PracticeVideosBlogFlashcardsEspañol
All Practice Exams

Free Practice Questions for AWS Developer

Exam-style questions and explanations by OpenExamPrep.

✓ No registration✓ No credit card
200+ Questions
100% Free

Loading practice questions...

Same family resources

Explore More AWS Certifications

Continue into nearby exams from the same family. Each card keeps practice questions, study guides, flashcards, videos, and articles in one place.

AWS Cloud Practitioner

Practice Questions200 questionsStudy GuideCheat SheetFlashcards50 cardsCourse Playlist54 videosVideos4 videosBlogs5 blogsFree CE

AWS Certified AI Practitioner

Practice Questions100 questionsStudy GuideCheat SheetFlashcards50 cardsVideos4 videosBlogs4 blogsFree CE

AWS Solutions Architect

Practice Questions200 questionsStudy GuideCheat SheetFlashcards50 cardsVideos2 videosBlogs3 blogsFree CE

AWS Data Engineer

Practice Questions200 questionsStudy GuideBlogs1 blogFree CE

AWS Certified Security – Specialty (SCS-C03)

Practice Questions121 questionsStudy GuideVideos1 videoBlogs1 blogFree CE

AWS Solutions Architect Pro

Practice Questions234 questionsStudy GuideFree CE

More From This Family

Videos and articles for deeper review.

VideoAWS AI Practitioner Bedrock, RAG and Responsible AI Guide 2026VideoAWS AI Practitioner Question Types and Practice Strategy (2026)VideoAWS AI Practitioner vs Azure AI Fundamentals: Which AI Certification in 2026VideoAWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) Exam Guide 2026: FREE Study Plan, Bedrock Deep Dive, Pass RateArticleFREE AWS Solutions Architect Associate SAA-C03 Exam Guide 2026: Blueprint, Study Plan, Pass Rate28 min readArticleAzure vs AWS Certification 2026: Which Cloud Cert Should You Get First?18 min readArticleAWS Certified AI Practitioner (AIF-C01) Exam Guide 2026: FREE Study Plan, Bedrock Deep Dive, Pass Rate32 min readArticleFREE AWS Data Engineer DEA-C01 Exam Guide 2026: Pass First Try30 min read
Exam Review

Key Facts: AWS Developer Exam

65

Total Questions

50 scored + 15 unscored

720/1000

Passing Score

AWS (scaled)

130 min

Exam Duration

AWS

$150

Exam Fee

AWS

32%

Development Weight

Largest domain

3 years

Certification Validity

AWS

The AWS Certified Developer Associate (DVA-C02) exam has 65 questions (50 scored + 15 unscored) in 130 minutes with a passing score of 720/1000. Key domains: Development with AWS Services (32%), Security (26%), Deployment (24%), and Troubleshooting (18%). Recommended: 1+ years hands-on AWS development experience. Exam fee is $150. Certification valid for 3 years. AWS has announced the next version, DVA-C03: registration opens October 27, 2026, and December 1, 2026 is the last day to take DVA-C02.

Sample AWS Developer Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the AWS Developer exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 200+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1A developer is configuring an AWS Lambda function to process images uploaded to Amazon S3. The function needs to access an Amazon RDS database in a private subnet. What configuration is required?
A.Enable public access on the RDS database
B.Configure the Lambda function with VPC access and appropriate security groups
C.Use AWS Direct Connect to connect Lambda to the RDS instance
D.Store database credentials in the Lambda function code
Explanation: To access resources in a private subnet like Amazon RDS, a Lambda function must be configured with VPC access. This involves specifying the VPC ID, subnets, and security groups that allow the Lambda function to communicate with the RDS instance. The security groups must permit outbound traffic from Lambda to the database port, and the RDS security group must allow inbound traffic from the Lambda security group. Public access should never be enabled on RDS for security reasons, and storing credentials in code is a security anti-pattern.
2A Lambda function is experiencing cold starts that are impacting user experience. Which approach will help reduce cold start latency?
A.Increase the function timeout to maximum
B.Use provisioned concurrency to keep functions initialized
C.Deploy the function in multiple regions
D.Enable AWS X-Ray tracing
Explanation: Provisioned concurrency initializes a specified number of function instances so they are ready to respond immediately to incoming requests. This eliminates cold starts for that concurrency level. Increasing timeout does not reduce cold start time. Deploying in multiple regions does not address the cold start issue. X-Ray tracing helps with observability but does not improve performance.
3What is the maximum execution timeout for an AWS Lambda function?
A.5 minutes (300 seconds)
B.15 minutes (900 seconds)
C.30 minutes (1800 seconds)
D.1 hour (3600 seconds)
Explanation: AWS Lambda functions have a maximum execution timeout of 15 minutes (900 seconds). This limit was increased from 5 minutes in 2018. For workloads requiring longer execution times, consider using AWS Step Functions to orchestrate multiple Lambda functions, or use AWS Fargate for containerized long-running tasks.
4A developer needs to pass environment-specific configuration to a Lambda function without modifying the deployment package. What is the best approach?
A.Hardcode the values in the function code
B.Use Lambda environment variables
C.Store configuration in the function description
D.Create separate function versions for each environment
Explanation: Lambda environment variables are key-value pairs that can be configured separately from the function code, allowing the same deployment package to run in different environments with different configurations. This follows the 12-factor app methodology. Hardcoding values makes the code inflexible. The description field is not suitable for configuration. Creating separate versions for each environment is an anti-pattern.
5An API Gateway endpoint needs to throttle requests to prevent overloading a backend Lambda function. What feature should be used?
A.AWS WAF rate limiting rules
B.API Gateway usage plans and API keys
C.Enable caching on the API Gateway
D.Use a Network Load Balancer in front of API Gateway
Explanation: API Gateway usage plans allow you to specify throttling and quota limits for API consumers. You can set request rate limits (requests per second) and burst limits. While AWS WAF can also provide rate limiting, usage plans are the native API Gateway feature designed specifically for API throttling and quota management. Caching improves performance but does not throttle requests.
6Which API Gateway endpoint type is best for a public-facing REST API that needs to be accessed from the internet with the lowest latency?
A.Private API endpoint
B.Regional API endpoint
C.Edge-optimized API endpoint
D.VPC endpoint
Explanation: Edge-optimized API endpoints use Amazon CloudFront to route requests to the nearest CloudFront edge location, reducing latency for geographically distributed clients. Regional endpoints are accessed directly and are best for clients in the same region. Private APIs are only accessible within a VPC. VPC endpoints provide private connectivity to AWS services.
7A developer needs to transform an XML response from a backend service to JSON before returning it to the client using API Gateway. What feature should be used?
A.Lambda authorizer
B.Mapping templates
C.API Gateway caching
D.Proxy integration
Explanation: API Gateway mapping templates allow you to transform the payload format using the Velocity Template Language (VTL). You can transform XML to JSON, filter fields, or restructure data. Lambda authorizers are for authentication. Caching improves performance. Proxy integration passes requests through without transformation.
8A DynamoDB table is experiencing throttling errors during peak traffic. The table is using on-demand capacity. What is the most effective solution?
A.Switch to provisioned capacity with auto scaling
B.Implement exponential backoff with jitter in the application
C.Increase the read and write capacity units manually
D.Enable DynamoDB Streams
Explanation: When using on-demand capacity, DynamoDB automatically scales to accommodate your workload. However, if traffic exceeds the current capacity, throttling can occur. The best practice is to implement exponential backoff with jitter in your application to handle temporary throttling gracefully. On-demand capacity does not require manual capacity unit adjustments. DynamoDB Streams is for change data capture, not performance.
9Which DynamoDB feature provides a fully managed in-memory cache for microsecond latency?
A.DynamoDB Streams
B.DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX)
C.Global Tables
D.On-demand capacity
Explanation: DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) is a fully managed, highly available, in-memory cache that reduces DynamoDB response times from single-digit milliseconds to microseconds. DAX is API-compatible with DynamoDB, so no code changes are required. DynamoDB Streams captures item-level changes. Global Tables provide multi-region replication. On-demand capacity is a billing mode.
10An application needs to retrieve items from a DynamoDB table using attributes other than the primary key. What should the developer implement?
A.Use the GetItem API with a filter expression
B.Create a Global Secondary Index (GSI)
C.Perform a full table scan with pagination
D.Change the primary key structure
Explanation: Global Secondary Indexes (GSIs) allow you to query data using alternate keys different from the primary key. GSIs enable flexible query patterns without scanning the entire table. GetItem only retrieves items by primary key. Full table scans are inefficient and should be avoided for production queries. Changing the primary key structure would require recreating the table.

About the AWS Developer Exam

The AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) exam validates technical expertise in developing, deploying, and debugging cloud-based applications using AWS. It covers Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, S3, ECS/EKS, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-native development best practices.

Exam sponsor: Amazon Web Services / Pearson VUE. The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Questions

65 questions

Time Limit

130 minutes

Passing Score

720/1000 (scaled)

Exam / Certification Fees

$150

Exam sponsor website

Reported exam pass rate: Not published. AWS does not publish exam-level pass-rate percentages. Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

32%

Development with AWS Services

Lambda functions, DynamoDB operations, API Gateway, S3, SDK usage, stateless design, and async processing patterns

26%

Security

IAM policies and roles, KMS encryption, Cognito authentication, Secrets Manager, and security best practices

24%

Deployment

CI/CD pipelines (CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy), Elastic Beanstalk, CloudFormation, SAM, container deployments

18%

Troubleshooting and Optimization

CloudWatch Logs/Metrics, X-Ray tracing, root cause analysis, performance optimization, caching strategies

Preparing for the AWS Developer Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: 720/1000 (scaled)
  • Exam length: 65 questions
  • Time limit: 130 minutes
  • Exam / certification fees: $150 Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

  • Work through all 200 available questions
  • Review every answer and explanation
  • Track weak areas and revisit them
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

AWS Developer: Suggested Study Strategy

1Master Lambda development — know triggers, event structure, concurrency, and deployment packaging
2Understand DynamoDB deeply — partition keys, sort keys, GSIs, LSIs, and capacity modes
3Learn API Gateway — REST vs HTTP APIs, throttling, caching, and integration types
4Study IAM policies and roles — understand trust policies, permission boundaries, and best practices
5Practice CI/CD with CodePipeline, CodeBuild, and CodeDeploy for automated deployments
6Know CloudFormation and SAM for infrastructure as code and serverless application deployment
7Learn X-Ray and CloudWatch for debugging distributed applications and tracing requests

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the AWS Developer Associate exam?

The AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) validates technical expertise in developing cloud applications on AWS. It covers writing code for serverless applications, working with AWS services and APIs, implementing CI/CD pipelines, and applying security best practices.

How many questions are on the AWS Developer Associate exam?

The exam has 65 questions (50 scored + 15 unscored pretest) in 130 minutes. It uses a scaled scoring system with 720/1000 as the passing score. Questions are multiple choice and multiple response, focusing on real-world development scenarios.

What experience is recommended for the AWS Developer Associate?

AWS recommends 1+ years of hands-on experience developing and maintaining AWS-based applications. You should be proficient in at least one high-level programming language, understand core AWS services, and have experience with CI/CD pipelines and cloud-native development patterns.

What is the largest domain on the AWS Developer exam?

Development with AWS Services is the largest domain at 32%. It covers Lambda development, DynamoDB operations, API Gateway configuration, S3 interactions, and using AWS SDKs effectively. This domain focuses heavily on writing code and implementing serverless architectures.

How should I prepare for the AWS Developer Associate exam?

Plan for 60-80 hours of study over 4-6 weeks. Focus on hands-on practice with Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, and CI/CD tools. Build real projects using SAM or CloudFormation. Study IAM policies, KMS encryption, and Cognito for security. Complete 200+ practice questions and aim for 80%+ before scheduling.