AWS is updating the Certified Developer – Associate exam from DVA-C02 to DVA-C03. If you are preparing now, you can sit DVA-C02 until the end of November or move to DVA-C03 from December. Here are the official dates, what changes, and how to decide.
The key dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| DVA-C03 registration opens | 27 October 2026 |
| Full DVA-C03 exam guide published | 27 October 2026 |
| Last day to take DVA-C02 | 30 November 2026 |
| DVA-C03 exams begin | 1 December 2026 |
AWS says DVA-C03 will be available in all the languages that are currently supported.
DVA-C02 at a glance (the exam you can book today)
- Length: 65 questions in 130 minutes. 50 are scored and 15 are unscored, and you can’t tell which ones are unscored
- Question types: multiple choice and multiple response. There is no penalty for guessing
- Pass mark: 720 on a scaled score from 100 to 1,000
- Fee: USD 150
- Experience: AWS recommends 1 or more years of hands-on experience developing and maintaining applications on AWS
- Validity: 3 years
| DVA-C02 domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| Development with AWS Services | 32% |
| Security | 26% |
| Deployment | 24% |
| Troubleshooting and Optimization | 18% |
What is new in DVA-C03
In its September 2026 announcement, AWS says the core development skills stay, and the existing tasks have been updated to match current practice. The main changes are:
- A new task on AI security (5 skills): for example access management for AI services and data privacy controls
- AI-assisted development across all domains
- Container management: Amazon ECR, Amazon ECS, Amazon EKS and AWS Fargate
- New services in scope: Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, Amazon Q, Kiro, Amazon Data Firehose and AWS PrivateLink
- Some skill areas merged, including DynamoDB and security
AWS also lists what is out of scope for DVA-C03: prompt engineering, RAG design, AI model selection, Amazon SageMaker AI, and designing AI governance frameworks. So this is still a developer exam, not an AI specialist one.
The current DVA-C02 guide already includes “emerging topics” on AI-assisted development and AI security. Those questions are unscored pretest items on DVA-C02.
What we don’t know yet
AWS has not yet published the DVA-C03 domain weights, number of questions, duration or price. The full exam guide arrives on 27 October 2026, so treat any DVA-C03 percentages you see before then with caution.
Which one should you take?
- You can be ready by the end of November: take DVA-C02. The guide is final, study material is mature, and AWS says a credential earned on DVA-C02 stays active until its normal expiry date.
- You are just starting: plan for DVA-C03. Lambda, DynamoDB, IAM, deployment and troubleshooting still matter, so keep going, and add containers and AI security once the full guide is out on 27 October.
- Don’t cut it fine: 30 November is the last day for DVA-C02. Book a date with some margin, so a reschedule doesn’t push you past it.
Confirm the latest details on AWS’s Developer – Associate page before you book.
I run ExamCrest, where this post first appeared. If you're preparing for DVA-C02, there are 10 free DVA-C02 practice questions, each with the answer and a full explanation.
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