Is it CCA-F or CCAR-F?
The official exam code is CCAR-F. Many people shorten it to CCA-F, and both names mean the same exam: Claude Certified Architect – Foundations. More on the two names.
Official guide §3
How much does the exam cost?
$125 USD per attempt. The price at checkout may be lower depending on your company's partner tier, and each retake costs the fee again.
Official guide §3, §11
How many questions are there?
60 questions in 120 minutes. Some have one correct answer and some have several; each question says how many to choose.
Official guide §3
What is the passing score?
720 on a scale of 100 to 1,000. The score is scaled so every version of the exam is held to the same standard. Full scoring details.
Official guide §10
Who can take the Claude Certified Architect exam?
People at Claude Partner Network organizations, since registration runs through the Anthropic Partner Academy. Who can take it, in detail.
Official guide §11
Is there a free official prep course?
Yes. Anthropic offers Claude Certified Architect – Foundations Prep Courses free on the Anthropic Partner Academy. Take it first; CCA Prep Studio is built to drill and deepen what it teaches.
Is the exam online or in person?
Either. Pearson VUE proctors it, online with a webcam or at a test center, and you choose when you book.
Official guide §11
What topics does the exam cover?
Five domains: agentic architecture (27%), tool design and MCP (18%), Claude Code configuration (20%), prompt engineering and structured output (20%), and context management and reliability (15%). See all five.
Official guide §4
What is not on the exam?
Fine-tuning, API billing and authentication, cloud hosting, vision, computer use, streaming, rate limits and tokenization are all out of scope. The full list.
Official guide §17
How long should I study?
With hands-on Claude experience, two to four weeks of focused study is a common plan. With less hands-on time, budget longer and build small projects as you go. A 2-week plan.
Do I need to know how to code?
You need to read code and configuration comfortably. Questions involve agent loops, JSON schemas, CLAUDE.md files and CLI flags, but they test design choices, not a particular programming language.
Official guide §2, §17
What happens if I fail?
You can retake it after 14 days, then 30 days after a second fail and 90 after a third, with up to four attempts in 12 months. Your score report shows your percentage in each domain, so you know what to study.
Official guide §12
How long is the certification valid?
12 months. On-time renewal is a free, short, unproctored check on the Partner Academy; if it lapses, you take the full exam again.
Official guide §15
Can I reschedule my exam?
Yes, up to 24 hours before your appointment. Changes inside 24 hours, or not showing up, lose the fee.
Official guide §11–12
Is CCA Prep Studio made by Anthropic?
No. CCA Prep Studio is an independent study tool, not made or endorsed by Anthropic. All content is written in our own words and cites the official exam guide.