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HashiCorp · Cybersecurity · Associate

HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate exam guide

Exam Vault Associate (003)

The HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate proves you understand how to authenticate to Vault, write policies, manage tokens and leases, and use secrets engines including encryption as a service. Secrets management sits at the center of zero-trust and DevSecOps programs, so the credential is useful for security and platform engineers in 2026.

QuestionsSee official page
Time limit60 minutes
Passing scoreSee official page
Exam fee$71 USD
Valid for2 years
DeliveryOnline proctored

Format: Multiple choice. Fee note: Plus local taxes and fees; no free retake.

Who it's for

Cloud, security and DevOps engineers who deploy or consume HashiCorp Vault for secrets, PKI or encryption.

What the exam covers

Authentication methods—
Vault policies—
Vault tokens—
Vault leases—
Secrets engines—
Encryption as a service—
Vault architecture fundamentals—
Vault deployment architecture—
Access management architecture—

A dash means the vendor does not publish a weight for that domain.

Eligibility & prerequisites

Required: None. HashiCorp expects basic terminal skills and an understanding of on-premises/cloud architecture and security.

Recommended: Professional Vault experience recommended; practicing the objectives in a personal dev-mode cluster is an accepted alternative.

Keeping it active

Valid 2 years. Recertify by passing the current exam version.

Skills & careers

Skills it validates

  • Configuring auth methods (AppRole, userpass, OIDC, Kubernetes)
  • Writing path-based ACL policies
  • Managing service vs batch tokens, TTLs and orphans
  • Using KV, database and transit secrets engines
  • Lease renewal, revocation and response wrapping
  • Seal/unseal, Shamir and replication concepts
  • Vault Agent and Vault Secrets Operator

Job roles

DevSecOps EngineerCloud Security EngineerPlatform EngineerDevOps EngineerSecurity 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: Run vault server -dev, enable KV v2, userpass and AppRole; write and test policies with the CLI and UI.
  2. Week 2: Tokens and leases - create service, batch and orphan tokens, observe TTL and max TTL, renew and revoke leases.
  3. Week 3: Secrets engines - dynamic database credentials, transit encrypt/decrypt/rotate, response wrapping.
  4. Week 4: Architecture - seal/unseal, auto-unseal, storage backends, DR vs performance replication, HCP Vault Dedicated, Vault Agent and VSO.
  5. Week 5: Practice questions and re-read the official objectives to close gaps.

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

  • Memorize policy capabilities (create, read, update, delete, list, sudo, deny) and how glob and + wildcards match paths.
  • Know token behaviors cold: batch tokens cannot be renewed or create child tokens; orphan tokens survive parent revocation.
  • Expect API, CLI and UI questions for the same task - know the curl path form (v1/...).
  • Understand transit key rotation and min_decryption_version.
  • Distinguish performance replication (read scaling) from DR replication (standby).

Key terms for this exam

All 6 terms Study with thinQcards™

Frequently asked questions

How much does the Vault Associate exam cost?

$70.50 USD plus local taxes and fees, with no free retake.

What version of Vault does 003 cover?

Vault 1.19.

How long is Vault Associate valid?

2 years.

Should I take Terraform or Vault Associate first?

Terraform first if you are infrastructure-focused; Vault first if your role is security or secrets management. Both are short 1-hour exams.

Is there a Vault professional exam?

HashiCorp has offered a hands-on Vault Operations Professional exam; check the HashiCorp certification site for current availability.

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