AWS SAP study guide · 2026

The 4 AWS SAP domains, explained

4 domains and 16 official task statements. Design for New Solutions carries the most weight at 29%. Each guide explains what the domain covers, how its questions are framed and where candidates lose marks.

Start with Domain 2 See all domains
Questions
75 (65 scored, 10 unscored)
Time
180 minutes
Passing score
750 / 1000
Outline
SAP-C02 exam guide (current)

Exam blueprint

Bar widths follow the official weights. Weight ranges are drawn at their midpoint.

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

All 4 domains

16 official task statements 135–185 hrs suggested study

  1. Domain 01 26%

    Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity

    This domain tests enterprise-scale design: connecting and governing many AWS accounts, VPCs and on-premises networks at once. It covers network connectivity strategies, cross-account security controls, reliable multi-account architectures and the design of a well-governed multi-account environment.

    Inside this domain

    • Architect network connectivity strategies
    • Prescribe security controls
    • Design reliable and resilient architectures
    • Design a multi-account AWS environment

    Watch for Peering mesh

    Task statements
    4
    Questions est.
    ~17
    Study time est.
    35–50 hrs
  2. Domain 02 29%

    Design for New Solutions

    This is the largest SAP-C02 domain. It covers designing greenfield architectures from requirements: deployment strategies, business continuity, security, reliability and performance, justifying every choice against competing constraints.

    Inside this domain

    • Design a deployment strategy to meet business requirements
    • Design a solution to ensure business continuity
    • Determine security controls based on requirements
    • Design a strategy to meet reliability requirements
    • and 1 more task statements

    Watch for Active-active for loose RTO

    Task statements
    5
    Questions est.
    ~19
    Study time est.
    40–55 hrs
  3. Domain 03 25%

    Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions

    This domain covers improving workloads already in production: raising operational excellence, security, performance and reliability, and finding cost-optimization opportunities, usually by changing an existing design rather than starting over.

    Inside this domain

    • Determine a strategy to improve overall operational excellence
    • Determine a strategy to improve security
    • Determine a strategy to improve performance
    • Determine a strategy to improve reliability
    • and 1 more task statements

    Watch for Rewrite to serverless

    Task statements
    5
    Questions est.
    ~16
    Study time est.
    35–45 hrs
  4. Domain 04 20%

    Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization

    This domain covers moving workloads to AWS and modernizing them: selecting what to migrate, choosing the right migration strategy from the 7 Rs, using the migration tooling, and modernizing to containers, serverless and managed services.

    Inside this domain

    • Select existing workloads and processes for potential migration
    • Determine the optimal migration approach for new and existing workloads

    Watch for Refactor under deadline

    Task statements
    2
    Questions est.
    ~13
    Study time est.
    25–35 hrs

Study the heaviest domains first

Marks follow weight. This order puts the most marks behind you first, across about 135–185 hrs of study.

  1. 2 Design for New Solutions 29% · 40–55 hrs
  2. 1 Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity 26% · 35–50 hrs
  3. 3 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions 25% · 35–45 hrs
  4. 4 Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization 20% · 25–35 hrs

Try one

Practice questionDomain 2: Design for New Solutions

A new application must recover within a few minutes of a full Regional outage, but the budget does not allow running a complete duplicate production environment continuously. Which disaster-recovery strategy BEST meets both requirements?

One trap from every domain

The answer that looks right, and the clue that gives it away.

  • Domain 1

    Peering mesh

    Clue Many VPCs, and possibly on-premises, must all communicate.

  • Domain 2

    Active-active for loose RTO

    Clue The RTO is generous and budget is constrained.

  • Domain 3

    Rewrite to serverless

    Clue The usage is steady and no architectural change is requested.

  • Domain 4

    Refactor under deadline

    Clue The constraint is a tight migration timeline.

Other Cloud Computing certifications

Study guides for exams that overlap with AWS SAP.

Practise what you read

AWS SAP domains: common questions

How many domains are in the AWS SAP exam?

AWS SAP has 4 domains with 16 official task statements between them: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity, Design for New Solutions, Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions and Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization.

Which AWS SAP domain carries the most weight?

Design for New Solutions is the heaviest at 29%, followed by Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity (26%). The lightest is Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization (20%). Weights come from Amazon Web Services's official outline.

What is the AWS SAP exam format?

Questions: 75 (65 scored, 10 unscored). Time allowed: 180 minutes. Passing score: 750 / 1000.

How long should I study for AWS SAP?

Our planning estimate is 135–185 hrs across all domains, split by weight. It is an editorial estimate, not an official figure, so adjust it to your experience and to how you score on practice questions.

Where should I start?

Start with Design for New Solutions, because it carries the most marks, then work down by weight. Use the checklist on each domain page to confirm you can do what the domain asks before moving on.

Which outline is this guide based on?

This guide follows SAP-C02 exam guide (current), published by Amazon Web Services. It was last reviewed in October 2026.

Domain names, weights and task statements come from Amazon Web Services's official outline (SAP-C02 exam guide (current)). Question counts and study hours are editorial planning estimates, not official figures. Last reviewed October 2026.