Note RETIRED! Click here for new version of Terraform Associate

HashiCorp Infrastructure Automation Certification

Cloud engineers can use the Terraform Associate certification to verify their basic infrastructure automation skills. If you have passed the Terraform Assocate take the new version when you are eligible to recertify.

RETIRED: HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate (002)

The Terraform Associate certification is for Cloud Engineers specializing in operations, IT, or development who know the basic concepts and skills associated with open source HashiCorp Terraform. Candidates will be best prepared for this exam if they have professional experience using Terraform in production, but performing the exam objectives in a personal demo environment may also be sufficient. This person understands which enterprise features exist and what can and cannot be done using the open source offering.

Credentials Valid Until Expired

The Terraform Associate 002 certification is still relevant and will be accepted as a validation of Terraform knowledge until each individual badge’s expiration date. Receiving a Terraform Associate 003 certification will not impact any existing Terraform Associate 002 credentials, and a single candidate can hold both at the same time. However, either certification alone can be used to validate Terraform knowledge at the associate level.

Timeline

The Terraform Associate 002 certification was available from July 2019 until May 2023.

Content Differences Between Exams

We've updated the Terraform Associate 003 exam to account for how Terraform has grown, and to accommodate future growth. The changes are primarily a reorganization and rewording of the 002 exam objectives. More significant changes are listed below.

# Objective Description Status in Terraform Associate 003
3e Explain when to use and not use provisioners and when to use local-exec or remote-exec Removed
4 Use Terraform outside of core workflow terraform taint removed, other topics reorganized
6b Initialize a Terraform working directory (terraform init) Includes questions about terraform.lock.hcl
7 Implement and maintain state Cloud integration authentication, and cloud backends added
8a Demonstrate use of variables and outputs Covers sensitive variables and outputs' relationship to exposure on the CLI
8g Configure resource using a dynamic block Use cases for dynamic block are still tested in objective 8
9 Understand Terraform Cloud capabilities Restructured to accommodate the current and future state of Terraform Cloud

Prerequisites

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

Product Version Tested

Terraform 0.15 and higher

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 Terraform's purpose (vs other IaC)
2a Explain multi-cloud and provider-agnostic benefits
2b Explain the benefits of state
3 Understand Terraform basics
3a Handle Terraform and provider installation and versioning
3b Describe plugin-based architecture
3c Demonstrate using multiple providers
3d Describe how Terraform finds and fetches providers
3e Explain when to use and not use provisioners and when to use local-exec or remote-exec
4 Use the Terraform CLI (outside of core workflow)
4a Given a scenario: choose when to use terraform fmt to format code
4b Given a scenario: choose when to use terraform taint to taint Terraform resources
4c Given a scenario: choose when to use terraform import to import existing infrastructure into your Terraform state
4d Given a scenario: choose when to use terraform workspace to create workspaces
4e Given a scenario: choose when to use terraform state to view Terraform state
4f Given a scenario: choose when to enable verbose logging and what the outcome/value is
5 Interact with Terraform modules
5a Contrast module source options
5b Interact with module inputs and outputs
5c Describe variable scope within modules/child modules
5d Discover modules from the public Terraform Module Registry
5e Defining module version
6 Navigate 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)
7 Implement and maintain state
7a Describe default local backend
7b Outline state locking
7c Handle backend authentication methods
7d Describe remote state storage mechanisms and supported standard backends
7e Describe effect of Terraform refresh on 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 Terraform built-in functions to write configuration
8g Configure resource using a dynamic block
8h Describe built-in dependency management (order of execution based)
9 Understand Terraform Cloud and Enterprise capabilities
9a Describe the benefits of Sentinel, registry, and workspaces
9b Differentiate OSS and TFE workspaces
9c Summarize features of Terraform Cloud