Cloud certificationsAWSDeveloper Associate
AWS · DVA-C02
Updated April 2026

AWS Developer Associate Study Plan (DVA-C02)

The AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02) validates ability to develop, deploy, and maintain applications on AWS. Heavy focus on Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, IAM, and CI/CD. Upload the free DVA-C02 exam guide PDF and exclam.ai builds a fully guided study plan.

Typical prep
~80h
Timeline
~8w
Exam fee
$150 USD
Level
associate
DVA-C02 in 14 days? Retaker or sprinting to a registered date — see the cram plan + retaker advice.See cram options
Plan setup
ExamSun, Jul 19, 2026· Week 88 weeks · ~10h/week

DVA-C02 activity tracker

A visual preview of how exclam.ai turns a 8-week DVA-C02 plan into daily domain coverage, flashcard, quiz, review, and mock streaks. Adjust the start date and review week to fit your exam timeline.

Preview · planner-style activity
0 / 4
EP today
4d
projected
39
study days
10h
80h total
8w
to exam
JunJul
lighter dayfull targetforecastModule startReviewMocksExam

Exam format

65 questions, 130 minutes, multiple choice and multiple response.

Prerequisites

None officially. Recommended 1+ years of software development experience with AWS.

Exam fee

$150 USD

Developer Associate exam domains

The 4 domains tested on DVA-C02, with approximate weights from the official exam guide. exclam.ai weights your study plan according to these percentages.

DomainApproximate weight
Development with AWS Services32%
Security26%
Deployment24%
Troubleshooting and Optimization18%

Source: official DVA-C02 exam guide published by Amazon Web Services.

Suggested 8-week schedule, module-by-module

How the 4-domain DVA-C02 plan distributes across 8 weeks at the start date you picked above. Heavier-weight domains get more time; lighter ones may pair into a single week. Adjust the controls in the tracker to re-slot review and mocks.

Module 1 of 4
Week 1
Exam weight 32%

Development with AWS Services

Cover Development with AWS Services end-to-end. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.

Module 2 of 4
Week 2
Exam weight 26%

Security

Cover Security end-to-end. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.

Module 3 of 4
Week 3
Exam weight 24%

Deployment

Cover Deployment end-to-end. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.

Module 4 of 4
Week 4
Exam weight 18%

Troubleshooting and Optimization

Cover Troubleshooting and Optimization end-to-end. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.

Phase: Review
Weeks 5–6

Review

Weak-topic drilling. exclam.ai surfaces topics where you underperformed during coverage and re-quizzes them. Daily FSRS flashcard reps across all 4 topics to prevent decay. Start doing timed question batches focused on the heaviest-weight sections.

Phase: Mocks
Weeks 7–8

Mocks

Full-length DVA-C02 practice exams under timed conditions. Target one mock every 3–5 days. Same-day error review: for every question you miss, re-derive the solution from scratch. Taper in the final 3 days — light flashcards only.

Free official exam guide

Upload the DVA-C02 exam guide and exclam.ai builds your plan

Amazon Web Services publishes the DVA-C02 exam guide as a free PDF. Download it, upload it to exclam.ai, and get a fully guided study plan with adaptive flashcards and quizzes in minutes.

How exclam.ai helps with DVA-C02

Flashcards per domain

Upload the DVA-C02 exam guide and exclam.ai generates flashcards for each of the 4 domains, mapped to the approximate exam weights.

Practice quizzes with exam-weighted sampling

Quizzes pull more questions from heavier domains. exclam.ai tracks which domains you're weakest on and weights future practice accordingly.

~8-week adaptive schedule

Coverage phase, review phase, and mocks — distributed across your target timeline. Falls behind automatically rebalance without re-planning.

Popular DVA-C02 study vendors

exclam.ai works alongside whichever video course or practice exam provider you prefer. We do not reproduce or redistribute any commercial prep content, upload your own notes taken while studying.

Stéphane Maarek (Udemy)
Upload your notes · Works with exclam.ai
Adrian Cantrill
Upload your notes · Works with exclam.ai
Tutorials Dojo practice exams
Upload your notes · Works with exclam.ai
A Cloud Guru
Upload your notes · Works with exclam.ai

DVA-C02 questions

How is DVA-C02 different from SAA-C03?

DVA focuses on application development on AWS (Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, SDK usage, CI/CD pipelines). SAA focuses on architectural design across the full AWS service catalog. There is roughly 40% overlap. Most candidates take SAA first then DVA.

Do I need to know a specific programming language?

No. The exam is language-agnostic — you need to understand AWS SDK concepts and CLI commands, not write code in a specific language. Familiarity with Python, JavaScript, or Java SDKs helps contextually.

DVA-C02 study plans by duration

Pick the timeline that matches your exam date. Each plan distributes ~80 hours across the 4 DVA-C02 domains in syllabus order, with review and mock phases following coverage.

Start your DVA-C02 plan today

Upload the free AWS DVA-C02 exam guide and exclam.ai builds a fully guided study plan. Free to start.

See pricing