# How to Prepare for the CCDV-F Exam | Your AI Department > A four-week CCDV-F plan built on the public blueprint: applications and integration 33.1%, model selection 16.8%, agents 14.7%, then the small domains. Source: https://youraidept.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-the-ccdv-f-exam [Back to Insights](https://youraidept.com/blog) October 15, 2026 6 min read # How to Prepare for CCDV-F: A Four-Week Plan Built on the Blueprint [Michael Greenberg](https://youraidept.com/about/michael-greenberg) Co-Founder & AI Product Lead ## The Bottom Line 1 A third of CCDV-F is applications and integration. Add model selection and agents, and three domains carry 64.6% of the marks. 2 Build one script and grow it: streaming and every stop_reason in week one, caching, batches and a PDF in week two, an agent loop and an eval in week three. 3 53 questions in 120 minutes, closed-book, 720 to pass. Spend the last week timed, and let your misses decide what you reread. [Read the CCDV-F exam guide](https://youraidept.com/network/ccdv-f) CCDV-F is Anthropic's certification for developers who build applications on Claude, and its blueprint is public. Eight domains, weighted very unevenly: applications and integration 33.1%, model selection and optimization 16.8%, agents and workflows 14.7%, prompt and context engineering 11%, tools and MCPs 10.6%, security and safety 8.1%, Claude Code 3.1%, and eval, testing, and debugging 2.6%. The weights are the plan. Here is how I would spend four weeks on it, following the same study path as our [CCDV-F exam guide](https://youraidept.com/network/ccdv-f). ## Where the marks are Applications and integration alone is a third of the exam, and with model selection and agents, three domains carry 64.6% of the marks. Claude Code and evals together are under 6%. The most common mistake is preparing as if this were the architect exam. CCAR-F rewards design judgment; CCDV-F asks whether you know what the API actually does and what your code should do with it. The exam guide describes its target candidate as someone with six months of hands-on work with Claude or comparable LLM systems. If most of your experience is prompting in a chat window, the plan below is how you get that experience on purpose. ## Week 1: the Messages API, end to end Read the exam guide, then the Messages API reference. Build one script that streams a response, calls a tool, and handles every stop_reason: end_turn, max_tokens, tool_use and stop_sequence. Know what each one means and what your code should do next. That question comes up in many forms in the integration domain. Then the failure paths: status codes, rate limits, retries with exponential backoff, and why anything that writes has to be safe to retry. ## Week 2: the features your own project never needed Add prompt caching, a batch job and a PDF input to the same script, and measure the cost before and after caching. These are the parts candidates skip because their day-to-day work never touched them, and they are squarely in the blueprint: the Batch API for high-volume work that can wait, the Files API for reusing uploads, cache breakpoints and minimum lengths, and structured output through tool definitions. Model selection belongs in this week too. Know the trade-off across the model family, why output tokens dominate latency, when an extended thinking budget pays for itself, and why deterministic tasks want a low temperature. ## Week 3: an agent loop, then an eval Write the agent loop by hand: send messages, detect tool_use blocks, run the tool, append a tool_result with the matching id, and repeat until end_turn or a turn cap. Then rebuild it with the Claude Agent SDK, so you know what it handles for you: the loop, tools, permissions, hooks and subagents. Add an eval with a small golden set, so a prompt change that breaks something shows up as a failing test. Evals are the smallest domain on the exam, but building one is how you learn to debug the agent, and that helps everywhere else. Keep security in view while you build. Treat tool results and retrieved documents as data, not instructions. Give tools the least privilege they need, and validate output before anything is executed, sent or stored. ## Week 4: timed practice and closed-book review Work through the Partner Academy prep course, then sit a timed practice exam. 53 questions in 120 minutes is a little over two minutes each. Do at least one full run of [our free CCDV-F practice exam](https://youraidept.com/network/ccdv-f-practice-exam), which is scored on the same 100 to 1,000 scale against the 720 pass mark, and review every miss. Then drill the weak domains with [the free CCDV-F practice questions](https://youraidept.com/network/ccdv-f-practice-questions), where every answer comes with its reasoning, and reread the API reference closed-book. Whatever you cannot reproduce from memory is your reading list for the last day. More than 250 people have started that practice exam since it launched in September, and more than 180 finished a full timed run (counts as of October 15, 2026). ## Format things to know before you book It is proctored and closed-book, with no AI assistance, delivered by Pearson VUE online or at a test center, and the fee is $125 per attempt. You can take up to 4 attempts in a rolling 12 months, with waits of 14, 30 and then 90 days. A failed first attempt costs two weeks and another fee, and tells you exactly which domain to fix. The credential is valid for 12 months. Renewing on time is a free assessment; letting it lapse means sitting the full exam again. ## Where the official prep lives The official prep course is in the Anthropic Partner Academy, which you reach through a Claude Partner Network organization, and it follows the same blueprint as the exam. If you are independent, YAID members get Academy access and register for the exam under our partner standing. The full path is in our [certification guide](https://youraidept.com/network/claude-certification). [Get exam-eligible through YAID](https://youraidept.com/network/apply?ref=blog-prep) ## Questions people ask ### How long does it take to prepare for CCDV-F? Plan on about four weeks of focused study if you already build with the Claude API. The exam guide describes its target candidate as someone with six months of hands-on work with Claude or comparable LLM systems, so budget longer if most of your experience is prompting. ### How many questions are on the CCDV-F exam? 53 questions in 120 minutes, proctored and closed-book with no AI assistance. You need 720 on a 100 to 1,000 scale to pass. ### Which CCDV-F domains matter most? Applications and integration (33.1%), model selection and optimization (16.8%) and agents and workflows (14.7%) carry 64.6% of the marks between them. Claude Code and evals together are under 6%. ### Are there free CCDV-F practice questions? Yes. YAID publishes 60 original CCDV-F practice questions with answers and explanations, and a free timed practice exam scored on the exam's 100 to 1,000 scale. Neither needs a sign-up. ### Want to sit the exam? YAID members get exam-eligible under our Claude Partner Network standing. $149 per quarter, exam fee separate. [Apply to YAID](https://youraidept.com/network/apply?ref=blog) Share this analysis ccdv-f claude certified developer exam prep claude api ## Related Insights [CCAR-F vs CCDV-F: How to Pick Your First Claude Certification CCDV-F tests hands-on building; CCAR-F tests system design. The domain weights, the target candidates, and a simple rule for choosing which Claude exam to sit first. Read Analysis](https://youraidept.com/blog/ccar-f-vs-ccdv-f-which-claude-certification-first)[We Built Free Timed Practice Exams for All Four Claude Certifications Full-length timed mocks for CCAR-F, CCDV-F, CCAO-F and CCAR-P, drawn to the published domain weights and scored against the 720 pass mark, with no sign-up. Read Analysis](https://youraidept.com/blog/free-claude-certification-practice-exams)[You Can't Just Sign Up for Claude Certification. Here's How Access Works. There is no individual enrollment for Anthropic's Claude certifications. The three routes to exam eligibility, what each costs, and who owns the credential. Read Analysis](https://youraidept.com/blog/how-claude-certification-access-works)