- A
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
ACM is the correct choice. It automates the provisioning, deployment, and renewal of SSL/TLS certificates for use with AWS services such as ALB, CloudFront, and API Gateway. ACM handles the full certificate lifecycle and keeps private keys secure.
- B
AWS Secrets Manager
Why wrong: Secrets Manager is designed to securely store and rotate secrets such as database credentials, API keys, and other sensitive information. It does not manage SSL/TLS certificates for use with load balancers and does not integrate directly with ALB for HTTPS termination.
- C
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Why wrong: IAM allows you to upload server certificates for use with ALB and other services, but it does not provide automatic renewal. You must manually upload a new certificate before expiration, which does not meet the requirement for automated lifecycle management.
- D
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Why wrong: KMS is a managed service for creating and controlling encryption keys used to encrypt data at rest. It does not issue or manage SSL/TLS certificates, nor does it integrate with ALB for HTTPS termination.
Quick Answer
The answer is AWS Certificate Manager (ACM). ACM is the correct choice because it integrates directly with Application Load Balancers to provision, deploy, and automatically renew SSL/TLS certificates, handling the entire certificate lifecycle including private key generation and storage without any manual uploads. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of which service manages certificate automation for load balancers, often appearing as a scenario where the security team demands zero-touch renewal. A common trap is confusing ACM with AWS Certificate Manager Private Certificate Authority (ACM PCA) or third-party certificate uploads—remember that ACM alone provides automatic renewal for public certificates integrated with ALBs. A helpful memory tip: think “ACM Automates Certificate Management” for ALB, so when you see “auto-renew” and “no manual keys,” ACM is your automatic answer.
CLF-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. A key principle to apply: aCM automates SSL/TLS certificate provisioning and renewal.. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company runs a web application on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The company wants to serve traffic over HTTPS to encrypt data in transit between clients and the ALB. The security team requires that the SSL/TLS certificate be automatically renewed before expiration and that AWS manage the entire certificate lifecycle. The company does not want to manually upload or manage private keys. Which AWS service should the company use to meet these requirements?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) is the correct choice because it integrates directly with Application Load Balancers to provision, deploy, and automatically renew SSL/TLS certificates. ACM manages the entire certificate lifecycle, including private key generation and storage, without requiring manual intervention. This meets the security team's requirement for automatic renewal and AWS-managed certificate lifecycle.
Key principle: ACM automates SSL/TLS certificate provisioning and renewal.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
Why this is correct
ACM is the correct choice. It automates the provisioning, deployment, and renewal of SSL/TLS certificates for use with AWS services such as ALB, CloudFront, and API Gateway. ACM handles the full certificate lifecycle and keeps private keys secure.
Related concept
ACM automates SSL/TLS certificate provisioning and renewal.
- ✗
AWS Secrets Manager
- ✗
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Why it's wrong here
IAM allows you to upload server certificates for use with ALB and other services, but it does not provide automatic renewal. You must manually upload a new certificate before expiration, which does not meet the requirement for automated lifecycle management.
- ✗
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse AWS Secrets Manager or KMS with certificate management, but neither service handles SSL/TLS certificate issuance or automatic renewal for load balancers; ACM is the only service that provides fully managed certificate lifecycle for ALB HTTPS termination.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
ACM uses AWS-managed Certificate Authority (CA) to issue X.509 v3 certificates with a default validity of 13 months (395 days). When associated with an ALB, ACM automatically renews the certificate before expiration by generating a new key pair and re-issuing the certificate, then seamlessly updates the ALB listener without downtime. This automated renewal relies on DNS validation or email validation to prove domain ownership, and the private key never leaves AWS's secure infrastructure.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- ACM automates SSL/TLS certificate provisioning and renewal.
- ACM integrates directly with AWS services like ALB, CloudFront, and API Gateway.
- ACM manages the entire certificate lifecycle, including private key security.
- ACM certificates are free for use with integrated AWS services.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
ACM automates SSL/TLS certificate provisioning and renewal.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review aCM automates SSL/TLS certificate provisioning and renewal., then practise related CLF-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — ACM automates SSL/TLS certificate provisioning and renewal..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) — AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) is the correct choice because it integrates directly with Application Load Balancers to provision, deploy, and automatically renew SSL/TLS certificates. ACM manages the entire certificate lifecycle, including private key generation and storage, without requiring manual intervention. This meets the security team's requirement for automatic renewal and AWS-managed certificate lifecycle.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Review aCM automates SSL/TLS certificate provisioning and renewal., then practise related CLF-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
What is the key concept behind this question?
ACM automates SSL/TLS certificate provisioning and renewal.
About these practice questions
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Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on CLF-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company runs a web application on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The company uses a custom domain name and requires HTTPS for all traffic. The security team provisions an SSL/TLS certificate using AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) and associates it with the ALB. Which of the following is an advantage of using ACM over manually managing certificates?
medium- ✓ A.ACM automatically renews the certificate before it expires, and the renewed certificate is automatically applied to the associated load balancer.
- B.ACM encrypts the traffic between the ALB and the EC2 instances, ensuring end-to-end encryption.
- C.ACM provides a certificate that can be exported and installed on any on-premises server for free.
- D.ACM requires the company to store the private key in a secure location outside of AWS.
Why A: Option A is correct because AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) automatically renews SSL/TLS certificates before they expire, and the renewed certificate is seamlessly applied to the associated AWS resources, such as an Application Load Balancer (ALB). This eliminates the manual effort of tracking expiration dates, generating new certificates, and re-associating them, which is a key operational advantage over self-managed certificates.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This CLF-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CLF-C02 exam.
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