Claude Certified Architect study guide: CCAR-F and CCAR-P
What each exam covers, how much each domain counts, the facts you have to hold, and the differences found so far between Anthropic's exam guides and today's documentation. Each exam has a page of its own, and each domain a page under it. Every exam and domain page links to the official docs it rests on.
Ready to test yourself? Every domain page ends with a button that opens it in Practice, and ClaudeArena's practice exams include full timed mock exams for every exam. For Anthropic's official training, see the prep courses on the certification pages.
The exams
ClaudeArena uses 72% as its practice target; it doesn't predict a real result.
How the exams differ
Each exam in one row: who it is for, its format and pass mark, and what it tests.
| Exam | Who it's for | Questions | Minutes | Shared scenarios | Domains | Pass mark (scaled, 100 to 1,000) | What it tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundations (CCAR-F) | Solution architects who design and build agent systems with Claude | 60 | 120 | 4 of 6 | 5 | 720 | How Claude's tools behave |
| Professional (CCAR-P) | Mid- to senior-level solution architects, AI and ML engineers, technical leads and senior engineers who design and deliver production AI systems | 63 | 120 | None | 7 | 720 | Architecture judgement across a whole engagement: discovery, design, integration, evaluation, governance, handoff and operations |
Foundations (CCAR-F) in short
In short. CCAR-F, Claude Certified Architect: Foundations, is Anthropic's exam for solution architects who design and build agent systems with Claude. It has 60 questions in 120 minutes, built around 4 scenarios drawn from a bank of 6, and a scaled score of 720 on a 100 to 1,000 scale passes. It covers 5 domains, listed with their weights on the Foundations page.
Foundations (CCAR-F) study guide
Professional (CCAR-P) in short
In short. CCAR-P, Claude Certified Architect: Professional, is Anthropic's advanced architect credential, covering integration architecture, governance and evaluation at enterprise scale. It has 63 questions in 120 minutes across 7 domains, and a scaled score of 720 on a 100 to 1,000 scale passes. Each question sets out its own business situation; unlike Foundations, the exam guide lists no shared scenarios. The domains are listed with their weights on the Professional page.
Professional (CCAR-P) study guide
Exam technique for every exam
Each exam also has technique of its own, on its page. One rule holds for every exam.
- Deterministic beats probabilistic. If something must never happen, better wording alone isn't the answer: it needs a deterministic control, such as a hook, a permission, a tool that isn't granted, validation or an approval step.