AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) Study Guide 2026: Syllabus, Exam Topics & Study Plan -Edureify
📋 2026 Edition  ·  Updated September 2026

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) Study Guide 2026

Complete exam coverage for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02): syllabus, domains, key topics, study plan and practical exam preparation strategy.

75
Questions
180 min
Duration
750
Passing score
4
Domains
Unlock My Study Plan → Take Readiness Diagnostic
95%
First-attempt pass rate
47K+
Candidates prepared
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Average rating
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Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
-
Design for New Solutions
-
Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions
-
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
-
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Exam at a Glance

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) Exam Overview

Key facts about the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) exam structure, format and scoring.

🆔
aws-solutions-architect-professional
Exam code
📝
75 questions
Total questions
⏱
180 minutes
Duration
🎯
750
Passing score
📋
4 domains
Exam domains
🏆
Certification
Credential type
ℹ️
Scoring method: The SAP-C02 exam is scored on a scale of 100–1000. A minimum score of 750 is required to pass. Results are available immediately upon exam completion at a Pearson VUE center or online proctored session.. The exam may include unscored pilot questions - treat every question seriously.
Focus Areas

What should you study for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) exam?

Start with the domains that make up the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) exam. Use the detailed syllabus below to work through the individual topics.

⚠️
Common mistake: Candidates often memorise terminology but struggle with scenario-based questions. Focus on when to use what, not just what exists.
🔐
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity (26%)
Covers multi-account strategies, cross-account networking, landing zones, and organizational governance.
🏗
Design for New Solutions (29%)
Covers designing new architectures using advanced compute, storage, database, and messaging services.
⚡
Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions (25%)
Covers analyzing existing architectures and improving operational excellence, security, performance, reliability, and cost efficiency in line with the AWS Well-Architected Framework.
💰
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization (20%)
Covers migration strategies, the 7Rs framework, migration tooling, and modernizing legacy workloads through containerization, serverless transformation, and DevOps automation.
Full Syllabus

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) Exam Syllabus and Topics

The AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) exam is divided into 4 domains. Each domain covers specific skills and topics. Expand a domain to see the detailed syllabus.

AWS Organizations and Control Tower
AWS Organizations Structure
Service Control Policies (SCPs)
AWS Control Tower Landing Zone
Organizational Units (OUs)
Delegated Administrator
Cross-Account Networking and Identity
AWS Transit Gateway
Resource Access Manager (RAM)
Cross-Account IAM Roles
AWS SSO (IAM Identity Center)
VPC Sharing
~20 questions
26 marks
26% of exam weight
Advanced Compute
EC2 Placement Strategies
ECS vs EKS vs Fargate
AWS Batch
Outposts and Local Zones
Wavelength Zones
Advanced Storage and Databases
Amazon FSx Variants
AWS DataSync
Aurora Global Database
DynamoDB Global Tables
Database Migration Service (DMS)
Event-Driven and Microservices Architecture
Amazon EventBridge
AWS Step Functions
SQS vs SNS vs Kinesis
API Gateway Advanced Features
AppSync
~22 questions
29 marks
29% of exam weight
Improving Operational Excellence
Analyzing Application and Infrastructure Logs
Testing Solutions in Nonproduction Environments
Logging and Monitoring Strategy Selection
AWS CloudWatch and X-Ray
Improving Reliability
Remediating Single Points of Failure
Setting and Validating Availability Benchmarks
Multi-AZ and Multi-Region Resilience Patterns
Backup and Disaster Recovery Improvements
Improving Security
Responding to Critical Vulnerabilities
AWS Security Hub and GuardDuty
AWS Config for Compliance Drift
IAM Access Analyzer
Improving Performance
Examining Performance Bottlenecks
AWS Compute Optimizer
Caching Strategies (CloudFront, ElastiCache)
Right-Sizing Compute and Storage
Cost Optimization Strategies
Savings Plans vs Reserved Instances
Spot Fleet Architecture
Compute Optimizer
S3 Intelligent-Tiering at Scale
Cost Governance
AWS Budgets and Alerts
Cost Allocation Tags
AWS Cost Anomaly Detection
Chargeback and Showback Models
~18 questions
25 marks
25% of exam weight
Migration Strategies
7Rs of Migration (Retire, Retain, Rehost, Relocate, Repurchase, Re-platform, Re-architect)
AWS Migration Hub
AWS Application Discovery Service
Migration Tools
AWS Server Migration Service (SMS)
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
AWS Snow Family
DataSync for Large-Scale Migration
Application Modernization
Containerization Strategies
Serverless Migration Patterns
Refactoring to Microservices
Strangler Fig Pattern
CI/CD and Infrastructure Automation
AWS CodePipeline
AWS CodeBuild and CodeDeploy
CloudFormation StackSets
AWS CDK
Service Catalog
~15 questions
20 marks
20% of exam weight
🔥 1,247 professionals tested in the last 24 hours

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Study Plan

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) Structured Study Roadmap

Choose a preparation timeline based on how much time you have available. For a plan based on your actual readiness and weak domains, use the personalised Edureify study experience. Get My Training Plan →

Weeks 1-2
Core Services + Highest-Weighted Domain
Deep-dive into the most heavily tested domain. Spend more time here when its exam weight is significantly higher.
Official exam guideDomain 1 completeCore conceptsPractice questions
Week 3
Domain 2 - Hands-on Practice
Focus on scenario-based study and reinforce concepts through practical application where applicable.
Domain 2Scenario walkthroughsHands-on practicePractice questions
Week 4
Domain 3 - Deeper Concepts
Work through complex concepts and decision scenarios.
Domain 3Scenario drillsPractice examReview
Week 5
Remaining Domains + Weak Area Targeting
Identify your weaker domains and spend focused time closing those gaps.
Remaining domainsDiagnosticTargeted reviewStudy notes
Week 6
Full Simulations + Final Preparation
Use timed simulations to test your preparation and review the reasoning behind incorrect answers.
Full mock examsWrong-answer reviewFinal reviewExam logistics
Exam Strategy

Tips to pass AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) on your first attempt

Practical advice for applying what you know, managing questions and preparing for exam conditions.

🗓
Design for New Solutions is the largest domain (29%) — master advanced compute, database, and event-driven patterns.
🔍
Study AWS Organizations and Control Tower in depth — multi-account governance is a major Professional-level topic.
⏭
Cost Optimization is no longer a standalone domain — it's now folded into Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions, alongside operational excellence, security, performance, and reliability improvements.
📊
Know the 7Rs migration framework and which AWS service supports each migration strategy — migration and modernization are now combined into a single 20% domain.
🔁
Practice complex scenario questions — SAP-C02 requires synthesizing multiple services into an optimal architecture.
Recommended Resources

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) Study Resources

Use a focused set of resources alongside the study guide rather than trying to study from everything available.

Official
Official Exam Guide
Start with the authoritative exam objectives and blueprint.
→ Vendor website
Practice Tests
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) Practice Test
Practice questions with explanations and domain-level performance analysis.
→ Start free practice test
Mock Exam
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) Mock Exam
Timed preparation under realistic exam-style conditions.
→ Take free mock exam
Training
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) Certification Training
Structured preparation with personalised learning support and adaptive practice.
→ AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) certification online training
AI Tutor
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) AI Tutor
Get help understanding concepts and work on weak areas with AI-powered learning support.
→ Try AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) AI tutor
Reference
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) Cheat Sheet
Quick-reference summaries for final revision.
→ Get free cheat sheet
Diagnostic
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02) Readiness Test
Assess your preparation and identify weaker exam domains.
→ Check my readiness
⚠️
Avoid brain dumps. Sites selling real or stolen exam questions may violate certification-provider rules and can leave candidates studying outdated material.
Reviews

What candidates say after passing

★★★★★
SAP-C02 is a completely different exam from SAA-C03.Edureify AI's multi-account architecture scenarios - Organizations, SCPs, Control Tower - prepared me for enterprise-scale questions that simply don't appear at the associate level.
Ryan B.
IT Director
★★★★★
The 7 Rs migration framework sounds straightforward until you're in a scenario with 12 mixed workloads and have to apply the right strategy to each.Edureify AI's migration assessment scenarios built the contextual judgment to distinguish Rehost from Replatform from Refactor based on the workload characteristics and business constraints stated in the scenario.
Rahul D.
Cloud Architect
★★★★★
DR strategy selection by RTO/RPO requirements is the high-stakes architectural decision the professional exam tests most precisely.Edureify AI's business continuity scenarios - from Backup & Restore to Multi-Site Active/Active - made the RTO-to-strategy mapping automatic. Getting this wrong in a real architecture is expensive; getting it wrong in the exam costs points.
Emma T.
Risk Analyst
★★★★★
Transit Gateway for multi-VPC networking is the enterprise-scale pattern SAP-C02 tests specifically.Edureify AI's hub-and-spoke networking scenarios made the scalability advantage of TGW over VPC peering concrete through organizational-scale connectivity problems that VPC peering can't solve.
Hassan B.
Security Ops Lead
FAQ

Frequently asked questions about AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional (SAP-C02)

Most candidates with relevant background can structure their preparation over several weeks, depending on their existing knowledge, available study time and exam difficulty. Use the study roadmap above as a starting point and use the readiness diagnostic to identify where you need more preparation.
The guide covers the exam overview, domains, detailed syllabus and topics, study roadmap, exam preparation tips and links to practice, mock, readiness, cheat-sheet, AI Tutor and training resources.
The guide is designed to organize your preparation around the exam syllabus. You should combine it with practice questions and timed simulations so that you can test both your knowledge and your ability to apply it.
Yes. Start with the exam overview and domain breakdown, then work through the detailed topics using the study roadmap. Candidates with less experience may need additional time for foundational concepts.
Take the Edureify readiness diagnostic to assess your preparation and identify the domains where you need to focus more.
Edureify AI can help explain concepts, identify weaker areas from practice performance and support a more personalised preparation process.

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