# Pass AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02)

> A 90-minute, 65-question foundational exam scored 100–1,000 with 700 to pass — the four domains, the free AWS training path, and a four-week plan.

- **Section:** Career & skills · **Region:** Global · **Difficulty:** easy
- **Time:** 3–4 weeks of preparation · 90-minute exam · results within five business days
- **Cost:** US$100 exam fee (a 50% voucher is common after passing any AWS exam); AWS Skill Builder training free
- **You end up with:** AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner credential, valid three years
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-09-05 · **Canonical:** https://for.do/p/aws-cloud-practitioner/

## Before you start

- An AWS Certification account (aws.training) and a photo ID matching it
- Basic familiarity with what a server, storage and a network are; no coding required

Cloud Practitioner is the entry-level AWS certification: foundational breadth across concepts, security, services and billing, with no hands-on labs in the exam. It is the most forgiving cloud certification to schedule around a job, and a common first step before an associate-level exam.

## 1. Set up accounts

- [ ] Create an AWS Certification account and note the exact name on your ID.
- [ ] Open a free AWS account to click through the consoles you study; the Free Tier covers what you need.

## 2. Learn the four domains

- [ ] Take the free "AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials" course on Skill Builder (about 6 hours).
- [ ] Read the exam guide (CLF-C02) and tick each task statement as you cover it.
- [ ] Learn the shared responsibility model, the Well-Architected Framework pillars, and the pricing/support plan tiers cold.

## 3. Practise the question style

- [ ] Use the official AWS practice question set and one reputable practice exam series.
- [ ] Target 80%+ consistently before booking; review every miss by domain.

## 4. Book and sit the exam

- [ ] Schedule through the certification portal with Pearson VUE: test centre or online proctored; pay US$100.
- [ ] 65 questions (50 scored, 15 unscored), 90 minutes; there is no penalty for wrong answers, so answer all.
- [ ] Results appear in the portal within five business days; the digital badge follows via Credly.

## 5. Use it

- [ ] Add the badge to LinkedIn and your CV; claim the 50% voucher for your next AWS exam.
- [ ] Set a reminder for recertification before the three-year expiry.

## Where people get this wrong

- Studying only services. The exam weights concepts — shared responsibility, the Well-Architected pillars, pricing models, support plans — as much as service names.
- Ignoring billing and pricing. It is a full domain; questions about Savings Plans, Reserved Instances, the Free Tier and Cost Explorer are reliable marks.
- Guessing at the scaled score. 700 of 1,000 is the pass mark, but the scaling is not a percentage; aim for 80%+ on practice sets.

## Questions

**What are the domains?**  
Cloud Concepts (24%), Security and Compliance (30%), Cloud Technology and Services (34%), Billing, Pricing and Support (12%).

**Online or test centre?**  
Both via Pearson VUE. Online proctoring needs a quiet private room and a clean desk; a centre avoids the technical checks.

**How long is it valid?**  
Three years. Recertify by passing the same exam or a higher-level AWS exam before expiry.

## Tools used

- [Pearson VUE](https://find.do/t/pearson-vue/) — Test delivery for AWS, Cisco, CompTIA and hundreds of certifications.
- [AWS Skill Builder](https://find.do/t/aws-skill-builder/) (official) — AWS's own training, including the free Cloud Practitioner Essentials course.
- [AWS Certification portal](https://find.do/t/aws-certification/) (official) — Book AWS exams, claim vouchers, manage credentials.
- [Credly](https://find.do/t/credly/) — Digital badges for certifications, shareable to LinkedIn.

## Sources

- [AWS — Certified Cloud Practitioner (official)](https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-cloud-practitioner/)
- [AWS Skill Builder — Cloud Practitioner Essentials](https://skillbuilder.aws/)