Search for the SAA-C03 pass mark and you will be told you need 72%. That number cannot exist. AWS publishes a passing score of 720 on a scale that runs from 100 to 1,000 — a scale that does not start at zero, so it does not convert into a percentage. The more useful thing those pages miss is published in AWS’s own exam guide: of the 65 questions you will sit, only 50 are scored.
This guide uses only what AWS publishes on its certification page, exam guide and policy pages, and says plainly where AWS publishes nothing. Every figure below was verified on 18 September 2026.
The exam at a glance
| Exam code | SAA-C03 |
| Questions | 65 — multiple choice and multiple response |
| Scored questions | 50. The other 15 are unscored and are not identified during the exam |
| Time limit | 130 minutes |
| Passing score | 720 on a 100–1,000 scale |
| Equivalent percentage | Not published by AWS — the scale does not start at zero, so none can be derived |
| Scoring model | Scaled and compensatory — no per-section pass requirement |
| Price | 150 USD |
| Recommended experience | At least one year of hands-on experience designing cloud solutions that use AWS services |
| Validity | Three years |
| Languages | English, French (France), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese |
| Retirement | Not published for the exam itself. The Italian version retires after 31 December 2026 |
Fifteen of your questions do not count
AWS publishes this in the exam guide and almost nobody repeats it. Of the 65 questions, 50 are scored. The remaining 15 are unscored items AWS uses to evaluate questions for future exams, and — this is the part that matters — they are not identified during the exam. You cannot tell which ones they are.
Run the arithmetic both ways. 130 minutes across 65 questions is exactly two minutes each. But 130 minutes across the 50 questions that actually determine your result is 2.6 minutes per question that counts. Both numbers are true, and the gap between them is where candidates lose.
Can you settle a SAA-C03 question in two minutes?
Timed practice tests written from AWS’s published exam guide, with an explanation for every answer — so the questions you get wrong are the ones you learn from.
- Full-length timed tests that hold you to the real 130-minute limit
- An explanation for every answer, right and wrong
- Original questions written from the published exam guide — never real exam content
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Securing what you build? CompTIA Security+ practice tests. Shoring up the networking underneath? Network+ N10-009 practice exams.
The practical consequence is about where you spend your minutes. Roughly one question in four is worth nothing to you, and it is invisible. So the scenario question you cannot crack — the one you return to three times, convinced it is pivotal — carries a meaningful chance of being an experimental item. Flag it, move on, come back if there is time. Refusing to abandon a question is an expensive instinct on this exam.
The passing score is not a percentage
AWS publishes 720 on a 100–1,000 scale. The floor is 100, not zero, so dividing 720 by 1,000 tells you nothing and AWS publishes no conversion. Scoring is also scaled, which AWS explains is there to equate results across exam forms of differing difficulty — so the raw number of correct answers needed is not fixed either.
There is a second published detail with real strategic weight: scoring is compensatory. In AWS’s own words, “you do not need to achieve a passing score in each section. You need to pass only the overall exam.” A weak domain can be carried by strong ones.
What the exam covers
AWS publishes four domains and their weights:
- Design Secure Architectures — 30%. The largest domain, which surprises people who expect an architecture exam to be dominated by cost or resilience.
- Design Resilient Architectures — 26%.
- Design High-Performing Architectures — 24%.
- Design Cost-Optimized Architectures — 20%. The smallest, and the one most study plans over-weight because cost optimisation is easy to revise.
The spread is flatter than on most certification exams — ten points separate the largest domain from the smallest. There is no domain you can safely skip, but security is where the marks concentrate.
One year of hands-on experience, recommended
AWS recommends at least one year of hands-on experience designing cloud solutions that use AWS services. Recommended is not required — nothing stops you booking today. But the exam is written in scenarios, and scenarios assume you have made these trade-offs with a real bill attached. It is designed as evidence of experience rather than a substitute for it.
Where practice questions fit
Practice questions are a diagnostic, not a syllabus. Their job is to find the domain you are weak in and to train you to settle a scenario question without re-reading it four times. Used that way — timed, reviewed, and written from the published exam guide — they are the most efficient preparation available in the last few weeks.
A caution that matters more than it appears to. Sites offering “real exam questions”, brain dumps or leaked SAA-C03 content are selling you a violation of the AWS Certification Agreement, and AWS can revoke certifications over it. They are also usually stale. Original questions written from the published exam guide teach you to reason about trade-offs; memorised answers teach you to recognise a question you will not be asked.
Find your weak domain before the exam does.
After you pass
Your certification is valid for three years, renewable either by passing the latest version of the exam or through AWS Skill Builder activities that extend it by a year. Note one rule people do not expect: once you have passed, you cannot retake the same exam for two years unless AWS issues a new exam guide and series code. If you are pairing cloud architecture with security fundamentals, our CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) exam guide applies the same arithmetic-first treatment to a much tighter clock — sixty seconds a question.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the SAA-C03 exam?
65 questions in 130 minutes. AWS publishes that only 50 of them are scored; the other 15 are unscored items used to evaluate future questions, and they are not identified during the exam.
What is the passing score for SAA-C03?
720 on a scale of 100 to 1,000. Because the scale does not start at zero it cannot be converted into a percentage, so any percentage figure you see quoted is not from AWS.
Do I need to pass every domain?
No. AWS states that scoring is compensatory: you do not need to achieve a passing score in each section, only to pass the overall exam.
How much does the SAA-C03 exam cost?
AWS publishes 150 USD. Certified individuals also receive a 50% discount voucher in their AWS Certification Account.
Is there a newer version of this exam?
As of 18 September 2026 AWS has announced no successor to SAA-C03 and published no retirement date for it. Only the Italian version has an end date: after 31 December 2026.
Sources. All exam parameters above come from the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification page, the official SAA-C03 exam guide, the AWS Certification policies and the AWS recertification policy, accessed 18 September 2026. Exam parameters change; if you spot a discrepancy, check the AWS page and tell us so we can correct it.
Disclosure and disclaimer. FoxMedium publishes independent study material. Our practice tests are not official AWS content and are not endorsed by, affiliated with, or representative of Amazon Web Services or the official certification examination. All questions are original and written from publicly published exam guides. We do not host or distribute real exam content. Links to our courses earn us revenue if you enrol. AWS, Amazon Web Services and all related trademarks belong to their respective owners.
