AssociateVendor-specificAWS· issued from US

AWS SAA

Amazon Web Services Certified Solutions Architect - Associate

Official page at AWS ↔ Compare with another cert

Exam fee

$150

Ongoing

—

Study time

60–120 hrs

Delivery

Hybrid

Validity

3 yrs (renewal cycle)

› Quality score

31.5 / 40

Four-axis SecProve rubric, each 0–10. SecProve editorial assessment — each axis carries a written justification so you can push back on any single call without dismissing the whole score.

Blueprint rigor

How well-defined and rigorous the exam blueprint is.

AWS publishes a clear exam guide; entry-level architect blueprint.

8.0/10

Practical evidence

Hands-on labs / written reports vs pure MCQ.

Scenario items but no real lab.

5.5/10

Currency & upkeep

How aggressively content is kept current with the field.

Refreshed continuously; current SAA-C03 reflects 2024 services.

9.0/10

Market recognition

How often this signal actually moves a hiring decision.

Most-recognised AWS credential by a wide margin; HR-screen default for AWS roles.

9.0/10

› Exam format

65 questions (multiple-choice + multiple-response), 130 minutes. Proctored via Pearson VUE / PSI. Passing score: 720/1000.

Retake policy

Fee: $300 per attempt

Wait: 14d between attempts

14-day wait between attempts. AWS occasionally provides 50% retake vouchers after a fail.

› Recertification

Valid for 3 years. Renewal by re-exam or higher-level AWS cert.

› NICE Framework work roles

The NIST NICE work-role IDs this cert maps to. NICCS lookup.

DD-WRL-001DD-WRL-004

Recognition

Global

Exam languages

› Core domains covered

The 2 domains this cert is centrally about. Passing the exam demonstrates working knowledge of each.

A5Cloud Security

AWS/Azure/GCP security controls, IAM policies, CSPM, container security, shared responsibility model.

A25Security Architecture & Engineering

Reference architectures, control frameworks (NIST SP 800-53, CIS Controls), secure-by-design patterns, threat modeling, trust-boundary design, technology standards.

› Prerequisites

Experience

No formal prerequisites. Recommended: 1 year hands-on AWS experience.

› Progression

requiredrecommended

Where this cert fits in the typical learning path. Required edges are vendor-gated; recommended edges reflect de facto industry progression.

Required prereqs (0)

No vendor-gated prereqs.

Recommended priors (0)

No de facto priors typically expected.

AWS SAA

AWS

Required by (0)

No certs require this one.

Recommended next (3)

AWS Security SpecialtyAmazon Web Services AWS SAPAWS AWS CSSAWS

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