AWS Certified Developer – Associate: picking the exam version and the way to prepare

By Alexander Shick · Updated November 5, 2026

The developer AWS has in mind

AWS describes the exam as validating proficiency in "developing, testing, deploying, and debugging AWS Cloud-based applications, including using AI-assisted development tools." The guide expects you to code in at least one high-level language and to work with service APIs, the AWS CLI and SDKs. It leaves architecture design, building CI/CD pipelines and administering IAM users out of scope: you are tested on using those things, not designing them.

DVA-C02 or DVA-C03, and what the exam involves

Eligibility: none; AWS lists no prerequisite. Recommended experience: a year or more of hands-on work developing and maintaining applications on AWS. No course is required to book the exam.

Version: DVA-C02 can be taken through November 30, 2026, and DVA-C03 replaces it from December 1; the certification keeps its name. If you fail DVA-C02 late in November, AWS's 14-day retake wait pushes your second attempt onto DVA-C03. Format: multiple choice and multiple response; scores run from 100 to 1,000 and 720 passes on the overall result. AWS offers it in English, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese and Spanish (Latin America).

The weights move only a little, but the content shifts more. DVA-C03 adds a security task for using AI services in applications, AI-assisted coding, AI tools for testing and troubleshooting, and building and deploying container images on Amazon ECR, ECS, EKS and Fargate. Older study material written for DVA-C02 will miss those parts.

Ways to prepare for DVA-C03

• AWS Skill Builder, free. The DVA-C03 Exam Prep Plan (16 hours 30 minutes) and Official Practice Question Set are free; the 22-hour AWS Developer learning plan adds depth. Check that the plan title says DVA-C03, because skillbuilder.aws/exam-prep/developer-associate still lands on the retiring DVA-C02 plan. The Official Practice Exam needs a subscription, $29 a month.
• Your own AWS account. The exam rewards having written and debugged Lambda, DynamoDB and API Gateway code. AWS's free tier and a budget alert keep this cheap.
• Independent practice exams. Tutorials Dojo lists its Developer set at $14.99. The product page mentions the move to DVA-C03, while its question description still refers to DVA-C02; ask which version the questions follow.
• Developing on AWS. Over three days it covers the AWS SDKs and CLI, IAM permissions for a development environment, Amazon S3 and DynamoDB operations, Lambda functions, APIs on API Gateway and sign-in with Amazon Cognito, according to New Horizons' outline. It is AWS's official intermediate developer course, delivered through AWS's training partners and offered with AWS Jam; AWS has no Developer Associate exam prep class. Pick it if you want guided labs on a fixed schedule.

What Developer Associate preparation costs

All three classes teach the same AWS course, so the $760 gap between the lowest and highest list price buys delivery, not different content. Costs people miss: each retake is the full $150, a Skill Builder subscription for the practice exam is $29 a month, and AWS bills any resources you leave running in your account.

Comparing Developing on AWS classes

• Which exam version it targets. None of the three listings names DVA-C03. Ask whether the labs cover containers and AI-assisted development, which DVA-C03 adds.
• Voucher. Only New Horizons prices the exam voucher, at $150 extra; the Global Knowledge and Learning Tree listings are silent on it.
• Guaranteed dates. New Horizons says it never cancels a scheduled course. Ask the others whether your date can be cancelled.
• Lab access after class. Ask how long you keep the lab environment, since practice after the course matters for a coding exam.

Keeping the certification current

It is valid for 3 years. Renew by passing the latest Developer Associate exam or the DevOps Engineer Professional exam, using the 50% discount voucher in your AWS Certification Account. AWS also lists a maintenance route on Skill Builder that adds 1 year; it needs an active certification within 90 days of expiration and an active Skill Builder subscription (Monthly, Annual or Team).

DVA-C03 questions

Should I take DVA-C02 or wait for DVA-C03?

If you can be ready and book before November 30, 2026, DVA-C02 is still open. Otherwise prepare for DVA-C03, in use from December 1.

Does DVA-C03 cost more?

AWS's page lists $150 with no change announced.

Is my DVA-C02 certification still valid after the change?

Yes. AWS lists the certification as valid for 3 years, and none of its pages on the update shortens that.

Do I need to know a programming language?

Yes. The exam guide expects proficiency in at least one high-level language.

Next step

Send your language, AWS experience and target date, and we will match a route to DVA-C03.

Ask for help choosing AWS Developer Associate training