AWS Machine Learning Engineer Associate: cost, exam format and practice questions
AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate is Amazon’s associate-level certification for building and operating ML solutions on AWS, and the ML certification AWS names since Machine Learning – Specialty was retired on 31 March 2026. The exam is changing version: MLA-C01, 65 questions in 130 minutes for 150 USD, was last offered in English on 28 September 2026. English candidates now take MLA-C02 as a beta, 85 questions in 170 minutes for a 75 USD beta price; MLA-C01 remains in Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese until MLA-C02 reaches general availability.
- MLA-C02 (beta)
- 85 questions, 170 minutes, 75 USD beta price — English only during the betaAWS labels this the beta price on the certification page, checked 10 October 2026
- MLA-C01
- 65 questions, 130 minutes, 150 USD — last offered in English on 28 September 2026; still offered in Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese until MLA-C02 general availabilityAWS certification page, checked 10 October 2026
- Machine Learning – Specialty
- Retired — last exam day 31 March 2026; holders stay certified for 3 years from the date earnedAWS Machine Learning – Specialty page, checked 10 October 2026
- Category
- Associate, both versionsAWS certification page, checked 24 September 2026
- Prerequisites
- None — AWS requires no training and no prior certificationAWS Certification FAQs, checked 24 September 2026
- Valid for
- 3 years, both versionsAWS certification page, checked 24 September 2026
- Retake
- After 14 calendar daysAWS Certification FAQs, checked 24 September 2026
- Passing score
- Not published by AWSAWS states pass marks are set by statistical analysis, checked 24 September 2026
- Practice questions here
- 1,100, written against MLA-C01Certsqill question bank
Know if you're ready for AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate MLA-C02 — before you book.
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Why you can trust these MLA-C02 questions
MLA-C01 to MLA-C02 — and why the price matters
AWS is replacing MLA-C01 with MLA-C02. The last day to take MLA-C01 in English was 28 September 2026; MLA-C02 now runs as a beta, in English only. MLA-C01 stays available in Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese until MLA-C02 reaches general availability. A certification earned on MLA-C01 remains active through its full validity period.
MLA-C01 is 65 questions in 130 minutes for 150 USD. MLA-C02 is 85 questions in 170 minutes, and AWS labels its price as 75 USD — a beta price, which is what AWS charges while an exam is in its beta window.
That is half the cost for a longer exam. A beta sitting also means results take longer and the exam is still being calibrated, which is the trade. Checked 10 October 2026.
The older AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty can no longer be booked: AWS states that the last day to take it was 31 March 2026, and holders keep an active certification for three years from the date they earned it.
The practice questions on this site are written against MLA-C01. If you sit MLA-C02, treat this bank as coverage of the shared ground rather than a match to the new form.
Source: AWS — AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate. Checked 10 October 2026.
What AWS publishes, and what it does not
Both versions are Associate category and valid for three years. AWS requires no training and no prior certification, allows a retake 14 calendar days after a failed attempt, and releases results within five business days.
The passing score is not published for either version. AWS says only that pass marks are set by statistical analysis, so any fixed figure comes from the exam guide document rather than the certification page. No pass rate and no salary data either, and this page states none.
Source: AWS — AWS Certification FAQs. Checked 24 September 2026.
Where can you find practice questions?
This site holds 1,100 practice questions for the exam. Every question shows all options, which one is correct, and why each of the others is wrong — on an ML engineering exam, the wrong answers are usually the approach that trains fine but fails on deployment, cost or monitoring.
What you will not find here are dumps. AWS states that it rotates exam questions regularly, and with a second version in beta a leaked set is worth less than usual. These questions are written against AWS’s published exam guide instead.
Because AWS publishes no pass mark, no practice percentage converts into an AWS score.
AWS ML Engineer questions people ask
Is it MLA-C01 or MLA-C02?
In English, MLA-C02: MLA-C01 was last offered in English on 28 September 2026, and MLA-C02 now runs as an English-only beta, 85 questions in 170 minutes at a 75 USD beta price. MLA-C01, 65 questions in 130 minutes for 150 USD, remains in Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese until MLA-C02 general availability. Both are Associate level and valid three years. Checked 10 October 2026.
Why is MLA-C02 cheaper?
AWS labels the 75 USD as a beta price, which is what it charges while an exam is in its beta window. Checked 10 October 2026.
What is the passing score?
AWS does not publish one for either version. It states that pass marks are set by statistical analysis, checked 24 September 2026.
How many practice questions does Certsqill have?
1,100 for this exam, written against MLA-C01, each with an explanation for every option.
What happened to AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty?
The AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty certification has been retired. AWS’s page for it states: “This certification is being retired. The last day to take this exam is March 31, 2026.” The AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty exam — 65 questions in 180 minutes for 300 USD while it ran — can no longer be booked, and recertifying by passing it was only possible on or before 31 March 2026.
If you hold it, nothing is taken away: AWS says certification holders “will still have an active certification for 3 years from the date it was earned.” An AWS certified machine learning specialist can keep listing the credential until those three years run out. To stay certified in ML beyond that, the route AWS points to is AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate, which it names as the ML certification it offers now.
Source: AWS — AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty. Checked 9 October 2026.
The AWS certified machine learning engineer associate certification today
The successor is also changing. The AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer Associate MLA-C01 version was last available in English on 28 September 2026. Since 29 September 2026, English candidates take MLA-C02 as a beta exam — English only during the beta, with Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese planned at general availability, for which AWS has not yet set a date. Until then, the AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer Associate MLA-C01 exam remains available in Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese.
Whichever version you pass, the result is the same credential, valid for three years. AWS states that certifications already earned on MLA-C01 remain valid for their full three-year period.
Source: AWS — AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate. Checked 9 October 2026.
AWS machine learning certification cost
For an English-language sitting, the AWS machine learning certification cost is currently the MLA-C02 beta price of $75 USD for 85 questions in 170 minutes. Where MLA-C01 is still offered in other languages, it costs $150 USD for 65 questions in 130 minutes. AWS lists additional costs, including foreign exchange rates, on its exam pricing page.
Two things reduce the cost further: AWS gives a 50% discount on your next exam once you hold any AWS certification, and its free Official Practice Question Sets and 2-hour Exam Prep courses cover part of the preparation without a subscription.
Source: AWS — AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate. Checked 9 October 2026.
What the AWS certified machine learning engineer associate exam covers now
AWS’s comparison of the two versions keeps four domains of similar weight, but shifts the content towards generative AI. In MLA-C02 the scored content is Data Preparation for ML and AI 28%, ML Model and Foundation Model Development 24%, Deployment and Orchestration of ML and AI Workflows 24%, and Operating, Monitoring, and Securing ML and AI Solutions 24%.
Seven items were removed, including SageMaker Neo for edge optimisation and bring-your-own-container with SageMaker. Forty-five were added, focused on foundation models: retrieval-augmented generation, embeddings, Amazon Bedrock, agents, LLM evaluation and AI-specific cost monitoring. That is the main reason study material written for MLA-C01 or for the retired Specialty exam no longer covers the whole exam.
Source: AWS — Comparison of MLA-C01 and MLA-C02. Checked 9 October 2026.
AWS machine learning training and courses
AWS’s own AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer Associate training is organised as an Exam Prep Plan on AWS Skill Builder. It combines the exam guide, the Official Practice Question Set, an Official Pretest, the Official Practice Exam, digital courses, flashcards and hands-on options such as AWS Builder Labs, AWS Cloud Quest, AWS Jam and AWS SimuLearn. AWS also offers classroom training with labs and instructors.
For any AWS machine learning course or bootcamp from another provider, ask which version it teaches before you pay. An AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer Associate course built for MLA-C01 will miss the foundation-model content MLA-C02 added; one built for the retired Specialty exam is further out still. A good AWS ML course follows the current exam guide domain by domain and includes hands-on work with SageMaker AI and Bedrock, which AWS names in its recommended experience for MLA-C02.
Source: AWS — Prepare for your AWS Certification exam. Checked 9 October 2026.
The AWS machine learning certification path
With the Specialty gone, AWS’s ML-related certifications sit at three levels. AWS Certified AI Practitioner is the Foundational one — 65 questions in 90 minutes for 100 USD, for people who use AI/ML on AWS without necessarily building it. The AWS Machine Learning Engineer Associate certification is the hands-on build-and-operate level. Above it, AWS Certified Generative AI Developer – Professional targets experienced developers implementing generative AI.
AWS recommends at least one year of ML engineering or related experience and one year of hands-on AWS experience for the associate exam. If you have neither yet, AI Practitioner or the training in the Exam Prep Plan is the sensible first step.
Source: AWS — AWS Certified AI Practitioner. Checked 9 October 2026.
Is AWS machine learning certification worth it?
AWS publishes no salary data for its ML certifications, so there is no official AWS machine learning engineer salary figure to quote, and this page states none. What can be weighed is what AWS does publish: a $75 USD beta price (or $150 USD for MLA-C01 in other languages), no formal prerequisites, a recommended year of ML engineering plus a year of AWS experience, and three years of validity.
Whether that is worth it depends on whether your work runs on SageMaker AI, Bedrock and related services. If it does, the exam’s domains map closely to the job; if your ML work runs elsewhere, the credential proves less about what you actually do.
Source: AWS — AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate. Checked 9 October 2026.
More AWS ML Engineer questions
Is the AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty certification still available?
No. AWS retired the exam; the last day to take it was 31 March 2026. Holders stay certified for three years from the date they earned it. Source: AWS, checked 9 October 2026.
What replaced the AWS machine learning certification at Specialty level?
AWS names AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate as its current ML certification. In English it is delivered as the MLA-C02 beta. Checked 9 October 2026.
Is the AWS certified machine learning associate exam the same as MLA-C01?
MLA-C01 was the first version. In English it ended on 28 September 2026; MLA-C02 replaced it as a beta. MLA-C01 continues in Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese until MLA-C02 general availability.
Does an AWS certified machine learning certification earned on MLA-C01 stay valid?
Yes. AWS states that certifications earned remain valid for their full three-year period. Checked 9 October 2026.
Is AWS ML certification worth it without ML experience?
AWS recommends a year of ML engineering experience and a year of AWS experience for the associate exam. Without that, AWS Certified AI Practitioner is the foundational starting point.
Are AWS machine learning courses from before 2026 still useful?
For core ML engineering, partly. Check them against the MLA-C02 exam guide: courses for the retired Specialty or for MLA-C01 miss the generative AI content AWS added in MLA-C02.
Does Certsqill have practice questions for this exam?
Yes — expert-developed questions written against MLA-C01, each with an explanation for every option and a readiness score per domain. For MLA-C02, use them for the shared domains and add the generative AI topics from AWS’s exam guide.
