Databricks Data Engineer Associate format
Here is what Databricks publishes about the Data Engineer Associate exam.
| Certification | Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate |
| Scored questions | 45 |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Question format | Multiple choice |
| Registration fee | $200 |
| Validity | 2 years, then recertification |
| Prerequisites | None |
| Recommended experience | Hands-on with the exam guide’s data engineering tasks |
| Delivery | Online proctored or test centre |
| Languages | English, Japanese, Portuguese (BR), Korean |
| Test aids | None permitted |
| Passing score | Not published by Databricks |
Databricks notes that unscored items are included for statistical purposes and do not affect your score, so the paper may run longer than 45 questions.
Section weighting
| Section | Weight | Approx. scored questions |
|---|---|---|
| Databricks Intelligence Platform | 6% | ~3 |
| Data Ingestion and Loading | 21% | ~9 |
| Data Transformation and Modeling | 22% | ~10 |
| Working with Lakeflow Jobs | 16% | ~7 |
| Governance and Security | 15% | ~7 |
| Implementing CI/CD | 10% | ~5 |
| Troubleshooting, Monitoring, and Optimization | 10% | ~5 |
Counts derived from Databricks’ percentages against 45 scored questions.
Seven sections is unusually granular, and the effect is that no section dominates. The largest is 22%; the smallest is 6%. There is no single area to concentrate on and no area safe to skip entirely — though the 6% platform section is worth roughly three questions and should not consume a week.
The natural grouping is: ingestion plus transformation is 43% and is the heart of the exam. Everything else — orchestration, governance, CI/CD, troubleshooting — fills the remaining 51% in modest slices.
Two minutes per question
45 scored questions in 90 minutes. Comfortable, and multiple choice only means no all-or-nothing formats.
No prerequisites, but experience assumed
Databricks requires nothing at registration. What it recommends is hands-on experience with the tasks in the exam guide, and that recommendation carries weight: the questions test platform operation rather than theory. Knowing what a medallion architecture is will not help if you have never written to a Delta table.
The passing score is not published
Databricks does not publish one. Treat specific figures found elsewhere with caution unless they cite Databricks directly. Target consistent 80%+ on realistic practice material.
Two-year validity
Recertification is required every two years. Shorter than AWS’s three years — factor in the recurring commitment.
What the exam is really about
The phrase in Databricks’ own description is introductory data engineering tasks. In practice that means: get data in, transform it reliably, schedule it, govern it, and know what to do when it breaks.
Delta Lake, Unity Catalog and Lakeflow Jobs run through the whole syllabus. If your preparation does not involve actually using those three, it is not preparation for this exam.
Booking
Book through Databricks. Nothing gates registration.