A map of the four exams, for backend engineers

In short: Anthropic has four Claude certifications. Three are for people who build with Claude, and one is for people who use it at work. If you write backend code, start with CCAR-F. It asks for the most exact recall, and what you learn for it carries into the others. I am studying for it now. I have not sat it yet.

Four exam codes that look almost the same is a bad way to start. This post is the map I wanted on day one. My study notes in the CCAR-F journey are the road.

The four exams

All four run for 120 minutes, closed book, with an online proctor. A pass earns a badge that is valid for 12 months.

I have not sat any of them, so the question counts and the conditions above come from a published review by someone who passed all four in June and July 2026. It is listed under Sources.

Each exam has its own page, with its domains and their weights, under Claude certifications.

Why CCAR-F first

The same review rates CCAR-F the hardest of the four, and the reason is recall. It asks for exact CLI flags, parameter values, JSON schemas and file locations. Four options look right and one is the real flag.

It still says to take it first, for one reason: its content carries forward. The loop, tools, MCP and Claude Code come back in the other technical exams.

It also found the Professional exam easier than the name suggests. That one is about judgement: which pattern, which trade-off, and why. That is closer to what a senior engineer already does every week.

The order it suggests for a technical person is CCAR-F, CCDV-F, CCAR-P, then CCAO-F if you want the full set. For a non-technical person it is CCAO-F only.

Remember: This is one person’s experience, not a rule. I will tell you whether it held for me once I have sat the exam.

What CCAR-F covers

Five domains, with these weights in the exam guide:

The pass mark is 720 on a scale of 100 to 1000. The guide is written for someone with six months or more of hands-on work with the Claude API, the Agent SDK, Claude Code and MCP.

If you are a backend engineer, Domains 1 and 2 will feel like home. They are loops, interfaces and error handling. Domain 3 is where instinct stops helping, because it is about where files live and what each flag does.

Who can sit it

You cannot sign up for CCAR-F as an individual today. Registration goes through Anthropic’s Partner Academy and needs an organisation account from an Anthropic partner. Two sources said this in July 2026, and my course material says the same. Check Anthropic’s own page before you plan around it, because this is the kind of rule that changes.

My route

I study with a Panaversity cohort, so my route has a step before Anthropic’s exam.

1. PCAR-F first. This is Panaversity’s own architect exam. It uses the same five domains at the same weights, with the same pass mark of 720, and adds some vendor-neutral material.
2. Then the cohort’s associate exam and its FDE internship. Panaversity helps internship participants register for Anthropic’s exams through its partner route.
3. Then CCAR-F.

So everything I write in this series prepares for both. The domains are the same.

What I am not claiming

I hold no Claude certification today. This site says “studying for CCAR-F” and it will keep saying that until there is a result to show. When I sit a practice round, I will publish my scores by domain and the topics I missed. I will never publish exam questions.

Next in this series: how the exam is built, and how I study for it.

Sources

• CCAR-F exam guide, Anthropic: the domains, the weights, the pass mark and the intended audience.
• Agent Factory certification pages, Panaversity, for PCAR-F and the route to Anthropic’s exams: https://agentfactory.panaversity.org/docs/certifications
• “The Claude certification exams: an honest review” by Matthew Purcell, 22 July 2026, for the question counts, the exam conditions and the suggested order: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/claude-certification-exams-honest-review-matthew-purcell-byo2e/
• “How to book the CCAR-F exam”, Tutorials Dojo, updated 20 July 2026, for who can register: https://tutorialsdojo.com/how-to-book-ccar-f-exam/
• The route and the plan are mine.