# Salesforce Certifications: Practice Exams and Study Paths (2026) *Last updated September 2026 · https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-certifications* Every Salesforce certification under the 2026 credential names, grouped by job role, with exam length, passing score, cost, prerequisites, and reviewed practice exams for each one. CertifyForce covers 13 Salesforce certifications across 7 job roles, backed by 1,810 human-reviewed practice questions. Several credentials were renamed through 2025 and 2026 as the programme moved toward Agentforce: Administrator is now Platform Administrator, Platform Developer I is now Platform Developer, AI Specialist is now Agentforce Specialist, and Sales Cloud and Service Cloud Consultant are now Agentforce Sales Consultant and Agentforce Service Consultant. ## Which Salesforce certification should I start with? Platform Administrator for almost everyone. It has no prerequisite, it is the credential hiring managers recognise first, and it is required before you can sit either Agentforce consultant exam. If you write code for a living, Platform Developer is the better entry point; if you are aiming squarely at AI work, Agentforce Specialist has no prerequisite either. ## How do the Salesforce certifications compare? | Certification | Level | Prerequisite | Questions | Minutes | Passing score | Reviewed questions | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Platform Administrator | Foundational | None | 60 | 105 | 68% | 308 | | Agentforce Specialist | Intermediate | None | 60 | 105 | 72% | 288 | | Platform Developer I | Intermediate | None | 60 | 105 | 68% | 312 | | Platform Developer II | Advanced | Platform Developer | 60 | 120 | 70% | In development | | Agentforce Sales Consultant | Intermediate | Platform Administrator | 60 | 105 | 73% | 304 | | Agentforce Service Consultant | Intermediate | Platform Administrator | 60 | 105 | 78% | 304 | | Business Analyst | Intermediate | None | 60 | 105 | 72% | 294 | | Data Cloud Consultant | Intermediate | None | — | — | — | In development | | Integration Architect | Advanced | None | — | — | — | In development | | Platform User Experience Designer | Intermediate | None | — | — | — | In development | | Identity and Access Management Architect | Advanced | None | — | — | — | In development | | Marketing Cloud Engagement Administrator | Intermediate | None | — | — | — | In development | | JavaScript Developer I | Intermediate | None | — | — | — | In development | Question counts, time limits, passing scores, and costs were last verified against the official Salesforce exam guides in July 2026. A dash means the number is not published in data we have verified — check the linked exam guide. ## Salesforce Administrator Configure, secure, and run a Salesforce org. Administrators own the org: users and permissions, objects and fields, automation, reports, and now the Agentforce settings that sit on top of all of it. The Platform Administrator credential is the most common first Salesforce certification and the prerequisite for most consultant tracks. **Where to start:** Start with Platform Administrator. It has no prerequisite, it unlocks the consultant credentials, and roughly a fifth of its 2026 outline is automation and Agentforce, which carries directly into the AI tracks. - [Salesforce Platform Administrator practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-platform-administrator-practice-exam): The standard first Salesforce certification, and the prerequisite for both Agentforce consultant exams. Foundational · no prerequisite · 60 questions in 105 minutes · 68% to pass · 308 reviewed practice questions. More: [Salesforce Administrator certification path](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-certifications/administrator) ## Salesforce Developer Build on the platform with Apex, LWC, and the API. Developer credentials test Apex, Lightning Web Components, the data model, governor limits, testing, and deployment. They assume you can read and reason about code rather than just configure declaratively. **Where to start:** Take Platform Developer first. Platform Developer II builds directly on it and is meaningfully harder, and JavaScript Developer is a parallel track worth adding if you spend most of your time in the front end. - [Salesforce JavaScript Developer I practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-javascript-developer-1-practice-exam): Front-end focused and mostly framework-agnostic JavaScript, useful alongside the platform developer track. Intermediate · no prerequisite. - [Salesforce Platform Developer I practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-platform-developer-1-practice-exam): The core developer credential: Apex, Lightning Web Components, the data model, testing, and deployment. Intermediate · no prerequisite · 60 questions in 105 minutes · 68% to pass · 312 reviewed practice questions. - [Salesforce Platform Developer II practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-platform-developer-2-practice-exam): Advanced Apex, asynchronous processing, and integration for developers who already hold Platform Developer. Advanced · requires Platform Developer · 60 questions in 120 minutes · 70% to pass. More: [Salesforce Developer certification path](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-certifications/developer) ## Salesforce Consultant Design and deliver cloud solutions for customers. Consultant exams are judgment exams. They give you a customer scenario and ask what you should recommend, so they reward implementation experience and discovery skills more than feature recall. Most require the Platform Administrator credential first. **Where to start:** Earn Platform Administrator first, since the Agentforce Sales and Service Consultant exams require it. Pick the cloud you actually implement; the Service Consultant exam has the highest passing score on the ladder at 78%. - [Salesforce Agentforce Sales Consultant practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-sales-cloud-consultant-practice-exam): Sales Cloud implementation plus the Agentforce selling features, renamed from Sales Cloud Consultant in July 2026. Intermediate · requires Platform Administrator · 60 questions in 105 minutes · 73% to pass · 304 reviewed practice questions. - [Salesforce Agentforce Service Consultant practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-service-cloud-consultant-practice-exam): Contact centre design end to end, renamed from Service Cloud Consultant in July 2026, with the highest passing score on the ladder. Intermediate · requires Platform Administrator · 60 questions in 105 minutes · 78% to pass · 304 reviewed practice questions. - [Salesforce Data Cloud Consultant practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-data-cloud-consultant-practice-exam): Ingestion, identity resolution, segmentation, and activation, and the data foundation most Agentforce work depends on. Intermediate · no prerequisite. More: [Salesforce Consultant certification path](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-certifications/consultant) ## AI and Agentforce Build, ground, and deploy agents on the platform. Agentforce is the fastest-moving area of the Salesforce certification programme. These exams cover prompt engineering, grounding and retrievers in Data 360, agent topics and actions, testing, and observability, and their outlines change more often than any other track. **Where to start:** Agentforce Specialist is the core credential and has no prerequisite. If you already hold Platform Administrator, the Agentforce Sales or Service Consultant exams apply the same ideas inside a specific cloud. - [Salesforce Agentforce Sales Consultant practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-sales-cloud-consultant-practice-exam): Sales Cloud implementation plus the Agentforce selling features, renamed from Sales Cloud Consultant in July 2026. Intermediate · requires Platform Administrator · 60 questions in 105 minutes · 73% to pass · 304 reviewed practice questions. - [Salesforce Agentforce Service Consultant practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-service-cloud-consultant-practice-exam): Contact centre design end to end, renamed from Service Cloud Consultant in July 2026, with the highest passing score on the ladder. Intermediate · requires Platform Administrator · 60 questions in 105 minutes · 78% to pass · 304 reviewed practice questions. - [Salesforce Agentforce Specialist practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-agentforce-specialist-practice-exam): The core AI credential: prompt engineering, grounding with Data 360 retrievers, agent topics and actions, testing, and observability. Intermediate · no prerequisite · 60 questions in 105 minutes · 72% to pass · 288 reviewed practice questions. - [Salesforce Data Cloud Consultant practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-data-cloud-consultant-practice-exam): Ingestion, identity resolution, segmentation, and activation, and the data foundation most Agentforce work depends on. Intermediate · no prerequisite. More: [AI and Agentforce certification path](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-certifications/ai-agentforce) ## Business Analyst and Designer Turn business needs into requirements and usable design. These credentials sit between the business and the build. They test discovery, stakeholder collaboration, process mapping, requirements and user stories, and human-centred design, rather than configuration depth. **Where to start:** Business Analyst has no prerequisite and is the more widely recognised of the two. Be aware it carries a 72% passing score, one of the heaviest on the ladder, and almost none of it is product trivia. - [Salesforce Business Analyst practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-business-analyst-practice-exam): Discovery, requirements, process mapping, and user stories, with almost no configuration trivia. Intermediate · no prerequisite · 60 questions in 105 minutes · 72% to pass · 294 reviewed practice questions. - [Salesforce Platform User Experience Designer practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-ux-designer-practice-exam): Human-centred design, discovery, declarative design tooling, and the Salesforce Lightning Design System. Intermediate · no prerequisite. More: [Business Analyst and Designer certification path](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-certifications/business-analyst-designer) ## Salesforce Architect Design systems that scale, integrate, and stay secure. Architect credentials test design trade-offs at scale: integration patterns, large data volumes, identity and access, sharing and visibility. They assume several years of delivery experience behind them. **Where to start:** Come to these after a developer or consultant credential and real delivery work. Integration Architect and Identity and Access Management Architect are both designed for people who have already made these decisions in production. - [Salesforce Identity and Access Management Architect practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-identity-access-management-architect-practice-exam): Single sign-on, identity providers, OAuth flows, and access design for complex orgs. Advanced · no prerequisite. - [Salesforce Integration Architect practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-integration-architect-practice-exam): Integration patterns, API choices, and the trade-offs behind connecting Salesforce to everything else. Advanced · no prerequisite. More: [Salesforce Architect certification path](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-certifications/architect) ## Marketer Run campaigns and journeys in Marketing Cloud. Marketing credentials cover Marketing Cloud Engagement: subscriber data, journeys, email sends and deliverability, automations, and the administration behind them. **Where to start:** Marketing Cloud Engagement Administrator is the entry point for the Marketing Cloud track and stands on its own, separate from the core platform ladder. - [Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement Administrator practice exam](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-marketing-cloud-engagement-administrator-practice-exam): Subscriber data, sends and deliverability, automations, and Marketing Cloud Engagement administration. Intermediate · no prerequisite. More: [Marketer certification path](https://certifyforce.com/salesforce-certifications/marketer) ## Common questions about Salesforce certifications ### Which Salesforce certification should I start with? Platform Administrator for almost everyone. It has no prerequisite, it is the credential hiring managers recognise first, and it is required before you can sit either Agentforce consultant exam. If you write code for a living, Platform Developer is the better entry point; if you are aiming squarely at AI work, Agentforce Specialist has no prerequisite either. ### What changed with the 2025-2026 Salesforce certification renames? Salesforce renamed several core credentials as the programme shifted toward Agentforce. Administrator became Platform Administrator, Platform Developer I became Platform Developer, AI Specialist became Agentforce Specialist, and Sales Cloud Consultant and Service Cloud Consultant became Agentforce Sales Consultant and Agentforce Service Consultant. The exams were re-outlined at the same time, so study material written for the old names is often testing topics that no longer carry weight. ### Do Salesforce certifications expire? The credential itself does not expire, but it lapses if you skip maintenance. Salesforce publishes a maintenance module on Trailhead for each certification on a release cadence, and completing it keeps the credential active. Maintenance is free; missing the deadline means retaking the full exam. ### How much do Salesforce certifications cost? Most exams on this page are USD $200 to register with a USD $100 retake, plus local taxes. Architect-level exams cost more. There is no fee to keep a credential current beyond the free maintenance module, so the real cost of a certification is usually the retakes you avoid by practising properly. ### How many questions are on a Salesforce exam and what score do I need? Most exams are 60 scored questions with a 105-minute limit, sometimes with a handful of unscored trial questions on top. Passing scores differ per exam and are not all 65%: Platform Administrator sits at 68%, Agentforce Specialist at 73%, Business Analyst at 72%, and Agentforce Service Consultant is the toughest on the ladder. Each certification page here lists the current numbers from the official exam guide. ### How do CertifyForce practice exams work? Every bank is written against the current official exam outline and human-reviewed before it goes live, then served in the same section proportions the real exam uses. You get a weighted readiness score per section, can drill only the sections you keep missing, and can ask the built-in AI tutor to explain any answer. Nothing here is a braindump: the questions are original scenarios, not leaked exam content.