CLF-C02 exam guide: format, domains, preparation
Who the CLF-C02 exam is for
CLF-C02 is the exam for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification. The exam guide describes a target candidate with up to 6 months of exposure to the AWS Cloud. The four domains cover cloud concepts, security and compliance, cloud technology and services, and billing, pricing and support.
The guide also lists what is out of scope for this candidate: writing code, designing a cloud architecture, troubleshooting, implementing solutions and load or performance testing. It can serve as a first step for anyone who needs a shared vocabulary about AWS, whether or not they work in a technical role.
Exam format
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Exam code | CLF-C02 |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Scored questions | 50 |
| Unscored questions | 15, not identified in the exam and with no effect on the score |
| Question types | Multiple choice (one correct response and three distractors) and multiple response (two or more correct responses out of five or more options) |
| Scoring scale | 100 to 1,000 |
| Passing score | 700 |
| Scoring model | Compensatory: there is no separate passing threshold per section |
| Wrong or blank answers | No penalty for guessing; an unanswered question is scored as incorrect |
| Exam guide version | Not published on the guide pages |
Because unanswered questions count as incorrect and wrong answers carry no penalty, it is worth answering every question before time runs out.
Domains and weights
The content outline of the exam guide defines four domains. Each domain is split into task statements, listed below in summary form.
| Domain | Weight | Task statements |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud Concepts | 24 % | Benefits of the AWS Cloud; design principles, including the six pillars of the Well-Architected Framework; migration benefits and strategies, including the Cloud Adoption Framework; cloud economics |
| Security and Compliance | 30 % | The shared responsibility model; security, governance and compliance concepts; access management with IAM and IAM Identity Center; security components and resources |
| Cloud Technology and Services | 34 % | Deployment and operation methods; global infrastructure (Regions, Availability Zones, edge locations); compute; databases; networking; storage; AI/ML and analytics services; other in-scope service categories |
| Billing, Pricing, and Support | 12 % | Pricing models; billing, budget and cost management resources; technical resources and support options |
The guide publishes a list of in-scope services and a list of out-of-scope services. AWS states that the in-scope list is not exhaustive; it remains a useful starting point when deciding which services to study.
Products in movement
Some service names used in the exam guide no longer match the current service documentation. You may meet both names while studying.
- The guide names AWS Application Migration Service; the service documentation now uses the name AWS Transform MGN (MGN documentation).
- The guide lists AWS Security Hub; the Amazon Inspector and Trusted Advisor pages now refer to AWS Security Hub CSPM (Amazon Inspector documentation).
- The support documentation states that the Developer, Business and Enterprise On-Ramp plans are discontinued on January 1, 2027, and lists Basic, Business Support+, Enterprise Support and Unified Operations (end of support for plans, current support plans).
- The guide names Amazon AppStream 2.0; the end-user computing overview now describes application streaming under Amazon WorkSpaces Applications (end-user computing overview).
How to prepare
- Read the official certification page for registration and current exam conditions.
- Read the CLF-C02 exam guide in full, including the domain pages. Turn every task statement into a checklist item.
- Start with the two domains that weigh the most: Cloud Technology and Services (34 %) and Security and Compliance (30 %).
- For each in-scope service, write one sentence on what it does and one on how it differs from the closest alternative, for example Amazon RDS versus Amazon DynamoDB, or AWS Shield versus AWS WAF.
- Learn the shared responsibility model with concrete cases from the guide, such as Amazon EC2, Amazon RDS and AWS Lambda, where the customer share is not the same.
- Do not neglect Billing, Pricing, and Support: pricing models, cost tools and support plans are short topics but easy to mix up, and the support plan names are changing.
- Test yourself with our CLF-C02 practice exam under timed conditions, then go through the questions you missed in the free study mode.
- Re-read the in-scope and out-of-scope lists shortly before the exam to make sure you are not spending time on services the guide excludes.
Practice Exam CLF-C02: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
25 free questions with explanations, no account needed.