AWS is updating the Certified Solutions Architect – Professional exam from SAP-C02 to SAP-C03. If you are preparing now, the big question is whether to sit SAP-C02 before it retires or wait for SAP-C03. Here are the official dates, what changes, and how to decide.
The key dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| SAP-C03 registration opens | 27 October 2026 |
| Full SAP-C03 exam guide published | 27 October 2026 |
| Last day to take SAP-C02 | 16 November 2026 |
| SAP-C03 exams begin | 17 November 2026 |
AWS says SAP-C03 will be available in all the languages that are currently supported.
SAP-C02 at a glance (the exam you can book today)
- Length: 75 questions in 180 minutes. 65 are scored and 10 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: 750 on a scaled score from 100 to 1,000
- Fee: USD 300
- Experience: AWS recommends 2 or more years of designing and implementing solutions on AWS
- Validity: 3 years
| SAP-C02 domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| Design for New Solutions | 29% |
| Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity | 26% |
| Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions | 25% |
| Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization | 20% |
What is new in SAP-C03
In its September 2026 announcement, AWS says the core architecture skills stay, and the existing tasks have been updated to match current practice. The new skill areas are:
- Generative AI and agentic AI (11 new skills): including AI agent architectures with Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, and Amazon Bedrock Guardrails for content filtering
- Resilience engineering: AWS Fault Injection Service, AWS Resilience Hub, Amazon Application Recovery Controller, and automated runbooks with AWS Systems Manager
- Cloud-native patterns (7 new skills): durable workflows with AWS Step Functions, and service-to-service networking with Amazon VPC Lattice and Amazon ECS Service Connect
- DevSecOps and observability (6 new skills)
- Data and analytics (3 new skills): lakehouse designs with AWS Lake Formation and Apache Iceberg, and cross-account data sharing with AWS Clean Rooms
- Post-quantum cryptography: AWS KMS with ML-DSA and ML-KEM
The current SAP-C02 guide already hints at this. It lists an “emerging topics” area on responsible AI controls (for example Bedrock Guardrails and AgentCore Identity). Those questions are unscored pretest items on SAP-C02.
What we don’t know yet
AWS has not yet published the SAP-C03 domain weights, number of questions, duration or price. The full exam guide arrives on 27 October 2026, so treat any SAP-C03 percentages you see before then with caution.
Which one should you take?
- You can be ready by mid-November: take SAP-C02. The guide is final, study material is mature, and AWS says a credential earned on SAP-C02 stays active until its normal expiry date.
- You are just starting: plan for SAP-C03. Keep studying the core architecture topics (they carry over), then add the new areas above and check the full guide on 27 October.
- Don’t cut it fine: 16 November is the last day for SAP-C02. Book a date with some margin, so a reschedule doesn’t push you past it.
Confirm the latest details on AWS’s Solutions Architect – Professional page before you book.
I run ExamCrest, where this post first appeared. If you're preparing for SAP-C02, there are 10 free SAP-C02 practice questions, each with the answer and a full explanation.
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