SAP-C02 vs. SAP-C03: Key Differences in AWS Solutions Architect Professional Certification

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional certification is one of the most advanced credentials in the AWS certification program. It validates a professional's ability to design, evaluate, and implement complex cloud architectures that meet business and technical requirements.

As cloud technologies continue to evolve, AWS is updating this professional-level certification from SAP-C02 to SAP-C03. The new exam introduces a revised domain structure, updated technical objectives, and additional coverage of generative AI, agentic AI, cloud-native architecture, security, resilience engineering, and automation.

For candidates preparing for the AWS Solutions Architect – Professional certification, understanding the differences between SAP-C02 and SAP-C03 is essential, particularly because the current exam has a confirmed retirement date.

SAP-C02 vs. SAP-C03: Exam Overview and Important Dates

The most important update is the official transition schedule announced by AWS.

SAP-C02 will retire on November 16, 2026, while SAP-C03 will become generally available on November 17, 2026. Registration for SAP-C03 opens on October 27, 2026.

Candidates who have already prepared for SAP-C02 should pay attention to the retirement deadline when scheduling their exams.

SAP-C02 vs. SAP-C03 Exam Information

Exam Information	SAP-C02	SAP-C03
Certification	AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional	AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Exam Code	SAP-C02	SAP-C03
Exam Level	Professional	Professional
Exam Registration	Existing exam registration	October 27, 2026
Exam Availability	Until November 16, 2026	Starting November 17, 2026
Exam Duration	180 minutes	180 minutes
Total Questions	75	75
Scored Questions	65	65
Unscored Questions	10	10
Passing Score	750/1000	720/1000
Question Types	Multiple Choice and Multiple Response	Multiple Choice and Multiple Response
Exam Price	$300 USD	$300 USD

Both examinations contain 65 scored questions and 10 unscored questions. Candidates have 180 minutes to complete the examination.

Although the exam structure remains largely consistent, the passing score changes from 750 for SAP-C02 to 720 for SAP-C03. These are separate scaled scoring standards and do not necessarily indicate that one exam is easier than the other.

SAP-C02 and SAP-C03 Transition Timeline

Here are the important dates candidates should remember:

Date	Important Event
October 27, 2026	SAP-C03 registration opens
November 16, 2026	Last day to take SAP-C02
November 17, 2026	SAP-C03 general availability begins

Candidates who are already prepared for SAP-C02 can continue with the current exam before its retirement. Those who are beginning their preparation or prefer the updated certification objectives should consider SAP-C03.

It is also important to note that earning SAP-C02 before retirement does not automatically invalidate the certification. An earned AWS certification remains valid through its original expiration date.

SAP-C02 vs. SAP-C03: Differences in Exam Domains and Weightings

One of the most significant changes between the two examinations is the restructuring of their content domains.

SAP-C02 organizes its objectives into four domains, while SAP-C03 introduces five domains with a more explicit focus on cloud-native architecture, security governance, cost optimization, resilience, and operational excellence.

SAP-C02 Exam Domains

The SAP-C02 exam consists of four content domains:

Domain	Exam Topic	Weight
Domain 1	Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity	26%
Domain 2	Design for New Solutions	29%
Domain 3	Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions	25%
Domain 4	Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization	20%

SAP-C02 places its largest emphasis on designing new solutions, accounting for 29% of the scored content. Organizational complexity and continuous improvement are also major areas of assessment.

SAP-C03 Exam Domains

SAP-C03 introduces five updated content domains:

Domain	Exam Topic	Weight
Domain 1	Architecture Design and Implementation Built for the Cloud	25%
Domain 2	Security, Compliance, and Governance	25%
Domain 3	Cost-Optimized Architecture Design	15%
Domain 4	Resilience, Migration, and Business Continuity	15%
Domain 5	Operational Excellence and Automation	20%

The updated structure gives candidates a clearer view of the major responsibilities expected of modern AWS solutions architects.

Architecture design and implementation, together with security, compliance, and governance, account for 50% of the scored exam content.

Meanwhile, cost optimization, resilience, and operational excellence collectively account for the remaining 50%.

This structure highlights the importance of designing cloud solutions that are not only technically effective but also secure, financially efficient, resilient, and operationally manageable.

Major Changes from SAP-C02 to SAP-C03

SAP-C03 reflects the changing responsibilities of AWS solutions architects. Beyond traditional cloud infrastructure design, the updated exam introduces additional skills related to AI integration, cloud-native services, modern security practices, and automated operations.

The following are some of the most important changes.

Generative AI and Agentic AI Integration

One of the most notable developments in SAP-C03 is the expanded coverage of generative AI and agentic AI architectures.

Modern cloud architects increasingly need to integrate AI capabilities into enterprise applications while maintaining security, governance, and operational control.

SAP-C03 introduces skills related to:

●Designing generative AI integrations using Amazon Bedrock.

●Implementing AI agent architectures with Amazon Bedrock AgentCore.

●Designing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures.

●Using Amazon Bedrock Guardrails for content filtering.

●Implementing human-oversight workflows for AI operations.

●Candidates should understand how these services and architectural patterns fit into larger AWS environments.

However, SAP-C03 does not require in-depth knowledge of AI model training, fine-tuning, or data science workflows. Its focus is on architectural design and integration.

Post-Quantum Cryptography and Advanced Security

Security remains a major part of the AWS Solutions Architect – Professional certification.

SAP-C03 expands the scope of security-related architecture, including post-quantum cryptography and modern identity and access control approaches.

Candidates should pay attention to:

●Post-quantum cryptography concepts.

●AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS).

●ML-DSA and ML-KEM cryptographic algorithms.

●Security controls for generative AI and agentic AI applications.

●Identity management and access control.

●Compliance and governance across multi-account environments.

These updates reflect the growing need to protect enterprise cloud environments against evolving security threats.

Cloud-Native Architecture and Modern AWS Services

SAP-C03 places additional emphasis on modern cloud-native architecture patterns.

Candidates should understand how to design scalable, distributed, and loosely coupled systems using AWS managed services.

Important areas include:

●Serverless data processing and analytics pipelines.

●Durable workflows using AWS Step Functions.

●Service mesh architectures using Amazon VPC Lattice and Amazon ECS Service Connect.

●Container image security.

●Multi-tenant architectures.

●Real-time data processing and analytics.

These objectives require candidates to understand not only individual AWS services but also how different services work together to support complex business applications.

Resilience Engineering and Business Continuity

SAP-C03 strengthens the focus on resilience engineering and automated recovery.

Architects are expected to design solutions that can maintain business operations during infrastructure failures, application disruptions, or regional outages.

Relevant technologies and concepts include:

●AWS Fault Injection Service.

●AWS Resilience Hub.

●AWS Application Recovery Controller.

●Automated recovery runbooks using AWS Systems Manager.

●Disaster recovery strategies.

●High availability and fault tolerance.

Candidates should understand how to evaluate recovery requirements and select appropriate resilience strategies based on business objectives.

DevSecOps, Observability, and Automation

Another important development is the expanded focus on operational excellence and automation.

SAP-C03 includes additional skills related to secure deployment pipelines, monitoring, and automated operational processes.

Key areas include:

●Pipeline vulnerability scanning.

●Multi-account deployment pipelines.

●Container monitoring.

●AI/ML metrics monitoring.

●Synthetic and real-user monitoring.

●Distributed tracing and observability.

●Automated operational remediation.

These skills demonstrate that modern solutions architects must consider the entire application lifecycle, from architecture design and deployment to monitoring and ongoing optimization.

Which Exam Should You Take: SAP-C02 or SAP-C03?

The choice between SAP-C02 and SAP-C03 depends on your preparation progress and certification schedule.

Choose SAP-C02 If:

●You have already completed most of your SAP-C02 preparation.

●You are familiar with the existing four-domain exam structure.

●You want to complete the current exam before November 16, 2026.

●You prefer to focus on the objectives you have already studied.

If you are close to exam readiness, taking SAP-C02 before its retirement may be a practical option.

Choose SAP-C03 If:

●You are just beginning your preparation.

●You want to study the latest AWS professional-level certification objectives.

●You are interested in cloud-native and AI-integrated architecture.

●You want to strengthen your knowledge of modern security, resilience, and automation practices.

●You prefer to align your certification preparation with the updated AWS exam blueprint.

SAP-C03 is particularly relevant for professionals who want to demonstrate their ability to design modern AWS architectures that incorporate AI capabilities and advanced operational practices.

Can SAP-C02 Candidates Reuse Their Previous Study Materials?

Yes. Many fundamental AWS architecture concepts remain relevant across both exam versions.

Candidates who have studied SAP-C02 do not need to start from scratch when transitioning to SAP-C03.

Existing knowledge of the following areas remains valuable:

●AWS Well-Architected Framework.

●Multi-account and organizational architecture.

●Networking and connectivity.

●Storage and database architecture.

●High availability and disaster recovery.

●Workload migration and modernization.

●Security and identity management.

●Performance and cost optimization.

However, candidates should review the updated SAP-C03 exam guide carefully and identify new, removed, or reorganized objectives.

In particular, additional preparation is recommended for generative AI, agentic AI, post-quantum cryptography, cloud-native architecture, resilience engineering, and DevSecOps automation.

How to Prepare for the AWS SAP-C03 Exam

SAP-C03 is a professional-level examination that requires strong architectural knowledge and the ability to evaluate complex technical scenarios.

Simply memorizing AWS service definitions is not sufficient. Candidates should understand how to select appropriate services and design solutions based on business requirements, security considerations, cost constraints, and operational needs.

Here are five preparation recommendations.

Study the Official SAP-C03 Exam Guide

Start with the official AWS SAP-C03 exam guide. Review all five domains, understand their weightings, and identify the specific technical skills covered by each domain.

Pay particular attention to the updated objectives compared with SAP-C02.

Strengthen Your Knowledge of Core AWS Services

Review important AWS services across compute, storage, networking, databases, security, monitoring, and application integration.

Make sure you understand the differences between similar services and know when each service is appropriate for a particular architectural requirement.

Focus on New SAP-C03 Technologies

Spend additional time learning about Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, AWS Resilience Hub, AWS Fault Injection Service, AWS Application Recovery Controller, and other services included in the updated exam objectives.

Understanding how these technologies support real-world architectural requirements will be particularly valuable.

Practice Scenario-Based Questions

Professional-level questions frequently describe complex business situations involving multiple technical constraints.

Practice analyzing requirements related to availability, performance, security, cost, scalability, and operational complexity.

Rather than memorizing answers, focus on understanding why a particular architectural solution is the most appropriate choice.

Review SAP-C03 Exam Questions and Explanations

SAP-C03 exam questions are useful for identifying knowledge gaps and becoming familiar with the format of professional-level examination scenarios.

Review the explanations carefully, compare alternative AWS services, and revisit topics where your understanding is incomplete.

Combining practice questions with official AWS documentation and hands-on experience can help you develop a more effective preparation strategy.

The transition from SAP-C02 to SAP-C03 represents an important update to the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional certification.

While both examinations validate advanced AWS architecture skills, SAP-C03 introduces a revised five-domain structure and expands coverage of generative AI, agentic AI, post-quantum cryptography, cloud-native architectures, resilience engineering, and DevSecOps automation.

Candidates preparing for the current SAP-C02 exam should remember that November 16, 2026, is the last day to take the exam. The updated SAP-C03 exam will become available on November 17, 2026, with registration opening on October 27, 2026.

Understanding the differences between these two versions will help candidates select the appropriate exam, organize their preparation, and develop the skills needed for modern AWS cloud architecture.

Official AWS Resources:

• SAP-C02 Exam Guide: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/aws-certification/latest/solutions-architect-professional-02/solutions-architect-professional-02.html
• SAP-C03 Exam Guide: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/aws-certification/latest/solutions-architect-professional-03/solutions-architect-professional-03.html
• AWS Certification Update Announcement: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/training-and-certification/september-2026-new-offerings/