How much the CCAR-F exam costs
Last verified October 27, 2026. Sources: Anthropic Partner Academy certification FAQ, Pearson VUE program page, Exam Guide v1.0.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Exam fee | $125 USD per attempt (it was $99 until delivery moved to Pearson VUE on June 30, 2026) |
| Tiered partners (Select, Preferred, Global Premier) | 50% off at checkout |
| Global Premier partners | $0 through December 31, 2026 |
| Retake | Full fee again, after a waiting period of 14, 30 then 90 days; at most 4 attempts in a rolling 12 months |
| Renewal | Free if you renew on time with the non-proctored assessment; lapse and you pay for the full exam again |
| Reschedule or cancel | Free up to 24 hours before; inside 24 hours you forfeit the fee |
What the $125 actually buys
One sitting, delivered by Pearson VUE either online proctored or at a test center, a scaled score on the 100–1,000 range, pass or fail at 720, and a domain-by-domain percentage on the report. The credential is valid for 12 months.
The hidden cost is the retake
A fail costs $125 plus a 14-day wait, and the second fail pushes the next wait to 30 days. The guide says the sample questions are easier than the real items, and candidates who passed say several options looked right until one scenario detail decided. That is why prep is worth more than its sticker price: a $12 bank that gets you an 800 on a fresh form is cheaper than one retake.
What is free
- The Exam Guide PDF, with 12 official sample questions and the full list of 30 task statements.
- Anthropic's public courses on Claude Academy (Building with the Claude API, Claude Code in Action, Introduction to Agent Skills, Introduction to Model Context Protocol).
- On MockCerts: the 25-question diagnostic, a full-length 60-item timed mock, and the 12 official samples with per-option explanations.
What is not free, and whether it is worth it
Most paid banks cost $10–$20. Pay for one only if it gives you something the free material does not: items you have not seen, multiple-response practice, scenario forms that mimic the real draw, and explanations for every option. The MockCerts full bank is $12 one-time: four more fixed mocks, randomized forms from a 420-item pool, and a readiness band that tells you when a score is inflated by repeats.