You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
SPLUNKSplunk Core Certified Advanced Power User
The Splunk Core Certified Advanced Power User certification validates your ability to author complex searches and reports, implement advanced knowledge object use cases, and apply best practices for building dashboards and forms. It is designed for power users who want to deepen their expertise and get more value from their Splunk Enterprise or Splunk Cloud deployment. Earning this credential demonstrates you can turn raw data into actionable insights and sets you on a path toward advanced Splunk roles.
Exam format70 multiple choice questions
Duration60 minutes
DeliveryPearson VUE
Free questions439
Content last reviewed 1 January 2025 · Up to date
The certification
What Splunk Core Certified Advanced Power User 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.
5domains
26objectives
159concepts
$130 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 Splunk Core Certified Advanced Power User certification takes your Splunk skills to the next level. Building on the foundational knowledge of a Power User, this certification focuses on generating complex searches and reports, implementing advanced knowledge object use cases, and following best practices for dashboard and form design. You'll learn how to make the most of your organization's data, whether you're working with Splunk Enterprise or Splunk Cloud.
By earning this certification, you demonstrate your ability to create efficient searches, build effective dashboards, and leverage advanced features to drive better outcomes. This credential is ideal for professionals who want to stand out as experts in Splunk data analytics and is a stepping stone toward more advanced certifications like the Splunk Core Certified Consultant.
Who it’s for
This certification is for Splunk power users who have already earned the Splunk Core Certified Power User credential and want to advance their skills. It is ideal for individuals who are responsible for generating complex searches, building dashboards, and implementing advanced knowledge objects in their organization. Whether you're a rising star looking to showcase your abilities, a competitive job seeker aiming to stand out, or a future consultant building your expertise, this certification helps you demonstrate your proficiency and accelerate your career.
Recommended experience
While there are no formal experience requirements, Splunk recommends that candidates have a strong foundation in Splunk searching and reporting, as well as experience with knowledge objects and dashboard creation. Proficiency with SPL commands and search optimization; Experience creating knowledge objects, workflow actions, and data models; Understanding of field aliases, calculated fields, and macros; Familiarity with data normalization and the Common Information Model
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective Splunk measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official Splunk exam outline · checked 1 January 2025 · See the source
Advanced Search Commands
- Statistical and Transforming Commands
- String and Conditional Functions
- Transactions
- Subsearches
- Append and Time Management
Fields, Lookups, and Data
- Lookups
- Field Extractions
- Self-Describing Data
- Data Transformations
- Multivalued Fields
Alerts and Search Macros
- Logging and indexing searchable alert events
- Referencing lookups in alerts
- Outputting alert results to a lookup
- Using a webhook alert action
- Creating a log event alert action
- Using nested search macros
- Previewing search macros before executing
- Using other knowledge objects with macros
Acceleration and Search Performance
- Understanding Acceleration
- Data Model Acceleration
- Search Performance Fundamentals
- Search Optimization Techniques
Dashboards and Visualizations
- Creating and Troubleshooting Views
- Using Tokens
- Customizing Dashboards
- Implementing Drilldowns and Event Actions
On the day
The exam itself
Everything Splunk publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
Splunk Core Certified Power User
CertificationSplunk Core Certified Advanced Power User
Exam format70 multiple choice questions
Duration60 minutes
DeliveryPearson VUE
LanguagesEnglish
Pricing$130 USD
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path Splunk lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to Splunk Core Certified Advanced Power User
PrerequisiteSplunk Core Certified Power User
Credential earnedSplunk Core Certified Advanced Power User Certification Renewal and maintenance
Splunk certifications must be renewed every three years. You can renew by passing a higher-level certification, completing continuing education courses, or retaking the certification exam. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. Splunk maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by Splunk
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Pearson VUE, Splunk’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official Splunk 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 Advanced Power User exam relate to the Power User exam?
The Advanced Power User exam builds on the skills validated by the Power User exam. You must hold the Splunk Core Certified Power User certification before attempting the Advanced Power User exam.
Is the Advanced Power User certification a prerequisite for any other Splunk certification?
While not a formal prerequisite, the Advanced Power User certification is a stepping stone toward the Splunk Core Certified Consultant certification, which is the highest level in the Splunk core certification track.
Can I take the Advanced Power User exam online?
Yes, the exam is delivered by Pearson VUE and can be taken online with proctoring or at a test center.
What is the retake policy for the Advanced Power User exam?
If you fail the exam, you must wait at least 24 hours before retaking it. Subsequent attempts require a 14-day waiting period.
Are there any hands-on labs in the Advanced Power User exam?
No, the exam consists of 70 multiple choice questions only. There are no hands-on lab components.
What job roles does the Advanced Power User certification map to?
This certification is relevant for roles such as Splunk power user, data analyst, and IT professionals who use Splunk for searching, reporting, and dashboard creation.
Can I recertify by passing a different Splunk exam?
Yes, passing a higher-level Splunk certification, such as the Splunk Core Certified Consultant, will renew your Advanced Power User certification.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2025-01-01 Up to date
Practice free questions 439 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept Splunk measures — each one written out.
5domains
26objectives
159concepts
94free 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 Splunk exam outline · checked 1 January 2025 · See the source
1Advanced Search Commands85 questions
2Fields, Lookups, and Data75 questions
3Alerts and Search Macros131 questions
Logging and indexing searchable alert events4 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →Referencing lookups in alerts4 concepts · 2 pagesOpen →Outputting alert results to a lookup5 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →Using a webhook alert action4 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Creating a log event alert action4 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →Using nested search macros5 concepts · 2 pagesOpen →Previewing search macros before executing4 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →Using other knowledge objects with macros12 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →
4Acceleration and Search Performance81 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.
Statistical and Transforming Commands4 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
20 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
439 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.
439questions
94pages
26objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Advanced Search Commands85 questions
2Fields, Lookups, and Data75 questions
3Alerts and Search Macros131 questions
4Acceleration and Search Performance81 questions
5Dashboards and Visualizations67 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.
159concepts
439free 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 Splunk
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
2official links
159concepts mapped
The source
Splunk’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 Splunk outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 26 objectives, 159 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When Splunk changes the outline, this page changes with it.
26objectives on the outline→159concepts written→439free 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.