CCA Foundations Exam — Frequently Asked Questions

The CCA Foundations exam is Anthropic's official certification for professionals who design and build production-grade applications with Claude. It tests practical, scenario-based decision-making across five domains: Agentic Architecture, Claude Code Configuration, Prompt Engineering, Tool Design & MCP, and Context Management.

The CCA Foundations exam consists of 60 scenario-based multiple choice questions with a 120-minute time limit, delivered as a proctored online exam.

All questions are scenario-based multiple choice — you're placed in a realistic situation and must choose the best architectural decision. There are no simple definition or recall questions, which is why hands-on practice matters more than memorizing terminology.

The CCA Foundations exam uses a scaled scoring system from 100 to 1,000. The passing score is 720 out of 1,000 — this is a scaled score, not the percentage of questions you answered correctly.

No. The CCA Foundations exam is a proctored, closed-book assessment — you cannot reference documentation, notes, or external resources during the exam. This is why active recall practice, working through questions without looking up the answer first, is the most effective way to prepare.

The standard registration fee for the CCA Foundations exam is $99 (USD), paid directly to Anthropic when you schedule your session. Anthropic is also offering free registration to the first 5,000 employees at partner companies through an early-access program — verify current eligibility and pricing on Anthropic's official registration page before you book. Either way, it's worth taking our free 10-question diagnostic quiz first to see where you stand against the 720/1,000 passing standard.

You register for the official CCA Foundations exam directly through Anthropic. Visit our official exam registration page for a summary of the registration details and a link to Anthropic's registration portal.

The CCA Foundations certification is valid for 2 years from your passing date.

Yes. A mandatory waiting period applies between attempts — refer to Anthropic's current certification policy for the exact interval. The most effective retake strategy is to use your score breakdown to find your weakest domain, spend most of your retake preparation there, and run one more full timed simulation before attempting again.

The exam covers five domains, each weighted differently: Agentic Architecture (27%), Claude Code Configuration (20%), Prompt Engineering (20%), Tool Design & MCP (18%), and Context Management (15%). Agentic Architecture carries the most weight, so it deserves a proportionally larger share of your study time. Our CCA exam guide breaks down each domain in detail, and our blog covers each one individually, from Domain 1: Agentic Architecture & Orchestration (27%) through to Domain 5: Context Management & Reliability (15%).

For engineers and architects who build production applications with Claude, yes. The certification validates practical skills across agent design, configuration, prompt engineering, tool integration, and context management, and it's valid for 2 years. Even if you don't need the credential itself, the preparation builds a working understanding of the architectural tradeoffs that come up constantly when building with Claude.

The exam is aimed at software engineers, solutions architects, AI engineers, and technical leads who design or oversee production applications built with Claude. No prior certification is required, but hands-on experience with Claude's APIs, Claude Code, and agentic workflows will make the material far more familiar.

Most candidates prepare in 1–2 weeks: work through each of the five domains, take short daily practice sessions to find weak areas, review the explanation for every question (not just the correct answer), use frameworks like SPIDER, CALM, and PRECISE to organize your thinking, and complete at least one full 120-minute timed simulation before exam day. Our CCA practice questions bank and CCA Foundations exam simulator cover all 400 practice questions across the five domains.

The platform includes 400 scenario-based practice questions across all five exam domains, full-length 120-minute timed exam simulations, a free 10-question diagnostic quiz that estimates your readiness against the 720/1,000 passing standard, and a complete exam guide covering format, domain weights, and study strategy.

No. This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Anthropic. 'Claude' and 'Claude Certified Architect' are trademarks of their respective owner. We provide unofficial practice materials — including a free diagnostic quiz, practice questions, and full exam simulations — to help you prepare for the official exam.