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AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02)

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02)

The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) certification serves as a foundational benchmark for individuals seeking to demonstrate a high-level understanding of the AWS Cloud. It is designed for those new to the cloud or IT fields, such as professionals transitioning to a cloud-focused role or business stakeholders aiming to enhance their cloud literacy. This certification assesses a candidate’s overall awareness of AWS Cloud concepts, regardless of their specific job title or role. It confirms the candidate’s ability to articulate:

  • The value proposition of the AWS Cloud
  • The principles of the AWS Shared Responsibility Model
  • The fundamentals of the AWS Well-Architected Framework
  • Key security best practices
  • AWS pricing models, cost management, and billing procedures
  • The core functionality of AWS services including compute, networking, databases, and storage
  • Common AWS services applicable to typical business use cases

– Intended Audience

The certification is targeted at individuals who have up to six months of exposure to AWS Cloud technologies. This may include early-career cloud professionals or individuals working alongside AWS Cloud practitioners who wish to gain a better understanding of cloud environments.

– Recommended Knowledge Areas

To prepare for the CLF-C02 exam, candidates should be familiar with:

  • Basic AWS Cloud concepts and terminology
  • Security and compliance fundamentals in the AWS environment
  • The range and purpose of core AWS services
  • Cost structures and the economic benefits of cloud computing with AWS

Exam Details

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) exam is categorized as a foundational-level certification, designed to validate a broad understanding of AWS Cloud concepts and services. The exam has a duration of 90 minutes and consists of 65 questions, which may be either multiple choice or multiple response. Candidates can take the exam either in-person at a Pearson VUE testing center or online through a proctored environment, offering flexibility in how the test is administered.

The exam is available in multiple languages, including English, Bahasa (Indonesian), French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese, ensuring accessibility for a global audience. Scoring for the exam is based on a scaled score ranging from 100 to 1,000, with a minimum passing score of 700. This scoring method ensures consistency across different exam versions.

Course Outline

The exam covers the following topics:

Domain 1: Cloud Concepts 24%

1.1: Defining the benefits of the AWS Cloud.

Knowledge of:

  • Value proposition of the AWS Cloud

Skills in:

Task Statement 1.2: Identifying design principles of the AWS Cloud.

Knowledge of:

  • AWS Well-Architected Framework

Skills in:

  • Understanding the pillars of the Well-Architected Framework (for example, operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, cost optimization, sustainability) (AWS Documentation: The pillars of the framework)
  • Identifying differences between the pillars of the Well-Architected Framework

Task Statement 1.3: Understanding the benefits of and strategies for migration to the AWS Cloud.

Knowledge of:

  • Cloud adoption strategies
  • Resources to support the cloud migration journey

Skills in:

Task Statement 1.4: Understanding concepts of cloud economics.

Knowledge of:

  • Aspects of cloud economics
  • Cost savings of moving to the cloud

Skills in:

  • Understanding the role of fixed costs compared with variable costs (AWS Documentation: Key principles)
  • Understanding costs that are associated with on-premises environments (AWS Documentation: AWS Outposts)
  • Understanding the differences between licensing strategies (for example, Bring Your Own License [BYOL] model compared with included licenses) (AWS Documentation: Simplified Bring-Your-Own-License experience using AWS License Manager)
  • Understanding the concept of rightsizing Tips for Right Sizing)
  • Identifying benefits of automation
  • Understanding the economies of scale (for example, cost savings)
Download Lesson Summary – Defining the benefits of the AWS Cloud

Domain 2: Security and Compliance 30%

2.1 Understanding the AWS shared responsibility model

Knowledge of:

  • AWS shared responsibility model

Skills in:

  • Recognize the elements of the Shared Responsibility Model (AWS Documentation: Shared Responsibility Model)
  • Describing the customer’s responsibility on AWS
  • Describing AWS responsibilities (AWS Documentation: Shared Responsibility Model)
  • Describing responsibilities that the customer and AWS share
  • Describing how AWS responsibilities and customer responsibilities can shift, depending on the service used (for example, Amazon RDS, AWS Lambda, Amazon EC2)

2.2 Understanding AWS Cloud security, governance, and compliance concepts.

Knowledge of:

  • AWS compliance and governance concepts
  • Benefits of cloud security (for example, encryption)
  • Where to capture and locate logs that are associated with cloud security

Skills in:

  • Identifying where to find AWS compliance information (for example, AWS Artifact) (AWS Documentation: Viewing compliance information)
  • Understanding compliance needs among geographic locations or industries (for example, AWS Compliance)
  • Describing how customers secure resources on AWS (for example, Amazon Inspector, AWS Security Hub, Amazon GuardDuty, AWS Shield) (AWS Documentation: Security, identity, and compliance)
  • Identifying different encryption options (for example, encryption in transit, encryption at rest) (AWS Documentation: Encrypting Data-at-Rest and Data-in-Transit)
  • Recognizing services that aid in governance and compliance (for example, monitoring with Amazon CloudWatch; auditing with AWS CloudTrail, AWS Audit Manager, and AWS Config; reporting with access reports) (AWS Documentation: Logging and events)
  • Recognizing compliance requirements that vary among AWS services(AWS Documentation: AWS services Compliance)

2.3 Identifying AWS access management capabilities

Knowledge of:

  • Identity and access management (for example, AWS Identity and Access Management [IAM])
  • Importance of protecting the AWS root user account
  • Principle of least privilege
  • AWS IAM Identity Center (AWS Single Sign-On)

Skills in:

2.4 Identifying components and resources for security

Knowledge of:

  • Security capabilities that AWS provides
  • Security-related documentation that AWS provides

Skills in:

  • Describing AWS security features and services (for example, AWS WAF, AWS Firewall Manager, AWS Shield, Amazon GuardDuty)
  • Understanding that third-party security products are available from AWS Marketplace (AWS Documentation: Security Products in AWS Marketplace)
  • Identifying where AWS security information is available (for example, AWS Knowledge Center, AWS Security Center, AWS Security Blog)
  • Understanding the use of AWS services for identifying security issues (for example, AWS Trusted Advisor) (AWS Documentation: AWS Trusted Advisor)

Domain 3: Cloud Technology and Services 34%

3.1 Defining methods of deploying and operating in the AWS Cloud

Knowledge of:

  • Different ways of provisioning and operating in the AWS Cloud
  • Different ways to access AWS services
  • Types of cloud deployment models

Skills in:

3.2 Defining the AWS global infrastructure

Knowledge of:

  • AWS Regions, Availability Zones, and edge locations
  • High availability
  • Use of multiple Regions
  • Benefits of edge locations

Skills in:

  • Describe the relationships among Regions, Availability Zones, and Edge Locations (AWS Documentation: Regions and Zones, Regions and Availability Zones)
  • Describe how to achieve high availability through the use of multiple Availability Zones
  • Recognizing that Availability Zones do not share single points of failure
  • Describing when to use multiple Regions (for example, disaster recovery, business continuity, low latency for end users, data sovereignty) (AWS Documentation:Multi-Region Application Architecture)

3.3 Identifying AWS compute services

Knowledge of:

  • AWS compute services

Skills in:

AWS (CLF-C02)

3.4 Identifying AWS database services.

Knowledge of:

  • AWS database services
  • Database migration

Skills in:

Task Statement 3.5: Identifying AWS network services.

Knowledge of:

  • AWS network services

Skills in:

Task Statement 3.6: Identifying AWS storage services.

Knowledge of:

  • AWS storage services

Skills in:

Task Statement 3.7: Identifying AWS artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) services and analytics services.

Knowledge of:

  • AWS AI/ML services
  • AWS analytics services

Skills in:

Task Statement 3.8: Identifying services from other in-scope AWS service categories.

Knowledge of:

  • Application integration services of Amazon EventBridge, Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS), and Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS)
  • Business application services of Amazon Connect and Amazon Simple Email Service (Amazon SES)
  • Customer enablement services (for example, AWS Support)
  • Developer tool services and capabilities (for example, AWS CodeBuild, AWS
  • CodePipeline, and AWS X-Ray)
  • End-user computing services of Amazon AppStream 2.0, Amazon
  • WorkSpaces, and Amazon WorkSpaces Secure Browser
  • Frontend web and mobile services of AWS Amplify and AWS AppSync
  • IoT services (for example, AWS IoT Core)

Skills in:

  • Choosing the appropriate service to deliver messages and to send alerts and notifications (AWS Documentation: Mobile text messaging (SMS))
  • Choosing the appropriate service to meet business application needs (AWS Documentation: Business applications)
  • Choosing the appropriate option for business support assistance
  • Identifying the tools to develop, deploy, and troubleshoot applications (AWS Documentation: Developer tools)
  • Identifying the services that can present the output of virtual machines (VMs) on end-user machines (AWS Documentation: Compute services)
  • Identifying the services that can create and deploy frontend and mobile services (AWS Documentation: Front-end web and mobile services)
  • Identifying the services that manage IoT devices (AWS Documentation: Managing devices with AWS IoT)

Domain 4: Billing and Pricing 12%

Task Statement 4.1: Comparing AWS pricing models.

Knowledge of:

  • Compute purchasing options (for example, On-Demand Instances, Reserved Instances, Spot Instances, Savings Plans, Dedicated Hosts, Dedicated Instances, Capacity Reservations)
  • Data transfer charges
  • Storage options and tiers

Skills in:

  • Identifying and comparing when to use various compute purchasing options (AWS Documentation: Instance purchasing options)
  • Describing Reserved Instance flexibility (AWS Documentation: How Reserved Instances are applied)
  • Describing Reserved Instance behavior in AWS Organizations (AWS Documentation: Reserved Instances)
  • Understanding incoming data transfer costs and outgoing data transfer costs (for example, from one Region to another Region, within the same Region) (AWS Documentation: Understanding data transfer charges)
  • Understanding different pricing options for various storage options and tiers

Task Statement 4.2: Understanding resources for billing, budget, and cost management.

Knowledge of:

  • Billing support and information
  • Pricing information for AWS services
  • AWS Organizations
  • AWS cost allocation tags

Skills in:

Task Statement 4.3: Identifying AWS technical resources and AWS Support options.

Knowledge of:

  • Resources and documentation available on official AWS websites
  • AWS Support plans
  • Role of the AWS Partner Network, including independent software vendors
    and system integrators
  • AWS Support Center

Skills in:

  • Locating AWS whitepapers, blogs, and documentation on official AWS websites
  • Identifying and locating AWS technical resources (for example AWS Prescriptive Guidance, AWS Knowledge Center, AWS re:Post) (AWS Documentation: AWS Prescriptive Guidance Patterns)
  • Identifying AWS Support options for AWS customers (for example, customer service and communities, AWS Developer Support, AWS Business Support, AWS Enterprise On-Ramp Support, AWS Enterprise Support)
  • Identifying the role of Trusted Advisor, AWS Health Dashboard, and the AWS Health API to help manage and monitor environments for cost optimization (AWS Documentation: AWS Trusted Advisor)
  • Identifying the role of the AWS Trust and Safety team to report abuse of AWS resources
  • Understanding the role of AWS Partners (for example AWS Marketplace, independent software vendors, system integrators) (AWS Documentation: What is AWS Marketplace?)
  • Identifying the benefits of being an AWS Partner (for example, partner training and certification, partner events, partner volume discounts) (AWS Documentation: Benefits for AWS Specialization Partners)
  • Identifying the key services that AWS Marketplace offers (for example, cost management, governance and entitlement)
  • Identifying technical assistance options available at AWS (for example, AWS Professional Services, AWS Solutions Architects)

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) Exam FAQs

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FAQS AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02)

AWS Certification Exam Policy

Amazon Web Services (AWS) maintains a comprehensive set of policies to ensure fairness, consistency, and integrity in the certification process. These policies cover various aspects of exam administration, including retakes and scoring methodology.

– Retake Policy

Candidates who do not pass an AWS certification exam must wait 14 calendar days before becoming eligible to retake the exam. There is no limit on the number of attempts; however, each attempt requires payment of the full registration fee. Once a candidate passes a specific exam, they may not retake the same version of that exam for two years. If AWS releases a new version of the exam with an updated exam guide and a different series code, the candidate is eligible to take the new version.

– Exam Scoring and Results

The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) exam follows a pass or fail outcome based on a scaled scoring system. Exam scores range from 100 to 1,000, with a minimum passing score of 700. The scoring standard is determined by AWS subject matter experts in alignment with industry-recognized certification practices. The use of a scaled scoring model ensures that exam results are comparable across different versions of the test, accounting for minor variations in difficulty. Candidates may receive a detailed score report that includes classifications of their performance across different content domains. The exam utilizes a compensatory scoring model, meaning that candidates are not required to pass each individual section, but must meet the overall passing score to earn the certification.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) Exam Study Guide

STudy Guide (CLF-C02)

Step 1: Understand the Exam Objectives Thoroughly

Begin your preparation by carefully reviewing the official exam guide provided by AWS. This document outlines the key domains, knowledge areas, and percentage weightings that define the structure of the exam. Understanding the exam objectives gives you clarity on what topics to study, including AWS Cloud concepts, security and compliance, technology services, and billing and pricing. Familiarizing yourself with these domains helps you align your learning with the actual requirements of the certification.

Step 2: Utilize Official AWS Training Resources

AWS offers free and paid training resources specifically designed to support exam readiness. Start with the AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials course, which covers foundational concepts such as cloud computing benefits, AWS core services, the shared responsibility model, and billing practices. These resources are created by AWS experts and ensure that your understanding is aligned with the most up-to-date and accurate information.

Step 3: Enroll in Digital Courses to Fill Knowledge Gaps

While official training is a solid starting point, you may discover certain areas where you need deeper understanding or more hands-on experience. In such cases, consider enrolling in structured digital courses available on various platforms. These courses often include video lectures, reading materials, and quizzes that help reinforce key topics. Choose courses that focus specifically on the CLF-C02 version to ensure alignment with the current exam format.

Step 4: Practice with AWS Builder Labs, Cloud Quest, and AWS Jam

Hands-on experience is crucial for understanding how AWS services work in real-world scenarios. Use AWS Builder Labs to get guided, step-by-step lab experiences that walk you through common cloud tasks using the AWS Console. For a more gamified learning approach, try AWS Cloud Quest, which builds your cloud skills through interactive simulations. Additionally, AWS Jam events offer scenario-based challenges that test your ability to solve practical problems using AWS services — a great way to strengthen applied knowledge.

Step 5: Join Study Groups and Engage with the Community

Connecting with others who are also preparing for the CLF-C02 exam can be incredibly valuable. Look for online study groups on platforms like Reddit, Discord, LinkedIn, or specialized forums. Participating in discussions, asking questions, and sharing resources can deepen your understanding and keep you motivated. These communities often highlight exam tips, clarify complex topics, and share useful materials that might not be easily found in official resources.

Step 6: Take Practice Tests to Assess Your Readiness

Regularly taking practice exams is essential to measure your progress and identify weak areas. Choose high-quality practice tests that simulate the actual exam format in terms of timing, question style, and difficulty level. Analyze your results carefully to understand which domains need improvement, and adjust your study plan accordingly. Practice tests not only reinforce your learning but also help reduce exam-day anxiety by familiarizing you with the exam environment.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) Tests
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