AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03)
Follow a topic roadmap built from the published exam blueprint, with lessons, practice exercises and practice exams.
The most widely held cloud certification. It tests design judgement across security, resilience, performance and cost rather than hands-on operation.
What you'll learn
Every objective AWS Solutions Architect Associate publishes, and what it asks you to be able to do. The percentage is how much of the exam each one is worth.
- Design Secure Architectures (30% of the exam)Design secure access to AWS resources. Design secure workloads and applications. Determine appropriate data security controls.
- Design Resilient Architectures (26% of the exam)Design scalable and loosely coupled architectures. Design highly available and/or fault-tolerant architectures.
- Design High-Performing Architectures (24% of the exam)Determine high-performing and/or scalable network architectures. Design high-performing and elastic compute solutions. Determine high-performing and/or scalable storage solutions. Determine high-performing database solutions. Determine high-performing data ingestion and transformation solutions.
- Design Cost-Optimized Architectures (20% of the exam)Design cost-optimized storage solutions. Design cost-optimized compute solutions. Design cost-optimized database solutions. Design cost-optimized network architectures.
Explore related topics
The exam at a glance
- Length
- 130 minutes
- Cost
- $150
- Validity
- 3 years
- Style
- Multiple choice
65 multiple choice and multiple response questions, at a test centre or online proctored. Based on SAA-C03. Pass mark is 720 on a scaled range of 100 to 1,000.
What to expect on the day
Confirmed 1 October 2026
Current detail on the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam, beyond what its published format covers.
- 50 questions count toward your score and a further 15 are unscored trial questions. They are not marked as such, so there is no question you can safely treat as free.
- An unanswered question is scored as incorrect and there is no penalty for guessing. Answer every one, including the ones you run out of time to read properly.
Sitting the exam
The part nobody publishes in a syllabus. For AWS Solutions Architect Associate the logistics are study strategy: what you are allowed to read while the clock runs changes how you should practise, and what a second attempt costs changes when you should book.
Where you sit it
- Two ways to sit it: at a Pearson VUE test centre, or online proctored from wherever you are.
- Online, you may not stand up or leave the camera's view for any reason at all across the full 130 minutes, a restroom break included. Plan the two hours before it accordingly.
- At a test centre you can take an unscheduled break, but the clock keeps running and you may not leave the building during the exam.
What you are asked
- 65 questions in 130 minutes, each one multiple choice or multiple response.
- That is about two minutes a question. The questions are scenario-shaped, so most of that time goes on reading rather than on deciding.
What you can look at
- Nothing to reference. AWS publishes no permitted-materials list for this exam, and at a test centre your belongings are stored as the staff direct before you enter the room.
How it is marked
- Results post to your AWS Certification Account within five business days, not on the day.
- The score report is a downloadable PDF showing a scaled score rather than a count of right answers, so the same number means the same thing across different versions of the exam.
Identification and proctoring
- Valid government-issued identification establishing residence in a non-sanctioned country, plus a second form of ID.
- If you have no qualifying government ID for the country you are testing in (European Union IDs aside), your primary ID must be an international travel passport from your country of citizenship. The second form of ID is still required.
- The name on your AWS Certification account has to match the name on your identification.
- ID rules differ between online and in-person testing, so check the rules for the one you booked rather than the other.
- Candidates aged 13 to 17 can test with the consent of a parent or legal guardian.
If you do not pass
- No free retake. Fail and you wait 14 calendar days before you are eligible to book again, and you pay the full fee for every attempt.
- There is no limit on how many times you may attempt it.
- Once you pass you cannot retake the same exam for two years, unless AWS republishes it with a new exam guide and code.
Booking it
- $150 USD, and the certification is valid for three years.
- Breaking Pearson VUE's test centre rules can cancel or terminate the exam on the spot, with no refund and no reschedule. Declining the candidate code of conduct does the same.
Read off the official exam page on 25 August 2026. Rules change without notice, so confirm anything you are about to spend money on.
What the exam covers
Straight from the published curriculum. The weights are how much of the exam each area is worth, so they are the honest guide to where your study time should go.
Course content
16 topics
1. AWS Foundations: Regions, Availability Zones and the Shared Responsibility Model
How AWS is laid out and who is responsible for what: regions, availability zones, edge locations, and the shared responsibility model that decides which risks are yours.
2. The Well-Architected Framework and Its Pillars
The six pillars of the Well-Architected Framework, and the trade-offs between them that the exam asks you to reason about in scenario questions.
3. Networking: VPCs, Subnets, Routing and Connectivity
- Determine high-performing and/or scalable network architectures
4. Compute: EC2, Containers and Serverless
- Design high-performing and elastic compute solutions
5. Storage: Object, File and Block
- Determine high-performing and/or scalable storage solutions
6. Databases: Relational, Non-Relational and In-Memory
- Determine high-performing database solutions
7. Data Ingestion, Streaming and Transformation
- Determine high-performing data ingestion and transformation solutions
8. Identity and Access: IAM, Roles and Multi-Account Access
- Design secure access to AWS resources
9. Securing Workloads and Applications
- Design secure workloads and applications
10. Data Security Controls: Encryption, Retention and Recovery
- Determine appropriate data security controls
11. Scalable and Loosely Coupled Architectures
- Design scalable and loosely coupled architectures
12. High Availability, Fault Tolerance and Disaster Recovery
- Design highly available and/or fault-tolerant architectures
13. Cost-Optimized Storage
- Design cost-optimized storage solutions
14. Cost-Optimized Compute
- Design cost-optimized compute solutions
15. Cost-Optimized Databases
- Design cost-optimized database solutions
16. Cost-Optimized Network Architectures
- Design cost-optimized network architectures
What to know before you start
- Hands-on experience using AWS services
- Networking fundamentals: subnets, routing, load balancing
- What the common AWS services are actually for
Other AWS certifications
All AWS certificationsFrequently asked questions
How much does the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam cost?
$150. Confirm it on AWS's page before you book: exam fees change.
How long is the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam?
130 minutes. 65 multiple choice and multiple response questions, at a test centre or online proctored.
How many questions are on the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam?
65 questions in 130 minutes, each one multiple choice or multiple response. Check the current count with AWS before you book.
How long is AWS Solutions Architect Associate valid?
3 years. Check AWS's recertification route before it lapses.
Is the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam hands-on?
No. It is a written exam, so the skill it tests is recognising the right design or command rather than executing it under time pressure.
What is on the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam?
4 domains. The heaviest is Design Secure Architectures at 30% of the exam, so it is the one worth over-preparing.
What should I know before starting AWS Solutions Architect Associate?
Hands-on experience using AWS services. Networking fundamentals: subnets, routing, load balancing. What the common AWS services are actually for.
AWS Solutions Architect Associate vs AWS ML Engineer Associate: what is the difference?
AWS Solutions Architect Associate: 130 minutes, $150, multiple choice. AWS ML Engineer Associate: 130 minutes, $150, multiple choice. Both are AWS exams with their own guide on this site.
Exam details from AWS, checked August 2026. Always confirm on their page before booking.
What learners say about Acelro
About Acelro rather than the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam: what learners made of the gap analysis, the roadmap and the projects.
“The roadmap makes me focus on a learning curve, no matter the length.”
“Acelro has been really great for me, an inspiring experience. I've gained a lot of confidence doing projects I thought were rocket science.”
“The gap analysis maps your actual skills against what the current job market is asking for. Nobody else made it that clear where I stood.”