AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate credential artwork

AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate (DEA-C01) Exam Guide

Validates knowledge of data ingestion, transformation, store management, pipeline operations, and data security and governance using AWS services.

The exam describes a data requirement and asks for the AWS design that meets it with the right cost, latency and operational effort. Learn what each data service is for and when not to use it, build one pipeline end to end, and practise many scenarios.

Understand the exam

Syllabus

Domain 1Data ingestion and transformation34%
  1. 1.1Perform data ingestion
  2. 1.2Transform and process data
  3. 1.3Orchestrate data pipelines
  4. 1.4Apply programming concepts

Example scenario: Clickstream events must reach a dashboard within seconds and also land in S3 for later analysis. Which ingestion services would you compare?

Domain 2Data store management26%
  1. 2.1Choose a data store
  2. 2.2Understand data cataloging systems
  3. 2.3Manage the lifecycle of data
  4. 2.4Design data models and schema evolution

Example scenario: Analysts run occasional SQL queries on three years of log files in S3, and the team wants no clusters to manage. Which query option fits?

Domain 3Data operations and support22%
  1. 3.1Automate data processing by using AWS services
  2. 3.2Analyze data by using AWS services
  3. 3.3Maintain and monitor data pipelines
  4. 3.4Ensure data quality

Example scenario: A nightly Glue job has started failing on some days with out-of-memory errors as data volumes grow. What would you check and change?

Domain 4Data security and governance18%
  1. 4.1Apply authentication mechanisms
  2. 4.2Apply authorization mechanisms
  3. 4.3Ensure data encryption and masking
  4. 4.4Prepare logs for audit
  5. 4.5Understand data privacy and governance

Example scenario: Analysts may query sales tables but must never see customer email addresses. How would you restrict access at the column level?

Official DEA-C01 exam guide · DEA-C01, revised December 2025

Format

Questions
65
Duration
2h 10m
Passing score
720 / 1000
Delivery
Test centre or online
Languages
English, Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, Korean

Question types

Choose the single best answer from four options; one is correct and three are distractors.

CertUp example

Analysts run occasional SQL queries on years of log files stored in Amazon S3, and the team does not want to manage any clusters. Which service fits?

  1. Amazon Athena
  2. A self-managed Hadoop cluster on EC2
  3. Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL
  4. Amazon ElastiCache
Show answer

Amazon Athena. It queries data in S3 with SQL and has no servers to run.

Eligibility and booking

Create an AWS Certification account with a personal email and schedule with Pearson VUE at a test centre or online. Non-native English speakers can request 30 extra minutes before booking.

Schedule your AWS examExam details

Make a study plan

Read the exam guide's in-scope services, then take one course and build a pipeline in your own account. Spend the last weeks on scenario questions.

Most candidates spend 40–100 hours. Plan for the low end if you already run data pipelines on AWS; add time if Glue, Redshift and Kinesis are new to you.

8 weeksto be ready
  1. 1Understand the examRead the syllabus and format, check you’re eligible and pick a target date.4 h
  2. 3Learn the core conceptsWork through one main course or book, topic by topic.48 h
  3. 4Practice with mock examsTake timed practice tests and review every mistake.24 h
  4. 5Prepare for exam dayBook the exam and check the ID and delivery rules.4 h

Learn the core concepts

One full course plus a pipeline you build yourself. AWS's exam prep plan helps you check coverage against the guide.

Best full courseAWS Certified Data Engineer Associate 2026 - Hands On!Stéphane Maarek and Frank Kane · $110 · lifetime accessBest official planExam Prep Plan: AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate (DEA-C01)AWS · Free · enhanced course and practice exam need a Skill Builder subscriptionBest for subscribersAWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate (DEA-C01)Pluralsight · Pluralsight subscription · 10-day free trial
See all 4 AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate courses →

Learn when not to use a service. For each service, note the requirement that would rule it out. Many questions turn on cost, latency or the least operational overhead.

Practice with mock exams

Start with AWS's free question set. Then use a scenario bank in review mode, and for every miss write down which requirement pointed to the right service.

Official Practice Question Set (DEA-C01)AWS · Free · needs a free Skill Builder accountFree AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate Practice Exam SamplerTutorials Dojo · Free · needs a free Tutorials Dojo loginAWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 Practice Exam 2026Tutorials Dojo · $14.99 · 1 year of access
See all 6 AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate practice tests →

Are you ready?

  • You can choose between Kinesis, Firehose and MSK for a streaming requirement.
  • You can explain when Athena, Redshift or Redshift Spectrum fits a query workload.
  • You finish fresh timed practice exams and can explain why the other options were weaker.

Prepare for exam day

Choose the checklist for your test-centre or online appointment.

Before going to the test centre

  • Bring two IDs, or one primary and one secondary ID, matching the name in your AWS Certification account.
  • Arrive 15 to 30 minutes before your appointment.
  • Store your belongings as instructed. Breaks are allowed, but the exam clock keeps running.
AWS test-day policies

You can reschedule or cancel up to 24 hours before the appointment, and reschedule twice at most. Results are posted to your AWS Certification account within five business days.

Advice from exam takers

Look for the least operational overhead.

Recent passers say the exam rewards knowing when not to use a service and choosing the managed option with the least effort, rather than recalling service descriptions.

r/AWSCertificationsReddit: cleared DEA with 786