HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate (004) Exam Guide
At a glance
- Time limit
- 1h
- Exam fee
- $70.5
- Governing body
- HashiCorp
The HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate (004) validates your ability to use Terraform in production environments. Aimed at cloud engineers, DevOps practitioners, and infrastructure professionals, this certification demonstrates mastery of infrastructure-as-code fundamentals and practical Terraform skills.
The exam covers eight objective areas: Infrastructure as Code concepts, Terraform fundamentals, the core workflow, configuration, modules, state management, maintenance, and HCP Terraform. You'll be tested on your ability to read and modify configurations, manage infrastructure using Terraform's workflow, handle state including remote backends and locking, and leverage cloud collaboration features in HCP Terraform.
The exam costs $70.50 USD. This price covers the exam attempt only; a free retake is not included.
The 60-minute online proctored exam contains multiple-choice questions in three formats: true or false, single-answer multiple choice, and multiple-answer questions. Your certification is valid for 2 years upon passing. Basic terminal skills and understanding of on-premises and cloud architecture are recommended prerequisites.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Terraform Associate (004) exam cost, and how long is it?
The HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate (004) exam costs $70.50 USD, plus any locally applicable taxes and fees. It's an online proctored, multiple choice exam that lasts 60 minutes (1 hour). Note that a free retake is not included in the exam price, so if you don't pass on the first attempt you'll need to pay again to retake it. Budget for that possibility when planning your certification spend.
What version of Terraform does the 004 exam test on, and what topics are covered?
The 004 exam tests on Terraform 1.12, so study materials and hands-on practice should target that version rather than older releases. The exam measures knowledge across eight objective domains: Infrastructure as Code (IaC) concepts, the purpose of Terraform versus other IaC tools, Terraform basics, using Terraform outside the core workflow, interacting with modules, the core Terraform workflow, implementing and maintaining state, and reading/generating/modifying configuration. State management content covers local and remote backends, state locking, and drift management, while HCP Terraform content covers cloud-based infrastructure creation, collaboration features, and workspace organization. HashiCorp does not publish per-objective percentage weightings, so it's wise to prepare across all eight domains rather than guessing which carry the most questions.
Do I need prior experience to take the Terraform Associate exam?
There are no mandatory prerequisites, but HashiCorp recommends basic terminal skills and a basic understanding of on-premises and cloud architecture. Professional experience with Terraform is recommended but not required. The exam is aimed at Cloud Engineers, DevOps practitioners, and others who use Terraform in production, so time spent actually writing and applying Terraform configurations will serve you better than memorization alone. If you're new to the command line or cloud concepts, cover those fundamentals before diving into exam-specific study.
What question formats appear on the exam, and how long is the certification valid?
The exam uses three question formats: true or false, multiple choice, and multiple answer. For multiple answer questions, be aware that you may need to select more than one correct option, so read each prompt carefully to see how many answers are expected. Once you pass, the Terraform Associate credential is valid for 2 years, after which you'll need to recertify to keep the credential current.