PDII · ● Active · Professional · Salesforce
Exam facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost | $200 USD |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Questions | 60 multiple choice + 5 unscored |
| Passing | 70% |
| Format | Multiple choice |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE (proctored online or test centre) |
| Languages | English (English-only) |
| Valid | 3 years |
| Renewal | Pass higher-level cert (App Architect, System Architect, CTA) or retake |
| Prerequisites | Must hold Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I (PDI) |
| Released | 2016 (current version) |
| Retiring | N/A |
Vendor source — Salesforce Certifications ↗ Official exam guide — Platform Developer II Study Guide ↗ Exam objectives — PDII Exam Blueprint ↗
About
The Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II (PDII) is the professional-level certification for Apex and Salesforce platform development. PDII builds directly on PDI skills, requiring demonstrated mastery of advanced logic automation, integrations, UI customisation, testing, performance optimisation, and debugging. It is the primary credential for senior Salesforce developers and development leads. Released in 2016, PDII remains the de facto advanced developer certification within the Salesforce ecosystem and is a prerequisite for Solution Architect tracks.
Domain context — Software Engineering / CRM
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms enable enterprises to manage customer data, automate sales and service workflows, and integrate business systems. Salesforce dominates the CRM SaaS market, with its extensible platform (custom Apex code, Lightning components, integrations) requiring dedicated developer roles and certifications.
Read full deep dive — Salesforce Ecosystem →
Topics covered
Per the official Salesforce exam blueprint:
- Logic and Process Automation (33%) — Apex triggers, batch Apex, scheduled actions, process builder, flow logic, exception handling, governor limits
- User Interface (14%) — Lightning Web Components (LWC), Aura, controllers, JavaScript, responsive design, testing UI code
- Integration (15%) — REST/SOAP APIs, callouts, webhooks, middleware patterns, OAuth, error handling in integrations
- Testing (10%) — Apex test classes, code coverage requirements (75%+ org coverage), mocking, test data factories
- Performance and Optimisation (15%) — Query optimisation, SOQL limits, bulk operations, caching, asynchronous patterns, monitoring
- Debugging / Deployment Tools (13%) — Logs, breakpoints, change sets, source control (Git), CI/CD, ant/SFDX, rollbacks
Source: Salesforce PDII Blueprint ↗
Common skills at Software Engineering · Professional
Shared developer competencies at professional level — not specific to Salesforce.
- Advanced object-oriented programming (inheritance, polymorphism, design patterns)
- Asynchronous and concurrent programming (queueing, threading, event-driven workflows)
- API design and RESTful principles
- Security (authentication, authorisation, encryption, secure coding)
- Database design and query optimisation
- Version control (Git workflows, branching strategies, code review)
- Testing frameworks and test-driven development (TDD)
- Monitoring, logging, and observability
- Architectural trade-offs (performance vs. maintainability, scalability, resilience)
Recommended courses at Software Engineering · Professional
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforce Trailhead (Free) | PDII Trailmix — Logic and Process Automation, Integrations, Testing, Performance | Free | ↗ |
| Salesforce Trailhead (Superbadges) | Apex Specialist, Data Integration Specialist, Lightning Web Components Specialist, Aura Components Specialist | Free | ↗ |
| Focus on Force | PDII Course Bundle (video + labs + practice exams) | $79 + exam simulations $59 | ↗ |
| Salesforce Ben (YouTube) | PDII Playlist — Apex advanced patterns, integration deep-dives | Free | ↗ |
| Pluralsight | Apex Specialist and Advanced Apex patterns | $25–35/mo | ↗ |
Course-selection rule: PDII preparation requires hands-on Apex coding and superbadge completion. Generic Salesforce admin or developer courses are insufficient; focus on superbadges (Apex Specialist, Data Integration) and PDII-specific labs. Trailhead is the official vendor source and is free.
Practice exams
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus on Force | PDII Practice Exam Bundle (3 full exams + on-demand mode) | $59 | ↗ |
| Salesforce Trailhead | PDII Practice Exam (official Salesforce) | $50 | ↗ |
| Whizlabs | Salesforce Platform Developer II Mock Exams | $20–30 | ↗ |
Books
| Title | Author | Publisher | Year | ISBN | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apex Cookbook | Jitendra Zaa | Independently Published | 2022 | 979-8425903885 | ↗ |
| Note: No dedicated PDII study guide book exists. Salesforce official documentation and the Trailhead PDII Trailmix are the primary references. Supplement with Apex Cookbook for advanced patterns and antipatterns. | — | — | — | — | — |
Book rule: Salesforce does not publish a PDII-specific study guide book; the exam is covered by Trailhead modules, superbadges, and the official exam guide. The Apex Cookbook (2022) covers advanced Apex patterns relevant to PDII topics. Rely heavily on the official Salesforce Docs and Trailhead for current API signatures and best practices.
Typical job titles at Software Engineering · Professional
Senior Salesforce Developer · Lead Apex Developer · Salesforce Engineer · Salesforce Solutions Developer · Technical Architect (Salesforce) · Staff Developer
(Job titles drawn from LinkedIn, Salesforce Talent Program postings, and job boards (LinkedIn Jobs, Indeed, Heidrick & Struggles Salesforce salary surveys) requiring PDII or equivalent Salesforce advanced experience.)
Salary
| Region | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| USD | $130,000 – $180,000 | Glassdoor ↗ · Robert Half Salary Guide (2025) ↗ · levels.fyi ↗ |
| ZAR | R600,000 – R950,000 | Pnet ↗ · PayScale ZA ↗ |
| GBP | £70,000 – £110,000 | IT Jobs Watch ↗ · Hays Salary Guide (2025) ↗ |
| EUR | €80,000 – €130,000 (DE/FR/NL) | PayScale DE ↗ |
| AUD | A$150,000 – A$220,000 | Seek ↗ · PayScale AU ↗ |
Salary rule: PDII holders typically earn 15–25% premium over PDI-only developers. These ranges reflect roles explicitly requiring PDII or senior/lead Salesforce developer titles. Regional variation reflects CoL and market maturity; ZAR-based salary reflects South African Salesforce market data from Pnet and PayScale ZA.
Skills validated
Specific technical competencies tested by the PDII exam.
- Advanced Apex: Interfaces, abstract classes, custom iterables, exception handling, governor limit optimisation
- Asynchronous Apex:
@future, batch Apex, scheduled Apex, queueable jobs, event-driven architecture - SOQL and SOSL: Complex queries, relationship queries, query optimisation, avoiding N+1 pitfalls
- Triggers: Trigger patterns (handler classes, context-aware design), avoiding trigger recursion, bulk operations
- REST and SOAP APIs: Callouts, request/response serialisation, OAuth flow, external service integration
- Lightning Web Components (LWC): JavaScript, reactive properties, lifecycle hooks, composition patterns
- Aura Framework: Controllers, events, actions, debugging Aura-specific issues (legacy; LWC preferred)
- Unit Testing: Test classes, mocking (Test.startTest/stopTest), code coverage 75%+, factory patterns
- Deployment: SFDX, source control, CI/CD concepts, change sets, rollback strategies
- Performance Tuning: Index strategies, batch window optimisation, CPU time and heap usage limits
- Debugging Tools: Developer console logs, checkpoints, breakpoints, Apex log analysis
Related certifications
- Prerequisite: Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I (PDI) ↗
- Stacks with: Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator ↗, Salesforce Certified Application Architect ↗
- Leads to: Salesforce Certified Solutions Architect ↗, Salesforce Certified Technical Architect (CTA) ↗
- Equivalents at Professional level: No direct equivalent in other CRM platforms; AWS/Azure/Google Cloud have no exact parallel (CRM engineering is Salesforce-specific market)
- Vendor overview: Salesforce ↗
Sources
- Salesforce Credentials: https://www.salesforce.com/certifications/
- PDII Exam Guide & Blueprint: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/credentials/platformdeveloperii
- Focus on Force PDII Course: https://www.focusonforce.com/certification/salesforce-platform-developer-ii-pdii
- Salesforce Official Docs: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/
- Salesforce Ben YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZGhqwtNW2wCwLZjahQlcjg
- Trailhead Superbadges: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/superbadges
- Apex Cookbook (2022): https://www.amazon.com/Apex-Cookbook-Jitendra-Zaa/dp/B0B6PDKFRS
- Glassdoor Salesforce Developer Salary: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/salesforce-developer-salary.htm
- Robert Half Salary Guide 2025: https://www.roberthalf.com/salary-guide
- Levels.fyi Salesforce: https://www.levels.fyi/t/salesforce-engineer
- Hays Salary Guide 2025: https://www.hays.com/salary-guide
- Pnet ZA: https://www.pnet.co.za/
- IT Jobs Watch: https://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/
Last verified: 2026-05-01 Parent ecosystem: Salesforce Ecosystem Parent domain: Software Engineering / CRM Vendor overview: Salesforce