AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam Cost, Format & Requirements

Before you touch a single practice question, it helps to know exactly what you're booking: what it costs, how it's structured, what happens if you fail, and what to actually bring on the day. None of this is complicated, but AWS spreads it across several pages — here it is in one place.

Cost

The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) exam costs $100 USD, paid when you schedule through your AWS Certification account. AWS occasionally issues 50%-off vouchers — typically to people who've already passed another AWS exam, or who attended select AWS events (re:Invent, AWS Summits) — so it's worth checking your benefits page before paying full price.

Format

The scaled score (100–1000) isn't a raw percentage — AWS applies a psychometric conversion, so “700” doesn't map cleanly to “70% of questions right.” Some of the 65 questions are unscored items AWS is trialing for future versions of the exam; you won't know which ones, so treat every question as if it counts.

Eligibility and requirements

There are no formal prerequisites. AWS recommends at least six months of exposure to the AWS Cloud in any role — technical, managerial, sales, procurement, or finance — but this isn't enforced. You can sit CLF-C02 with zero prior AWS experience if you've studied the material; plenty of candidates do exactly that.

Booking and what to bring

• Schedule through your AWS Certification account via Pearson VUE.
• One government-issued photo ID is required at check-in — name must match your registration exactly.
• For online proctored exams: a private room, a clear desk, a working webcam and microphone, and a system check completed before your slot.
• Arrive (or log in) at least 15 minutes early — late arrivals beyond the grace period can forfeit the exam fee.

If you don't pass

You can retake CLF-C02 14 days after a failed attempt, with no cap on total retakes — you just pay the $100 fee again each time. AWS gives you a section-level score breakdown after a fail, showing which of the four domains you scored weakest on, which is the fastest way to target your next study block instead of re-reading everything.

Certification validity

Once passed, CLF-C02 is valid for 3 years. Renewal means retaking the current version of the exam (or a higher-level AWS certification counts toward recertifying it) — there's no continuing-education credit system like some other vendors use.

Once you've got the logistics down, the real work is building recall under time pressure. Our CLF-C02 study guide lays out a week-by-week plan, and our exam-day tips cover pacing strategy for the 90-minute clock specifically.