time limit130 minutes
Passing score720 (100-1000 scale)
Exam fee$150 USD
Valid for3 years
DeliveryPearson VUE test center or online proctored

Format: Multiple choice and multiple response; scenario-based. Fee note: Plus applicable taxes/FX; 50% off with a voucher from a previously passed AWS exam.

Who it's for

IT professionals, developers and sysadmins with about a year of hands-on AWS experience who design or recommend cloud architectures.

What the exam covers

Design Secure Architectures30%
Design Resilient Architectures26%
Design High-Performing Architectures24%
Design Cost-Optimized Architectures20%

Eligibility & prerequisites

Required: None

Recommended: At least 1 year of hands-on experience designing cloud solutions that use AWS services. AWS suggests candidates with no IT experience earn Cloud Practitioner first.

Keeping it active

Valid 3 years. Recertify by passing the latest version of this exam before expiry, or by passing a higher-level AWS exam in the same path (for example a related Professional exam). After passing any AWS exam you receive a 50% discount voucher for your next exam.

Skills & careers

Skills it validates

  • Designing multi-tier VPC architectures with public/private subnets
  • IAM policies, roles and cross-account access
  • Choosing between EC2, Lambda, ECS/EKS and Fargate
  • Multi-AZ and multi-Region resilience with RDS, Aurora, Route 53 and S3 replication
  • Decoupling with SQS, SNS and EventBridge
  • Selecting S3 storage classes, EBS volume types and caching with CloudFront/ElastiCache
  • Cost optimization with Savings Plans, Spot and right-sizing

Job roles

Cloud Solutions ArchitectCloud EngineerAWS ArchitectSolutions EngineerCloud ConsultantInfrastructure Engineer

Where it fits in your path

Planning a degree too? See how this cert earns college credit in the College Credit Navigator.

Build my study plan

  1. Week 1-2: Core services - IAM, VPC (subnets, route tables, NAT, endpoints), EC2, EBS, S3; build a 2-tier VPC by hand
  2. Week 3-4: Databases and resilience - RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, ElastiCache, Route 53 routing policies, backup and DR patterns
  3. Week 5: Decoupling and serverless - SQS, SNS, EventBridge, Lambda, API Gateway, Step Functions, Kinesis
  4. Week 6: Security deep dive - KMS, Secrets Manager, WAF, Shield, Organizations SCPs, Cognito
  5. Week 7: Cost and performance - pricing models, S3 lifecycle, CloudFront, Auto Scaling; read Well-Architected pillar summaries
  6. Week 8: Two or three full timed practice exams; review every wrong answer against AWS docs

Make it yours: pick your exam date and weekly hours. We'll split your time by domain weight and give you a printable plan.

Exam-day tips

  • Security is 30% of scored content: know when to use bucket policies vs IAM policies vs SCPs, and KMS vs CloudHSM
  • Look for the qualifier in each question (most cost-effective, least operational overhead, highest availability) - it decides between otherwise valid answers
  • Least operational overhead usually points to managed or serverless services (Aurora Serverless, Fargate, DynamoDB) over self-managed EC2
  • Memorize RDS Multi-AZ (HA, synchronous) vs read replicas (scaling, asynchronous) - it appears repeatedly
  • Know gateway vs interface VPC endpoints and which services support each
  • Flag long scenario questions and return; 130 minutes for 65 questions leaves about 2 minutes each

Key terms for this exam

All 192 terms Study with thinQcards™

Commonly confused on this exam

Frequently asked questions

How much does the SAA-C03 exam cost?

$150 USD plus applicable taxes. If you already passed an AWS exam you can use the 50% discount voucher from that pass.

How hard is the AWS Solutions Architect Associate?

It is a moderate associate-level exam. Most candidates with a year of AWS experience need 6-10 weeks of study; the difficulty is scenario reading and picking the best of several workable answers.

How long is the AWS SAA certification valid?

Three years. You renew by passing the current SAA exam again or by passing the Solutions Architect - Professional exam.

Is AWS Solutions Architect Associate worth it in 2026?

Yes for cloud, infrastructure and solutions roles. It is one of the most frequently listed cloud certifications in job postings and is the standard prerequisite-in-practice for the Professional level.

SAA-C03 vs Developer Associate: which first?

Choose SAA if you design or operate infrastructure; choose Developer Associate if you write application code that calls AWS APIs. Many people take SAA first because its broad coverage helps on every other AWS exam.

Official page: aws.amazon.com. Reviewed November 2026. Vendors change fees and objectives, so confirm with the vendor before you book. Spot something out of date? Tell us.