AWS Solutions Architect Associate 2026: test dates, format, how to book and practice
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate is the AWS certification for people who design solutions on AWS: secure, resilient, fast and cost-effective architectures. There is no fixed exam date in 2026. You book an open slot at a Pearson VUE test centre or an online proctored session whenever you are ready. As of 20 October 2026 the exam is still SAA-C03, and the AWS exam-guides index lists no newer Solutions Architect – Associate code. This guide covers booking, the exam pattern, the four syllabus domains, the pass mark, and a six-week plan with mock tests.
Solutions Architect Associate at a glance
| Conducting body | Amazon Web Services (AWS Certification) |
| What it is for | Associate-level certification in designing architectures on AWS |
| Exam code | SAA-C03 |
| Mode | Pearson VUE test centre or online proctored |
| Questions | 65 (50 scored, 15 unscored and not identified) |
| Time | 130 minutes |
| Marking | Scaled score 100–1,000; 720 to pass; no penalty for guessing |
| Fee | 150 USD (AWS page, checked 20 October 2026; taxes and exchange rates apply) |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish and Chinese variants |
| Valid for | 3 years |
| Official website | aws.amazon.com/certification |
Test dates and booking
You choose the date. The AWS certification page (checked 20 October 2026) offers the exam at a Pearson VUE testing centre or online, booked through its "Schedule an exam" button.
One dated change: the Italian version of the exam will be retired after 31 December 2026. Candidates who want to test in Italian should book before then.
There is no formal prerequisite. The SAA-C03 exam guide says the target candidate has at least one year of hands-on experience designing solutions with AWS services, and Cloud Practitioner is not required first.
How to book
- Open the Solutions Architect – Associate page and select "Schedule an exam".
- Sign in to your AWS Certification account.
- Choose SAA-C03, your language, and a test centre or online delivery.
- Pick a slot and pay.
- For online delivery, run the Pearson VUE system test in advance.
Keep ready: government photo ID matching your account name; for online testing, a private room, webcam and stable connection.
Exam pattern
| Questions | 65: multiple choice (1 right of 4) or multiple response (2 or more right of 5 or more) |
| Scored | 50; 15 are unscored and not labelled |
| Time | 130 minutes on one clock; domains are not timed separately |
| Blank answers | Marked wrong; no penalty for guessing |
| Result | Scaled 100–1,000; 720 passes |
| Domain pass marks | None; scoring is compensatory, so a strong domain can make up for a weak one |
AWS equates forms and does not publish how many correct answers equal 720. Our practice test reports raw marks out of 65.
Syllabus
| Domain | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Design Secure Architectures | 30% | IAM users, roles and policies, federation, least privilege, multi-account controls; VPC security groups and network ACLs, endpoints, WAF and Shield; encryption, key management and secrets |
| Design Resilient Architectures | 26% | Loose coupling with queues and events, serverless patterns, stateless tiers; Multi-AZ, fault tolerance and disaster recovery matched to RPO and RTO |
| Design High-Performing Architectures | 24% | Storage, compute and database choices for throughput and latency; networking, edge delivery and data ingestion |
| Design Cost-Optimized Architectures | 20% | Storage tiers and lifecycle, compute purchasing and right-sizing, database capacity, data-transfer costs |
The full list is on our Solutions Architect Associate syllabus page and in the SAA-C03 exam guide.
A six-week plan
Week 1: baseline. Sit a full timed Solutions Architect Associate mock test before studying, to see which domain is weakest. Read the exam guide's task statements.
Weeks 2–3: security and resilience (56% between them). IAM policy logic, VPC design (public and private subnets, NAT, security groups versus network ACLs), encryption with KMS; then SQS, SNS, EventBridge, Auto Scaling, load balancers, Multi-AZ databases and the disaster recovery strategies. If you can, build a small VPC and a two-tier app in your own account; hands-on work makes scenario questions easier to picture.
Week 4: performance and cost. Choosing between EBS, EFS and S3 classes; RDS, Aurora and DynamoDB; caching with ElastiCache and CloudFront; Savings Plans, Reserved and Spot capacity; S3 lifecycle rules.
Week 5: full mocks. Two full mocks, 130 minutes each. For every wrong answer, note the keyword in the question that should have pointed you to the right option ("lowest cost", "least operational overhead", "highly available"). Our guide to analysing a mock test shows a method.
Week 6: weak domains and one last mock. Then rest the day before.
Pace: 130 minutes for 65 questions is 2 minutes per question. Long scenario questions take more; flag them and come back.
Useful links
- AWS Solutions Architect – Associate page: booking and fee
- SAA-C03 exam guide
- AWS after-testing policy: scaled scores
- Free Solutions Architect Associate mock test
- Solutions Architect Associate syllabus
- Solutions Architect Associate exam dates
- AWS Cloud Practitioner 2026: format and how to book
Frequently asked questions
What is the AWS Solutions Architect Associate pass mark?
720 on a scale of 100 to 1,000. AWS does not publish the number of correct answers needed, because forms differ slightly in difficulty and are equated.
Is there negative marking in SAA-C03?
No. A blank answer is marked wrong and there is no penalty for guessing, so answer every question.
Do I need Cloud Practitioner before Solutions Architect Associate?
No. There is no prerequisite. The exam guide expects about a year of hands-on AWS design experience, and Cloud Practitioner can be a gentler start if you are new to AWS.
Is SAA-C03 being replaced by a new version?
As of 20 October 2026 the AWS exam-guides index still lists SAA-C03 and no newer code. The certification page's only dated change is the retirement of the Italian version after 31 December 2026.
How many questions are in the Solutions Architect Associate exam?
65 questions in 130 minutes, of which 50 are scored.
How do I renew the certification?
It is valid for three years. AWS says you can recertify by passing the latest version of this exam or by earning Solutions Architect – Professional.