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100+ Free AWS Machine Learning Specialty Practice Questions

Pass your AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty (MLS-C01) exam on the first try — instant access, no signup required.

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A data scientist needs to use word embeddings to capture semantic relationships between words (e.g., 'king' - 'man' + 'woman' = 'queen'). Which SageMaker built-in algorithm can generate these word embeddings?

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B
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to track
2026 Statistics

Key Facts: AWS Machine Learning Specialty Exam

65

Total Questions

AWS exam guide (50 scored + 15 unscored)

180 min

Exam Time

AWS MLS-C01 exam guide

750/1000

Passing Score

AWS scaled scoring model

$300

Exam Fee

AWS certification pricing

36%

Modeling Domain Weight

Largest domain on MLS-C01

Mar 31, 2026

Last Day to Test

AWS certification retirement notice

The AWS Machine Learning Specialty (MLS-C01) requires a scaled score of 750/1000 to pass. The exam has 65 questions (50 scored + 15 unscored) in 180 minutes. Domain 3 (Modeling) is the largest at 36%, followed by Exploratory Data Analysis (24%), Data Engineering (20%), and ML Implementation and Operations (20%). AWS recommends 2+ years of ML/deep learning experience on AWS. The exam fee is $300. Last day to test is March 31, 2026.

Sample AWS Machine Learning Specialty Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your AWS Machine Learning Specialty exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1A data engineer needs to ingest real-time clickstream data from a web application into an ML pipeline for near-real-time feature generation. Which AWS service is most appropriate for ingesting this streaming data?
A.AWS Glue ETL
B.Amazon Kinesis Data Streams
C.AWS Data Pipeline
D.Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration
Explanation: Amazon Kinesis Data Streams captures and processes streaming data in real time. It can handle high-throughput clickstream data with sub-second latency, making it ideal for near-real-time ML feature generation pipelines.
2A data scientist needs to store large datasets for ML training. The data consists of structured CSV files, semi-structured JSON logs, and unstructured image files. Which storage solution provides the best foundation for an ML data lake?
A.Amazon RDS for structured data and EFS for images
B.Amazon S3 as a unified data lake with appropriate prefixes
C.Amazon DynamoDB for all data types
D.Amazon Redshift for all data storage
Explanation: Amazon S3 is the foundation for AWS data lakes and ML workflows. It handles structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data at any scale. S3 integrates natively with SageMaker, Glue, Athena, and other ML services, making it the standard choice for ML data storage.
3A data engineer needs to transform raw CSV files in S3 into Parquet format with schema validation before they are used for ML training. Which serverless ETL service should be used?
A.Amazon EMR Serverless
B.AWS Glue ETL
C.Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
D.AWS Lambda
Explanation: AWS Glue is a fully managed, serverless ETL service that can crawl data to infer schemas, transform data formats (CSV to Parquet), apply schema validation, and write outputs to S3. It integrates with the Glue Data Catalog for metadata management.
4A data engineer needs to orchestrate a complex ML data pipeline that includes data ingestion from multiple sources, transformation, feature engineering, and loading into a feature store. The pipeline should run on a schedule and handle dependencies between steps. Which AWS service should orchestrate this pipeline?
A.Amazon EventBridge Scheduler
B.AWS Step Functions
C.AWS Glue Workflows
D.Amazon SageMaker Pipelines
Explanation: AWS Glue Workflows orchestrate complex ETL pipelines with multiple crawlers, jobs, and triggers. They manage dependencies between steps, support scheduled and on-demand execution, and provide visual monitoring of the entire data pipeline flow.
5A data engineer is building an ML pipeline and needs to process streaming data using Apache Spark for real-time feature computation. The solution should be fully managed and scale automatically. Which AWS service should be used?
A.Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics for Apache Flink
B.Amazon EMR with Apache Spark Structured Streaming
C.Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink
D.AWS Lambda with Kinesis event source
Explanation: Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink (formerly Kinesis Data Analytics for Apache Flink) provides fully managed, auto-scaling stream processing. It supports complex event processing and feature computation on streaming data with exactly-once processing guarantees.
6A data engineer needs to catalog all datasets stored across multiple S3 buckets so that data scientists can discover and understand available data for ML experiments. Which AWS service provides automated data cataloging?
A.Amazon Athena
B.AWS Glue Data Catalog with crawlers
C.Amazon Redshift Spectrum
D.AWS Lake Formation
Explanation: AWS Glue crawlers automatically scan data in S3, infer schemas, and populate the Glue Data Catalog with metadata including table definitions, column names, data types, and partition information. This creates a searchable catalog for data discovery.
7A data engineer is designing a data pipeline that processes 500 TB of historical log data for ML model training. The processing requires complex joins and aggregations using Apache Spark. Which AWS service provides the best performance for this large-scale batch processing?
A.AWS Lambda
B.AWS Glue ETL
C.Amazon EMR with Apache Spark
D.Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics
Explanation: Amazon EMR provides managed Apache Spark clusters optimized for large-scale data processing. For 500 TB of data requiring complex joins and aggregations, EMR offers the fine-grained control over cluster sizing, instance types, and Spark configurations needed for optimal performance.
8A data engineer needs to ensure that an S3 data lake supports ACID transactions for ML pipelines that perform concurrent reads and writes. Which table format should be used?
A.Standard CSV files with S3 versioning
B.Apache Iceberg or Delta Lake table format
C.Amazon DynamoDB as a replacement for S3
D.S3 Object Lock with governance mode
Explanation: Apache Iceberg and Delta Lake are open table formats that add ACID transaction support to data lakes on S3. They enable concurrent reads and writes, time travel, schema evolution, and partition management — essential for reliable ML data pipelines.
9A data engineer needs to load streaming data from Amazon Kinesis Data Streams directly into S3 in Parquet format with automatic batching and compression. Which service provides this delivery capability?
A.AWS Lambda consumer
B.Amazon Data Firehose
C.Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics
D.AWS Glue Streaming ETL
Explanation: Amazon Data Firehose (formerly Kinesis Data Firehose) can read from Kinesis Data Streams and deliver data to S3 with automatic batching, compression (Gzip, Snappy), and format conversion to Parquet or ORC using the Glue Data Catalog schema. This requires no custom code.
10A data engineer needs to securely share ML training datasets across multiple AWS accounts within an organization without copying the data. Which AWS service provides cross-account data sharing?
A.S3 cross-region replication
B.AWS Lake Formation with cross-account data sharing
C.Amazon S3 public access
D.AWS DataSync
Explanation: AWS Lake Formation supports cross-account data sharing that grants fine-grained access to data in the Glue Data Catalog without copying. Consumer accounts can query shared datasets directly, maintaining a single source of truth.

About the AWS Machine Learning Specialty Exam

The AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty (MLS-C01) validates expertise in building, training, tuning, and deploying ML models on AWS. The exam covers data engineering, exploratory data analysis, modeling, and ML implementation and operations. This certification is retiring March 31, 2026 — earned credentials remain active for 3 years.

Questions

65 scored questions

Time Limit

3 hours

Passing Score

750/1000

Exam Fee

$300 (Amazon Web Services (AWS))

AWS Machine Learning Specialty Exam Content Outline

20%

Data Engineering

Data repositories, ingestion pipelines (Kinesis, Glue, EMR), data transformation, ETL processes, and storage solutions for ML workloads

24%

Exploratory Data Analysis

Data cleaning, feature engineering, data visualization, statistical analysis, handling missing and imbalanced data

36%

Modeling

Framing business problems as ML problems, algorithm selection, model training with SageMaker, hyperparameter tuning, and model evaluation

20%

ML Implementation and Operations

Model deployment, inference pipelines, A/B testing, monitoring, scaling, security, and operationalizing ML solutions

How to Pass the AWS Machine Learning Specialty Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: 750/1000
  • Exam length: 65 questions
  • Time limit: 3 hours
  • Exam fee: $300

Keys to Passing

  • Complete 500+ practice questions
  • Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
  • Focus on highest-weighted sections
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

AWS Machine Learning Specialty Study Tips from Top Performers

1Focus on Modeling (36%) — master SageMaker built-in algorithms, training jobs, hyperparameter tuning, and model evaluation metrics
2Know when to use each SageMaker algorithm: XGBoost for tabular data, Linear Learner for regression/classification, DeepAR for time series, BlazingText for NLP
3Study Exploratory Data Analysis deeply (24%): feature engineering, handling missing data, normalization, PCA, and data visualization
4Understand data engineering pipelines: Kinesis for streaming, Glue for ETL, EMR for large-scale processing, S3 for storage
5Master deployment patterns: real-time endpoints, batch transform, multi-model endpoints, and A/B testing with production variants
6Review ML operations: model monitoring with Model Monitor, retraining triggers, and pipeline automation with SageMaker Pipelines
7Practice with timed 65-question sessions to build pacing discipline for the 3-hour exam

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the AWS Machine Learning Specialty exam?

The MLS-C01 exam has 65 total questions: 50 scored items and 15 unscored pretest questions. You have 180 minutes (3 hours) to complete the exam. Questions are either multiple choice (one correct answer) or multiple response (two or more correct answers). Unscored questions are not identified during the exam.

What score do I need to pass the AWS MLS-C01 exam?

You need a minimum scaled score of 750 out of 1000 to pass. AWS uses a compensatory scoring model, meaning you do not need to pass each domain individually — your overall score determines the result. Scores are reported on a scale of 100 to 1000.

What are the four domains of the MLS-C01 exam?

The four domains are: Domain 1 — Data Engineering (20%): data ingestion, transformation, and storage; Domain 2 — Exploratory Data Analysis (24%): data cleaning, feature engineering, and visualization; Domain 3 — Modeling (36%): algorithm selection, training, hyperparameter tuning, and evaluation; Domain 4 — ML Implementation and Operations (20%): deployment, monitoring, and operationalizing ML solutions.

Is the AWS Machine Learning Specialty exam retiring?

Yes. AWS announced that the MLS-C01 exam is retiring with March 31, 2026 as the last day to test. Certification holders will still have an active certification for 3 years from the date earned. AWS recommends transitioning to the AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate or AWS Certified AI Practitioner certifications.

How much does the AWS Machine Learning Specialty exam cost?

The MLS-C01 exam costs $300 USD. If you already hold an active AWS certification, you are eligible for a 50% discount on your next exam. Retakes also cost $300, and you must wait 14 days before retaking after a failed attempt.

How should I prepare for the AWS Machine Learning Specialty exam in 2026?

Focus on Modeling (36%) as the largest domain. Master SageMaker built-in algorithms (XGBoost, Linear Learner, DeepAR, BlazingText). Study data engineering with Glue, Kinesis, and EMR. Practice feature engineering and data preparation techniques. Understand deployment patterns including endpoints, batch transform, and inference pipelines. Complete 100+ practice questions scoring 80%+ before scheduling.