Exam comparison

CCAR-F vs CCDV-F: Claude Architect or Claude Developer?

Take CCDV-F if you write the code that calls Claude. Take CCAR-F if you design how agents, tools and Claude Code fit together. Both exams run 120 minutes, cost $125 USD and pass at 720 on a 1,000 scale.

Free, no account needed. Every question has an explanation and a source link.

Side by side

Claude Certified Architect: Foundations and Claude Certified Developer: Foundations exam facts
FactCCAR-FCCDV-F
ProviderAnthropicAnthropic
LevelFoundationsFoundations
Length120 minutes120 minutes
Questions60 items53 items
Passing score720 on a 1,000 scale720 on a 1,000 scale
Price$125 USD$125 USD
Question typesMultiple choice and multiple responseMultiple choice and multiple response
Exam domains58
Free practice here59 questions105 questions

From each provider's certification page and exam guide, checked 2026-09-15. Fees are US list prices. Providers change fees and formats, so confirm before you book.

What sets them apart

  • Claude Code is 20% of CCAR-F and 3.1% of CCDV-F.
  • Tools and MCP are 18% of CCAR-F and 10.6% of CCDV-F.
  • CCDV-F has 8 domains to CCAR-F's 5. Two of them, model selection (16.8%) and security and safety (8.1%), have no CCAR-F domain of their own.
  • CCAR-F has 60 items and CCDV-F has 53 items, both in 120 minutes.

Which one fits you

Pick CCAR-F if

You design applications and agents on Claude and decide when control passes to code, a tool or a person. Its largest domain is Agentic Architecture & Orchestration, at 27%.

Written for architects building reliable applications and agents with Claude.

Pick CCDV-F if

You build on the Claude API and need requests, tool calls, streaming and caching to behave. Its largest domain is Applications & Integration, at 33.1%.

Written for developers implementing applications with Claude APIs and tools.

What each exam covers

Domains and their share of the exam, from each provider's exam guide, largest first.

CCAR-F

CCAR-F domains and exam weights
DomainShare
Agentic Architecture & Orchestration27%
Claude Code Configuration & Workflows20%
Prompt Engineering & Structured Output20%
Tool Design & MCP Integration18%
Context Management & Reliability15%

CCDV-F

CCDV-F domains and exam weights
DomainShare
Applications & Integration33.1%
Model Selection & Optimization16.8%
Agents & Workflows14.7%
Prompt & Context Engineering11%
Tools & MCP10.6%
Security & Safety8.1%
Claude Code3.1%
Evaluation, Testing & Debugging2.6%

More comparisons

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