Associate – Foundations: exam code	CCAO-F	facts associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: how many items	60 items	facts associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: list fee before partner discount	$99	facts associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: heaviest domain and its weight	Output evaluation at 21%	blueprint associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: lightest domain and its weight	Troubleshooting at 10%	blueprint associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: domains in weight order	Output evaluation 21% → Workflow integration 16% → Governance and risk 15% → Prompting 14% → Product and model choice 12% → Configuration 12% → Troubleshooting 10%	blueprint associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: who is it for	Consultants, sellers, and delivery leads	facts associate-foundations
Developer – Foundations: exam code	CCDV-F	facts developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: how many items	53 items	facts developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: list fee before partner discount	$125	facts developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: heaviest domain and its weight	Applications and integration at 33.1%	blueprint developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: lightest domain and its weight	Eval, testing, and debugging at 2.6%	blueprint developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: domains in weight order	Applications and integration 33.1% → Model selection and optimization 16.8% → Agents and workflows 14.7% → Prompt and context engineering 11.0% → Tools and MCPs 10.6% → Security and safety 8.1% → Claude Code 3.1% → Eval, testing, and debugging 2.6%	blueprint developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: who is it for	Engineers building on the Claude platform	facts developer-foundations
Architect – Foundations: exam code	CCAR-F	facts architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: how many items	60 items	facts architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: list fee before partner discount	$125	facts architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: heaviest domain and its weight	Agentic architecture at 27%	blueprint architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: lightest domain and its weight	Context and reliability at 15%	blueprint architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: domains in weight order	Agentic architecture 27% → Claude Code workflows 20% → Prompting, structured output 20% → Tool design and MCP 18% → Context and reliability 15%	blueprint architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: who is it for	Architects building production systems	facts architect-foundations
Architect – Professional: exam code	CCAR-P	facts architect-professional
Architect – Professional: how many items	63 items	facts architect-professional
Architect – Professional: list fee before partner discount	$175	facts architect-professional
Architect – Professional: heaviest domain and its weight	Integration at 19%	blueprint architect-professional
Architect – Professional: lightest domain and its weight	Developer enablement at 7%	blueprint architect-professional
Architect – Professional: domains in weight order	Integration 19% → Solution design 17% → Evaluation and testing 16% → Governance and risk 14% → Stakeholders, lifecycle 14% → Models and prompting 13% → Developer enablement 7%	blueprint architect-professional
Architect – Professional: who is it for	Architects governing systems at scale	facts architect-professional
Associate – Foundations: Verify anything specific and consequential. Why?	Confidence is not evidence.	rules associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: Omission fails too. Why?	Read the source, not only the output.	rules associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: Anonymize, then analyze. Why?	Instructions are not a control.	rules associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: finish the rule: Match the model to the ...	Match the model to the task in both directions.	rules associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: finish the rule: Structure beats intensifiers: ...	Structure beats intensifiers: role, sections, constraints, example.	rules associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: finish the rule: Projects hold what repeats; ...	Projects hold what repeats; prompts hold what changes.	rules associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: finish the rule: Project knowledge is maintained by you, ...	Project knowledge is maintained by you, not self-updating.	rules associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: finish the rule: Diagnose what changed ...	Diagnose what changed before rewriting anything.	rules associate-foundations
Associate – Foundations: finish the rule: Escalate system integrations to ...	Escalate system integrations to Developer and Architect scope.	rules associate-foundations
Developer – Foundations: finish the rule: stop_reason drives the loop: ...	stop_reason drives the loop: tool_use executes, end_turn finishes.	rules developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: finish the rule: Batches for latency-tolerant volume: ...	Batches for latency-tolerant volume: half cost, 24-hour window.	rules developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: Stable prefix first, then cache it. Why?	Cuts latency and cost together.	rules developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: finish the rule: Enforce a schema, ...	Enforce a schema, validate, retry with the validation error.	rules developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: Known path is a workflow. Why?	Unknown path earns an agent.	rules developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: finish the rule: Subagents exist to isolate context, ...	Subagents exist to isolate context, not to add horsepower.	rules developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: finish the rule: Pin model versions; ...	Pin model versions; upgrades become evaluated changes.	rules developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: finish the rule: Injection is defeated structurally, ...	Injection is defeated structurally, never by asking politely.	rules developer-foundations
Developer – Foundations: finish the rule: A tool the agent does not ...	A tool the agent does not hold cannot be misused.	rules developer-foundations
Architect – Foundations: finish the rule: Agent loops need engineered termination, ...	Agent loops need engineered termination, not a token budget.	rules architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: finish the rule: Escalate on policy gaps ...	Escalate on policy gaps and lack of progress.	rules architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: finish the rule: Structured errors: ...	Structured errors: a category and a retryable flag.	rules architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: Tool descriptions are the selection mechanism. Why?	Differentiate them.	rules architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: finish the rule: Hard limits belong in the tool layer, ...	Hard limits belong in the tool layer, never in a prompt.	rules architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: finish the rule: CLAUDE.md hierarchy, ...	CLAUDE.md hierarchy, with path-scoped rules for conditional context.	rules architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: finish the rule: CI means headless: ...	CI means headless: print mode, JSON output, a schema.	rules architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: finish the rule: Subagents return findings; ...	Subagents return findings; raw documents stay at the edge.	rules architect-foundations
Architect – Foundations: finish the rule: Provenance must survive ...	Provenance must survive every handoff.	rules architect-foundations
Architect – Professional: finish the rule: Climb the pattern ladder only when ...	Climb the pattern ladder only when the rung below cannot hold.	rules architect-professional
Architect – Professional: finish the rule: Least privilege means removal, ...	Least privilege means removal, not monitoring.	rules architect-professional
Architect – Professional: finish the rule: Retrieval degradation after a data change ...	Retrieval degradation after a data change is an index problem.	rules architect-professional
Architect – Professional: finish the rule: Subjective quality is measured with ...	Subjective quality is measured with rubrics and labeled sets.	rules architect-professional
Architect – Professional: finish the rule: Prompt changes are production changes: ...	Prompt changes are production changes: regression, then A/B.	rules architect-professional
Architect – Professional: finish the rule: Compliance is enforced before ...	Compliance is enforced before data crosses the boundary.	rules architect-professional
Architect – Professional: finish the rule: Route human review by ...	Route human review by confidence and consequence.	rules architect-professional
Architect – Professional: finish the rule: Present segmented, ...	Present segmented, honest numbers, never a flattering average.	rules architect-professional
Architect – Professional: finish the rule: Observability captures traces, ...	Observability captures traces, not just outputs.	rules architect-professional
Passing score on every Claude certification exam	720 on a scaled range of 100 to 1,000	facts shared
Time limit on every Claude certification exam	120 minutes, with about 135 minutes of total seat time	facts shared
How long is a Claude credential valid	12 months from the date it is earned	policy shared
What does on-time renewal involve	A free, open-book, non-proctored assessment on Anthropic Partner Academy, retakable as often as needed	policy shared
What happens if a credential lapses	You must pass the full exam again at full fee	policy shared
Retake waiting periods after failed attempts	14 days after the first, 30 after the second, 90 after the third	policy shared
Maximum attempts per exam per rolling 12 months	Four	policy shared
Free cancellation or reschedule window	At least 24 hours before the appointment; inside that, the fee is forfeited	policy shared
Who delivers the exams	Pearson VUE, online proctored through OnVUE or at a test center	facts shared
Where does the digital badge come from	Credly, by email after a pass	facts shared
Which exam does not count toward partner tier eligibility	Claude Certified Associate	facts shared
Partner tier discounts on exam fees	Select, Preferred, and Global Premier partners receive 50% off, applied at checkout	facts shared
How is the exam scored, in one phrase	Criterion-referenced: against a fixed standard, not against other candidates	policy shared
What does the score report show beyond pass or fail	The scaled score and percent-correct per domain	policy shared
Is there an official practice exam	No. The previous platform's was retired in the Pearson migration; the exam guides' sample questions are the only official items	policy shared
What is the authoritative scope of an exam	The blueprint in its official exam guide; anything outside it is not tested	policy shared
How many scenarios does Architect Foundations present, and from how many	Four, drawn from a published bank of six	facts architect-foundations
Are the exams open book	No. No notes, documentation, translation tools, or AI assistants	policy shared
Who may currently sit these exams	People at Claude Partner Network organizations, registering with a recognized company email	policy shared
How long do partner email domain record changes take	7 to 10 days, so resolve them before you plan to sit	policy shared
What does the exam NDA cover	Questions, answer options, and scenarios, explicitly including study groups and online forums	policy shared
Where can you take the official courses without a partner account	The public Anthropic Academy; every course is free there	facts shared
Glossary: Blueprint	The exam content outline in each exam guide: the domains measured, their weights, and the objectives items are written against. The authoritative scope of the exam	glossary shared
Glossary: Domain weight	The approximate share of scored items drawn from a domain, for example 33.1% for the Developer exam's Applications and integration domain	glossary shared
Glossary: Task statement	A numbered capability within a domain, used in the Architect Foundations guide, that items are written against	glossary shared
Glossary: MQC	Minimally qualified candidate: the profile of the weakest examinee who should still pass, which the passing standard is calibrated to	glossary shared
Glossary: Criterion-referenced	Scored against a fixed standard rather than against other candidates. There is no curve	glossary shared
Glossary: Scaled score	The reported score on a 100 to 1,000 range, equated so results are comparable across exam forms of slightly different difficulty	glossary shared
Glossary: Cut score	The passing threshold: 720 scaled, for all four exams	glossary shared
Glossary: Item	An exam question. Multiple-choice items have one best answer; multiple-response items state how many responses to select	glossary shared
Glossary: Scenario-based exam	The Architect Foundations format: 4 scenarios drawn from a published bank of 6, each framing a set of items	glossary shared
Glossary: Exam form	A specific assembled version of an exam; forms vary slightly, which scaled scoring corrects for	glossary shared
Glossary: NDA	The non-disclosure agreement accepted before the exam starts: exam content may not be shared, reproduced, or discussed, including in study groups and forums	glossary shared
Glossary: Pearson VUE	The company that delivers the exams, online and at test centers, since June 30, 2026	glossary shared
Glossary: OnVUE	Pearson's online proctoring application, run on your own computer under remote supervision	glossary shared
Glossary: Test center	A physical Pearson location with provided equipment, the alternative to online proctoring	glossary shared
Glossary: Credly	The digital badging platform that issues the shareable credential after a pass	glossary shared
Glossary: CPN	The Claude Partner Network, whose member organizations are eligible for certification	glossary shared
Glossary: Partner tier	An organization's CPN level: Registered pays list price; Select, Preferred, and Global Premier receive 50% off exams	glossary shared
Glossary: Prep path	The curated course sequence on Partner Academy for a specific certification	glossary shared
Glossary: Exam guide	The official PDF for each certification: blueprint, sample questions, policies, and scoring. The single most important study document	glossary shared
Glossary: Renewal assessment	The free, open-book, non-proctored assessment on Partner Academy that extends a credential 12 months when passed before expiry	glossary shared
Glossary: Lapse	Letting a credential expire without renewing; regaining it requires the full exam at full fee	glossary shared
Glossary: Appeal	A formal challenge to a certification decision or result, filed with Pearson within 14 days	glossary shared
Glossary: Question report	Flagging a possibly faulty item to Pearson; separate from an appeal and never counted against you	glossary shared
Glossary: Accommodations	Testing adjustments for documented needs, requested through Pearson and approved before scheduling	glossary shared