The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) exam is intended for individuals who perform a solutions architect role.
The exam validates a candidate’s ability to design solutions based on the AWS Well-Architected Framework.
If you’ve ever wondered “what does AWS actually expect me to know for this exam?”
This article is your calm starting point.
Introduction
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exam focuses on designing cloud architectures, not memorizing service limits or obscure CLI commands.
At a high level, the exam validates your ability to:
- Design solutions that use AWS services to meet current business requirements
- Design architectures that are secure, resilient, high-performing, and cost-optimized
- Review existing architectures and identify areas for improvement
This is not an exam about knowing everything on AWS.
It’s about knowing why you would choose one service over another.
Target Candidate Description
AWS recommends that a target candidate should have:
- At least 1 year of hands-on experience designing cloud solutions on AWS
- Practical experience making architectural decisions
- An understanding of trade-offs: cost vs performance, availability vs complexity, etc.
That said, many people pass this exam without formal job titles like Solutions Architect.
If you’ve deployed workloads, designed systems, or even built personal projects on AWS, you’re closer than you think.
Exam Content Overview
Exam Format at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Exam Code | SAA-C03 |
| Question Types | Multiple choice & multiple response |
| Scored Questions | 50 |
| Unscored Questions | 15 |
| Score Range | 100 – 1,000 |
| Passing Score | 720 |
| Negative Marking | None |
Response Types
The exam includes two types of questions:
Multiple Choice
- One correct answer
- Three distractors (plausible but incorrect answers)
Multiple Response
- Two or more correct answers
- Five or more response options
You must select all correct answers to get the question right.
There is no negative marking, so never leave a question unanswered.
Question Design (Important!)
AWS exam questions are designed to test decision-making, not definitions.
Distractors are intentionally:
- Technically valid
- Slightly wrong for the scenario
- Attractive if you missed a key requirement
Reading the full question carefully matters more than speed.
Scored vs Unscored Questions
- 50 questions affect your score
- 15 questions are unscored and used for future exam evaluation
You won’t know which questions are unscored, treat every question as if it counts. Don't hope for the best, be overprepared.
Exam Results and Scoring
- Pass or Fail exam
- Scaled score range: 100 – 1,000
- Minimum passing score: 720
The exam uses a Compensatory Scoring Model, meaning:
- You do not need to pass every domain
- Strong performance in one domain can compensate for weaker performance in another
Your score report may include section-level feedback, which is helpful for learning, but don’t over-analyse it. Just use it as guideline to figure out what your strong points are, or the areas that you might want to spend more time on.
Content Outline & Domain Weighting
The exam is divided into four content domains, each aligned to the AWS Well-Architected Framework.
Domain Weighting Overview
| Domain | Description | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Domain 1 | Design Secure Architectures | 30% |
| Domain 2 | Design Resilient Architectures | 26% |
| Domain 3 | Design High-Performing Architectures | 24% |
| Domain 4 | Design Cost-Optimized Architectures | 20% |
🛡️ Domain 1
Design Secure Architectures
30% of scored content
This is the heaviest-weighted domain.
Focus areas include:
- Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Encryption at rest and in transit
- Secure networking (VPC design)
- Least privilege access
- Shared responsibility model
If security concepts feel shaky, this is where to spend time.
🧱 Domain 2
Design Resilient Architectures
26% of scored content
This domain is about failure planning.
You’ll be tested on:
- High availability vs fault tolerance
- Multi-AZ and Multi-Region designs
- Backup and disaster recovery strategies
- Decoupling systems
AWS assumes things will fail...and so should you.
⚡ Domain 3:
Design High-Performing Architectures
24% of scored content
This domain focuses on:
- Choosing the right compute options
- Storage performance trade-offs
- Caching strategies
- Scalability and elasticity
It’s less about fast and more about right-sized performance.
💰 Domain 4
Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
20% of scored content
This domain rewards practical thinking.
Topics include:
- Cost-efficient storage tiers
- Right-sizing compute
- Managed services vs self-managed solutions
- Understanding pricing models
The cheapest solution is rarely the answer, the most cost-effective one is.
How to Use This Guide Going Forward
Think of this article as your map, not your study plan.
In the next posts of this series, we’ll:
- Break down each domain in plain English
- Tie services back to real architectural decisions
- Focus on why AWS wants you to choose something, not just what
This exam is about thinking like an architect, not cramming facts.
And once that mindset clicks, everything gets easier.
Additional Resources
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C03) Exam Guide
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