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:Vault Operations Professional
The HashiCorp Certified: Vault Operations Professional certification validates your advanced, production-level expertise in deploying, configuring, managing, and monitoring HashiCorp Vault. Designed for Cloud Engineers who operate Vault in production, this intensive, lab-based exam also tests your ability to evaluate Vault Enterprise functionality and use cases. Earning this credential demonstrates that you can run Vault securely and reliably at scale.
Exam formatLab-based and multiple choice
Duration240 minutes
DeliveryHashiCorp Certification Exam Portal
Free questions623
Content last reviewed 1 January 2025 · Up to date
The certification
What HashiCorp Certified: Vault 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.
8domains
29objectives
192concepts
$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: Vault Operations Professional certification is the highest-level Vault credential, designed for Cloud Engineers with advanced, production-level Vault operations expertise. The exam is intensive and lab-based, requiring you to demonstrate your ability to deploy, configure, manage, and monitor HashiCorp Vault in real-world scenarios. You will also need to evaluate Vault Enterprise functionality and use cases, including disaster recovery, performance replication, and HSM integration.
Earning this certification proves that you can operate Vault securely and reliably in production environments. The exam covers creating working Vault server configurations, monitoring Vault environments, employing the Vault security model, building fault-tolerant environments, understanding HSM integration, scaling Vault for performance, configuring access control, and configuring Vault Agent. It is a hands-on exam that rewards practical experience and deep understanding of Vault operations.
Who it’s for
This certification is for Cloud Engineers with advanced, production-level Vault operations expertise. You should be comfortable deploying, configuring, managing, and monitoring HashiCorp Vault in production environments, and be able to evaluate Vault Enterprise functionality and use cases. You likely work in security, development, or operations, and are responsible for the secure and reliable operation of Vault within your organization. You have experience with Linux, IP networking, PKI, and information security fundamentals, and understand the concepts of infrastructure running in containers.
Recommended experience
HashiCorp strongly recommends holding the Vault Associate certification or having equivalent experience, along with hands-on experience operating Vault in production. HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate certification (strongly recommended, or equivalent experience required); Linux skills such as listing and editing files via command terminal; Understanding of IP networking; Experience with Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), including PGP and TLS; Information security fundamentals such as network security and RBAC; Understanding of the concepts and functionality of infrastructure running in containers, including starting and stopping services and reading logs
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
Create a working Vault server configuration given a scenario
- Enable and configure secret engines
- Practice production hardening
- Auto unseal Vault
- Implement integrated storage for Community and Enterprise Vault
- Enable and configure authentication methods
- Practice secure Vault initialization
- Regenerate a root token
- Rekey Vault and rotate encryption keys
Monitor a Vault environment
- Monitor and understand Vault telemetry
- Monitor and understand Vault audit logs
- Monitor and understand Vault operational logs
Employ the Vault security model
- Describe secure introduction of Vault clients
- Describe the security implications of running Vault in Kubernetes
Build fault-tolerant Vault environments
- Configure a highly available (HA) cluster
- [ Vault Enterprise] Enable and configure disaster recovery (DR) replication
- [ Vault Enterprise] Promote a secondary cluster
Understand the hardware security module (HSM) integration
- [ Vault Enterprise] Describe the benefits of auto unsealing with HSM
- [ Vault Enterprise] Describe the benefits and use cases of seal wrap (PKCS#11)
Scale Vault for performance
- Use batch tokens
- [ Vault Enterprise] Describe the use cases of performance standby nodes
- [ Vault Enterprise] Enable and configure performance replication
- [ Vault Enterprise] Create a paths filter
Configure access control
- Interpret Vault identity entities and groups
- Write, deploy, and troubleshoot ACL policies
- [ Vault Enterprise] Understand Sentinel policies
- [ Vault Enterprise] Define control groups and describe their basic workflow
- [ Vault Enterprise] Describe and interpret multi-tenancy with namespaces
Configure Vault Agent
- Securely configure auto-auth and token sink
- Configure templating
On the day
The exam itself
Everything HashiCorp publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
Vault Associate certification (strongly recommended, or equivalent experience required)
CertificationHashiCorp Certified: Vault Operations Professional
Exam formatLab-based and multiple choice
Duration240 minutes
DeliveryHashiCorp Certification Exam Portal
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: Vault Operations Professional
PrerequisiteVault Associate certification (strongly recommended, or equivalent experience required)
Credential earnedHashiCorp Certified: Vault Operations Professional Professional level certification Renewal and maintenance
The Vault Operations Professional certification is valid for two years. To renew, you must pass the Vault Operations Professional exam again. 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, you can 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 HashiCorp Certification Exam Portal, 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 Vault Operations Professional exam relate to the Vault Associate certification?
The Vault Operations Professional exam is the professional-level credential in the Vault certification track. HashiCorp strongly recommends holding the Vault Associate certification or having equivalent experience before attempting the Professional exam. Passing the Professional exam also extends the expiration date of an unexpired Vault Associate certification.
Is the Vault Operations Professional exam lab-based?
Yes, the exam is lab-based and includes multiple-choice questions. You will work in a pre-provisioned Linux environment to complete lab-based scenarios, and some multiple-choice questions require you to inspect and interact with the provided Vault environment.
What resources are available during the exam?
Vault's documentation and Vault's API documentation are available during the exam. The Vault UI is also available, and Visual Studio Code is available to modify server configuration files.
What are the keyboard requirements for the exam?
The exam currently requires a US English QWERTY keyboard layout. None of your keybindings or key mappings will transfer to the exam environment. Contact certifications@hashicorp.com immediately if you cannot use this layout.
Can I get a Vault Enterprise trial license to practice for the exam?
Yes, you can request a 30-day Vault Enterprise trial license through the Certification Portal.
What job roles does the Vault Operations Professional certification map to?
The certification is designed for Cloud Engineers with advanced, production-level Vault operations expertise, typically in security, development, or operations roles.
Can I recertify by passing a different exam?
To renew the Vault Operations Professional certification, you must pass the Vault Operations Professional exam again. Passing a different exam does not renew this certification.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2025-01-01 Up to date
Practice free questions 623 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.
8domains
29objectives
192concepts
136free 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
1Create a working Vault server configuration given a scenario191 questions
Enable and configure secret engines6 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Practice production hardening13 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Auto unseal Vault6 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Implement integrated storage for Community and Enterprise Vault9 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →Enable and configure authentication methods16 concepts · 8 pagesOpen →Practice secure Vault initialization5 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →Regenerate a root token5 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →Rekey Vault and rotate encryption keys6 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →
2Monitor a Vault environment62 questions
3Employ the Vault security model45 questions
4Build fault-tolerant Vault environments64 questions
5Understand the hardware security module (HSM) integration40 questions
6Scale Vault for performance108 questions
7Configure access control82 questions
Interpret Vault identity entities and groups6 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →Write, deploy, and troubleshoot ACL policies7 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →[ Vault Enterprise] Understand Sentinel policies5 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →[ Vault Enterprise] Define control groups and describe their basic workflow4 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →[ Vault Enterprise] Describe and interpret multi-tenancy with namespaces6 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →
8Configure Vault Agent31 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.
Enable and configure secret engines6 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
30 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
623 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.
623questions
136pages
29objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Create a working Vault server configuration given a scenario191 questions
2Monitor a Vault environment62 questions
3Employ the Vault security model45 questions
4Build fault-tolerant Vault environments64 questions
5Understand the hardware security module (HSM) integration40 questions
6Scale Vault for performance108 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.
192concepts
623free 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.
3official links
192concepts 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 — 29 objectives, 192 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When HashiCorp changes the outline, this page changes with it.
29objectives on the outline→192concepts written→623free 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.