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HashiCorp Certified Terraform Associate

A multiple-choice certification validating foundational Terraform skills — infrastructure as code concepts, the core workflow, configuration language, modules, and state management.

HashiCorp
Exam cost
$70.50 USD plus applicable taxes
src
HashiCorp Developer — Infrastructure Automation Certification page (developer.hashicorp.com/certifications/infrastructure-automation)
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Duration
1 hour
Passing score
Not publicly disclosed by HashiCorp (scaled scoring model)
Valid for
2 years

The Terraform Associate is the common entry-level infrastructure-as-code certification for DevOps and platform engineers. It is deliberately broad rather than deep: one hour, multiple choice, testing whether you understand Terraform's core workflow, configuration language, modules and state well enough to use it safely on a team.

The weights on this page are ours, not HashiCorp's

HashiCorp does not publish percentage weights per objective, unlike the Linux Foundation for the CKA. The eight objectives above come directly from HashiCorp's own exam review, but the percentages are SkillPilot's estimate, calculated proportionally from the number of published sub-objectives in each domain so study time can be allocated sensibly.

Treat them as a prioritisation aid, not an official figure. What is safe to conclude is directional: Terraform Configuration and Core Workflow carry the largest share of sub-objectives and are the safest places to over-invest.

Which version to study

The 003 exam retired on 8 January 2026. TA-004 is the current version, and study material written for 003 is now out of date — a real risk, because a great deal of third-party CKA-style prep content for Terraform still targets the retired exam. Check the version on anything you buy.

What the exam is actually like

It rewards having typed the commands. The questions describe a situation and ask which command applies. Someone who has run terraform plan and read the output recognises the scenario; someone who has only read about it is matching keywords and will be caught by the distractors.

State is where solo users lose marks. Locking, drift, import and the state subcommands only ever come up when someone else is applying to the same infrastructure. If you have only used Terraform alone, this is the domain to over-prepare.

HCP Terraform appears more than people expect. Workspaces, remote runs, the private registry and Sentinel are HashiCorp's own platform, and the exam covers them. Candidates who use only the open-source CLI reliably underestimate this.

The distractors are plausible. Answers distinguish between reasonable options rather than between right and obviously wrong, which is why reviewing the reasoning behind answers you got right is worth as much as reviewing the ones you missed.

Before you book

Unlike the CKA, no retake is included — each attempt is paid. That makes the sample questions under real time pressure a cheaper diagnostic than a second sitting, and it is the argument for running the full core workflow hands-on before you touch practice questions at all.

New to Linux and the command line?

This path assumes fundamentals you may not have yet. Our Foundations Pack is out and free — Linux, the shell and Git, with exercises that mark your work and explain why you got it wrong. We're writing an agents pack next; leave your email if you want to hear when it ships.

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Your progress0%

Exam domains

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with Terraform

8%
Explain what IaC isDescribe the advantages of IaC patternsExplain how Terraform manages multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud workflows

Terraform Fundamentals

11%
Install and version Terraform providersDescribe how Terraform uses providersWrite configuration using multiple providersExplain how Terraform uses and manages state

Core Terraform Workflow

19%
Describe the Terraform workflowInitialize a Terraform working directoryValidate a Terraform configurationGenerate and review an execution planApply changes to infrastructureDestroy Terraform-managed infrastructureApply formatting and style conventions

Terraform Configuration

22%
Use and differentiate resource and data blocksReference resource attributes and create cross-resource referencesUse variables and outputsUnderstand and use complex typesWrite dynamic configuration using expressions and functionsDefine resource dependenciesValidate configuration using custom conditionsApply best practices for managing sensitive data

Terraform Modules

11%
Explain how Terraform sources modulesDescribe variable scope within modulesUse modules in configurationManage module versions

Terraform State Management

11%
Describe the local backendDescribe state lockingConfigure remote state using the backend blockManage resource drift and Terraform state

Maintain Infrastructure with Terraform

8%
Import existing infrastructure into a Terraform workspaceUse the CLI to inspect stateDescribe when and how to use verbose logging

HCP Terraform

10%
Use HCP Terraform to create infrastructureDescribe HCP Terraform collaboration and governance featuresOrganize and use HCP Terraform workspaces and projectsConfigure and use HCP Terraform integrations

Preparation path

  1. 1

    Install Terraform and run the core workflow end to end

    Install the Terraform CLI, write a minimal configuration for a single resource, and run init, validate, plan, apply, and destroy so the core workflow is muscle memory before you study anything else.

    ~4 hours
    Terraform CLI Documentation
    HashiCorp · Free
  2. 2

    Study the official exam objectives in order

    Work through HashiCorp's own exam review tutorial covering all 8 objectives, since it is the closest thing to an official study outline HashiCorp publishes.

    ~20 hours
    Terraform Associate 004 Exam Review
    HashiCorp · Free
  3. 3

    Build a multi-resource configuration with variables, outputs, and a module

    Write a configuration provisioning at least 3 related resources, using input variables and outputs, and calling one reusable module. Configuration language and modules together are the largest share of the exam, and the questions test whether you have written this rather than read about it.

    ~10 hours
    Terraform Module Documentation
    HashiCorp · Free
    Terraform Registry — public modules
    HashiCorp · Free
    Terraform Language Documentation
    HashiCorp · Free
    Terraform: Up & Running
    Yevgeniy Brikman · Paid · aff — Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. A free alternative is always listed alongside.
  4. 4

    Configure remote state and practise state operations

    Set up a remote backend, cause state drift deliberately, and recover from it with terraform state and terraform import. State is where the exam separates people who have run Terraform on a team from people who have run it alone — locking, drift and import only come up when someone else is also applying.

    ~8 hours
    Terraform State Documentation
    HashiCorp · Free
    State Locking
    HashiCorp · Free
    Import existing infrastructure
    HashiCorp · Free
  5. 5

    Learn what each CLI command does to state, not just what it outputs

    The exam asks which command you would use in a described situation. taint, replace, refresh, -target and the state subcommands all get tested, and knowing the flag is not the same as knowing what it changes on disk.

    ~6 hours
    Terraform CLI Command Reference
    HashiCorp · Free
    Manage resources in state
    HashiCorp · Free
  6. 6

    Cover HCP Terraform and the workflow questions

    A recurring share of the exam is about HashiCorp's own platform — workspaces, remote runs, private registry, Sentinel policies — and about when a team workflow beats a local one. It is the part candidates who only use Terraform solo consistently miss.

    ~6 hours
    HCP Terraform Documentation
    HashiCorp · Free
    Terraform Workspaces
    HashiCorp · Free
  7. 7

    Sit the official sample questions under time

    One hour for the real thing, so practise at that pace. Review the reasoning behind every answer, including the ones you got right — the exam distinguishes between plausible options rather than between right and obviously wrong ones.

    ~4 hours
    Terraform Associate 004 Sample Questions
    HashiCorp · Free
    Terraform Associate 004 Study Guide
    HashiCorp · Free

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