AWS Solutions Architect
Offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS)
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) validates your ability to design cost-effective, resilient, secure, and high-performing systems on AWS. It is a widely pursued associate-level AWS certification and a common next step after Cloud Practitioner.
EXAM AT A GLANCE
Questions
65
Testing time
130
minutes
Sections
4
Delivery
Pearson VUE test center or online proctored
Passing score
720
Cost
$150 USD
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Discussions
AWS Solutions Architect candidates: would you take SAP-C02 now or wait for SAP-C03?
Join discussion →What the exam covers
Design Secure Architectures
30%
Design Resilient Architectures
26%
Design High-Performing Architectures
24%
Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
20%
About the AWS Solutions Architect certification
The exam focuses on architecture design decisions across the breadth of AWS services rather than deep coding, and is often taken by people with solid IT fundamentals.
Who it’s for
Engineers, architects, and IT professionals who design or want to design solutions on AWS.
- Passing score
- 720 out of 1000 (scaled)
- Validity
- 3 years
- Prerequisites
- No prerequisites; AWS recommends about 1 year of hands-on experience designing on AWS
Official exam page· Details verified August 2026
Exam details can change. Always confirm current requirements, fees, and exam policies with the certification provider before registering.
How to prepare
01
Get comfortable with core services: EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, RDS, and DynamoDB.
02
Read the official SAA-C03 exam guide and map each domain to services.
03
Build hands-on: launch a VPC, host a resilient web app, and practice IAM policies.
04
Study the AWS Well-Architected Framework — the exam is built around its pillars.
05
Take the official practice exam and review every wrong answer's reasoning.
FAQ
Should I take Cloud Practitioner first?
It's optional. If you're new to AWS or to IT, Cloud Practitioner builds useful foundations, but experienced engineers often go straight to Solutions Architect – Associate.
How much coding is on the exam?
Very little. It focuses on architecture and service selection, not writing code.
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