You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
ATLASSIANAtlassian Certified Associate - Jira Software Essentials
The Atlassian Certified Associate - Jira Software Essentials certification validates your ability to use Jira Software to plan, track, and manage work across agile teams. It is designed for team members, project leads, and new Jira users who want to demonstrate they can navigate Jira, manage issues, and collaborate effectively. Earning this credential shows you have the foundational skills to contribute to successful project delivery.
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration60 minutes
DeliveryAtlassian University
Free questions228
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What ACA-900 proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
4domains
9objectives
71concepts
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The Atlassian Certified Associate - Jira Software Essentials certification is an entry-level credential that confirms your understanding of Jira Software's core features and workflows. It covers how to navigate the Jira interface, create and manage issues, and use boards to visualize and track work. This certification is ideal for anyone who uses Jira as part of their daily work, from team members to project managers.
By earning this certification, you demonstrate that you can effectively use Jira to support agile practices, collaborate with your team, and keep projects moving forward. It is a globally recognized credential that helps you stand out in a competitive job market and provides a solid foundation for advancing to more specialized Atlassian certifications.
Who it’s for
This certification is for individuals who use Jira Software in their role, including project managers, team leads, developers, testers, and business analysts. It is also suitable for those new to Jira who want to build a strong foundation in its core concepts and features. You are likely a current Jira user who wants to formalize your knowledge, or someone preparing to work in an Atlassian environment. No prior Atlassian certification is required, but hands-on experience with Jira Software is recommended.
Recommended experience
Atlassian recommends that candidates have hands-on experience using Jira Software, including creating and managing issues, using boards, and understanding basic workflows. Experience using Jira Software to track work items; Understanding of basic agile concepts such as sprints and boards; Familiarity with Jira project navigation and issue creation
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective Atlassian measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official Atlassian exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
Agile Frameworks
- Compare scrum and kanban frameworks
- Apply agile frameworks in Jira Software
Jira Basics and Navigation
- Understand basic Jira concepts and terms
- Navigate Jira Software
Working with Issues
- Create and collaborate on issues
- Perform basic and advanced issue operations
- Understand the issue lifecycle
Boards and Workflows
- Work with scrum and kanban boards
- Understand Jira workflows
On the day
The exam itself
Everything Atlassian publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
Exam codeACA-900
CertificationAtlassian Certified Associate - Jira Software Essentials
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration60 minutes
DeliveryAtlassian University
LanguagesEnglish
Certification levelAssociate
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path Atlassian lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to Atlassian Certified Associate - Jira Software Essentials
Credential earnedAtlassian Certified Associate - Jira Software Essentials Associate level certification Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. Atlassian maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by Atlassian
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Atlassian University, Atlassian’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official Atlassian certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
Is the ACA-900 exam related to any other Atlassian certification?
The ACA-900 is an entry-level certification. It is not a prerequisite for other Atlassian certifications, but it provides a foundation for more advanced credentials like the ACP-120 Jira Administrator for Cloud.
Do I need to complete any training before taking the ACA-900 exam?
No, Atlassian does not require any formal training before taking the exam. However, they offer free and paid learning paths to help you prepare.
How do I schedule the ACA-900 exam?
You can schedule the exam through Atlassian University's certification portal. The exam is delivered online and proctored.
What are the online proctoring requirements for the ACA-900 exam?
You will need a computer with a webcam, a stable internet connection, and a quiet, private room. A valid government-issued photo ID is required for identity verification.
Is there a retake policy for the ACA-900 exam?
Atlassian allows retakes, but the specific waiting period between attempts is not published on the official exam page. Check the certification portal for current policy.
Are there any discounts or vouchers available for the ACA-900 exam?
Atlassian occasionally offers discounts or free certification opportunities. Check the Atlassian University website for current promotions.
Does the ACA-900 exam include a hands-on lab component?
No, the ACA-900 exam is a multiple-choice exam. It does not include a hands-on lab or performance-based tasks.
What job roles does the Jira Software Essentials certification map to?
This certification is relevant for roles such as project manager, team lead, business analyst, developer, and any professional who uses Jira Software to manage work.
Can I recertify by passing a different Atlassian exam?
Atlassian certifications are typically renewed by completing a renewal process or passing a higher-level exam. Specific details for this certification are not published on the official page.
Is the ACA-900 exam available in all countries?
The exam is delivered online, so it is available in most regions. However, some countries may have restrictions on online proctoring. Check the Atlassian University website for availability.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 228 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept Atlassian measures — each one written out.
4domains
9objectives
71concepts
49free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official Atlassian exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Agile Frameworks48 questions
2Jira Basics and Navigation64 questions
3Working with Issues70 questions
4Boards and Workflows46 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
Compare scrum and kanban frameworks5 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
23 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
228 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
228questions
49pages
9objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Agile Frameworks48 questions
2Jira Basics and Navigation64 questions
3Working with Issues70 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
71concepts
228free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from Atlassian
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
1official link
71concepts mapped
The source
Atlassian’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official Atlassian outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 9 objectives, 71 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When Atlassian changes the outline, this page changes with it.
9objectives on the outline→71concepts written→228free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.