DVA-C02 is the certification most directly relevant to developers building applications on AWS. Unlike SAA-C03, which tests architectural thinking, DVA-C02 tests whether you can actually implement, deploy, and debug on AWS.
If you write Lambda functions, build serverless APIs, or work with DynamoDB, this exam will cover your daily work in significant depth.
DVA-C02 Exam Overview
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Exam code | DVA-C02 |
| Number of questions | 65 (50 scored, 15 unscored) |
| Time limit | 130 minutes |
| Passing score | 720 / 1000 |
| Cost | $150 (USD) |
| Format | Multiple choice, multiple response |
The Five DVA-C02 Domains
Domain 1: Development with AWS Services — 32%
The largest domain. Heavy on serverless application building.
Core services you must know deeply:
Lambda:
- Concurrency types — reserved vs provisioned
- Invocation models — synchronous, asynchronous, event source mapping
- Lambda layers and container image deployment
- Error handling and DLQs
- Cold starts and how to mitigate them
- Lambda@Edge vs CloudFront Functions
API Gateway:
- REST API vs HTTP API vs WebSocket API — when to use each
- Integration types — Lambda proxy, HTTP proxy, AWS service
- Throttling, caching, usage plans and API keys
- Stage variables and deployment stages
DynamoDB:
- Partition key design — how to avoid hot partitions
- Global Secondary Indexes (GSIs) vs Local Secondary Indexes (LSIs)
- DynamoDB Streams for event-driven patterns
- Conditional writes and transactions
- TTL for automatic item expiration
- DAX for caching read-heavy workloads
SQS / SNS:
- Standard vs FIFO queues — ordering and deduplication
- Visibility timeout, dead-letter queues, long polling
- SNS fan-out pattern with SQS subscribers
- Message filtering
Domain 2: Security — 26%
The security in DVA-C02 is developer-focused, not infrastructure-focused.
What it covers:
- IAM roles for Lambda and EC2 — how to grant permissions without hardcoding credentials
- Secrets Manager and Parameter Store — when to use each for credential management
- Cognito — User Pools (authentication) vs Identity Pools (AWS resource access) — this distinction appears frequently
- STS and temporary credentials — AssumeRole, federation
- AWS Signature Version 4 — how API requests are signed
- KMS encryption in application code — GenerateDataKey, Decrypt API calls
The Cognito question pattern: When should you use a User Pool vs an Identity Pool? User Pool is for authenticating users (login, JWT tokens). Identity Pool is for granting authenticated users access to AWS resources like S3 or DynamoDB. They can be used together.
Domain 3: Deployment — 24%
The CI/CD domain is unique to DVA-C02. SAA-C03 barely touches it.
The AWS CI/CD toolchain:
- CodeCommit — managed Git repository (being deprecated — know the basics)
- CodeBuild — managed build service, buildspec.yml configuration
- CodeDeploy — deployment automation to EC2, Lambda, or ECS. Deployment types: in-place, blue/green, canary, linear
- CodePipeline — orchestrates the full CI/CD pipeline
- Elastic Beanstalk — deployment strategies: all-at-once, rolling, rolling with additional batch, immutable, blue/green
- SAM (Serverless Application Model) — CloudFormation extension for serverless, sam build/package/deploy workflow
- CDK — Cloud Development Kit, infrastructure as code in Python/TypeScript/Java
Exam focus: Which deployment strategy achieves zero downtime? (Blue/green, immutable.) Which avoids extra EC2 cost? (Rolling.) Which is fastest but causes downtime? (All-at-once.)
Domain 4: Troubleshooting and Optimization — 18%
What it covers:
- CloudWatch Logs, Metrics, Alarms, Log Insights
- X-Ray — distributed tracing, service maps, annotations vs metadata, sampling rules
- Lambda performance troubleshooting — memory, timeout, cold start analysis
- DynamoDB performance — ProvisionedThroughputExceededException, how to handle throttling
- SQS troubleshooting — messages stuck in queue, DLQ analysis
The Services That Appear Most Across DVA-C02
If you build a study plan around these services, you'll cover the majority of exam scenarios:
- Lambda — appears in every domain
- DynamoDB — data modelling questions are frequent and specific
- API Gateway — always paired with Lambda scenarios
- SQS / SNS — event-driven architecture patterns
- CodeBuild / CodeDeploy / CodePipeline — deployment domain is heavily tested
- Cognito — security domain, frequently misunderstood
- X-Ray — troubleshooting domain
- CloudWatch — monitoring across all scenarios
- Secrets Manager vs Parameter Store — security, frequently tested
- Elastic Beanstalk — deployment strategies
How DVA-C02 Prep Differs from SAA-C03 Prep
SAA-C03 is about choosing the right architecture. DVA-C02 is about knowing how to implement it.
This means flashcards and service comparisons are still valuable, but you also need to understand how things work at a configuration level:
- What does a buildspec.yml look like?
- How do you configure a DLQ for a Lambda function?
- What's the correct IAM role structure for a Lambda function that needs to read from SQS and write to DynamoDB?
Hands-on experience with these services gives you a meaningful advantage in DVA-C02. If you have it, your study time is mostly about filling specific knowledge gaps. If you don't, budget more time on the Lambda and DynamoDB domains in particular.
Your Study Approach
Day 1: Full practice exam, scored by domain. Most developers find Domain 1 easiest and the CI/CD and security domains hardest if they haven't worked with CodePipeline or Cognito.
Weeks 1–4: Active recall on your weakest domains. For most developers this means the CodeBuild/CodeDeploy/CodePipeline toolchain and Cognito User Pool vs Identity Pool distinctions.
Weekly: Domain-specific mock exams on your weakest areas. When domains hit 80%+, shift focus to the next weakest.
Book the exam: When all five domains consistently clear 80% on fresh practice banks.
Take the baseline practice exam today and see where your domain scores land. It'll tell you more in 90 minutes than a week of reading about the exam.