CLF-C02 · ● Active · Entry · AWS
Deep-dive certification file for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02). Every claim is cited. Status reflects 2026 reality. CLF-C02 launched September 19, 2023; CLF-C01 retired September 18, 2023.
Exam facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost | USD $100 |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Questions | 65 (50 scored + 15 unscored) |
| Passing | 700/1000 scaled |
| Format | Multiple choice + Multiple response |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE + OnVUE |
| Languages | English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish (multiple variants), Traditional Chinese |
| Valid | 3 years |
| Renewal | Pass CLF-C02 again, OR pass any higher AWS cert (SAA-C03, etc.), OR take free 40-minute recertification exam |
| Prerequisites | None; 6 months AWS exposure recommended |
| Released | September 19, 2023 (CLF-C02 launch date) |
| Retiring | N/A (CLF-C01 retired September 18, 2023) |
Vendor source — AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner ↗
Official exam guide — AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam Guide PDF ↗
Exam objectives — AWS Documentation: Cloud Practitioner 02 ↗
About
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) is the foundational, vendor-neutral entry point to AWS certification. Launched September 19, 2023, CLF-C02 replaced CLF-C01 and tests broad AWS cloud knowledge across service categories, shared responsibility, pricing, and compliance — not deep technical implementation. Ideal for IT professionals, operations staff, pre-sales engineers, and career changers entering cloud, requiring 6 months exposure to AWS or general cloud knowledge.
Domain context — Cloud
Hyperscale public cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI) and vendor-neutral cloud fundamentals. Cloud Practitioner sits at the foundational level across all cloud vendors.
Read full deep dive — AWS Ecosystem →
Topics covered
Official exam blueprint (4 domains with published weights):
- Domain 1: Cloud Concepts (24%) — AWS value proposition, cloud economics, migration benefits, design principles (scalability, elasticity, resilience, high availability).
- Domain 2: Security and Compliance (30%) — Shared responsibility model, IAM fundamentals, encryption, AWS Organizations, compliance frameworks (HIPAA, PCI-DSS, FedRAMP), AWS Trusted Advisor.
- Domain 3: Cloud Technology and Services (34%) — Compute (EC2, Lambda, elastic scaling), storage (S3, EBS), databases (RDS, DynamoDB), networking (VPC, CloudFront), monitoring (CloudWatch).
- Domain 4: Billing, Pricing, and Support (12%) — AWS pricing models, Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, Spot Instances, AWS Free Tier, Cost Explorer, AWS Budgets, support plans (Basic, Developer, Business, Enterprise).
Source: Official exam guide PDF ↗
Common skills at Cloud · Entry
Shared content for the Cloud domain at Entry level — not specific to this cert.
- Cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and key differences.
- Regions, Availability Zones, and edge locations.
- Shared responsibility model (customer vs. cloud provider).
- Basic IAM concepts (users, roles, policies).
- Cloud cost basics and TCO calculation.
- High availability and disaster recovery patterns.
- Compliance and regulatory frameworks at overview level.
- Cloud migration strategies (rehost, replatform, refactor, repurchase).
Recommended courses at Cloud · Entry
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Skill Builder (Official) | Exam Prep: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) | Free / Paid bundle | ↗ |
| Udemy (Stephane Maarek) | Ultimate AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 2026 | $14–$99 (sale dependent) | ↗ |
| freeCodeCamp / ExamPro | AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study Course (CLF-C02) | Free (YouTube) | ↗ |
| Udemy (Abhishek Singh) | 6 Practice Exams | AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 | $14–$99 (sale dependent) | ↗ |
| Tutorials Dojo | AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials (CLF-C02) | Free / Paid labs | ↗ |
| A Cloud Guru / Pluralsight | AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) | $29–$49/month subscription | ↗ |
| Whizlabs | CLF-C02: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification | $39–$49 | ↗ |
| Codecademy | CLF-C02: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner v1.1 | $39/month or one-time | ↗ |
Course-selection rule: Each course above is specifically for CLF-C02 or equivalently current. AWS Skill Builder's official exam prep is free tier access; full bundle may include additional resources.
Practice exams
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Skill Builder (Official) | Official Practice Exam: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) | Free / Included in bundle | ↗ |
| AWS Skill Builder (Official) | Official Practice Question Set: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) | Free / Included in bundle | ↗ |
| Tutorials Dojo | AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Practice Exams (CLF-C02) | $14.99 (typical sale price) | ↗ |
| Whizlabs | AWS CLF-C02 Practice Tests | $39–$49 | ↗ |
| Udemy | AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) - 700+ Questions | $14–$99 (sale dependent) | ↗ |
Books
| Title | Author | Publisher | Year | ISBN | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study Guide With 500 Practice Test Questions: Foundational (CLF-C02) Exam, 2nd Edition | Ben Piper, David Clinton | Sybex / Wiley | 2023 | 978-1394235636 | ↗ |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study Guide (First Edition Alternative) | Various authors | Pearson / Pearson Press | 2023+ | Various | ↗ |
Book rule: Both books reference CLF-C02 directly and were published in 2023 or later, aligning with the current exam version. The Sybex/Wiley title includes 500 practice questions and is the most current dedicated study guide.
Typical job titles at Cloud · Entry
Cloud Support Associate · Junior Cloud Engineer · Cloud Sales Engineer · Pre-Sales Engineer (Cloud) · IT Project Coordinator (Cloud) · AWS Account Coordinator · Cloud Service Desk Analyst · Cloud Operations Associate
(Job titles drawn from current job postings requiring or preferring AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.)
Salary
| Region | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| USD | $85,866–$117,000 (entry); up to $154,500 (90th percentile) | ZipRecruiter 2026 ↗ · Glassdoor 2026 ↗ |
| ZAR | R 688,204–R 773,588 (AWS Cloud Support Associate role) | PayScale ZA ↗ · Glassdoor ZA ↗ |
| GBP | £65,000–£85,000 (entry-level cloud support + practitioner roles) | IT Jobs Watch ↗ |
| EUR | €55,000–€75,000 (entry cloud roles, DE/FR/NL) | Kununu ↗ |
Salary note: CLF-C02-specific salary data is limited; ranges above reflect entry-level cloud support and junior cloud engineer roles where CLF-C02 is preferred or required. 73% of practitioners report salary raises after certification, averaging 27% increase.
Skills validated
Cert-specific — what CLF-C02 actually tests, distinct from shared "Common skills" above.
- AWS core services: EC2, S3, VPC, IAM, RDS (conceptual level).
- AWS Well-Architected Framework (5 pillars).
- AWS Organizations and multi-account strategy basics.
- AWS pricing models and cost optimization (Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, Spot).
- AWS Free Tier structure and usage tracking.
- AWS support plans (Basic, Developer, Business, Enterprise) and support case lifecycle.
- AWS Trusted Advisor recommendations.
- AWS shared responsibility model applied to specific services.
- Compliance frameworks: HIPAA, PCI-DSS, FedRAMP at introductory level.
- AWS CloudWatch basics and monitoring.
- AWS IAM user/role/policy fundamentals.
- AWS CloudFormation and Infrastructure-as-Code introduction.
- Basic AWS CLI and AWS Management Console operations.
Related certifications
- Stacks with: AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03) ↗ (next in AWS path)
- Prerequisite for: All AWS Associate and Professional certifications (as foundation).
- Replaces: CLF-C01 (retired September 18, 2023).
- Equivalents at this level: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) ↗ · GCP Cloud Digital Leader (CDL) ↗ · OCI Foundations Associate (1Z0-1085-26) ↗
- Vendor overview: AWS Vendor Overview ↗
Sources
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner official page
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Exam Guide PDF
- AWS Certification exam objectives documentation
- AWS Skill Builder Cloud Practitioner Exam Prep
- Udemy: Ultimate AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02
- freeCodeCamp: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Course
- Tutorials Dojo AWS Cloud Practitioner Study Guide
- Whizlabs CLF-C02 Practice Exams
- Sybex/Wiley AWS Cloud Practitioner Study Guide
- AWS Recertification and Renewal guide
- ZipRecruiter: Entry-Level AWS Cloud Practitioner Salary
- Glassdoor: Cloud Practitioner Salary 2026
- PayScale: AWS Salary in South Africa
- Glassdoor ZA: AWS Cloud Support Associate Salary
- Coursera: AWS Cloud Practitioner Salary 2026
Last verified: 2026-05-01
Parent ecosystem: AWS Ecosystem
Parent domain: Cloud Domain
Vendor overview: AWS Vendor Overview