The Salesforce Certified Data 360 Consultant exam tests whether you can position, set up and implement Data 360, Salesforce’s data platform. This guide covers who the exam is for, how it works, what each of the six domains tests, the official study resources, how to keep the certification and a suggested way to prepare.
Data 360 Consultant at a glance
| Detail | Data 360 Consultant |
|---|---|
| Awarded by | Salesforce |
| Questions | 60 multiple-choice, plus up to five unscored questions |
| Time | 105 minutes |
| Passing score | 70% |
| Release | Questions align to the Spring ’26 release |
| Registration fee | US$200, plus applicable taxes |
| Retake fee | US$100, plus applicable taxes |
| Delivery | Proctored, at a test centre or online |
| References | None allowed, printed or online |
| Prerequisite | None |
| Maintenance | A Trailhead maintenance module once a year |
Data 360 and Data Cloud
Data 360 is the new name Salesforce gave to the data platform it previously called Data Cloud. The exam guide, the certification and the official Trailhead trail all use the Data 360 name. Older study material may still use the name Data Cloud for the same product.
Who it is for
Salesforce says the exam suits consultants who have implemented and consulted on Data 360 and other enterprise data platforms in a customer-facing role, including designing and configuring solutions. Candidates should have experience with data strategy and data modelling, including building solutions across several Salesforce clouds.
Typical backgrounds include Salesforce administration, strategy, business analysis, solutioning (including presales), DevOps, technical marketing and architecture. Salesforce recommends a combination of on-the-job experience and self-study.
The exam format
The exam has 60 scored multiple-choice questions and you have 105 minutes. It may also contain up to five unscored questions that Salesforce uses to gather performance data. They are mixed in at random and have no effect on your result. The passing score is 70%, and the current questions align to the Spring ’26 release.
The exam is proctored, either at a testing centre or online. You cannot refer to any printed or online material during it. At the start of every exam you must accept the Salesforce Certification Program Agreement and Code of Conduct.
The six official domains
The official exam guide weights the domains as follows. The descriptions summarise the objectives the guide lists for each one.
| Domain | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Solution Positioning | 14% | Data 360 terminology and business value, its role as a foundation for generative and predictive AI, identifying first use cases, and the principles of data ethics and governance. |
| Data 360 Setup and Administration | 13% | Permissions, permission sets and org-wide settings; applying governance requirements to the configuration; managing the development lifecycle with the available tools; and diagnosing common issues. |
| Data Source Connection and Ingestion | 18% | Data transformation capabilities, how data is ingested from different sources and what to consider, and data collaboration capabilities including Zero-Copy. |
| Harmonization and Unification | 17% | The purpose, process and use cases of unification, and modelling data in Data 360. |
| Data Enhancements, Sharing, and Analysis | 18% | Enhancing unified data and building insights, referencing Data 360 data from other systems, reports and dashboards, and applying Data 360’s predictive and generative AI tools to customer scenarios. |
| Data Activations and Utilization | 20% | Segmentation concepts and use cases, managing segments, publishing activations, acting on data, and using Data 360 in Salesforce flows. |
Data Activations and Utilization is the largest domain. Ingestion and Enhancements, Sharing, and Analysis follow at 18% each.
Official study resources
Salesforce recommends a mix of hands-on experience, training courses, Trailhead trails and self-study across the topics in the exam outline. The exam guide lists:
- Prepare for your Salesforce Data 360 Consultant Exam: a Trailhead trail, shown as intermediate level and about 13 hours 40 minutes long.
- Data 360 Learning Journey: a set of Trailhead trails.
- Discover Salesforce Data 360 Fundamentals (SDC101) and Design and Build Effective Solutions with Data 360 (SDC301): expert-led courses from Trailhead Academy.
- Salesforce Help: documentation, tip sheets and user guides for each topic in the exam outline.
A suggested 6-week study plan
This is our suggested plan for about 6–8 hours of study a week, alongside hands-on practice in a Data 360 org if you have access to one. It follows the domain weights.
- Week 1: Solution Positioning, Setup and Administration. Key terms and use cases, data ethics, permissions and org settings. Start the official Trailhead trail.
- Week 2: Data Source Connection and Ingestion. Ingesting data from different sources, transformations and Zero-Copy.
- Week 3: Harmonization and Unification. Data modelling and how unification works.
- Week 4: Data Enhancements, Sharing, and Analysis. Insights, reports and dashboards, sharing data with other systems, and the AI tools.
- Week 5: Data Activations and Utilization. Segments, activations, acting on data, and Data 360 in flows.
- Week 6: practice exams. Take full-length timed practice exams, read every explanation, and go back to the domains where you score lowest.
Keeping your certification
You must complete the Data 360 Consultant certification maintenance module on Trailhead once a year. If you do not finish all maintenance requirements by the due date, the certification expires. Each module covers recent product updates; the Winter ’26 module, for example, included Hyperforce regions, real-time data actions with event-triggered flows, companion orgs and Data 360 sandboxes.
I run ExamCrest, where this guide first appeared. Try free Data 360 Consultant practice questions: https://examcrest.com/exam/sf-data360/free-questions?utm_source=devto&utm_campaign=g-04a-data360
Top comments (0)