The short version
DVA-C03 gives you 130 minutes for 65 questions, of which 50 are scored and 15 are unscored. You need a scaled score of 720 on a scale of 100 to 1,000. You can sit it at a Pearson VUE test center or online with a proctor. Details here come from AWS’s September 2026 announcement, the DVA-C03 exam guide that AWS published on October 27, 2026, and AWS’s general testing policies. Check the guide for anything newer.
Time and number of questions
You have 130 minutes. The exam has 65 questions. Fifty of them count toward your score. The other 15 are unscored items that AWS uses to test future questions, and the exam does not tell you which ones they are. Treat every question as if it counts.
That works out to a little under two minutes per question. Scenario questions are longer than that, so some will take three minutes and some will take thirty seconds. The goal is an average, not a rule for each question.
Passing score and how scoring works
AWS reports a scaled score from 100 to 1,000. The minimum passing score is 720. A scaled score is not a percentage, so 720 does not mean 72 percent correct. AWS uses scaling to keep results fair across exam versions that differ slightly in difficulty.
Two scoring rules from AWS’s current DVA-C02 guide are worth remembering. Expect the same for DVA-C03, but confirm in the new guide:
- No penalty for guessing. Unanswered questions count as wrong, and wrong answers cost nothing extra. Answer everything.
- Compensatory scoring. You do not need to pass each domain. You only need to pass the exam overall. Your score report may show how you did in each section, but AWS warns you to be careful reading that feedback.
Question types
There are two types:
- Multiple choice: one correct answer and three distractors.
- Multiple response: two or more correct answers out of five or more options. The question tells you how many to select.
AWS’s current DVA-C02 guide lists only these two types, and the DVA-C03 announcement mentions no others. Distractors are plausible by design, so look for the one requirement in the stem that rules out the near-miss. Our question types guide explains how to read these.
Languages
AWS currently lists English, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese, and Spanish (Latin America) for the Developer – Associate exam. For DVA-C03, an AWS blog from September 2026 said registration would open for all languages on October 27, 2026, while the exam guide says registration opens December 1, 2026; the guide leads. If English is not your first language, you can ask for a 30-minute extension when you take the exam in English. You request it once in your AWS Certification account before you register, and it then applies to future bookings.
Delivery
You can take the exam two ways, both through Pearson VUE:
- Test center. You arrive early, show ID, and sit at a testing station. Unscheduled breaks are allowed, but the clock keeps running and you cannot leave the building.
- Online proctored. You test at home or at the office, with a proctor watching through your camera. No breaks are permitted, and you cannot leave the camera’s view.
ID rules differ between the two and between countries, so read the instructions in your confirmation. The exam day guide covers check-in and common problems.
During the exam you can move forward and back, and you can flag questions for review. After the last question, a review screen lets you open all, incomplete, or flagged questions.
Results
AWS says results are available within five business days after you finish. You find them in your AWS Certification account under Exam History, where you can download a score report as a PDF.
Rescheduling
You can reschedule up to 24 hours before your appointment. Each appointment can be rescheduled twice, and a third change means canceling and booking again. Canceling late or missing the appointment forfeits your fee.
Retakes
If you do not pass, you must wait 14 calendar days before you can retake the exam. There is no limit on attempts, and each attempt requires the full registration fee. If you pass, you cannot retake the same exam for two years. See certification costs for how fees and renewals work in general.
Validity and renewal
The certification is valid for three years. You can renew by passing the latest version of the exam, or by earning AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional, which recertifies this credential automatically.
More guides for DVA-C03
- DVA-C03 Domains Explained
- DVA-C03 Sample Questions With Answers
- Is the DVA-C03 Exam Hard?
- DVA-C03 Prerequisites and Skills Check
- DVA-C03 Renewal and Retakes Explained
- Is DVA-C03 Worth It? An Honest Look
- DVA-C03 Cheat Sheet: Key Facts to Review
- DVA-C03 vs SAP-C03: Which AWS Exam First?
Next step
Now that you know the rules, the study plan shows how to spend your weeks. For timed practice at a similar pace, try our DVA-C03 practice tests.
Frequently asked questions
Is 720 the same as 72%?
No. It is a scaled score on a 100 to 1,000 range, so it does not convert to a percentage of questions.
Can I skip a question and return?
Yes. You can flag questions and revisit them from the review screen at the end.
Is there a penalty for wrong answers?
No. Unanswered questions are scored as wrong, so guessing can only help.