Live
Claude Certified Architect - Foundations (CCA-F)
For: Builders who design with Claude as a primary reasoning system
60 questions, 720/1000 to pass, five weighted domains. The current, foundational level.
The credential
Is there a Claude certification?
Yes - Anthropic runs four Claude certifications, and the flagship is the Claude Certified Architect (CCA-F): a 60-question, online-proctored exam scored to 1000 with a 720 cut, across five domains of building with Claude. The exam is run by Anthropic; preparing for it here is free. New? Start with the 10-minute diagnostic, or compare all four certifications.
60 questions720 to pass5 domainsFree prep
What exists
The Claude certifications, plainly.
There is one official architecture credential today, with the Claude Code skill set folded into it. We will add rows here if Anthropic ships more levels.
Covered by CCA-F
Claude Code skills (within CCA-F)
For: Developers using Claude Code day to day
No separate exam today; the Claude Code skill set is tested inside CCA-F domains D1 + D2.
Get certified
Three steps to the credential.
- Learn the body of knowledge. Five weighted domains. Work the concepts and scenarios; the Claude certification course sequences it.
- Score a mock. The free diagnostic finds your weakest domain; the 30-question mock scores you against the 720 bar.
- Sit the exam. Register through Anthropic's Partner Network flow. The exam guide walks the eligibility + registration steps.
Two tracks
Learn for free, then certify.
Anthropic launched the Claude Certified Architect program on March 12, 2026, alongside the Claude Partner Network. There are two tracks, and only the second is a credential.
Free learning
Anthropic Academy
Self-paced courses: building with the Claude API, the Model Context Protocol, agent skills, and Claude Code, with completion badges. It teaches the body of knowledge, but a completion badge is not the certification.
The credential
CCA-F exam
A proctored, closed-book exam that certifies you can architect production Claude systems. This is the hiring signal: a scored result and a certificate, not a completion badge.
The free prep on this site sits alongside both. Work the diagnostic, concepts, and mock here, learn from the Academy, then sit the CCA-F.
At a glance
The CCA-F exam, by the numbers.
The fully sourced version, with an evidence label on every claim, lives on the exam guide.
- Format: 60 scenario-based multiple-choice questions, one correct answer each.
- Length: about two hours (120 minutes), online-proctored through Skilljar.
- Scoring: 0 to 1000, with 720 to pass. Closed-book: no access to Claude, docs, or the web during the exam.
- Cost: a per-attempt exam fee paid to Anthropic. Preparing for it on this site is free, with no paid tier.
- Eligibility: routed through the Anthropic Partner Network. The exam guide walks the registration and attestation steps.
FAQ
9 questions about the Claude certification
Every Q is phrased as a real Google search query. Answers cite the same evidence-tagged sources used elsewhere on the site.
Is there a Claude certification?
Yes - Anthropic runs four Claude certifications, and the flagship is the Anthropic Claude Certified Architect, current level Foundations (CCA-F): a 60-question, online-proctored exam scored to 1000 with a 720 cut, covering five domains of building with Claude. See the [exam guide](/exam-guide) for the fully sourced facts, or [compare all four](/certifications).
Is it called the Claude certification or the Anthropic certification?
Both names point at the same thing. Anthropic is the company; Claude is the model. The credential's formal name is the Claude Certified Architect (CCA-F), so "Claude certification" and "Anthropic certification" are used interchangeably in search.
Is the Claude AI certification free?
The exam itself is administered by Anthropic through the Partner Network. Preparing for it is free here: the 10-question diagnostic, concepts, scenarios, and a 30-question mock are all no-cost, no paid tier. The [free Claude certification path](/claude-certification/free) breaks down exactly what's free and what the exam costs; start with the [free diagnostic](/practice/diagnostic).
How do I get Claude certified?
Learn the five-domain body of knowledge, score a stratified mock against the 720 bar, then sit the proctored CCA-F exam through Anthropic's Skilljar flow. The [exam guide](/exam-guide) covers registration and the partner-attestation requirement step by step.
Are there other Claude certifications, like for Claude Code?
Yes - Anthropic runs four: Architect - Foundations (CCA-F, the flagship), [Architect - Professional (CCA-P)](/certifications/ccar-p), [Developer - Foundations (CCD-F)](/certifications/ccdv-f), and [Associate - Foundations (CCA-A)](/certifications/ccao-f); compare them on the [certifications hub](/certifications). "[Claude Code certification](/claude-code-certification)" is a common search, but there is no separate Claude Code exam - Claude Code is tested most heavily in the CCA-F's dedicated domain D3 (Claude Code Configuration & Workflows, 20%) and also in CCD-F. If you are comparing across vendors, the [agentic AI certification landscape](/knowledge/agentic-ai-certification) maps NVIDIA, Microsoft, and AWS options against the CCA-F.
What does the Claude certification prove?
Architectural judgment, not API trivia: choosing the right orchestration shape, designing tools and MCP integrations, operating agents in production, prompt engineering, and context + reliability. It is built for people who design with Claude as a primary reasoning system.
Is the Anthropic certification free or paid?
There are two tracks. Anthropic Academy is free, self-paced learning (building with the Claude API, MCP, agent skills, Claude Code) with completion badges. The CCA-F exam is the proctored credential and carries a per-attempt fee paid to Anthropic. Preparing for the exam on this site, including the diagnostic and a 30-question mock, is free.
When did the Claude certification launch?
Anthropic launched the Claude Certified Architect program on March 12, 2026, alongside the Claude Partner Network. The CCA-F is its first formal, proctored technical credential, so this is an early-mover window for the certification.
Who is the Claude certification for?
Software developers, solution architects, and engineers who build production-grade systems with Claude. The exam is scenario-based: you are given a task and a constraint and choose the architecture that fits, using Claude tools like the Agent SDK, Claude Code, and MCP.