CCAO-F exam map — domains, weights and how to use this hive
CCAO-F exam map
This note maps the Claude Certified Associate – Foundations exam onto this hive. For each domain it shows how much of the exam it carries, where it is taught here, and how the mock papers sample it. Every exam fact below comes from the official exam guide, version 1.0 (effective July 2026). Where this hive makes its own choice, such as how many seats a domain gets on a mock paper, the note says so.
Who can take the exam
Anthropic's certification FAQ says: "Certification is currently available only to organizations in the Claude Partner Network." Registration also needs a partner email address on a recognized company domain. Personal email addresses do not work. Check that your organization is in the network before you plan around a date.
Registration goes through the Anthropic Partner Academy, and Pearson VUE delivers the exam. The guide states that there are no mandatory prerequisites and that no software-development or API experience is needed.
The exam at a glance
| What | Exam guide v1.0 |
|---|---|
| Items | 60 |
| Item format | Multiple-choice and multiple-response; each item states how many responses to select |
| Time limit | 120 minutes |
| Delivery | Proctored, online or at a test center, per program policy |
| Passing score | Scaled score of 720 on a scale of 100–1,000 |
| Validity | 12 months from the date the credential is awarded |
The guide sets the fee and the retake waiting periods, and both can change. Check them in the current guide rather than here.
The seven domains
The guide calls its weights "the approximate proportion of scored items drawn from each domain". The mock-paper seats are this hive's own allocation. They are the guide's weights applied to 60 items and rounded by largest remainder, so the seats always add up to 60.
| Domain | Weight | Objectives | Seats per mock (house) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Prompting and Task Execution | 14% | 4 | 8 |
| 2 Output Evaluation and Validation | 21% | 6 | 13 |
| 3 Product and Model Selection | 12% | 4 | 7 |
| 4 Workflow Integration and Solution Design | 16% | 5 | 10 |
| 5 Configuration and Knowledge Management | 12% | 4 | 7 |
| 6 Governance, Risk, and Responsible Use | 15% | 4 | 9 |
| 7 Troubleshooting and Optimization | 10% | 3 | 6 |
Objective count does not follow weight. Domain 2 has six objectives at 21%, while Domain 6 has four at 15%. A heavy domain can still spread thinly across its objectives, so study the objectives as well as the percentages.
Where each domain is taught
Every domain has:
- a narrated lecture deck for each topic, with a companion quiz;
- flashcards;
- a study note;
- a no-code practice exercise with a reference solution.
| Domain | Topics in this hive |
|---|---|
| 1 Prompting | Writing and structuring prompts; Iterating toward better output; Prompting strategies by task type |
| 2 Evaluation | Checking accuracy and spotting hallucinations; Fact-checking and when a human must review; Shaping output for the audience and the format |
| 3 Product and model | Claude product features; Claude models and matching them to the task; Context limits and memory |
| 4 Workflow | Analysing requirements and researching with Claude; Designing and integrating Claude workflows; Communicating Claude's value and limitations |
| 5 Configuration | Configuring Projects, knowledge and connectors; Writing and maintaining instructions |
| 6 Governance | Appropriate use and data sensitivity; Policy, governance and ethics |
| 7 Troubleshooting | Diagnosing and adjusting underperforming prompts; Optimizing workflows |
How to use the hive
- Learn a topic. Watch the deck, then take its quiz straight away. The quiz tests only what that deck teaches.
- Consolidate a domain. Read the domain's study note and review its flashcards.
- Apply it. Work through the domain's practice exercise in the Claude app, then compare your answers with the reference solution. Steps that need an administrator or a paid plan are written as plans, so every exercise works on any plan.
- Sit a mock paper once you have covered all seven domains. Take it timed, with no notes.
- Review by domain. Note which domains your missed questions come from. Go back to the decks for your weakest domain, then sit the next paper.
The four mock papers
- Each paper has 60 questions, is timed at 120 minutes, and includes multiple-response items that state how many to select, as the real exam does.
- The four papers share no questions. Every paper asks about all 30 objectives, in the seat counts shown above.
- The exam-bank questions are separate from the quiz questions. Scoring well on a paper means applying what you learned to new situations, not recognizing a quiz item you have seen before.
- A mock result is the percentage you answered correctly. It is not the exam's scaled score. The guide reports a pass or fail on a scaled score of 100–1,000 with a cut score of 720. It also reports the percentage correct in each domain, and that per-domain breakdown is the part a mock can imitate.
Staying current
Claude's products change faster than the exam. This hive teaches judgement that lasts: when to verify, which kind of model suits which task, and what not to upload. It avoids prices, plan limits and version numbers. Where a feature depends on your plan or your organization's settings, the material says so. If the Claude app on your screen differs from a deck, trust the help center page the deck cites, which is linked from the hive's sources.