AWS Certified Developer - Associate Exam Guide
At a glance
- Questions
- 65
- Time limit
- 2h 10m
- Passing score
- 720/1000
- Exam fee
- $150
- Governing body
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
The AWS Certified Developer - Associate (DVA-C02) validates your ability to develop, deploy, and debug cloud applications on Amazon Web Services. This credential is ideal for developers building serverless, microservices, and containerized applications. It demonstrates proficiency with AWS SDKs, APIs, and core services essential for modern cloud development.
The exam covers four content domains: Development with AWS Services (32%), Security (26%), Deployment (24%), and Troubleshooting and Optimization (18%). You'll be tested on designing applications with compute, storage, and database services; implementing security controls; automating deployments; and optimizing performance and costs across AWS infrastructure.
The exam costs 150 USD to register. This fee covers one attempt at the certification, though you can reschedule up to twice if needed. Pricing may vary by region—check your local AWS Certification Account for exact details and available payment methods.
The AWS Developer Associate exam contains 65 questions (50 scored, 15 unscored) and must be completed in 130 minutes. You can test at a Pearson VUE center or take the OnVUE online-proctored exam, available 24/7. The passing score is 720 on a scale of 100 to 1,000. Your credential is valid for 3 years.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the AWS Certified Developer - Associate exam, and how long do I have?
The exam contains 65 questions that are either multiple choice or multiple response, and you have 130 minutes to complete it. Only 50 of those questions actually affect your score — the other 15 are unscored items that do not count toward your result. That works out to an average of two minutes per question, so build your pacing plan around the full set of 65 rather than trying to guess which items are scored.
What score do I need to pass the AWS Developer - Associate exam?
You need a minimum passing score of 720, reported on a scaled score range of 100 to 1,000. Your result is calculated only from the 50 scored questions; the 15 unscored questions are excluded from scoring entirely. Because the result is a scaled score rather than a raw percentage, there is no fixed number of correct answers that guarantees a pass — aim for consistent competence across every domain instead of targeting a specific hit rate.
Which content domains should I spend the most study time on?
The exam guide defines 4 content domains: Development with AWS Services at 32% of scored content, Security at 26%, Deployment at 24%, and Troubleshooting and Optimization at 18%. Development and Security together make up 58% of scored content, so hands-on fluency with AWS service development and security practices gives you the highest return on study time. Don't write off Troubleshooting and Optimization, though — at 18% of scored content it is still large enough to swing a borderline result.
How much does the exam cost, and how do scheduling and rescheduling work?
The exam costs 150 USD to register. You schedule it with Pearson VUE from your AWS Certification account, which routes you to Pearson VUE's scheduling system. You can sit the exam either at a physical Pearson VUE test center or as an OnVUE online proctored exam, and most online-proctored appointments are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If plans change, you can reschedule up to 24 hours before your scheduled exam time, but each appointment can only be rescheduled twice — so pick a date you are genuinely confident about. Once you pass, the credential is valid for 3 years.