| Content domain | AWS weight | Scored questions out of 50 | What it covers |
|---|
| Cloud Technology and Services | 34% | 17 | Compute, network, database and storage services |
|---|
| Security and Compliance | 30% | 15 | Shared responsibility, permissions, encryption basics |
|---|
| Cloud Concepts | 24% | 12 | Economies of scale, migration, Well-Architected pillars |
|---|
| Billing, Pricing and Support | 12% | 6 | How AWS charges, plans costs and sells support |
|---|
| Total scored content | 100% | 50 | The other 15 questions do not count |
|---|
Read the table as a study plan. Cloud Technology and Services takes about a third of the marks, so it deserves the most study time.
- Cloud Technology and Services - the products you build with, such as servers and storage
- Security and Compliance - who can do what through Identity and Access Management, called IAM, and how data is protected
- Cloud Concepts - the ideas behind cloud, such as economies of scale and migration
- Billing, Pricing and Support - how AWS charges, plans, and support tiers work
What changed in the CLF-C02 exam guide during 2026?
AWS republished the CLF-C02 exam guide four times during 2026. The revision history lists four versions. Version 1.0 came on June 24. Version 1.1 came on August 28. Version 1.2 came on September 24. Version 1.3 came on October 29. Updates reach the live exam about a month later.
The 2026 revisions changed the out-of-scope service list. AWS removed eight services from it. Examples are Amazon Elastic Transcoder and Amazon WorkDocs. Those services are no longer listed as out of scope.
Check the date on the guide you study from. Notes written before the June 2026 version may list those services as out of scope. See also AWS Certification 2026 changes.
Two exam languages also reach an end. The Italian and German versions retire after December 31, 2026. If you planned either one, pick another language or another date.
What does a failed attempt cost in money and calendar days?
The exam costs 100 US dollars at the Foundational level. AWS charges the full fee for every attempt. There is no limit on attempts. After a failure you must wait 14 calendar days before you can retake.
Miss the appointment and the fee is gone. AWS records that as a miss rather than a fail.
Here is what a run of attempts adds up to. The AWS Certification FAQs set the fee, the wait, and the attempt rules.
| Situation | Exam fees paid | Dead calendar days waiting | Total so far |
|---|
| Passed on the first sitting | $100 | 0 | $100 |
|---|
| Failed once, passed on the second | $200 | 14 | $200 and 14 days |
|---|
| Failed twice, passed on the third | $300 | 28 | $300 and 28 days |
|---|
| Failed three times, passed on the fourth | $400 | 42 | $400 and 42 days |
|---|
| Missed the appointment | $100 forfeited | 0 | No fail recorded |
|---|
Two failures and a pass cost 300 dollars and 28 days of waiting. No one can promise you how many attempts you need.
Renewal adds to the bill later. A certification stays valid for three years from the date you earn it. Recertifying means taking the current exam again for another 100 dollars. Over three years that is about 33 dollars a year, from 100 dollars divided by 3. Our breakdown of AWS Certification Cost 2026 covers fees at every level.
How do you prepare for free, and is the exam worth 100 dollars?
You can prepare without paying for a course. AWS publishes Official Practice Question Sets for free. Each set holds 20 questions and is written by AWS. AWS also runs free two-hour Exam Prep courses. AWS Cloud Quest is a free role-playing game for cloud concepts.
The Official Practice Exams with scoring and feedback are the paid part. They need a Skill Builder Individual subscription starting at 29 US dollars a month.
The exam suits you if you want a foundation credential with no prerequisite. You do not need to code or design cloud architecture. AWS expects up to six months of exposure and nothing more. The AWS certification prerequisites page covers each level. Holding one AWS certification also earns a 50 percent discount voucher on other AWS exams.
Try our AWS Cloud Practitioner practice test samples under time pressure before you book. The guide to passing the AWS Certified Solutions Architect exam covers the next level.
What should you do next?
Three steps work well here. Check the revision date on the CLF-C02 exam guide and note the four 2026 updates. Build your study budget from the domain weights. Sit one timed free practice set before you pay for anything else.
To recap, the aws cloud practitioner passing score is 700 on a scale from 100 to 1,000. That is not 70 percent, because AWS converts results onto an equated curve. The marks sit mostly in Cloud Technology and Services and Security and Compliance. A failed attempt costs 100 dollars and 14 days of waiting.
Photo: stevepb, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/photos/books-student-study-education-1012088/)
Fazlur Rahman
