Retired exam
HashiCorp retired Vault Associate 002. Vault Associate (003) is the direct replacement path.
Prepare for 003: HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate (003)Certified by HashiCorp, the HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate (002) exam covers core cloud security concepts across seven distinct domains. This specific exam is now retired, and its verified successor is Vault Associate (003). Candidates should focus their professional efforts on the current successor rather than sitting this retired examination to gain certification.
Cloud engineers, security professionals, and administrators with practical experience operating HashiCorp Vault. Practitioners preparing for certification should direct their efforts toward the successor Vault Associate (003) exam instead of this retired credential to ensure their skills remain current and recognized by the industry.
Direct your preparation toward the successor Vault Associate (003) exam. Review core concepts such as token management, policy configuration, and authentication methods. While historical study materials for Vault Associate 002 provide useful context on Vault operations, ensure you align your final study plan directly with the requirements for Vault Associate (003) to achieve success.
Examine how Vault verifies human and machine identities against internal or external systems using various authentication methods to ensure secure access control across the entire infrastructure and environment.
Write and structure declarative rules using HCL or JSON to grant or forbid access to specific paths and operations, ensuring that users and machines have the correct permissions for their roles.
Understand how Vault generates unique access tokens upon identity verification and manage their lifecycle, including creation, renewal, and revocation processes to maintain a secure and efficient secrets management environment.
Examine lease periods associated with identities and secrets, requiring reauthentication or renewal to maintain access, which helps in limiting the window of opportunity for potential unauthorized access or credential misuse.
Configure and compare different secrets engines designed for users or machines within Vault deployments, ensuring that the appropriate engine is selected for the specific security requirements of the organization.
Use command-line interface tools to authenticate, execute vault login, and manage operations against Vault servers, providing a standard method for interacting with the system during daily administrative and security tasks.
Configure high availability and operational resilience features for HashiCorp Vault infrastructure deployments, ensuring that the system remains accessible and reliable even during unexpected outages or maintenance windows for the organization.
The exam consists of 57 questions presented in a linear format. Question types include Multiple Choice, Multiple Select, and Fill-in-the-Blank, which are designed to test your knowledge of Vault operations.
The passing score for the exam is 70. Candidates must meet or exceed this score to earn the certification, demonstrating their proficiency in managing secrets and securing infrastructure.
The exam has a duration of 60 minutes. Test-takers must complete all 57 questions within this timeframe, requiring efficient time management and a strong understanding of the subject matter.
The exam is priced at $70.5. Certification validity lasts for 2 years, after which renewal is required to maintain your status as a certified professional in the field.
Verified 2026-08-30
This index page aggregates official data regarding HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate (002), including exam structure, domain breakdowns, and its official retirement status as confirmed by HashiCorp documentation.