Choose Your Path¶

Level: Beginner · Time: ~20 min · Exam relevance: orientation for CCAO-F, CCAR-F and CCAR-P

Before you plan to sit an exam: as of 2026-10-24, Anthropic's certification exams are open only to people at organisations in the Claude Partner Network. Everything in this repository is free to use either way. See exam facts for eligibility and registration.

In plain English¶

This repository supports three Anthropic certifications, and you can also use it without sitting any exam:

Path	In one sentence
CCAO-F, Claude Certified Associate – Foundations	For people who use Claude at work and set up Claude Projects: prompting, judging outputs, choosing features and models, configuring Projects, and using AI responsibly
CCAR-F, Claude Certified Architect – Foundations	For people who build applications and agents with Claude: the Agent SDK, tool and MCP design, Claude Code configuration, structured output and reliable context handling
CCAR-P, Claude Certified Architect – Professional	For people who design and deliver production systems with Claude: architecture, models and context, integration, evaluation, governance, stakeholders and developer tooling
Learn without an exam	Pick the modules that match your role and skip the exam preparation

If you are not a developer, CCAO-F is almost certainly your path. If you build with the Claude API, the Agent SDK, Claude Code or MCP, CCAR-F is. If you design production systems for a living, CCAR-P is. If you are a developer who is new to AI, start with CCAO-F content (it is the foundation for everything) and continue to CCAR-F.

Why it matters¶

The three exams test different skills. CCAO-F does not expect you to write code. CCAR-F expects hands-on building experience with Claude's developer tools. CCAR-P assumes several years of systems experience and hands-on work with LLMs in production. Studying the wrong material wastes weeks.

How it works¶

The three tracks compared¶

All exam facts below come from registry.yaml, verified on 2026-10-24 against the official v1.0 exam guides. See Exam facts for sources, retake rules and the change scheduled for later in 2026.

	CCAO-F	CCAR-F	CCAR-P
Audience	Business and knowledge workers: operations, marketing, project management, education, communications	Solution architects and developers who build production applications with the Agent SDK, Claude Code and MCP	Mid- to senior-level solution architects, AI/ML engineers, technical leads, senior software engineers
Prerequisites	None mandatory; regular hands-on Claude use recommended	None mandatory; recommended 6+ months building with the Claude API, Agent SDK, Claude Code and MCP	None mandatory; recommended 3+ years in systems architecture or platform engineering and 6+ months hands-on with Claude or comparable LLM systems in production
Format	60 items, multiple-choice and multiple-response, 120 minutes	60 items in 4 scenarios drawn from a published bank of 6, 120 minutes	63 items, multiple-choice and multiple-response, 120 minutes
Coding required?	No	Not in the exam itself, but questions assume you have built with the tools	Not in the exam itself, but the knowledge assumes technical depth
Track overview	CCAO-F	CCAR-F	CCAR-P

Fees, pass marks and validity periods are recorded in the registry; check them there and on the official pages before booking.

Domains at a glance¶

CCAO-F domains: 1 Prompting and Task Execution · 2 Output Evaluation and Validation · 3 Product and Model Selection · 4 Workflow Integration and Solution Design · 5 Configuration and Knowledge Management · 6 Governance, Risk, and Responsible Use · 7 Troubleshooting and Optimization.

CCAR-F domains: 1 Agentic Architecture & Orchestration · 2 Tool Design & MCP Integration · 3 Claude Code Configuration & Workflows · 4 Prompt Engineering & Structured Output · 5 Context Management & Reliability.

CCAR-P domains: 1 Solution Design & Architecture · 2 Claude Models, Prompting & Context Engineering · 3 Integration · 4 Evaluation, Testing & Optimization · 5 Governance, Safety & Risk Management · 6 Stakeholder Communication & Lifecycle Management · 7 Developer Productivity & Operational Enablement.

Domain weights are in the registry.

Which path? A quick decision¶

flowchart TD
    A[Start] --> B{Do you design or build software systems as part of your job?}
    B -- No --> C{Do you use or plan to use Claude for your work?}
    C -- Yes --> F[CCAO-F path]
    C -- Just curious --> L[Learn without an exam: Modules 00 to 05]
    B -- Yes --> D{Several years of architecture or platform experience, and some hands-on LLM work?}
    D -- Yes --> P[CCAR-P path]
    D -- Not yet --> G{Do you build with the Claude API, Agent SDK, Claude Code or MCP?}
    G -- Yes --> R[CCAR-F path]
    G -- Not yet --> E[Start with CCAO-F content, then continue to CCAR-F]

Modules by path¶

For CCAR-F, follow the CCAR-P column for Modules 00 to 10 and 19, and use Modules 11 to 15 as optional depth; the CCAR-F objective map lists the exact pages per objective.

Module	CCAO-F	CCAR-P	Notes
00 Getting started	Required	Required
01 AI and LLM fundamentals	Required	Required (skim if experienced)
02 Claude fundamentals	Required	Required (skim if experienced)
03 Prompt engineering	Required	Required
04 Context engineering	Pages 01, 02, 04	Required
05 Claude products and models	Required	Required	Core for CCAO-F Domains 3 and 5
06 Claude API	Optional	Required
07 Tool use	Optional page 01	Required
08 Model Context Protocol	Optional page 01	Required
09 Claude Code	Optional	Required	CCAR-P Domain 7
10 Agentic AI	Optional pages 01, 05	Required
11 RAG and knowledge systems	Optional page 01	Required
12 AI security	Pages 02, 04, 12, 13	Required
13 Enterprise AI architecture	Pages 06, 08	Required
14 Evaluation and testing	Page 01	Required
15 Production operations	Not needed	Required
19 Hands-on labs	Labs 01 to 06 optional	Labs 01 to 20

Learning without an exam, by role¶

Role	Suggested modules
Manager or team lead	00 to 05, then 12 page 12 (governance) and 13 pages 06 and 08
Security engineer	00 to 04, then 06, 07, 08, 12 (all) and Labs 14 and 15
DevSecOps or platform engineer	00 to 04, then 06 to 09, 12, 15 and Labs 07 to 10, 17 to 19
Developer new to AI	00 to 07, then 09 to 11

Then pick a roadmap¶

The roadmaps README matches each plan to your experience and track. In short: complete beginners take the 30-day plan for CCAO-F or the 90-day plan for CCAR-P; experienced people can compress.

Example¶

Three fictional learners choose their paths:

Amira, a marketing coordinator who uses Claude daily for drafts: CCAO-F, 30-day roadmap.
Ben, a backend engineer with five years' experience but no LLM work: CCAO-F content first (Modules 01 to 05), then the CCAR-P 90-day roadmap, building production experience on the way.
Chen, a solution architect who has shipped two LLM applications: CCAR-P, 60-day roadmap, skimming Modules 01 and 02.

Enterprise use case¶

Acme Logistics plans certification for its AI programme. The business enablement team (operations, customer service, communications) takes CCAO-F so that Project owners across departments share a common standard. The three architects who own the platform take CCAR-P. Each person's manager agrees a roadmap and protected study time before they start.

Common mistakes¶

Choosing the architect exam for prestige without the experience. The recommended experience exists for a reason.
Skipping CCAO-F foundations as an engineer. Prompting, output evaluation and responsible use are tested in both tracks.
Booking the exam before choosing a roadmap. Plan backwards from a realistic study schedule.

Security considerations¶

Both tracks test governance and responsible use. Whatever your path, read Responsible use early: it changes how you practise (no real customer data in exercises, no API keys in files).

Troubleshooting¶

Situation	Suggestion
Unsure which track	Take the CCAO-F readiness assessment; if you score well easily, try the CCAR-F or CCAR-P one
Your organisation is not yet in a position to register you	Exam eligibility and registration are described in Exam facts; you can still follow the learning path
You want a certification this repository does not cover	Check the registry for its status; supported tracks are marked `supported`

Check your understanding¶

Which track is designed for business users who build Claude Projects?
What experience does the CCAR-P exam guide recommend?
Where are exam facts such as item counts and weights recorded in this repository?

Answers

CCAO-F (Claude Certified Associate – Foundations).
Three or more years in systems architecture or platform engineering and at least six months hands-on with Claude or comparable LLM systems in production. It is recommended, not mandatory.
In 16-certification-tracks/registry.yaml, summarised in 25-official-resources/exam-facts.md.