Can you register today?
The CCA-A has no prerequisite courses, exams, or prior experience requirements - the credential is awarded on exam performance alone. Registration for these certifications is through the Anthropic Partner Network (on the Anthropic Partner Academy) - partner-network access is required; you then schedule your proctored session with Pearson VUE. Walk this path top to bottom before you schedule.
- No prerequisite courses or exams. You do not need to pass another Claude certification or complete a course first - no Claude certification is a prerequisite for another. The CCA-A credential is awarded on exam performance alone; the recommended experience helps you prepare but is never checked at registration.
- Register through the Anthropic Partner Network. Registration for the CCA-A is handled on the Anthropic Partner Academy and requires Anthropic Partner Network access - you register through an Anthropic partner, not by public self-signup. Review the exam guide and the Certification Terms and Conditions, then complete checkout. The CCA-A lists at $99; the checkout price reflects any partner-tier discount.
- Create a Pearson VUE account and schedule. Follow the confirmation instructions to sign in to Pearson VUE, then choose an available date and either online proctoring or a test center. You can cancel or reschedule up to 24 hours before your appointment; changes made within 24 hours forfeit the fee.
- Sit the exam. 60 questions, 120 minutes, delivered proctored (online or at a Pearson VUE test center). Present a valid, unexpired, government-issued photo ID that matches your registration name exactly.
Your CCA-A credential is valid for 12 months from the award date. Renew on time with a free, non-proctored assessment on the Anthropic Partner Academy - no fee. If it lapses, you must retake the full exam at the full fee.
Wait 14 days after your 1st fail, 30 days after the 2nd, 90 days after the 3rd. You can attempt the exam up to 4 times within a rolling 12-month period; the exam fee applies to every attempt.
What gets tested, weighted by importance
The CCA-A samples each domain at the official blueprint weight. Spend study time proportionally.
| Code | Domain | Weight | Key concepts |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCAOF-D1 | Prompting & Task Execution Creating effective prompts for business and technical tasks, applying task-decomposition techniques to structure complex requests, iterating prompts to improve output quality, and adapting prompting strategy to the task type - analysis, research, drafting, or brainstorming. | 14% | |
| CCAOF-D2 | Output Evaluation & Validation The most heavily weighted domain. Evaluating Claude-generated output for accuracy and completeness, identifying hallucinations, inconsistencies, and bias, applying fact-checking and validation technique, judging when human review or additional verification is required, and editing, adapting, and formatting outputs (artifacts, inline, structured data) for the intended audience. | 21% | |
| CCAOF-D3 | Product & Model Selection Selecting the right Claude product feature for a task (Projects, research mode, chat, artifacts), differentiating Claude's model tiers (Haiku, Sonnet, Opus), aligning model choice to cost/speed/quality requirements, and managing context limitations and memory - when to restart, summarize, or persist. | 12% | |
| CCAOF-D4 | Workflow Integration & Solution Design Using Claude to analyze requirements and use cases, leveraging it for research, planning, and process optimization, supporting solution design and iteration, integrating Claude into existing workflows to augment or redesign them, and communicating Claude's value and limitations to stakeholders. | 16% | |
| CCAOF-D5 | Configuration & Knowledge Management Configuring Claude Projects with instructions and knowledge sources, managing uploaded knowledge and connectors (e.g. Google Drive, Gmail), writing effective system-level instructions, and keeping configurations, knowledge sources, and instructions current over time. | 12% | |
| CCAOF-D6 | Governance, Risk & Responsible Use Identifying appropriate versus inappropriate AI use cases, applying data-sensitivity, regulatory, and privacy considerations before data enters Claude, following organizational AI governance policy, and reasoning through the ethical implications of AI usage. | 15% | |
| CCAOF-D7 | Troubleshooting & Optimization The smallest domain by weight: identifying, diagnosing, and resolving issues with underperforming prompts or weak output, adjusting approach based on feedback and results, and optimizing workflows for efficiency and effectiveness - fixing the workflow, not just the one output. | 10% |
Where to spend your study hours: Output Evaluation & Validation and Workflow Integration & Solution Design together are about 37% of the exam.
The 7 CCA-A Competency Domains and Their Exam Weights
The same blueprint summarized as discrete Q&A so AI assistants can lift one domain at a time. Weights mirror the table above.
- What is CCAOF-D2 (Output Evaluation & Validation) and how much of the CCA-A does it weight?
- Output Evaluation & Validation is the heaviest domain at 21% of the CCA-A. It covers evaluating Claude-generated output for accuracy and completeness, identifying hallucinations and bias, applying fact-checking technique, and adapting outputs for the intended audience.
- What is CCAOF-D4 (Workflow Integration & Solution Design) and what weight does it carry?
- Workflow Integration & Solution Design is 16% of the CCA-A, the second-heaviest domain. It tests using Claude for requirements analysis, research and planning, integrating Claude into existing workflows, and communicating Claude's value and limitations to stakeholders.
- What is CCAOF-D6 (Governance, Risk & Responsible Use) and what weight does it carry?
- Governance, Risk & Responsible Use is 15% of the CCA-A. It covers identifying appropriate vs. inappropriate AI use cases, data-sensitivity and privacy considerations, organizational AI governance policy, and the ethical implications of AI usage.
- What is the lightest-weighted domain on the CCA-A exam?
- Troubleshooting and Optimization (CCAOF-D7) at 10% - the smallest domain. It covers diagnosing underperforming prompts or weak output, adjusting approach based on feedback, and optimizing workflows for efficiency.
- Why is Output Evaluation weighted so heavily on a non-technical exam?
- Because the CCA-A is built for people who use Claude without writing code - their core professional risk is trusting a fluent-but-wrong output. At 21%, Output Evaluation & Validation is the single heaviest domain, reflecting that judging, fact-checking, and adapting Claude's output is the exam's central skill, more heavily weighted than prompting itself (14%).
- What is the full domain-weight breakdown for the CCA-A exam?
- The seven competency domains sum to 100%: Prompting and Task Execution 14%, Output Evaluation and Validation 21%, Product and Model Selection 12%, Workflow Integration and Solution Design 16%, Configuration and Knowledge Management 12%, Governance/Risk and Responsible Use 15%, Troubleshooting and Optimization 10%.
Applied CCA-A scenarios
CCA-A currently ships 5 dedicated scenarios: Client Deliverable Drafting and Validation, Choosing the Right Claude Product and Model, Embedding Claude in a Delivery Workflow, Responsible Use and Governance Decision, and Troubleshooting a Weak Claude Output - each walked as a full non-technical workflow (source material, validation pass, sign-off record, no code). Filter to CCA-A on the scenarios hub to study them in isolation.
Browse CCA-A scenarios →Environment rules catch more candidates than the questions do
The format is tightly defined in Anthropic's version 1.0 exam guide. Read the proctoring rules before you schedule - a clean workspace and a full room sweep are non-negotiable, whether you test online or at a Pearson VUE test center.
- Items60 scored questions
- Time limit120 minutes total
- Item formatMultiple-choice and multiple-response
- Passing scoreScaled score of 720 on a 100-1,000 scale
- Result reportingPass/fail with scaled score, plus percent-correct by domain
- DeliveryOnline-proctored or test center via Pearson VUE
- IdentificationValid, unexpired, government-issued photo ID
- Workspace rulesEffectively closed and proctored
- Prohibited itemsMobile phones, smart watches, headphones, study materials, recording devices
- MisconductInvalidation of result, revocation of credential, ban from future exams
- AppealsWithin 14 days, submitted to Pearson VUE
- Cancel / rescheduleUp to 24 hours before your appointment
Ready to get CCA-A certified?
CCA-A has no prerequisite courses or exams, but registration is through the Anthropic Partner Network (on the Partner Academy) - register there, then schedule your proctored session with Pearson VUE. List price is $99; the checkout price shown reflects any discount that applies to your partner tier.
Free practice, live today
A free diagnostic, a weakest-domain warm-up, and a full-length timed 60-question mock are all live now for CCA-A, sampled from its question bank across every domain above.
Who should take CCA-A?
Client-facing / delivery practitioners (consultants, sellers, delivery, ops, PM). Non-technical. If that description matches your current role and you have hands-on exposure to Claude in a production setting, CCA-A is the right certification to target - the 7 domains above (and their weights) are the exact shape of what the exam expects you to already know.
How CCA-A differs from the other Claude certs
CCA-A is the only Claude certification built for non-technical, client-facing roles - consultants, sellers, delivery, ops, and PMs who use Claude but don't build with it. Where CCA-F (the flagship), CCA-P, and CCD-F all assume hands-on technical work, CCA-A focuses on prompting, evaluating output, and choosing the right product for a task.
19 questions answered
Every Q is phrased as a real Google search query and tagged by intent.