The SAA-C03 exam pattern is 65 questions (50 scored, 15 unscored) in 130 minutes, delivered as multiple choice and multiple response. AWS scores the exam on a scale of 100 to 1000 and sets the passing score at 720. The unscored questions are mixed in randomly, and every scenario question, not a raw percentage, contributes to that scaled score.
AWS keeps the SAA-C03 exam pattern the same across delivery methods, whether you sit it at a Pearson VUE test centre or take the online-proctored version. Here is exactly what you face.
SAA-C03 number of questions and duration
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Total questions | 65 (50 scored + 15 unscored) |
| Time allowed | 130 minutes |
| Question types | Multiple choice, multiple response |
| Passing score | 720 on a 100-1000 scale |
The 15 unscored questions are AWS pre-testing future exam content. They look identical to scored questions, so there is no way to skip them or identify them during the exam; treat every question as if it counts.
SAA-C03 question types explained
Multiple choice gives one correct answer out of four options. Multiple response requires you to select two or more correct answers out of five or more options, and the exam interface tells you how many selections it expects. Partial credit is not given on multiple response items; every correct option must be selected.
SAA-C03 passing score explained
AWS reports your result as a scaled score between 100 and 1000, and 720 is the passing score. The scaling adjusts for the difficulty of the specific set of scored questions you received, so a scaled score is not the same as a raw percentage of 65 questions answered correctly. AWS uses a compensatory model: doing well in one exam domain can offset a weaker showing in another, since there is no separate pass requirement domain by domain.
Delivery options: test centre or online
SAA-C03 is delivered through Pearson VUE, either at a physical test centre or through Pearson VUE's OnVUE online-proctored option, which is available for this exam. The question pattern, timing, and scoring are identical either way; only the check-in and monitoring process differs. See the exam-day guide for what to expect during check-in under either option.
What our mock reproduces
Our SAA-C03 mock matches the real exam pattern closely: it draws from the same four domains covered on the exam objectives page, uses multiple-choice and multiple-response items in the same style, and is timed at 130 minutes so you can practice pacing. It cannot reproduce AWS's unscored pre-test questions, since those exist only inside the official exam, and it cannot replicate Pearson VUE's proctoring software; those two things only appear at the real test session.
Preparing for the pattern, not just the content
Candidates who know every service cold sometimes still run short on time because the SAA-C03 pattern favors scenario reading speed as much as AWS knowledge. Each question is usually a short paragraph describing a company's constraints before it asks for the best design, so practice reading quickly for the constraint that actually decides the answer (cost, latency, compliance, or operational overhead) rather than re-reading the whole scenario for every option.
Once you are comfortable with the pattern, move on to cost and booking to plan your exam date, or go straight to sample questions to see the pattern in action.
How the scored and unscored questions are mixed
AWS does not group the 15 unscored questions at the start, middle, or end; they are interspersed throughout the 65 you see, and the exam interface gives no indicator of which is which. This is a deliberate part of the SAA-C03 exam pattern, since flagging unscored items would let candidates skip them and defeat their purpose of pre-testing new content for future exam versions. Practically, this means your pacing plan should treat all 65 questions as equally important rather than trying to guess which ones do not count.
Time pressure and pacing inside the SAA-C03 pattern
Divided evenly, 130 minutes across 65 questions gives you roughly two minutes per question, but scenario length varies: some questions are two sentences, others describe a multi-service architecture across several sentences before asking for the best design. A common approach is to read the final question line first (what is actually being asked) before reading the full scenario, so you know which details in the paragraph matter and which are just context. If a question is taking too long, mark it and move on; the exam interface lets you flag questions and return to them before time runs out, so a single hard scenario does not have to threaten your pacing on the rest of the exam.
Reviewing before you submit
AWS lets you review and change answers within the 130-minute window as long as time remains, including flagged questions. Build a few minutes of buffer into your pacing plan specifically for this review pass, since it is common to catch a misread constraint (for example, missing a stated cost limit or the word LEAST in a question) on a second look rather than the first.
Exam facts on this page come from Amazon Web Services’s own pages (official exam page). Prices, versions and policies change — confirm there before you book.