There is no standalone, proctored Claude Code certification. What exists is the free Claude Partner Badge for Claude Code, earned through eight courses, a capstone project and a 34-question scenario assessment, plus free Claude Code courses on Claude Academy. If you want a proctored exam that tests Claude Code properly, Claude Certified Architect – Foundations is the one: Claude Code is 20% of it.
A lot of people search for a "Claude Code certification" and find a mix of badges, course certificates and exams. They are not the same thing, and the difference matters when you put one on your CV. This guide sorts them out, using Anthropic's own pages and exam guides.
What Claude Code credentials actually exist?
Three things carry Claude Code in the name or the content: a partner badge, free course badges, and the proctored Claude exams.
| Credential | What it is | Who can get it | Proctored? | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Partner Badge: Claude Code | Eight courses, capstone, 34-question assessment | People at Claude Partner Network organisations | No | Free |
| Claude Code 101 / Claude Code in Action | Self-paced Claude Academy courses with completion badges | Anyone | No | Free |
| Claude Certified Architect – Foundations | Proctored exam; Claude Code Configuration & Workflows is 20% | People at Claude Partner Network organisations | Yes, Pearson VUE | $125 before partner discounts |
| Claude Certified Developer – Foundations | Proctored exam; Claude Code domain is 3.1% | People at Claude Partner Network organisations | Yes, Pearson VUE | $125 before partner discounts |
For the full map of every Claude credential, see every Claude certification explained.
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Explore StudyTech AIWhat is the Claude Partner Badge for Claude Code?
It is a free learning path in the Anthropic Partner Academy that takes a consultant from installing Claude Code to delivering it for a client on their own.
Anthropic describes it as covering "deployment architecture, extensibility, security and governance, and delivery methodology", and says it is "built for consultants who have the foundation but need the operational playbook." The badge description on Credly says it "validates that consultants are ready to scope, deploy, configure, and run Claude Code activations end-to-end."
The eight courses
The path lists eight courses, in this order:
- Product Foundations
- Installation and Environments
- Deployment Architecture
- Configuration and Customization
- Extensibility
- Security and Governance
- Administration and Measurement
- Delivery Methodology
The capstone
The capstone is hands-on: four guided exercises using Claude Code the way you would on a real client engagement. The exercises are multi-file refactoring, test generation, CI/CD integration and troubleshooting. You submit code, a decision log and a metrics snapshot.
The assessment
The final assessment is 34 scenario-based questions drawn from all eight courses. Anthropic says each one is "rooted in a real client decision you'll need to make on an engagement", covering areas such as model selection, troubleshooting, configuration, extensibility, administration and delivery. Anthropic does not publish a pass mark, time limit or retake policy on the public page, so I will not guess at them.
Who can take it
The path is free, but the Anthropic Partner Academy is only open to people at Claude Partner Network organisations. The Partner Academy FAQ says registration needs a partner email on a recognised company domain, and personal addresses will not work. If that is your situation, read can you get a Claude certification without a company email.
Badge vs certification: what is the difference?
A certification is a proctored, timed exam with a published pass mark and an expiry date; the Claude Code partner badge is a learning path with an unproctored assessment.
The four Claude certifications are sat through Pearson VUE, take 120 minutes, pass at 720 out of 1,000 and last 12 months. The partner badge has no proctor, and Anthropic has not published a pass mark or validity period for it. That does not make it worthless. The capstone asks you to submit real work, which says something an exam cannot. But they prove different things:
- The partner badge says you completed Anthropic's delivery playbook for Claude Code and its capstone.
- A certification says you passed a proctored exam under test conditions.
Claude Academy completion badges are a third thing again. They show you finished a course, and nothing more.
Can anyone learn Claude Code for free?
Yes. Claude Academy's Claude Code courses are free, self-paced and open to anyone, with no company email needed.
On Claude Academy, two courses focus on Claude Code:
- Claude Code 101: 12 lessons and a quiz, about 1.5 hours, with a completion badge.
- Claude Code in Action: 9 lessons and a quiz, about 1 hour, with a completion badge.
Pair them with the official Claude Code documentation, especially the pages on CLAUDE.md memory, settings, skills, hooks and running Claude Code in CI. That is the material the exams draw on.
Where Claude Code shows up in the proctored Claude exams
Claude Code is a fifth of Architect – Foundations, a sliver of Developer – Foundations, and a small part of Architect – Professional. These weightings come from Anthropic's official exam guides (version 1.0, July 2026).
Architect – Foundations: 20%
Claude Code Configuration & Workflows is 20% of Claude Certified Architect – Foundations, the most Claude Code weight on any Claude exam. The domain tests whether you can set Claude Code up for a team, not just yourself:
- The CLAUDE.md hierarchy (user, project, directory),
@importand.claude/rules/ - Custom slash commands in
.claude/commands/and skills in.claude/skills/ - Path-scoped rules using glob patterns
- Plan mode versus direct execution
- Running Claude Code in CI/CD with
-p,--output-format jsonand--json-schema
Claude Code also shows up outside that domain. Two of the six published Foundations scenarios are "Code generation with Claude Code" and "Claude Code for continuous integration", and the Tool Design & MCP Integration domain covers MCP server scope in .mcp.json and ~/.claude.json. Full breakdown: Claude Certified Architect exam guide.
Developer – Foundations: 3.1%
On Claude Certified Developer – Foundations, the Claude Code domain is only 3.1% of the exam. It covers core components, session management, slash commands, headless and streaming modes, the CLAUDE.md hierarchy and settings.json. Despite the name, Developer is an application developer exam: Applications and Integration is 33.1%. Full breakdown: Claude Certified Developer exam guide.
Architect – Professional: part of a 7% domain
Architect – Professional mentions Claude Code inside its smallest domain, Developer Productivity & Operational Enablement, at 7%. One of its tasks is configuring tools such as Claude Code for teams.
Which should you do?
Match the credential to what you need to prove.
- You deliver Claude Code to clients at a partner firm: do the free partner badge. It is built for exactly that job.
- You want a proctored credential that covers Claude Code: take Architect – Foundations. At 20%, Claude Code is a core part of it, not a footnote.
- You build Claude applications with the API: Developer – Foundations fits, but do not prepare for it as a Claude Code exam.
- You have no partner access yet: take Claude Code 101 and Claude Code in Action, build something real with Claude Code, and prepare for Architect – Foundations so you can book the day you get access.
Still choosing between exams? Compare them in Claude Architect vs Developer vs Associate.
Preparing for Claude Architect – Foundations with StudyTech AI
StudyTech AI has prep paths for all four Claude exams, including Architect – Foundations, where Claude Code is 20% of your score.
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For Architect – Foundations, that means:
- A free assessment by domain, so you see where Claude Code Configuration & Workflows sits against the other four
- Your weakest domain first, instead of studying everything equally
- Wrong answers become flashcards automatically
- A readiness score by domain, the same breakdown your real score report uses
- Personalised mock exams built around your gaps
Plans are $29 a month or $297 a year.
StudyTech AI does not register you for any exam or badge. You still need a Claude Partner Network company email to book through Pearson VUE or to use the Anthropic Partner Academy.
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Bottom line
There is no Claude Code certification, but there are three useful paths. Partner consultants should earn the free Claude Code partner badge. Anyone can start with the free Claude Academy courses. And if you want a proctored credential where Claude Code really counts, prepare for Claude Certified Architect – Foundations.
Verified 7 November 2026 against the Anthropic Partner Academy's Claude Partner Badge: Claude Code learning path and assessment pages, the Credly badge page, the Partner Academy certifications FAQ, Claude Academy's course listing, the Claude Code documentation, and Anthropic's Architect – Foundations and Developer – Foundations exam guides (version 1.0, July 2026). Anthropic has not published a pass mark, time limit or validity period for the partner badge.