The AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer Associate (MLA-C01) exam costs $150 USD and gives you 130 minutes for 65 questions, 50 of which are scored. The passing score is 720 on a 100 to 1,000 scale, and the exam uses five question types: multiple choice, multiple response, ordering, matching, and case study.
Last updated August 2026.
| MLA-C01 | |
|---|---|
| Level | Associate |
| Cost | $150 USD |
| Total questions | 65 (50 scored, 15 unscored) |
| Time limit | 130 minutes |
| Question types | Multiple choice, multiple response, ordering, matching, case study |
| Passing score | 720 (on a 100 to 1,000 scale) |
| Scoring model | Compensatory (overall score, not per domain) |
| Prerequisites | None (about 1 year of SageMaker experience recommended) |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE testing center or online proctored |
| Validity | 3 years |
All figures from the official MLA-C01 exam guide. Prices vary by country and may have tax added at checkout.
This certification is mid-changeover. Registration for the updated exam, MLA-C02, opens in English on September 1, 2026, and the last day to take MLA-C01 in English is September 28, 2026. Everything on this page describes MLA-C01, so confirm which version applies to your test date and study from the matching exam guide.
If your realistic preparation runs past late September, plan for MLA-C02 from the start rather than compressing: the update brings generative AI and foundation model workloads into scope alongside traditional ML engineering. Our study-plan post covers how the deadline should shape a schedule.
Most AWS associate exams use two question formats. MLA-C01 is one of the exams where AWS introduced a wider set, and the exam guide lists all five:
The practical effect: ordering and matching punish half-knowledge harder than multiple choice does, because there is no partial credit and no way to reason backwards from four options. They reward having actually built and deployed a model, which fits how the whole exam is written.
Of the 65 questions, 15 are unscored items AWS is trialling for future exams. They are not identified while you sit the exam, so treat every question as scored.
Results come back as a scaled score from 100 to 1,000, with 720 as the minimum pass. That is a higher bar than the 700 AWS sets for its foundational exams, and it is not a percentage: scaling accounts for difficulty differences between exam forms. Scoring is compensatory, so you pass on the overall score rather than needing to clear each domain, and there is no penalty for a wrong answer, so nothing should be left blank.
Pacing is comfortable on paper: 130 minutes across 65 questions is exactly 2 minutes each. Case studies consume more than their share, so bank time on the straightforward multiple-choice items early.
The exam costs $150 USD, the standard AWS associate-level price, with local tax added at checkout in some countries. Each retake is paid in full.
There are 65 questions and a 130-minute time limit, which averages exactly 2 minutes per question. Only 50 of the 65 are scored: the other 15 are unscored trial items that are not identified during the exam.
Five types: multiple choice, multiple response, ordering, matching, and case study. Ordering and matching have no partial credit, and each question inside a case study is scored separately.
The minimum passing score is 720 on a scaled range of 100 to 1,000, higher than the 700 used by AWS foundational exams. Scoring is compensatory, so you pass on your overall score rather than domain by domain.
Yes, but the window is closing: the last day to take MLA-C01 in English is September 28, 2026, and registration for the updated MLA-C02 opens September 1, 2026. Confirm which version applies to your date before booking.
The guide lists the task statements, the in-scope AWS services, and the question-type definitions behind everything above. Check the version that matches your test date.
Open the AWS exam guide →