AWS AI Practitioner · Exam Format

AWS AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) Exam: Cost, Format and Question Types

The AWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) exam costs $100 USD and gives you 90 minutes for 65 questions, 50 of which are scored. The passing score is 700 on a 100 to 1,000 scale, there are no prerequisites, and the exam guide lists five question types: multiple choice, multiple response, ordering, matching, and case study.

Last updated August 2026.

Exam format at a glance

 AIF-C01
LevelFoundational
Cost$100 USD
Total questions65 (50 scored, 15 unscored)
Time limit90 minutes
Question typesMultiple choice, multiple response, ordering, matching, case study
Passing score700 (on a 100 to 1,000 scale)
Scoring modelCompensatory (overall score, not per domain)
PrerequisitesNone
DeliveryPearson VUE testing center or online proctored
Validity3 years

All figures from the official AIF-C01 exam guide. Prices vary by country and may have tax added at checkout.

Five question types on a foundational exam

Cloud Practitioner, the other AWS foundational exam, uses two question formats. AIF-C01 is one of the exams where AWS introduced its newer formats, and the exam guide lists five:

For a conceptual exam, ordering and matching are the formats to respect: they remove the option of reasoning backwards from four choices, and there is no partial credit. If you can genuinely sequence a fine-tuning workflow or pair each service with its job, they are fast points; half-knowledge scores zero.

How scoring works

Of the 65 questions, 15 are unscored trial items that are not identified during the exam, so treat everything as scored. Results come back as a scaled score from 100 to 1,000 with 700 as the pass mark. The scale is not a percentage: 700 does not mean 70% correct, because scaling adjusts for difficulty differences between exam forms.

Scoring is compensatory: one overall score, no per-domain bar, so a strong generative AI section can carry a weaker one. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so no question should be left blank. Ninety minutes across 65 questions is about 80 seconds each, comfortable for recognition-style questions if the case studies do not absorb your buffer early.

Booking, proctoring, and retakes

  1. Register from your AWS Certification account, choosing a Pearson VUE testing center or online proctored delivery.
  2. Check accommodations before booking, including additional exam time for candidates testing in a language that is not their first. Requests go in ahead of time, not on exam day.
  3. Prepare for check-in: government-issued photo ID, a clear desk, and a room scan for online sessions.
  4. If you fail, expect a waiting period before the next attempt, each paid in full. Confirm the current retake policy in the AWS Certification FAQ before rebooking.

The certification is valid for three years, the same as every AWS certification, including the foundational tier.

Same price and format family as Cloud Practitioner, different content

AIF-C01 and CLF-C02 share the foundational tier: $100, 65 questions, 90 minutes, 700 to pass, no prerequisites. The differences are the question-type list above and the content: AIF-C01 spends over half its scored questions on generative AI and foundation model applications, with Amazon Bedrock as the recurring service. If you are choosing between them, the decision is about which fluency you need first, not about difficulty or cost. The domains and weighting post breaks down where the 50 scored questions go.

FAQ

How much does the AWS AI Practitioner exam cost?

The AIF-C01 exam costs $100 USD, the AWS foundational-tier price, with local tax added at checkout in some countries. Retakes are paid in full each time.

How many questions are on the AIF-C01 exam and how long is it?

There are 65 questions and a 90-minute time limit, about 80 seconds per question. Only 50 of the 65 are scored: the other 15 are unscored trial items that are not identified during the exam.

What question types does the AIF-C01 exam use?

Five types: multiple choice, multiple response, ordering, matching, and case study. Ordering and matching award no partial credit, and each question within a case study is scored separately.

What score do you need to pass the AWS AI Practitioner exam?

The minimum passing score is 700 on a scaled range of 100 to 1,000, which is not a percentage of questions correct. Scoring is compensatory, so you pass on the overall score rather than per domain, and wrong answers carry no penalty.

Can I take the AIF-C01 exam from home?

Yes. You choose between a Pearson VUE testing center and online proctoring at booking. Online sittings need a quiet private room, a webcam, photo ID, and a room scan before the exam starts.

Read the official AIF-C01 exam guide

The guide lists the task statements, the in-scope AWS AI services, and the question-type definitions behind everything above. It is the primary prep document and it is free.

Open the AWS exam guide →