AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
Your first step into the AWS Cloud
Build a rock-solid foundation in cloud computing. Learn what AWS is, how its core services work, how security and pricing operate, and walk into the CLF-C02 exam with confidence.
The CLF-C02 exam at a glance
What the exam tests
CLF-C02 is scored across 4 domains. Our learning path covers each one in proportion to its exam weight.
Domain 1: Cloud Concepts
24%What the cloud is, why it matters, and the economics and design principles behind AWS.
Domain 2: Security and Compliance
30%The shared responsibility model, IAM, and the services that keep AWS workloads secure and compliant.
Domain 3: Cloud Technology and Services
34%The core AWS services: compute, storage, networking, databases, and how to deploy and operate in AWS.
Domain 4: Billing, Pricing, and Support
12%Pricing models, cost management tools, account structures, and AWS support resources.
Your learning path
Work through the modules in order — each lesson ends with a short knowledge check, and the path finishes with full-length mock exams.
- 1
Getting Started
Understand what cloud computing actually is and exactly how the CLF-C02 exam works, so the rest of the path makes sense.
- 2
Cloud Concepts
Cloud ConceptsThe value proposition of the AWS Cloud: benefits, economics, deployment models, global infrastructure, and how well-architected workloads are designed.
- 10 minBenefits & Economics of the CloudThe six classic advantages of cloud computing, cloud economics, and the cost vocabulary the exam loves.
- 7 minCloud Deployment ModelsPublic cloud, private cloud, hybrid, and multicloud — and how to recognize which model a scenario describes.
- 9 minAWS Global InfrastructureRegions, Availability Zones, and edge locations — how AWS is physically organized and why it matters for availability and latency.
- 8 minThe Well-Architected FrameworkThe six pillars AWS uses to define a good architecture — and how to match each pillar to its exam keywords.
- 9 minMigrating & Adopting the CloudThe Cloud Adoption Framework, the 7 Rs migration strategies, and the AWS services that physically move data.
- 3
Security & Compliance
Security and ComplianceThe shared responsibility model, IAM, the AWS security service toolbox, and how compliance works in the cloud — the exam's second-biggest domain.
- 8 minThe Shared Responsibility ModelWho secures what: AWS's responsibilities vs yours — the single most-tested concept on the exam.
- 10 minIAM FundamentalsUsers, groups, roles, and policies — how identity and access management controls who can do what in your AWS account.
- 8 minAccount Security EssentialsMFA, credential types, IAM Identity Center, and the layered access practices every AWS account should follow.
- 11 minThe Security Services ToolboxGuardDuty, WAF, Shield, Inspector, Macie, KMS, and friends — what each security service does and when to pick it.
- 8 minCompliance & AuditingArtifact, CloudTrail, Config, and Audit Manager — proving to auditors (and yourself) that your cloud is compliant.
- 4
Technology & Services
Cloud Technology and ServicesThe core AWS service catalog: compute, storage, networking, databases, scaling, deployment, monitoring, and integration — the exam's biggest domain.
- 10 minCompute: Amazon EC2Virtual servers in the cloud — instance types, pricing options, and the EC2 vocabulary every other service builds on.
- 10 minCompute Beyond EC2: Serverless & ContainersLambda, Fargate, ECS/EKS, Elastic Beanstalk, and Lightsail — matching modern compute options to scenarios.
- 11 minStorage: S3, EBS, EFS & FriendsObject vs block vs file storage, S3 storage classes, and which storage service each scenario calls for.
- 11 minNetworking: VPC & BeyondVPCs, subnets, gateways, security layers, Route 53, and CloudFront — the network vocabulary the exam expects.
- 10 minDatabases on AWSRDS vs DynamoDB vs Aurora vs Redshift — matching database services to relational, NoSQL, caching, and analytics needs.
- 8 minScaling & Load BalancingElastic Load Balancing and Auto Scaling — how AWS architectures stay available and handle any amount of traffic.
- 8 minDeployment, IaC & Developer ToolsCloudFormation, CDK, the Code* family, and Systems Manager — how infrastructure and code get deployed on AWS.
- 8 minMonitoring & ObservabilityCloudWatch, CloudTrail, X-Ray, and the health dashboards — knowing what's happening in your account at all times.
- 10 minApp Integration, Analytics & AI ServicesSQS, SNS, EventBridge, Kinesis, Athena, Glue, QuickSight, and the AI service family — the final sweep of Domain 3 services.
- 5
Billing, Pricing & Support
Billing, Pricing, and SupportHow AWS pricing works, the tools that keep costs visible and controlled, multi-account management, and the four support plans.
- 8 minPricing Fundamentals & the Free TierThe three pricing drivers, pay-as-you-go principles, free tier types, and the data transfer rule everyone forgets.
- 8 minCost Management ToolsCost Explorer, Budgets, CUR, cost allocation tags, and Compute Optimizer — the right tool for every cost question.
- 7 minAWS Organizations & Multi-Account StrategyConsolidated billing, SCPs, and Control Tower — how companies manage many AWS accounts under one roof.
- 8 minSupport Plans & Getting HelpBasic vs Developer vs Business vs Enterprise, response times, TAMs, and the wider ecosystem of AWS help.
- 6
Exam Readiness
A rapid-review cheat sheet of every service, plus exam-day tactics — then it's mock exam time.
Cloud Practitioner FAQ
Who should take the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam?
Anyone new to the AWS Cloud — students, career changers, sales and finance professionals, project managers, and developers who want to validate foundational AWS knowledge. No hands-on experience is required, though AWS recommends up to six months of general AWS exposure.
How hard is the CLF-C02 exam?
It is the most approachable AWS certification. It tests breadth over depth: you need to recognize what each core service does and understand cloud concepts, security basics, and pricing — not configure anything. With a structured study plan most learners are ready in two to four weeks.
How many questions do I need to get right to pass?
AWS reports a scaled score from 100 to 1000 and you need 700 to pass. The exam has 65 questions but only 50 are scored (15 are unscored pilot questions). As a rule of thumb, aim for at least 75–80% on practice exams before booking the real one.
What happens if I fail?
You must wait 14 days before retaking the exam, and you pay the registration fee again for each attempt. There is no limit on the number of attempts.
How long is the certification valid?
Three years. You can recertify by passing the same exam again or by earning any higher-level AWS certification, which automatically renews the foundational one.