AWS is replacing the Solutions Architect Professional exam. The last day to sit SAP-C02 is November 16, 2026, and SAP-C03 goes live the next morning, November 17. Registration for the new version opens October 27. The format holds steady at 180 minutes, 75 questions, and $300, but the blueprint does not. SAP-C03 moves from four domains to five and adds generative AI, agentic architecture, resilience engineering, and post quantum cryptography to the list of things a professional architect is expected to design for.
So if SA Pro is on your list for this year, you have a real decision to make in the next four weeks, and the right call depends almost entirely on how close you already are.
Ready to pass SAP-C02 by November 16? Take it. Starting from scratch today? Study for SAP-C03 and stop worrying about the old version.
When Does SAP-C02 Retire and SAP-C03 Start?
AWS announced the change in its September 2026 certification update, and the official Solutions Architect Professional page now carries the same dates. Here is everything that is confirmed as of mid October.
One detail worth knowing before you plan around this. AWS has not published the SAP-C03 exam guide yet, so nobody outside AWS knows the domain weights, the passing score, or the split between scored and unscored questions. Any percentages you see on a study site right now are guesses. The guide is due October 27, and I would not build a study plan around weightings until it lands.
What Changes on the SAP-C03 Exam?
The shell of the exam stays familiar, while the content inside it moves quite a bit.
| Item | SAP-C02 | SAP-C03 |
|---|---|---|
| Exam length | 180 minutes | 180 minutes |
| Questions | 75 (65 scored, 10 unscored) | 75 (scored split not yet published) |
| Price | $300 USD | $300 USD |
| Passing score | 750 on a 100 to 1,000 scale | Not yet published |
| Domains | Four | Five |
| Last day / first day | Last day November 16, 2026 | First day November 17, 2026 |
The four SAP-C02 domains, per the current exam guide, are Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity at 26 percent, Design for New Solutions at 29 percent, Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions at 25 percent, and Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization at 20 percent. That structure follows the life of a workload, from the org design around it to the migration that brings it in.
SAP-C03 reorganizes around five domains that read more like the pillars architects use day to day. AWS names them as cloud native architecture design and implementation, security, compliance, and governance, cost optimized architecture design, resilience, migration, and business continuity, and operational excellence and automation. Security getting its own domain is the change I would pay the most attention to. SAP-C02 spread security questions through all four domains. SAP-C03 gives them a home of their own, and that usually means more of them.
The new skills AWS added
The September announcement lists the additions by area, and the counts tell you where AWS put its effort.
AWS has not said what came out to make room. Treat anything you read about removed topics as speculation until the guide is published.
That last line is the one I would circle. Post quantum cryptography showing up on a mainstream cloud exam is a sign of how quickly it moved from research topic to procurement checkbox, especially for anyone selling into federal and defense work.
Did SAP-C02 Already Preview the New Content?
Partly, yes. The SAP-C02 guide includes an Emerging Topics section of unscored pretest questions on designing security and responsible AI controls, with Bedrock Guardrails, AgentCore Identity, and Step Functions human approval workflows as the examples. Those items do not count toward your SAP-C02 score. They were AWS testing the water, and the water turned out to be fine.
If you are sitting SAP-C02 in the next few weeks, you may see a handful of these. Answer them like any other question and move on. They will not make or break your result.
Should You Take SAP-C02 Before November 16?
My honest read starts with the cost of guessing wrong. A failed attempt costs the full $300 again, and AWS makes you wait 14 calendar days before a retake. If your first try happens on November 10, your retake lands on the new exam whether you like it or not.
Here is how I would sort it.
Take SAP-C02 if you are already scoring in a comfortable range on full length timed practice tests and could realistically sit the exam in the next three or four weeks. Everything you studied still applies, the question pool is mature, and the study material out there has been tuned to it for years. You also get the same credential with the same three years of validity, because AWS confirmed that a credential earned on SAP-C02 stays active through its original expiration date.
Wait for SAP-C03 if you are early in your prep, or you would need every day until November 16 and a little luck to get there. Studying for an exam that disappears mid plan is a bad trade. You would spend November cramming material that is about to be rewritten, then possibly start over in December. Begin with the parts of SAP-C03 that are certain to matter, like Bedrock, agent architecture, and the resilience services, then fill in the rest once the guide drops on October 27.
Think hard if you sit in the middle. Disc golf taught me a version of this. When you are standing on the tee with a shot you have practiced a hundred times and a shot you have thrown twice, you throw the one you know, even if the new one might go further. With three months of SAP-C02 prep in the bag, you should usually play that shot before the window closes. Three weeks of scattered reading is a different story.
The middle group needs a practical test, so try this one. Take one full timed practice exam this week under real conditions, 75 questions in 180 minutes, no notes. Finish with time to spare and a score that clears your target with room, and you should book SAP-C02 for early November with a buffer in case scheduling gets tight. Run out of time or land below your target, and it is time to switch your plan to SAP-C03. Time pressure on this exam is real, and it rarely gets better in the final two weeks. Most people overestimate how much a last minute push will help on a test this long, because the bottleneck is reading speed on long scenario questions, and that only improves with steady practice over weeks. Be honest with yourself about which side of the line you are on.
What Stays the Same After the Switch?
Quite a lot, which should take some pressure off.
The certification is still valid for three years, and you still recertify the same way. According to the AWS recertification page, you can pass the latest version of the Professional exam for another three years, or maintain the certification through AWS Skill Builder for one additional year if you have an active paid subscription and renew within 90 days of expiration. Your certification has to be active to renew, so don’t let it lapse while you decide.
Passing the Professional exam still renews your Solutions Architect Associate, and any Professional exam renews Cloud Practitioner. The 50 percent voucher you get after earning an AWS certification still applies toward your next exam, including recertification. Retake rules in the AWS Certification FAQ are unchanged as well, 14 days between attempts and the full fee each time.
If you want a broader look at how AWS shuffled its lineup this year, our earlier piece on what is changing with AWS certifications in 2026 covers the retirements and replacements across the catalog. For the testing logistics themselves, ID rules and online proctoring included, see our comparison of certification exam day rules across vendors.
How to Prepare for SAP-C03
Start where the new content is heaviest. Build something real with Amazon Bedrock and an agent, even a small one, and wire in Guardrails so you understand where the controls sit. Run a Fault Injection Service experiment against a test workload and look at what Resilience Hub reports afterward. Read up on how KMS handles ML-DSA signing keys and ML-KEM key agreement, because a question about choosing between them is easy to write and easy to miss if you have never looked. Then go back over the classic SA Pro territory, multi account strategy, hybrid networking, migration patterns, and cost optimization, since none of that went anywhere.
Study tip: Wait for the October 27 exam guide before you buy a new practice test set. Anything marketed as SAP-C03 practice before the guide exists was written against a blueprint the author has not seen.
Some candidates prefer a structured format for a professional level exam, especially with new content in the mix. Training Camp runs an AWS Architect Associate and Professional boot camp that covers both levels.
Frequently Asked Questions About the SAP-C03 Exam
When does the AWS SAP-C02 exam retire?
The last day to take SAP-C02 is November 16, 2026. SAP-C03 becomes available on November 17, 2026, and registration for it opens on October 27, 2026.
What is new on the SAP-C03 exam?
The new exam reorganizes the blueprint into five domains and adds generative AI and agentic architecture with Amazon Bedrock and AgentCore, resilience engineering with Fault Injection Service and Resilience Hub, cloud native patterns like VPC Lattice, DevSecOps and observability skills, data services like Lake Formation with Apache Iceberg, and post quantum cryptography with AWS KMS.
How much does the SAP-C03 exam cost?
The exam costs $300 USD, the same as SAP-C02. The exam is 180 minutes long with 75 questions and is delivered by Pearson VUE at a test center or through online proctoring.
What are the SAP-C03 domain weights and passing score?
AWS has not published them yet. The SAP-C03 exam guide is expected on October 27, 2026. For comparison, SAP-C02 requires a scaled score of 750 out of 1,000.
Is SAP-C02 still worth taking before it retires?
Yes, if you can be ready by November 16. A pass on SAP-C02 earns the same AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional credential, valid for three years from your pass date, and AWS has confirmed it stays active through its original expiration.
Do I need the Associate certification before SAP-C03?
No. AWS has no formal prerequisite for the Professional exam. It recommends two or more years of experience designing and implementing cloud solutions on AWS, and passing the Professional exam also renews an existing Solutions Architect Associate certification.
How do you renew the AWS Solutions Architect Professional certification?
You can pass the latest version of the Professional exam to renew for three years, or maintain it through AWS Skill Builder for one additional year with an active paid subscription. Your certification must still be active when you renew.
Vice President of Sales. Training Camp
Ken Sahs is the Director of Sales at Training Camp, where he leads the company's sales team and oversees all ISACA certification programs. He helps organizations navigate the world of IT governance and risk management certifications – including CISA, CISM, and CRISC. He works directly with enterprise clients to create training programs that not only get their teams certified but also solve real business challenges.