You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
HASHICORPHashiCorp Certified:Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional
The HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional certification validates your advanced, production-level Terraform expertise in both configuration authoring and Terraform workflows. It is designed for cloud engineers who implement and author Terraform modules, develop dynamic HCL configuration, and establish scalable, collaborative workflows. Earning this credential demonstrates your ability to manage complex infrastructure as code in real-world environments.
Exam formatLab-based and multiple choice
Duration240 minutes
DeliveryOnline proctored
Free questions552
Content last reviewed 1 January 2025 · Up to date
The certification
What HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional 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.
6domains
27objectives
156concepts
$295 USDexam fee
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional certification is for practitioners who have moved beyond foundational Terraform knowledge and are ready to prove their skills in production environments. The exam is intensive and lab-based, requiring you to demonstrate hands-on expertise in managing resource lifecycles, developing dynamic configuration, and building collaborative workflows that scale across teams.
By earning this certification, you show that you can author and maintain Terraform modules, troubleshoot complex configurations, and use HCP Terraform to collaborate on infrastructure as code. The credential is a signal to employers that you can operate Terraform at a professional level, making it a valuable asset for cloud engineers and DevOps practitioners advancing their careers.
Who it’s for
This certification is for cloud engineers and DevOps practitioners who have advanced, production-level Terraform expertise. You should be comfortable authoring Terraform modules, developing dynamic HCL configuration, and establishing scalable, collaborative workflows that support infrastructure as code in complex environments. You are expected to have strong Linux skills, experience using cloud credentials, familiarity with YAML, JSON, HCL, and CSV formats, and a solid understanding of networking protocols. The exam is designed for those who work hands-on with Terraform daily and need to validate their ability to manage real-world infrastructure challenges.
Recommended experience
Advanced production-level Terraform expertise in configuration authoring and workflows, with strong Linux and networking skills. Linux skills, such as the ability to list and edit files via command terminal; Experience using cloud credentials; Familiarity with YAML, JSON, HCL, and CSV formats; Understanding of the networking stack and networking protocols, including TCP/IP and UDP; Advanced configuration authoring and a deep understanding of Terraform workflows
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective HashiCorp measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official HashiCorp exam outline · checked 1 January 2025 · See the source
Manage resource lifecycle
- 1a
- 1b
- 1c
- 1d
- 1e
Develop and troubleshoot dynamic configuration
- 2a
- 2b
- 2c
- 2d
- 2e
- 2f
Develop collaborative Terraform workflows
- 3a
- 3b
- 3c
- 3d
Create, maintain, and use Terraform modules
- 4a
- 4b
- 4c
- 4d
Configure and use Terraform providers
- 5a
- 5b
- 5c
- 5d
Collaborate on infrastructure as code using HCP Terraform
- 6a
- 6b
- 6c
- 6d
On the day
The exam itself
Everything HashiCorp publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
Terraform Associate certification (strongly recommended, or equivalent experience required)
CertificationHashiCorp Certified: Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional
Exam formatLab-based and multiple choice
Duration240 minutes
DeliveryOnline proctored
LanguagesEnglish
Pricing$295 USD
Certification levelProfessional
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path HashiCorp lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional
PrerequisiteTerraform Associate certification (strongly recommended, or equivalent experience required)
Credential earnedHashiCorp Certified: Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional Professional level certification Renewal and maintenance
The Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional certification is valid for two years. To renew, you must retake and pass the Terraform Authoring & Operations Professional exam. You can take the recertification exam starting 6 months before your expiration date; passing extends your current credentials' expiration date. If your certification has expired, retake the exam at any time to receive a new set of credentials with a new expiration date. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. HashiCorp maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by HashiCorp
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Online proctored, HashiCorp’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official HashiCorp 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
How does the Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional exam relate to the Terraform Associate certification?
The Terraform Associate certification is strongly recommended as a prerequisite, or equivalent experience is required. Passing the Professional exam also extends the expiration date of an unexpired Terraform Associate certification.
Is the Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional exam hands-on?
Yes, the exam is lab-based and includes multiple-choice questions. You will demonstrate your ability to author and operate Terraform in a live environment.
What is the retake policy for the Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional exam?
The exam includes a free retake. If you fail, you can retake the exam after a waiting period. Specific waiting periods are not published by HashiCorp.
Can I recertify by passing a different HashiCorp exam?
No, to renew the Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional certification, you must retake and pass the Terraform Authoring & Operations Professional exam again.
What job roles does the Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional certification map to?
It is designed for cloud engineers and DevOps practitioners with advanced production-level Terraform expertise, particularly those responsible for authoring modules, developing dynamic HCL configuration, and establishing collaborative workflows.
Are there any regional restrictions for taking the exam?
The exam is available online with a live proctor. Keyboard layout is US QWERTY only; contact certifications@hashicorp.com for other languages or layouts.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2025-01-01 Up to date
Practice free questions 552 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept HashiCorp measures — each one written out.
6domains
27objectives
156concepts
122free 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 HashiCorp exam outline · checked 1 January 2025 · See the source
1Manage resource lifecycle102 questions
2Develop and troubleshoot dynamic configuration111 questions
3Develop collaborative Terraform workflows88 questions
4Create, maintain, and use Terraform modules73 questions
5Configure and use Terraform providers90 questions
6Collaborate on infrastructure as code using HCP Terraform88 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.
1a4 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
17 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
552 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.
552questions
122pages
27objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Manage resource lifecycle102 questions
2Develop and troubleshoot dynamic configuration111 questions
3Develop collaborative Terraform workflows88 questions
4Create, maintain, and use Terraform modules73 questions
5Configure and use Terraform providers90 questions
6Collaborate on infrastructure as code using HCP Terraform88 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.
156concepts
552free 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 HashiCorp
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
2official links
156concepts mapped
The source
HashiCorp’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 HashiCorp outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 27 objectives, 156 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When HashiCorp changes the outline, this page changes with it.
27objectives on the outline→156concepts written→552free 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.