Amazon Web Services · 2026 Edition
A complete preparation guide written by Amazon Web Services-certified engineers. Covers the exam format,all 4 blueprint domains, a week-by-week study plan, and proven tips for passing first time.
4–8 weeks
Prep time
Beginner
Difficulty
65
Exam questions
700/1000
Pass mark
Exam code
CLF-C02
Full name
AWS Cloud Practitioner
Vendor
Amazon Web Services
Duration
90 minutes
Questions
65 items
Passing score
700/1000 (scaled)
Domains covered
4 blueprint domains
Recommended experience
No prerequisites — suitable for beginners to cloud and AWS
Typical prep time
4–8 weeks
CLF-C02 is the entry point for any AWS career. It validates cloud fluency across sales, management, and technical roles and is a prerequisite for associate-level certs.
Job roles this opens
Domain percentage weights are not currently available for this exam. The checklist below is still useful for planning your study.
Weeks 1–2
Cloud Concepts (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, shared responsibility, pricing models)
Tip: The six advantages of cloud computing are directly tested — learn them by name.
Week 3
AWS Core Services (EC2, S3, RDS, VPC, Lambda, CloudFront)
Tip: Focus on what each service does, not how to configure it in detail.
Week 4
Security & Compliance (IAM, Shield, WAF, compliance programmes)
Tip: Know the shared responsibility model — AWS is responsible for the cloud, you for what's in it.
Week 5+
Billing, Pricing & Support (Cost Explorer, Trusted Advisor, Support plans)
Tip: Pricing Calculator vs TCO Calculator vs Cost Explorer — exam tests each one's purpose.
CLF-C02 is conceptual, not hands-on. You won't be asked to write code or configure services.
The shared responsibility model is tested heavily — know exactly where AWS responsibility ends.
Know the four AWS Support plan tiers (Basic, Developer, Business, Enterprise) and their SLAs.
The Well-Architected Framework's six pillars appear regularly — Operational Excellence, Security, Reliability, Performance, Cost Optimisation, Sustainability.
Passing CLF-C02 puts you on the path to associate-level certs — it renews for free via an online assessment.
Apply everything in this guide with adaptive practice questions, detailed answer explanations, and domain analytics.
Deep-dive explanations of the key topics tested on CLF-C02 — with exam key points and common misconceptions.
Cloud Concepts
Most people use AWS for months before they can clearly explain why the cloud is cheaper, more reliable, and faster to scale than running your own servers.
AWS Pricing & Billing
The AWS bill confuses even experienced architects the first time they see it.
AWS Core Services
The CLF-C02 exam does not expect you to architect AWS solutions.
Well-Architected Framework
Building in the cloud without a framework is how you end up with systems that are secure today and compromised tomorrow, cost-optimized at launch and overbudget after six months, or highly available until a maintenance window brings everything down.