HashiCorp Infrastructure Automation Certification

Prerequisites

• Basic terminal skills
• Basic understanding of on premises and cloud architecture

Product version tested

Terraform 1.0 and higher.

Preparing for the exam

The Terraform Associate 003 exam has both a study guide and a review guide. While much of the information in these two guides are the same, they are presented differently for different uses. Use the study guide if you want to study all the exam objectives. Use the review guide if you already have Terraform experience and/or training and want to pick and choose which objectives to review before taking the exam. There are also sample questions available so you can get a feel for what the exam will be like.

Renewing your Terraform Associate certification

To renew any Terraform Associate certification, you will need to take and pass the new Terraform Associate 003 exam.

If you hold an unexpired Terraform Associate 002 certification: You can take the new (003) exam starting 18 months after your previous exam date. When you pass the Terraform Associate 003 exam to recertify, you will receive a new, separate set of credentials (badge and corresponding certificate) that will reflect your recertification date. The date of your credentials related to your Terraform Associate 002 certification will not be updated.

If you hold an unexpired Terraform Associate 003 certification: You can take the new exam starting 18 months after your previous exam date. When you pass the new exam, the expiration date on your credentials will be extended.

If you hold an expired Terraform Associate certification: You are eligible to recertify at any time. When you pass the new exam, you will receive a new, separate set of credentials with a new expiration date.

Exam details

Assessment Type	Multiple choice
Format	Online proctored
Duration	1 hour
Price	$70.50 USD plus locally applicable taxes and fees Free retake not included
Language	English
Expiration	2 years

Exam objectives

1	Understand infrastructure as code (IaC) concepts
1a	Explain what IaC is
1b	Describe advantages of IaC patterns

2	Understand the purpose of Terraform (vs other IaC)
2a	Explain multi-cloud and provider-agnostic benefits
2b	Explain the benefits of state

3	Understand Terraform basics
3a	Install and version Terraform providers
3b	Describe plugin-based architecture
3c	Write Terraform configuration using multiple providers
3d	Describe how Terraform finds and fetches providers

4	Use Terraform outside of core workflow
4a	Describe when to use terraform import to import existing infrastructure into your Terraform state
4b	Use terraform state to view Terraform state
4c	Describe when to enable verbose logging and what the outcome/value is

5	Interact with Terraform modules
5a	Contrast and use different module source options including the public Terraform Module Registry
5b	Interact with module inputs and outputs
5c	Describe variable scope within modules/child modules
5d	Set module version

6	Use the core Terraform workflow
6a	Describe Terraform workflow ( Write -> Plan -> Create )
6b	Initialize a Terraform working directory (terraform init)
6c	Validate a Terraform configuration (terraform validate)
6d	Generate and review an execution plan for Terraform (terraform plan)
6e	Execute changes to infrastructure with Terraform (terraform apply)
6f	Destroy Terraform managed infrastructure (terraform destroy)
6g	Apply formatting and style adjustments to a configuration (terraform fmt)

7	Implement and maintain state
7a	Describe default local backend
7b	Describe state locking
7c	Handle backend and cloud integration authentication methods
7d	Differentiate remote state back end options
7e	Manage resource drift and Terraform state
7f	Describe backend block and cloud integration in configuration
7g	Understand secret management in state files

8	Read, generate, and modify configuration
8a	Demonstrate use of variables and outputs
8b	Describe secure secret injection best practice
8c	Understand the use of collection and structural types
8d	Create and differentiate resource and data configuration
8e	Use resource addressing and resource parameters to connect resources together
8f	Use HCL and Terraform functions to write configuration
8g	Describe built-in dependency management (order of execution based)

9	Understand Terraform Cloud capabilities
9a	Explain how Terraform Cloud helps to manage infrastructure
9b	Describe how Terraform Cloud enables collaboration and governance