AWS DVA-C02 vs DVA-C03: Which Should You Take?

AWS is changing the Certified Developer – Associate exam, moving from DVA-C02 to DVA-C03. If you are preparing now, you can take the DVA-C02 exam until the end of November, or switch to the new DVA-C03 exam starting in December. Here are the important details:

DVA-C03 registration opens on October 27, 2026, with the full exam guide published on the same day. The last day to take the DVA-C02 exam is November 30, 2026. DVA-C03 will be available in all languages currently supported by AWS. The exam format remains the same, with 65 questions in 130 minutes, 50 of which are scored and 15 are unscored. The pass mark is still 720 out of 1,000.

DVA-C02 covers development with AWS services, security, deployment, and troubleshooting at 32%, 26%, 24%, and 18% weight respectively. DVA-C03 retains these core areas, but updates the tasks to reflect current practices. Notably, DVA-C03 introduces a new task on AI security, such as access management for AI services and data privacy controls.

AI-assisted development across all domains has also been added. Additionally, container management for services like Amazon ECR, Amazon ECS, Amazon EKS, and AWS Fargate will be covered.

Some skill areas, including prompt engineering, RAG design, AI model selection, Amazon SageMaker AI, and AI governance frameworks, are no longer in scope for DVA-C03. The exam is still a developer exam, not an AI specialist one. While the exam guide and study materials for DVA-C03 will be finalized on October 27, 2026, the key domains and skills remain relevant for developers.

The current DVA-C02 guide already includes emerging topics on AI-assisted development and AI security, which are unscored pretest items on the current exam.