GitLab certification: the GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate exam
The GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate is GitLab’s certification for building and running CI/CD pipelines in GitLab. GitLab describes it as a foundational, paid technical certification earned in two stages: a one-hour written assessment, then a one-hour hands-on lab graded by GitLab Professional Services engineers.
- Certification
- GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate — from GitLab Professional ServicesGitLab badge listing on Credly, checked 8 October 2026
- Level
- FoundationalGitLab badge listing on Credly, checked 8 October 2026
- Exam structure
- 1-hour written assessment, then a 1-hour hands-on lab graded by GitLab Professional Services engineersGitLab badge listing on Credly; two-stage structure also in the GitLab Handbook, checked 8 October 2026
- Where it is offered
- GitLab UniversityGitLab University exam listing, checked 8 October 2026
- Cost
- Paid — no amount stated on GitLab’s publicly readable pagesGitLab badge listing on Credly states “Paid”, checked 8 October 2026
- Number of questions
- Not stated on GitLab’s publicly readable pagesGitLab Handbook and badge listing, checked 8 October 2026
- Passing score
- Not stated on GitLab’s publicly readable pagesGitLab Handbook and badge listing, checked 8 October 2026
- Validity
- Not stated on GitLab’s publicly readable pagesThe badge listing gives no expiry, checked 8 October 2026
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What is the GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate certification?
The GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate is a technical certification offered by GitLab Professional Services. GitLab says its technical certifications exist to help the GitLab community and team members validate their ability to apply GitLab in their daily DevOps work, and this one is the certification for continuous integration and delivery.
GitLab’s own description of what holders can do is specific: define what CI/CD is, identify the key components needed for a CI/CD pipeline, explain GitLab’s CI/CD functions, and understand how to use them. It rates the certification as foundational.
It is one of several GitLab certifications offered through GitLab University; others listed there include the GitLab Certified Git Associate and the GitLab Certified Security Associate. If you searched for “GitLab certification” because you work on pipelines, the CI/CD Associate is the one that matches that work.
Source: GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate badge (issued by GitLab, on Credly). Checked 8 October 2026.
How much does the GitLab certification cost?
GitLab’s badge listing marks the CI/CD Associate as “Paid”, but none of GitLab’s publicly readable pages states the amount. The exam listing on GitLab University, where the price would sit, did not render as readable text when we checked on 8 October 2026.
So this page does not quote a figure. Check the exam listing on GitLab University for the current price; amounts circulating from earlier GitLab training bundles are not a statement about today’s exam.
Source: GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate badge (issued by GitLab, on Credly). Checked 8 October 2026.
What is the GitLab CI/CD Associate exam format?
The certification has two stages, and you must pass both. First a written assessment of one hour; then a hands-on lab assessment of one hour, which is graded by GitLab Professional Services engineers rather than by an automatic scorer.
The GitLab Handbook describes the same structure for GitLab’s technical certifications in general: candidates must first pass a written assessment, followed by a hands-on lab assessment graded by GitLab Professional Services engineers.
That second stage is the part that sets this exam apart. Recognising the right answer in a written question is not enough; you have to make a pipeline work in GitLab and leave it in a state a reviewer will accept.
Source: GitLab Handbook — GitLab Technical Certifications. Checked 8 October 2026.
GitLab CI/CD Associate passing score
GitLab does not state a passing score on any page we could read, for either the written assessment or the lab. Any percentage you see quoted elsewhere does not come from a GitLab source we could verify.
The practical consequence: prepare for the lab as if it had to be correct end to end. A human reviewer grading a working pipeline is a different bar from a cut score on multiple choice, and partial credit is not something GitLab promises anywhere we could find.
What is on the GitLab CI/CD Associate exam?
GitLab does not publish weighted exam domains on a readable page. What it does publish is the skill set attached to the certification, and that list gives a clear picture of the scope.
Each line hides real work. Pipeline authoring means writing the pipeline definition itself — stages, jobs, rules and the dependencies between them. GitLab runners are the agents that pick up and execute those jobs, so understanding them is what lets you explain why a job is stuck or running in the wrong environment.
Continuous integration and continuous delivery are the two halves of the pipeline: building and testing every change, then getting it deployed. DevSecOps on the list signals that security checks in the pipeline are part of the picture, not an optional extra.
Because GitLab publishes no weighting, treat every line as examinable — a pipeline that builds, tests and deploys an application uses all of them at once. The skills as GitLab lists them:
- Continuous Integration (CI)
- Continuous Delivery (CD)
- Pipeline authoring
- GitLab runners
- DevOps and DevSecOps
Source: GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate badge (issued by GitLab, on Credly). Checked 8 October 2026.
GitLab CI/CD Associate prerequisites
GitLab states no prerequisites on the pages we could read — no earlier certification and no required course. The certification is rated foundational.
Foundational does not mean theoretical. Because the second stage is a hands-on lab, you need to have written and debugged real .gitlab-ci.yml pipelines, run jobs on runners, and deployed something, not only read about how it works.
Source: GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate badge (issued by GitLab, on Credly). Checked 8 October 2026.
How long is the GitLab certification valid?
GitLab’s badge listing for the CI/CD Associate gives no expiry date or validity period, and no other GitLab page we could read states one. Whether the certification needs renewal is therefore not something this page can answer from a GitLab source.
If renewal matters to you — for example because an employer asks for current credentials — ask GitLab or check the terms on GitLab University before you buy.
Source: GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate badge (issued by GitLab, on Credly). Checked 8 October 2026.
GitLab CI/CD Associate study materials and training
GitLab’s Education Services list a GitLab CI/CD Training course and a GitLab Advanced CI/CD Training course. The certification is described as validating the ability to use GitLab’s CI/CD functions, which is the subject of the standard course.
The GitLab Handbook publishes the lab guide for that course, which walks through its exercises. The six labs are a useful checklist of the hands-on skills involved:
Configure a pipeline to build an application; rules and merging changes; configuring pipeline tests; working with CI/CD components; investigating broken pipelines; deploying applications. These are course labs, not official exam domains — but if you can do all six without the guide, the hands-on stage should hold no surprises.
Source: GitLab Handbook — GitLab CI/CD Hands-On Lab Overview. Checked 8 October 2026.
GitLab CI/CD Associate vs GitLab Certified Git Associate
GitLab University lists both. As its name says, the Git Associate is about Git, while the CI/CD Associate is about pipelines: defining CI/CD, the components of a pipeline, and using GitLab’s CI/CD functions.
GitLab does not publish a required order between them on any page we could read. If you already work with Git daily and your job is the pipeline, the CI/CD Associate is the more direct proof of that skill.
GitLab CI/CD Associate practice questions
Certsqill’s GitLab CI/CD Associate practice questions are expert-developed, with an explanation for every option, built against the skills GitLab attaches to the certification. The hands-on lab is a separate stage — questions prepare you for the written assessment, the lab needs practice in a real GitLab project.
GitLab CI/CD Associate questions people ask
What is the GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate?
A foundational technical certification from GitLab Professional Services for building and running CI/CD pipelines in GitLab. Source: GitLab badge listing on Credly, checked 8 October 2026.
How is the GitLab CI/CD Associate exam structured?
A one-hour written assessment, then a one-hour hands-on lab graded by GitLab Professional Services engineers. Source: GitLab badge listing on Credly, checked 8 October 2026.
How much does the GitLab certification cost?
GitLab marks it as paid but states no amount on its publicly readable pages, checked 8 October 2026. Check the exam listing on GitLab University for the current price.
How many questions are on the exam?
GitLab does not state a question count on any page we could read, checked 8 October 2026.
What is the passing score?
GitLab does not state one on any page we could read, checked 8 October 2026.
Does the GitLab CI/CD Associate expire?
GitLab’s badge listing gives no expiry, and no readable GitLab page states a validity period, checked 8 October 2026.
Where do I take the GitLab certification?
Through GitLab University, where the GitLab Certified CI/CD Associate exam is listed, checked 8 October 2026.
What other GitLab certifications are there?
GitLab University also lists the GitLab Certified Git Associate and the GitLab Certified Security Associate, checked 8 October 2026.
